Distributed Multimedia Database Technologies Supported by MPEG-7 and MPEG-21

3.6 Ongoing MPEG-21 Research Projects

Several running research projects make use of the open MPEG-21 multimedia framework. They mainly focus on DI Processing and DI Adaptation. Examples are:

• The Multimedia Lab research group of the Department of Electronics and Information systems at Ghent University, Belgium, proposes several tools for MPEG-21 (http://multimedialab.elis.rug.ac.be/demo.asp). ^[13], ^[14], ^[15] First, a scalable MPEG-21 Video-on-Demand (VoD) application is introduced. The application contains a VoD Client that is able to consume a DI with constraints specifications of its current processing capabilities. Another tool is introduced that is able to resolve selection/choice elements of a DID. The user may specify its preferences toward the presentation, and a DI processor then selects the appropriate resource from the requested DI. Finally, an MPEG-21 DIA in a wireless network is proposed. It shows how Wireless Application Protocol and Wireless Markup Language technology can be used in combination with MPEG-21. The purpose is to create a device-specific interface to Wireless Application Protocol applications depending on the terminal characteristics of the mobile phone.

• The PAMLink (Personal Access over Mobile Link) project is to develop an end-to-end connectivity solution for Internet applications and Internet services. ^[16], ^[17] PAMLink services are characterized by a personalized experience for the individual user to meet individual needs at any given moment. More information on PAMLink may be found at http://www.merl.com/projects/PAMLink21/.

• The CONTESSA project (http://contessa.intranet.gr/) describes a modular platform based on the MPEG-21 framework aiming at enabling users to transparently access and consume multimedia content through distinct access devices, including digital television set top boxes, personal digital assistants, mobile phones and personal computers, using distinct network connections. ^[18]

• The Universal Multimedia Access from wired or wireless systems project addresses issues regarding access to multimedia content through a variety of possible systems having different terminal capabilities and network conditions (e.g., digital television networks, high-speed Internet protocol networks, etc.). ^[19], ^[20] More information may be obtained from http://www.midgardmedia.net/.

^[13]De Sutter, R., Lerouge, S., Bekaert, J., Rogge, B., Van De Ville, D., and Van de Walle, R., Dynamic adaptation of multimedia data for mobile applications, in Proceedings of the International Conference on IT and Communications (ITCom 2002), Vol. 4862, Boston, MA, July–August 2002, pp. 240–248.

^[14]Lerouge, S., Rogge, B., De Sutter, R., Bekaert, J., Van De Ville, D., and Van de Walle, R., A generic mapping mechanism between content description metadata and user environments, in Proceedings of the International Conference on IT and Communications (ITCom 2002), Vol. 4862, Boston, July–August 2002, pp. 12–21.

^[15]Rogge, B., Van De Ville, D., Lemahieu, I., and Van de Walle, R., Validating MPEG-21 encapsulated functional metadata, in Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Multimedia and Expo, Lausanne, Switzerland, IEEE CS Press, August 2002.

^[16]Vetro, A., Hata, T., Kuwahara, N., and Kalva, H., Complexity-quality analysis of MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 transcoding architectures, in Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics (ICCE 2002), Los Angeles, CA, June 2002, pp. 130–131.

^[17]Vetro, A., Divakaran, A., and Sun, H., Providing multimedia services to a diverse set of consumer devices, in Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics (ICCE 2001), Los Angeles, CA, June 2001, pp. 32–33.

^[18]Tsakali, M. and Kaptsis, I., Cross-media content production and delivery: trends and challenges, in Proceedings of the Euro-China 2002 Co-operation Forum on the Information Society, April 2002.

^[19]Perkis, A., Zhang, J., Halvorsen, T., Kjøde, J., and Rivas, F., A streaming media engine using Digital Item Adaptation, in Proceedings of the 2002 IEEE Workshop on Multimedia Signal Processing, December 2002, St. Thomas.

^[20]Zhang, J. and Perkis, A., Multimedia adaptation for delivery and presentation, in Proceedings of the Third COST #276 WORKSHOP on Information and Knowledge Management for Integrated Media Communication, October 2002, Budapest, Hungary.