IEEE ICCE 2014 The Fifth IEEE International Conference on Communications and Electronics

Tutorials

• Quality of Mobile Multimedia Experience: Past, Present and Future

  by Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Zepernick

  Institute of Communication Systems of the Faculty of Computing of the Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH), Karlskrona, Sweden

  Abstract

  The rapid evolution of wireless networks is driven by the growth of wireless packet data applications such as interactive mobile multimedia applications, wireless streaming services, and video-on-demand. The largely heterogeneous network structures, severe channel impairments, and complex traffic patterns make the wireless networks much more unpredictable compared to their wired counterparts. One of the major challenges with the roll-out of these services is therefore the design of wireless networks that fulfill the stringent quality of service requirements of mobile multimedia applications.In this tutorial, we provide a survey on the evolution of quality of experience (QoE) concepts in the context of mobile multimedia systems touching on the past, present, and future aspects. Specifically, the ideas behind QoE are discussed and an overview of related standardization work and major research initiatives is provided. On this basis, QoE metrics for speech, image, and video are described. Given the increase on visual services, perceptual image and video quality metrics for real-time quality assessment of mobile multimedia experience are discussed. This includes a classification of quality assessment methods, comparison of psychophysical versus engineering approaches, perceptual image and video quality assessment, and some example applications. An outlook on future work and challenges is also provided.

  Biography

  Hans-Jürgen Zepernick received the Dipl.-Ing. degree (with highest distinction) from the University of Siegen in 1987 and the Dr.-Ing. degree (summa cum laude) from the University of Hagen in 1994. From 1987 to 1989, he was with the Siemens AG, Munich, Germany. He is currently a Professor and the Chair of Radio Communications with the Institute of Communication Systems of the Faculty of Computing of the Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH), Karlskrona, Sweden. Prior to this appointment at BTH in October 2004, he held the positions of Professor of wireless communications at Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia; Deputy Director of the Australian Telecommunications Research Institute (ATRI); and Associate Director of the Australian Telecommunications Cooperative Research Centre (ATcrc). He was the Leader of the ATcrc’s wireless program and the Leader of the center’s radio transmission and radio access technology project.Dr. Zepernick served on the Board of Management of ATRI and the Executive Research Committee of the ATcrc. He participated in the European FP7 Networks of Excellence EuroNGI, EuroFGI, and EuroFN contributing to work packages on user-perceived quality of service. He is a member of the Swedish Management Committee within the COST Action IC1003: Quality of Experience in Multimedia Systems and Services (Qualinet). He is also a Member of Section C, Signals and Systems of the Swedish National Committee on Radio Science. Dr. Zepernick serves on the Technical Scientific Committee of the International ICT Doctorate School of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy. Dr. Zepernick has been elected by the officers and board of directors of the IEEE to the grade of IEEE Senior Member in recognition of significant professional achievements and professional standing. He has been a co-recipient of a Best Student Paper Award at the 2013 IEEE International Conference on Advanced Technologies for Communications (ATC) and a co-recipient of an Excellent Paper Award at the 2004 IEEE International Symposium on Wireless Communication Systems (ISWCS). He regularly services on the Technical Program Committees of flagship conferences such as IEEE Global Communications Conference (Globecom), IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC), and IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC). Currently, he serves as one of the Guest Editors for the Special Issue on “Advances in Tools, Techniques and Practices for Multimedia QoE” of the Springer Journal on Multimedia Tools and Applications. Dr. Zepernick is an author or co-author of 2 books, 10 book chapters, some 47 Journals manuscripts and over 200 peer-reviewed conference papers. His research interests include cooperative communications, cognitive radio networks, mobile multimedia services, and perceptual quality assessment.

  Immersive Visual Communication with Depth

  by Associate Professor Minh N. Do

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

  The ubiquity of digital cameras has made a great impact on visual communication as can be seen from the explosive growth of visual contents on the Internet and the default inclusion of a digital camera on cellphones and laptops. The recent emerging of low-cost and fast depth cameras (e.g. Kinect) provides a great opportunity to revolutionize visual communication further by enabling immersive and interactive capabilities. Depth measurements provide perfect complementary information to the traditional color imaging in capturing the three-dimensional (3D) scene. By effectively integrate color and depth information, we develop real-time systems that capture the live scene and render 3D free-viewpoint videos, and potentially augment the captured scene with 3D virtual worlds. Such system can provide unprecedented immersive and interactive 3D viewing experiences for personalized distance learning and tele-presence.

