Paper Accepted @ ScaleSys 2025 (IoT)

Title: From Latency to Engagement: Technical Synergies and Ethical Questions in IoT-Enabled Gaming

Authors: Kurt Horvath, Tom Tucek

Abstract: The convergence of video games with the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and emerging 6G networks creates unprecedented opportunities and pressing challenges. On a technical level, IoT-enabled gaming requires ultra-low latency, reliable quality of service (QoS), and seamless multi-device integration supported by edge and cloud intelligence. On a societal level, gamification increasingly extends into education, health, and commerce, where points, badges, and immersive feedback loops can enhance engagement but also risk manipulation, privacy violations, and dependency. This position paper examines these dual dynamics by linking technical enablers, such as 6G connectivity, IoT integration, and edge/AI offloading, with ethical concerns surrounding behavioral influence, data usage, and accessibility. We propose a comparative perspective that highlights where innovation aligns with user needs and where safeguards are necessary. We identify open research challenges by combining technical and ethical analysis and emphasize the importance of regulatory and design frameworks to ensure responsible, inclusive, and sustainable IoT-enabled gaming.

Overview – 1st Workshop on Intelligent and Scalable Systems across the Computing Continuum

Paper Accepted @ ScaleSys 2025 (IoT)

Title: Wi-Fi Enabled Edge Intelligence Framework for Smart City Traffic Monitoring using Low-Power IoT Cameras

Authors: Raphael Walcher, Kurt Horvath, Dragi Kimovski, Stojan Kitanov

Abstract: Real-time traffic monitoring in smart cities demands ultra-low latency processing to support time-critical decisions such as incident detection and congestion management. While cloud-based solutions offer robust computation, their inherent latency limits their applicability for such tasks. This work proposes a localized edge AI framework that connects low-power IoT camera sensors to a client, or applies offloading of inference to an NVIDIA Jetson Nano (GPU). Networking is achieved via Wi-Fi, enabling image classification without relying on wide-area infrastructure such as 5G, or wired networks. We evaluate two processing strategies: local inference on camera nodes and GPU-accelerated offloading to the Jetson Nano. We show that local processing is only feasible for lightweight models and low frame rates, whereas offloading enables near-real-time performance even for more complex models. These results demonstrate the viability of cost-effective, Wi-Fi-based edge AI deployments for latency-critical urban monitoring.

Overview – 1st Workshop on Intelligent and Scalable Systems across the Computing Continuum

Paper accepted @ TELFOR 2025

Title: 6G Network O-RAN Energy Efficiency Performance Evaluation

Authors:Ivan Petrov, Kurt Klaus Horvath, Stojan Kitanov, Dragi Kimovski, Fisnik Doko, Toni Janevski

Abstract: The Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) paradigm introduces disaggregated and virtualized RAN elements connected through open interfaces, enabling AI-driven optimization across the RAN. It allows flexible energy management strategies by leveraging intelligent RIC (RAN Intelligent Controller), and computing continuum (Dew-Edge-Cloud) resources. The Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) provides vendor-neutral, disaggregated RAN components and AI-driven control, making it a strong candidate for future networks. On the other hand, the transition to 6G networks requires more open, adaptable, and intelligent RAN architecture. Open RAN is envisioned as a key enabler for 6G, offering agility, cost efficiency, energy savings, and resilience. This paper assesses O-RAN’s performance in 6G mobile networks in terms of energy efficiency.

