Interns @ ATHENA (Summer 2026)

Interns at ATHENA (Summer 2026)

In July 2026, the ATHENA Christian Doppler Laboratory hosted four interns working on the following topics:

  • Leon Kordasch – Holography
  • Daniel Glantschnig – Automated Wind Turbine Damage Detection
  • Gabriel Puri – Adaptive Streaming for Immersive Media

At the end of their internships, the interns presented their projects and findings and received official university certificates in recognition of their work. The experience proved valuable for both the interns and the ATHENA research team alike. Through personalized mentorship, hands-on training, and continuous support, the interns were able to develop strong practical skills while gaining a deeper understanding of research methodologies and technologies in the video streaming domain. We warmly thank the interns for their enthusiasm, dedication, and thoughtful feedback, which made a meaningful contribution to the ongoing work of the ATHENA lab.

Leon Kordasch: “During my internship, I worked on digital holography. I explored state-of-the-art solutions, analyzed their performance and gained lots of theoretical knowledge and technical experience. While challenging, the internship was very rewarding. My supervisor, Ayman Alkhateeb, provided guidance where needed, and collaborating with a diverse, international team made the experience both enriching and enjoyable.”

Daniel Glantschnig: “My time as an intern was both interesting and rewarding. I had the opportunity to train object detection models using datasets with and without synthetic data, then compare the results to explore how synthetic data influenced model performance. Working on this project helped me gain a much better understanding of dataset preparation, model training, evaluation, and the impact that different types of data can have on object detection systems. One of the highlights of the internship was the welcoming and friendly team, which made the experience even more enjoyable. I also greatly appreciated the support of my supervisor from the DORBINE project, Mario, who was always available to answer my questions and help me work through any challenges. The internship allowed me to apply my existing knowledge in a practical environment while developing new technical skills. Overall, I am very grateful for the opportunity, the guidance I received, and the valuable experience I gained during my time there.”

Gabriel Puri: “Over the past four weeks as an intern, I’ve had a wonderful experience. I had the opportunity to work on streaming immersive media to the Apple Vision Pro, and I even created a Swift application that streams spatial videos to a local server. This server processes the incoming stream using my integrated pipeline, which enables adaptive bitrate streaming. I’ve learned a lot about encoding and how it’s done in real-world applications such as Netflix streams. I’ve also learned through trial and error, for example by trying an approach and failing, but eventually succeeding. I also learned how to accurately grade video quality via AVQT. One of the most memorable aspects of the internship was undoubtedly the incredibly welcoming and inclusive team, as well as my supervisor and mentor, Kamran from the ATHENA project. He is a true expert in his field and provided me with crucial support. This internship has allowed me to apply my interest in computer science to useful real-world scenarios and gain industry insights. Overall, I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity and for all the guidance and support I received throughout the internship.“

Hadi
,

Congratulations to Hadi Amirpourazarian: Completion of the Habilitation!

On 25.06.2026, Hadi Amirpourazarian defended his habilitation thesis, “The Predictive Video Encoding Using Visual Complexity Analysis”

Congratulations!

Committee members:

Prof. Wolfgang Faber (Chairperson), Prof. Eckehard Steinbach (External Member), Prof. Wilfried Elmenreich, Prof. Barbara Kaltenbacher, Katharina Stengg, Yuliia Lomonosova, Christoph Rauter

Hadi
, ,

Special Session @ VCIP 2026

Title: Advances in Imaging, Perception, and Reasoning for High-Dimensional Visual Data

Conference: VCIP 2026

Abstract: Recent advances in visual sensing, computational imaging, neural representations, and multimodal learning are transforming the way visual data are acquired, processed, communicated, and understood. Modern visual systems increasingly rely on high-dimensional visual data that extend beyond conventional RGB images and videos to include event streams, light fields, hyperspectral and polarization imagery, LiDAR, time-of-flight sensing, neural scene representations, 3D Gaussian splats, and hybrid multimodal sensing modalities. These data capture rich spatial, temporal, geometric, spectral, and cross-modal information, enabling more robust visual processing under challenging conditions such as fast motion, low light, occlusion, missing modalities, and distribution shift. At the same time, the growing complexity and volume of high-dimensional visual data create new challenges in acquisition, restoration, compression, representation, quality assessment, perception, and reasoning. Emerging solutions increasingly integrate imaging, communication, perception, and multimodal intelligence to support reliable visual understanding and decision making. In line with these developments, we invite contributions on computational imaging and novel sensing systems, event-based and multimodal vision, high-dimensional visual restoration and enhancement, learned compression, implicit and neural representations, quality assessment, cross-modal fusion and alignment, robust visual perception, vision-language reasoning, trustworthy AI, and efficient visual communication for next-generation visual systems.

