A cheat-proof game-theoretic framework for cooperative peer-to-peer video streaming

Cooperative peer-to-peer (P2P) streaming model, which enables cooperation among peers with large intra-group bandwidths, has been shown as a promising approach for video streaming applications. However, due to the inherent conflict between the individual peer´s utility and the social optimality, designing an effective cooperative P2P streaming system becomes challenging. In this work, we first formulate the interactions among group peers as a cooperative P2P streaming game, which takes into account the unique characteristics of video. Then, a cheat-proof strategy is proposed to enforce rational group peers to achieve the optimal social welfare co-operatively. In particular, we prove theoretically that the proposed strategy can enforce truth-telling as an equilibrium, satisfy individual rationality and guarantee the budget balance of the system in an average sense. Finally, simulation results are shown to verify the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.