 

MMM 2026 Demo: STEP-MR: A Subjective Testing and Eye-Tracking Platform for Dynamic Point Clouds in Mixed Reality

Paper Title: STEP-MR: A Subjective Testing and Eye-Tracking Platform for Dynamic Point Clouds in Mixed Reality

Conference Details:  32nd International Conference on Multimedia Modeling; Jan 29 – Jan 31, 2026; Prague, Czech Republic

Authors: Shivi Vats (AAU, Austria), Christian Timmerer (AAU, Austria), Hermann Hellwagner (AAU, Austria)

Abstract: 

The use of point cloud (PC) streaming in mixed reality (MR) environments is of particular interest due to the immersiveness and the six degrees of freedom (6DoF) provided by the 3D content. However, this immersiveness requires significant bandwidth. Innovative solutions have been developed to address these challenges, such as PC compression and/or spatially tiling the PC to stream different portions at different quality levels. This paper presents a brief overview of a Subjective Testing and Eye-tracking Platform for dynamic point clouds in Mixed Reality (STEP-MR) for the Microsoft HoloLens 2. STEP-MR was used to conduct subjective tests (described in [1]) with 41 participants, yielding over 2000 responses and more than 150 visual attention maps, the results of which can be used, among other things, to improve dynamic (animated) point cloud streaming solutions mentioned above. Building on our previous platform, the new version now enables eye-tracking tests, including calibration and heatmap generation. Additionally, STEP-MR features modifications to the subjective tests’ functionality, such as a new rating scale and adaptability to participant movement during the tests, along with other user experience changes.

IEEE Access 2025: Eye-Tracking, Quality Assessment, and QoE Prediction Models for Point Cloud Videos: Extended Analysis of the ComPEQ-MR Datase

Paper Title: Eye-Tracking, Quality Assessment, and QoE Prediction Models for Point Cloud Videos: Extended Analysis of the ComPEQ-MR Dataset

Link: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11263821

 

Authors: Shivi Vats (AAU, Austria), Minh Nguyen (Fraunhofer FOKUS, Berlin), Christian Timmerer (AAU, Austria), Hermann Hellwagner (AAU, Austria)

Abstract: 

Point cloud videos, also termed dynamic point clouds (DPCs), have the potential to provide immersive experiences with six degrees of freedom (6DoF). However, there are still several open issues in understanding the Quality of Experience (QoE) and visual attention of end users while experiencing 6DoF volumetric videos. For instance, the quality impact of compressing DPCs, which requires a significant amount of both time and computational resources, needs further investigation. Also, QoE prediction models for DPCs in 6DoF have rarely been developed due to the lack of visual quality databases. Furthermore, visual attention in 6DoF is hardly explored, which impedes research into more sophisticated approaches for adaptive streaming of DPCs. In this paper, we review and analyze in detail the open-source Compressed Point cloud dataset with Eye-tracking and Quality assessment in Mixed Reality (ComPEQ–MR). The dataset, initially presented in [24], comprises 4 uncompressed (raw) DPCs as well as compressed versions processed by Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) reference tools (i.e., VPCC and 2 GPCC variants). The dataset includes eye-tracking data of 41 study participants watching the raw DPCs with 6DoF, yielding 164 visual attention maps. We analyze this data and present head and gaze movement results here. The dataset also includes results from subjective tests conducted to assess the quality of the DPCs, each both uncompressed and compressed with 12 levels of distortion, resulting in 2132 quality scores. This work presents the QoE performance results of the compression techniques, the factors with significant impact on participant ratings, and the correlation of the objective Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) metrics with Mean Opinion Scores (MOS). The results indicate superior performance of the VPCC codec as well as significant variations in quality ratings based on codec choice, bitrate, and quality/distortion level, providing insights for optimizing point cloud video compression in MR applications. Finally, making use of the subjective scores, we trained and evaluated models for QoE prediction for DPCs compressed using the pertinent MPEG tools.We present the models and their prediction results, noting that the fine-tuned ITU-T P.1203 models exhibit good correlation with the subjective ratings. The dataset is available at https://ftp.itec.aau.at/datasets/ComPEQ-MR/.

