Doctoral Expose accepted: Generative AI for HTTP Adaptive Streaming

Author: Emanuele Artioli

Abstract: Video streaming stands as the cornerstone of telecommunication networks, constituting over 60% of mobile data traffic as of June 2023. The paramount challenge faced by video streaming service providers is ensuring high Quality of Experience (QoE) for users. In HTTP Adaptive Streaming (HAS), including DASH and HLS, video content is encoded at multiple quality versions, with an Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) algorithm dynamically selecting versions based on network conditions. Concurrently, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the industry, particularly in content recommendation and personalization. Leveraging user data and advanced algorithms, AI enhances user engagement, satisfaction, and video quality through super-resolution and denoising techniques.

However, challenges persist, such as real-time processing on resource-constrained devices, the need for diverse training datasets, privacy concerns, and model interpretability. Despite these hurdles, the promise of Generative Artificial Intelligence emerges as a transformative force. Generative AI, capable of synthesizing new data based on learned patterns, holds vast potential in the video streaming landscape. In the context of video streaming, it can create realistic and immersive content, adapt in real time to individual preferences, and optimize video compression for seamless streaming in low-bandwidth conditions.

This research proposal outlines a comprehensive exploration at the intersection of advanced AI algorithms and digital entertainment, focusing on the potential of generative AI to elevate video quality, user interactivity, and the overall streaming experience. The objective is to integrate generative models into video streaming pipelines, unraveling novel avenues that promise a future of dynamic, personalized, and visually captivating streaming experiences for viewers.

Congrats to Dr. Narges Mehran on her doctoral defense

On 15.03.2024, Narges Mehran successfully defended her doctoral studies with the “Scheduling of Dataflow Processing Applications on the Computing Continuum” thesis under Prof. Radu Prodan and Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Hermann Hellwagner, alongside the mentorship of Postdoc-Ass. Priv.-Doz. Dr. Dragi Kimovski at ITEC.

Her defense was chaired by Assoc.Prof. Dr. Klaus Schoeffmann and examined by Prof. Dr. Mihhail Matskin (KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE) and  Assoc.-Prof. Dr. Andrea Marrella (Sapienza University of Rome, IT).

During her doctoral study, she was a university assistant and contributed to the DataCloud EU H2020 project.

The abstract of her dissertation is as follows:

Latency-sensitive and bandwidth-intensive dataflow processing applications, such as the Internet of Things, big data, and machine learning, are dominant traffic generators on the Internet. Such workflows require nearly real-time processing of a continuous sequence of dataflows. To move the computation toward the network’s edge, improve communication latency, and reduce network congestion, Fog and Edge computing emerged as promising solutions to extend and complement the Cloud services. Unfortunately, the heterogeneity of the Cloud, Fog, and Edge computing (aka. Computing Continuum) raises important challenges related to deploying and executing dataflow processing applications. Therefore, in this thesis, I investigate the scheduling of dataflow processing applications. First, this thesis presents a method called Multi-objective dAtaflow processing aPplication scheduling in cloud, fOg, and edge (MAPO) that optimizes completion time, energy consumption, and economic cost, achieving up to a 28% improvement in efficiency. Second, a double-sided stable matching model named Cloud, fOg, and edge to Dataflow processing application mAtching (CODA) is introduced for deploying distributed applications on heterogeneous devices, but its limitation in considering microservices’ earliest start and finish times is acknowledged. CODA is extended with a capacity-aware matching-based algorithm, C3-Match, for scheduling dataflow asynchronous processing applications, resulting in lower data processing, queuing, and application completion times with increased data transmission time in experiments with various processing loads.

First Austrian Game Dev Night in Warsaw

On the 18th of November, 2023, Sebastian held a talk about his game development story, Fire Totem Games, A Webbing Journey, and the Austrian game development scene at the first Austrian Game Dev Night in Warsaw.

Benjamin Hanussek, a Game Studies and Engineering alumni, initialized the idea for the event. Frederic Schulte organized it from the Austrian Cultural Forum Warsaw and the PJAIT Game Lab, which Benjamin leads.

The event took place in the Austrian Cultural Forum in Warsaw, and visitors were able to play A Webbing Journey and Primal Fray, a game developed by Tymoteusz Pietruszka, a Polish game developer, during the day. In the evening, Sebastian held his talk, followed by a Q&A session and ended with many valuable new connections to the Polish game development scene. The event was a big success and laid the foundation for future Austrian Game Dev Nights.

 

    

A Webbing Journey @ Button Festival 2023

On Friday and Saturday (March 10 and March 11, 2023), Sebastian Uitz presented his game “A Webbing Journey” with his partner Michael Steinkellner and Noel Treese at the Button Festival at the Messe Graz. Their booth consisted of 2 PC, a Steam Deck and a Nintendo Switch, all running the game. This was the first time the two handheld devices were used at an event, and people loved playing on them. The Nintendo Switch was a fan favourite for all the kids. The older players tended to the Steam Deck because it’s still a new console, and most of them had never had the chance to play on it before. Similar to other events, a lot of feedback in the form of new ideas for quests and possibilities to extend the game were gathered, which will be implemented in the following weeks and months, ready for the next event in May.

Radu Prodan @ Horizon Cloud Summit 2022 co-located with Cloud Expo Europe

The Horizon Cloud Summit 2022 – in its third edition – aims to gather innovators and researchers, Cloud adopters, policymakers, and Cloud initiatives and open source projects to shape the EU digital transition.

Radu Prodan held a presentation about the Articonf project on May 11, 2022.

Prof. Radu Prodan

Radu Prodan co-editor @ “Security and Privacy Issues in Internet of Medical Things”

The first edition of “Security and Privacy Issues in Internet of Medical Things”, co-edited by Radu Prodan, will be published in May 2022 by Elsevier.
More information is available HERE.

 

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Course “Generative Learning – Deepfakes for Good” in SS 2022 – Prof. Dr. Michael Riegler

ITEC is delighted to announce the next speaker in our guest lecture series – Prof. Dr. Michael Rielger from  SIMULA Research, Norway. The course will take place from May 30 – June 03, 2022.

The course will give an introduction into the topic of generative adversarial networks and synthetic data. Please register at the course 623.714

Further information is available HERE.

Felix Schniz completed his PhD

On November 23rd, 2021, Felix Schniz successfully defended his thesis on “What is a Videogame Experience? A Peripatetic Acknowledgement of Inner Sentiments in Virtual Worlds” under the supervision of Assoc.-Prof. Mag. Dr. René Reinhold Schallegger. The defense was chaired by Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Werner Delanoy and the examiners were Assoc. Dr. Nick Webber (Birmingham City University) and Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing.Dr. Wilfried Elmenreich (University of Klagenfurt). Congratulations to Dr. Schniz for this great achievement!

ADAPT Meeting Klagenfurt

The first face-to-face ADAPT Meeting took place on September 30, 2021, in Klagenfurt. The consortium discussed important aspects of systems integration, current achievements and listed down strategies for validating and exploiting ADAPT use cases through real-world testing and external collaboration. The consortium further agreed to continue its ongoing efforts in disseminating scientific and technical results.

Excellent Reviews at the Second EC Review for the ARTICONF Project

ARTICONF impressed the reviewers with their advancements in the second year and passed the second EC review with flying colors.  The project officer and reviewers echoed the effort put together by the consortium in achieving an integrated ARTICONF product while maintaining a pile of scientific output at the highest level. The EC reviewers iterated that they look forward to the current ARTICONF technology with personal and professional interests apart from the bindings of their current EC responsibilities.