ORGANIZERS

  • Haowen Bai (Nanyang Technological University, SG)
  • Rui Zhao (Nanyang Technological University, SG)
  • Zeyu Xiao (National University of Singapore, SG)
  • Taewoo Kim (INSAIT, BG)
  • Hadi Amirpour (University of Klagenfurt, AT)
  • Tae Hyun Kim (Hanyang University, KR)
,

EMS 2026 – The 4th Workshop on Emerging Multimedia Systems

EMS 2023  |  EMS 2024  | EMS 2025

📢 Call For Submissions 

Multimedia has played a significant role in driving Internet usage and has led to a range of technological advancements, such as content delivery networks, compression algorithms, and streaming protocols. With emerging applications, including (but not limited to) augmented,  virtual, and extended reality (XR), real-time telepresence, AI-generated content, video analytics, and the usage of AI in multimedia systems in general, multimedia is undergoing a fundamental shift in sharing experiences online and continues to drive the future of the Internet. As these next-generation ultra-low-latency, interactive, and immersive technologies evolve, it is crucial to revisit developed techniques for new formats and representations, not only to enhance performance and interactivity but also to improve energy efficiency and maintain high Quality of Experience (QoE). This workshop will bring together experts from diverse fields, including video streaming research, source video coding, analytics, rate adaptation algorithms, networked systems, immersive media such as 3D and volumetric video streaming, AR/VR applications, as well as energy-efficient systems and QoE optimization, to exchange ideas on identifying challenges and opportunities in designing advanced networked systems for these emerging multimedia technologies. This workshop is a successor of the Emerging Multimedia System (EMS) workshop from ACM SIGCOMM.

🎯 Topics of interest in Call-for-Papers 

This workshop calls for research on various issues and solutions that can enable live video analytics with the role of edge computing. Topics of interest include (but not limited to) the following:

  • Networked systems for immersive content capture, streaming, and display
  • Networked systems for AI-driven video applications
  • Networked systems for multimedia generative AI
  • Machine learning for emerging multimedia distribution
  • Emerging multimedia systems for novel content formats (point clouds, light fields, holography, NeRF, 3DGS, etc.)
  • Volumetric video delivery on the Internet
  • Ultra-low-latency networking for multimedia applications
  • High-throughput transport and distribution for emerging media
  • Adaptive streaming under network/user constraints for immersive media
  • Novel content distribution network for AR/VR applications
  • Management of AR/VR networked systems
  • Wireless and mobile immersive systems
  • AR/VR applications in current (5G) and future (6G) wireless networks
  • Compression and transmission design for 3D content
  • Edge cloud systems for immersive experiences
  • Quality of Experience in emerging multimedia systems
  • Energy efficiency in emerging multimedia systems

Besides typical full research papers that present a complete idea with proper evaluation, we also welcome work-in-progress papers.

  • Full research papers present new research that has not been previously published. Authors should submit their work describing early/emerging results in a relevant topic area. Full papers are limited to 6 pages, including figures, tables, appendices, and references.
  • Lightning papers can provide a summary of early, emerging, or ongoing work, as well as short updates of previously published work. Lightning papers will be presented and published in the proceedings. They should not exceed 2 pages, with a maximum of one additional page for references only.

📅 Important Dates

  • Paper Submissions:  July 14, 2026
  • Acceptance Notification:  August 26, 2026
  • Camera-ready: September 21, 2026

 Organizing Committee

👥 Co-Chairs

🎓 Technical Program Committee 

  • TBD

🎤 Keynote Speech

  • TBD
,

Presentation @ University of Ljubljana

On 27 May 2026, Dr Felix Schniz held a guest presentation on the Transhuman Qualities of Bloodborne at the University of Ljubljana before joining the conference Creative Computing Cultures and Media Transfers in Europe as an invited guest. Following the spirit of cross-European perspectives on computing, the day concluded with a joint meeting on prospective project proposals.

,

Event Report “Spielend lernen”

Following an invitation of the Viennese Game Lab, Felix Schniz and Sabrina Maria Größing have represented the Klagenfurt Critical Game Lab at the event “Spielend lernen!” that took place on 19 May 2026 at the Bildungsdirektion Wien. Klagenfurt was the first non-Viennese game lab to join the event underlining the importance of the University of Klagenfurt for Austrian Game Studies outside of Vienna, and able to represent its unique approaches to the challenges of introducing technological literacy and the importance of play to an intrigued audience of experts and pedagogues.

Building on a prior visit of Viennese Game Lab scholars to Klagenfurt, the event was concluded with a tour through the local game lab facilities on 20 May and an extended chat about shared challenges and future opportunities for cooperation.

