On Cascade Source Coding with A Side Information 'Vending Machine'

摘要

The model of a side information "vending machine" accounts for scenarios inwhich acquiring side information is costly and thus should be done efficiently.In this paper, the three-node cascade source coding problem is studied underthe assumption that a side information vending machine is available either atthe intermediate or at the end node. In both cases, a single-lettercharacterization of the available trade-offs among the rate, the distortions inthe reconstructions at the intermediate and at the end node, and the cost inacquiring the side information are derived under given conditions.