Analog joint source-channel Multiple Description coding scheme over AWGN parallel channels

We propose a low complexity analog joint source channel coding Multiple Description (MD) scheme for transmitting the symbols of a Gaussian source across a pair of independent AWGN channels. The outputs of these channels have each a separated receiver, whereas a third receiver has both outputs available. At the transmitter side, a pair of bandwidth-reduction analog mappings are used for joint source-channel coding. The presented scheme has the inherent advantage over digital MD schemes based on separation, that coding and decoding can be performed by using a single-letter (or symbol), a strategy that is very suitable for applications where latency originated by the digital compression and the error correcting coding can not be tolerated. Our scheme achieves a performance that is competitive as compared to the optimal region while having a very low complexity and delay.