Paper Accepted @ ScaleSys 2025

Predicting Encoding Energy from Low-Pass Anchors for Green Video Streaming

Authors: Zoha Azimi (AAU, Austria), Reza Farahani (AAU, Austria), Vignesh V Menon (Fraunhofer HHI, Berlin), Christian Timmerer (AAU, Austria)

Event: 1st International Workshop on Intelligent and Scalable Systems Across the Computing Continuum (ScaleSys ’25), November 18, 2025, Vienna, Austria, https://scalesys2025.itec.aau.at/

Abstract:  

Video streaming now represents the dominant share of Internet traffic, as ever-higher-resolution content is distributed across a growing range of heterogeneous devices to sustain user Quality of Experience (QoE). However, this trend raises significant concerns about energy efficiency and carbon emissions, requiring methods to provide a trade-off between energy and QoE. This paper proposes a lightweight energy prediction method that estimates the energy consumption of high-resolution video encodings using reference encodings generated at lower resolutions (so-called anchors), eliminating the need for exhaustive per-segment energy measurements, a process that is infeasible at scale. We automatically select encoding parameters, such as resolution and quantization parameter (QP), to achieve substantial energy savings while maintaining perceptual quality, as measured by the Video Multimethod Fusion Assessment (VMAF), within acceptable limits. We implement and evaluate our approach with the open-source VVenC encoder on 100 video sequences from the Inter4K dataset across multiple encoding settings. Results show that, for an average VMAF score reduction of only 1.68, which stays below the Just Noticeable Difference (JND)
threshold, our method achieves 51.22 % encoding energy savings and 53.54 % decoding energy savings compared to a scenario with no quality degradation.

 

Paper Accepted: Data-Efficient Learning for Generalizable Surgical Video Understanding Author: Sahar Nasirihaghighi

Title: Data-Efficient Learning for Generalizable Surgical Video Understanding
Author: Sahar Nasirihaghighi

Venue: Doctoral Consortium MICCAI 2025, 23 – 27 September 2025, Daejeon, South Korea
Abstract: Advances in surgical video analysis are transforming operating rooms into intelligent, data-driven environments. Computer-assisted systems now support the full surgical workflow, from preoperative planning to intraoperative guidance and postoperative assessment. However, developing robust and generalizable models for surgical video understanding remains challenging due to (I) annotation cost and scarcity, (II) spatiotemporal complexity, and (III) domain gap across procedures and institutions. This doctoral research aims to bridge the gap between deep learning–based surgical video analysis in research and its real-world clinical deployment. To address the core challenge of recognizing surgical phases, actions, and events, critical for video-based analysis, I benchmarked state-of-the-art neural network architectures to identify the most effective designs for each task. I further improved performance by proposing novel architectures and integrating advanced modules. Given the high cost of expert annotations and the domain gap across surgical video sources, I focused on reducing reliance on labeled data. We developed semi-supervised frameworks that improve model performance across tasks by leveraging large amounts of unlabeled surgical video. We introduced novel semi-supervised frameworks, including DIST, SemiVTSurge, and ENCORE, that achieved state-of-the-art results on challenging surgical datasets by leveraging minimal labeled data and enhancing model training through dynamic pseudo-labeling. To support reproducibility and advance the field, we released two multi-task datasets: GynSurg, the largest gynecologic laparoscopy dataset, and Cataract-1K, the largest cataract surgery video dataset. Together, this work contributes to robust, data-efficient, and clinically scalable solutions for surgical video analysis, laying the foundation for generalizable AI systems that can meaningfully impact surgical care and training.