  Biography

  Minh N. Do is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). His work covers image and multi-dimensional signal processing, wavelets and multiscale geometric analysis, computational imaging, and visual information representation, and has led to about 45 journal papers. He received a Silver Medal from the 32nd International Mathematical Olympiad in 1991, a University Medal from the University of Canberra in 1997, a Doctorate Award from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) in 2001, a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation in 2003, and a Young Author Best Paper Award from IEEE in 2008. He was named a Beckman Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study, UIUC, in 2006, and received of a Xerox Award for Faculty Research from the College of Engineering, UIUC, in 2007. He was an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Image Processing, and a member of the IEEE Technical Committees on Signal Processing Theory and Methods, and on Image, Video, and Multidimensional Signal Processing. He was elevated to be an IEEE Fellow in 2014 for contributions to image representation and computational imaging. He is a co-founder and Chief Scientist of Personify (formerly Nuvixa), a spin-off from UIUC to commercialize depth-based visual communication.

  Crowdsourcing – From Theory to Practice

  by Matthias Hirth1, Nhatvi Nguyen2, Prof. Phuoc Tran-Gia1

  1University of Würzburg, Germany 2Weblabcenter Inc., USA

  The easy and cost effective access to huge and scalable computation power provided by machine clouds has been the driver for the development of many new services and fostered the growth of numerous new startups. In contrast to computational power, human workforce is still a sparse resource, especial for smaller companies. Here, the Crowdsourcing approach, leveraging the possibility to access a huge number of people via the Internet, can help to create a human cloud, which offers a scalable and easily accessible human workforce. This tutorial gives a general overview of the Crowdsourcing concept and current trends in this area. The theoretical concepts are illustrated with insights of Microworkers.com showing the challenges running a commercial Crowdsourcing platform. Besides commercial use cases, Crowdsourcing is subject to ongoing research and can also be a valuable tool in research. Here, an overview of current research topics is given, as well as some best practices for avoiding common pitfalls while using Crowdsourcing for research purposes.

  Biography

  Phuoc Tran-Gia is professor and director of the Chair of Communication Networks, University of Würzburg, Germany. He is also Member of the Advisory Board of Infosim (Germany) specialized in IP network management products and services. Prof. Tran-Gia is also cofounder and board member of Weblabcenter Inc. (Dallas, Texas), specialized in Crowdsourcing technologies. Previously he was at academia in Stuttgart, Siegen (Germany) as well as at industries at Alcatel (SEL) and IBM Zurich Research Laboratory. He is active in several EU framework projects and COST actions. Prof. Tran-Gia was coordinator of the German-wide G-Lab Project ‘National Platform for Future Internet Studies’ aiming to foster experimentally driven research to exploit future Internet technologies. His research activities focus on performance analysis of the following major topics: Future Internet & Smartphone Applications; QoE Modeling & Resource Management; Software Defined Networking & Cloud Networks; Network Dynamics & Control; Crowdsourcing.

  Nhatvi Nguyen has been managing Microworkers as Chief Worker since 2010. Nhatvi leads overall system development, site management, sales, and operations at Microworkers. Concurrently to managing Microworkers, Nhatvi also serves as President for OnPAC Energy, a retail electric provider in Texas since 2004.

  Matthias Hirth received his Diploma degree in Computer Science from the University of Würzburg in 2009. Since February 2010, he is working towards his PhD. at the Chair on Communication Networks in Würzburg. His main research interests include Online Social Networks and Crowdsourcing. Hereby the main focus lies on the development and evaluation of quality assurance mechanisms for crowdsourcing, as well as the analysis of new applications of Crowdsourcing for e.g. QoE assessments or network measurements.

  Free Space Materials Characterization at 110GHz and beyond

  by Mr. Thang Yong Wee

  Agilent Technologies

  Abstract

  Free-Space Materials Characterization: Free-space techniques using a network analyzer for measuring dielectric and magnetic properties of materials in the microwave to mm-wave frequency range will be discussed. These measurements are often used for design and test of radome, low observables, and absorbing materials, but this non-contacting technique is useful for other materials as well. A featured topic will be Gated Reflect Line calibration, an innovative calibration technique developed by Agilent. System hardware and setup considerations will also be covered.

  Biography

  Thang Yong Wee works as Expert level Application Consultant with Agilent Technologies. He joined HP/Agilent Test and Measurement since 1998. He has vast experience in training and supporting RF and microwave instrumentation such as Phase noise, Noise figure, Spectrum Analysis and Network analysis. His primary focused is on component measurement using Agilent network analyzer and impedance analyzer especially on-wafer, THz and material measurement. Yong Wee also worked as a project manager in designing and delivering test system project. Recent Projects that Yong Wee has involved includes: Configured and delivered several mm wave on wafer test system Configured and delivered Metrology grade network analysis measurement system Configured and worked across Agilent organization to deliver on-wafer measurement system to test multiple devices such as PA, LNA, Multiplier, Mixer, Digitally controlled Attenuator, IV curve and pulsed measurement. Prior to joining HP/Agilent Technologies, Yong Wee is a Project manager with Multi-National Company managing system delivery for military application. He graduated from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore with Honors degree and completed a Graduate Diploma in Marketing Management in Singapore Institute of Management.