Hadi

Hadi Amirpour has been elevated to IEEE Senior Member

Assistant Prof. Dr. Hadi Amirpour has been elevated to IEEE Senior Member in recognition of his contributions to multimedia streaming systems.

IEEE Senior Member is the highest professional grade for which an IEEE member can apply. This distinction requires extensive professional experience and demonstrated accomplishments that reflect technical expertise, leadership, and professional maturity. Fewer than 10% of IEEE’s nearly half a million members worldwide have achieved this honor.

 

Christian Timmerer Named ACM Senior Member

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) has recognized Christian Timmerer as a Senior Member, honoring his professional achievements and contributions to the field of computing.

The ACM Senior Member designation is awarded to individuals who have demonstrated significant performance and commitment within the computing profession. This distinction highlights Christian Timmerer’s ongoing engagement with the research community and his impact on advancing the discipline.

As part of this recognition, he will receive an official ACM Senior Member certificate and pin, and his name will be listed on the ACM Senior Member award page.

Christian Timmerer also expressed his sincere appreciation to colleagues, collaborators, and supporters who contributed throughout the nomination process, emphasizing that this recognition reflects a shared effort within the community.

This honor underscores both his individual accomplishments and his continued dedication to excellence in computing research and practice.

Neues FÄKT-Video: Wie funktioniert Videostreaming?

Im Rahmen der von der Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften getragenen Initiative „FÄKT“, die Wissenschaftsvideos speziell für 10- bis 14-Jährige aufbereitet, gibt ein neuer Beitrag spannende Einblicke in die Welt des Video-Streamings: Christian Timmerer, Leiter des CD-Labors für Adaptives Streaming über HTTP und entstehende netzwerkbasierte Multimediadienste an der Universität Klagenfurt und zweifacher Technology & Engineering Emmy Award-Preisträger, erklärt anschaulich, wie Videoinhalte weltweit übertragen und kontinuierlich optimiert werden.

Der Kurzfilm zeigt verständlich, welche Technologien hinter modernen Streaming-Diensten stecken und wie Forschung dazu beiträgt, die Qualität und Effizienz von Videoübertragungen laufend zu verbessern.

Direktlink zum Video: Dein Video hängt gerade? Ein Forscher hat das vor Jahren gelöst. Zweimal ausgezeichnet.

 

Banner: Video-Screenshot-Ausschnitt (c) FÄKT

 

 

Long Night of Research 2026 – A Night to Remember

The Lange Nacht der Forschung 2026 (long night of research) turned out to be a truly special evening — one that once again demonstrated how powerful it can be to bring science and research closer to the public. Thanks to the remarkable engagement, creativity, and enthusiasm of everyone involved, complex ideas were transformed into hands-on experiences for a broad and diverse audience.

With more than 9,000 visitors across the Lakeside Science & Technology Park and the University of Klagenfurt campus, the event was a great success. Each individual station contributed to making research tangible, interactive, and inspiring.

Strong Presence of Our Department

Our department was proudly represented with six stations/booths, four of which were hosted by our lab. Together, they showcased cutting-edge research in multimedia, artificial intelligence, and interactive systems, thus demonstrating both scientific depth and real-world impact.

Highlights from Our Lab

At our lab’s four stations, visitors had the opportunity to explore current research in an engaging and interactive way:

Detecting Damage in Wind Turbines with AI (L25)
How can we inspect wind turbines without shutting them down? This station introduced the DORBINE project, where AI-powered drone swarms are used for automated inspection. A two-meter model vividly demonstrated how such intelligent systems could reduce costs and downtime while improving energy efficiency.

Making 3D Video More Realistic (L26)
Visitors were introduced to 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS), a next-generation 3D video technology that enables highly realistic rendering of scenes with reduced data requirements. Through hands-on interaction, they experienced how real-world environments can be captured and reproduced as immersive 3D spaces.

Enhancing Video Quality with Super-Resolution (L27)
This station focused on AI-based super-resolution techniques. Attendees could directly compare videos of different quality levels and observe in real time how machine learning reconstructs fine details and textures from low-resolution footage.

Experiencing Multimedia with 3D Interaction (L28)
Using Apple Vision Pro head-mounted displays, visitors explored stereoscopic spatial videos and tested their skills in a 3D dart game. This station highlighted how perception and interaction merge in next-generation multimedia experiences, offering a glimpse into future human-computer interaction.

Making Research Tangible

What made the evening particularly special was not only the technologies themselves but also the way they were communicated: interactive demos, hands-on exploration, and direct conversations with researchers allowed visitors of all ages to engage with science in a meaningful way.

Thank You

A big thank you to everyone who contributed to making this event such a success, through preparation, creativity, and dedication on-site. Events like the Lange Nacht der Forschung thrive on teamwork, and this year was a perfect example.