Paper Accepted: GynSurg: A Comprehensive Gynecology Laparoscopic Surgery Dataset

Title: GynSurg: A Comprehensive Gynecology Laparoscopic Surgery Dataset
Authors: Sahar Nasirihaghighi, Negin Ghamsarian, Leonie Peschek, Matteo Munari, Heinrich Husslein, Raphael Sznitman, Klaus Schoeffmann
Venue: ACM Multimedia 2025, 27 – 31 October 2025, Dublin, Ireland

Abstract: Recent advances in deep learning have transformed computer-assisted intervention and surgical video analysis, driving improvements not only in surgical training, intraoperative decision support, and patient outcomes, but also in postoperative documentation and surgical discovery. Central to these developments is the availability of large, high-quality annotated datasets. In gynecologic laparoscopy, surgical scene understanding and action recognition are fundamental for building intelligent systems that assist surgeons during operations and provide deeper analysis after surgery. However, existing datasets are often limited by small scale, narrow task focus, or insufficiently detailed annotations, limiting their utility for comprehensive, end-to-end workflow analysis. To address these limitations, we introduce GynSurg, the largest and most diverse multitask dataset for gynecologic laparoscopic surgery to date. GynSurg provides rich annotations across multiple tasks, supporting applications in action recognition, semantic segmentation, surgical documentation, and discovery of novel procedural insights. We demonstrate the dataset’s quality and versatility by benchmarking state-of-the-art models under a standardized training protocol. To accelerate progress in the field, we publicly release the GynSurg dataset and its annotations (https://ftp.itec.aau.at/datasets/GynSurge/).

Paper accepted @ UCC

Title: Agentic Edge Intelligence: A Research Agenda

Authors: Lauri Lovén, Reza Farahani, Ilir Murturi, Stephan Sigg, Schahram Dustdar

Abstract: Agentic AI is rapidly transforming autonomous decision-making, yet its deployment across the edge-cloud continuum remains poorly understood. This paper introduces the concept of agentic edge intelligence, an emerging paradigm in which autonomous agents operate across the computing continuum to negotiate computational resources, data, and services within dynamic digital marketplaces. We position this concept at the intersection of edge intelligence, multi-agent systems, and computational economics, where distributed decision-making replaces centralized orchestration. The paper outlines key research challenges, including scalability, interoperability, market stability, and ethical governance, and proposes a research agenda addressing theoretical, architectural, and societal dimensions. By integrating mechanism design with trustworthy AI and edge computing, the real-time AI economy envisions a self-organizing infrastructure for efficient, transparent, and equitable resource exchange in future digital ecosystems.

Venue: International Workshop on Intelligent Systems and Paradigms for Next Generation Computing Evolution (INSPIRE 2025) in conjunction with the 18th IEEE/ACM Utility and Cloud Computing Conference (UCC)

Paper accepted @ IoT 2025

Title: Serverless Everywhere: A Comparative Analysis of WebAssembly Workflows Across Browser, Edge, and Cloud

Authors: Mario Colosi, Reza Farahani, Lauri Lovén, Radu Prodan, Massimo Villari

Abstract: WebAssembly (Wasm) is a binary instruction format that enables portable, sandboxed, and near-native execution across heterogeneous platforms, making it well-suited for serverless workflow execution on browsers, edge nodes, and cloud servers. However, its performance and stability depend heavily on factors such as startup overhead, runtime execution model (e.g., Ahead-of-Time (AOT) and Just-in-Time (JIT) compilation), and resource variability across deployment contexts. This paper evaluates a Wasm-based serverless workflow executed consistently from the browser to edge and cloud instances. The setup uses wasm32-wasi modules: in the browser, execution occurs within a web worker, while on Edge and Cloud, an HTTP shim streams frames to the Wasm runtime. We measure cold- and warm-start latency, per-step delays, workflow makespan, throughput, and CPU/memory utilization to capture the end-to-end behavior across environments. Results show that AOT compilation and instance warming substantially reduce startup latency. For workflows with small payloads, the browser achieves competitive performance owing to fully in-memory data exchanges. In contrast, as payloads grow, the workflow transitions into a compute- and memory-intensive phase where AOT execution on edge and cloud nodes distinctly surpasses browser performance.

Venue: International Workshop on Intelligent and Scalable Systems across the Computing Continuum (ScaleSys 2025) in conjunction with the 15th International Conference on the Internet of Things (loT 2025)