Buffer Resets: A Packet Discarding Policy for Timely Physiological Data
Collection in Virtual Reality Gaming Systems
Abstract
Affective virtual reality (VR) gaming systems rely on timely
physiological data collection, in order to generate personalized
responses that enhance the emotional impact of a video game on its user.
In this context, we propose a simple policy for timely data collection
from wireless sensor nodes placed on the human body. Our policy is
applied at each sensor node. Upon each packet arrival we check whether
the buffer is full or not. If the buffer is full, then we empty it
before adding the packet. In this very simple way, we avoid buffer
congestion and impose timeliness. We simulated this aggressive buffer
reset policy using a body area network (BAN) model in OMNeT++. By
varying the packet generation rate of each node, we showed that our
policy outperforms first come first served (FCFS) and last come first
served (LCFS) queueing policies in terms of peak age, while packet
reception is barely affected. Buffer resets can be easily integrated
into existing random access protocols to support timely data collection.