Digital Video Telecommunications (D2)
Project PI: Alan Bovik
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Laboratory for Image and Video Engineering (LIVE) proposes a three-year initiative focused on digital video telecommunications (DVT), an exploding technology area that is revolutionizing communications, computing, and education. LIVE actively researches and teaches signal, image, and video processing, and 1997 marks a transition to a committed focus on researching and teaching real-time digital video. This project leverages fifteen years of high-visibility multidisciplinary research in image processing, video processing, and computational vision to develop important, unprecedented standard-compliant DVT in software: high-resolution, scaleable PC-to-PC color video teleconferencing; multisession PC-to-PC video conferencing; multiresolution scaleable digital video library/database design for scientific and K-12 applications; and integration of video, audio, and textual data for Internet distance learning.
TECHNICAL CHALLENGES
LIVE will exploit multiprocessor Pentium, WindowsNT, and MMX technology for this project. Uncompressed video data rates range from 10-170 Mbits/sec (MPEG-compliant video) to 250 Mbits/sec (digital color NTSC video). Significant technical challenges include: developing streamlined software codecs for high-speed video compression, and motion estimation and compensation; data organization/sequencing; network traffic protocols to optimize video multisession send/receive; interoperability with other operating system (UNIX) and network protocols (TCP/IP and/or UDP/IP); and automated tools for the rapid prototyping of DVT software.
IMPACT
The evolution of powerful networked workstations as exemplified by Pentium/WindowsNT promises to make possible, for the first time, real-time software-based computation and communication of video in multimedia productions, multipoint video communications, video-based distance learning, and video databases and video teleconferencing. LIVE will leverage real-time, Pentium/WindowsNT-based research into continuing and increased funding/development relationships with local/national industry (e.g., Motorola, SBC, Dell, TI, IBM) and Federal (NSF, ARO, AFOSR) sources. LIVE will deliver to Intel all research reports, theses and papers related to LIVE video research.
EQUIPMENT
To migrate LIVE's aging UNIX workstations to a real-time video communications research laboratory based on Pentium, WindowsNT, and MMX technology, LIVE requests in year one a quad Pentium Pro multimedia server, a dual Pentium multimedia server, six dual Pentium workstations, and four Pentium Pro SCSI workstations. In year two, one quad Pentium pro multimedia server, and dual Pentium multimedia server, and two dual processor providence Deskside HighGraphics workstations are requested. Year 2 equipment should be upgraded to 400+MHz with increased storage and multimedia capacity.
RESOURCES
Ample space is available. Students and a dedicated technician maintain equipment. Undergraduate and graduate student exposure is currently 20+ students in directed research and 200+ students in signal, image, and video processing courses. Recently funded projects include: software-based PC-to-PC video teleconferencing (IBM); multispectral video database design (NASA); embedded real-time video processing (NSF); quality assessment of MPEG video (Southwestern Bell Corporation (SBC)); and vision-controlled positioning of stereoscopic robotic video cameras (AFOSR).
BENEFITS TO INTEL
Intel Corporation will benefit by the broad exposure of networked Pentium machines to current and future generations of students working in the extremely compute-intensive video communications environment, working on problems whose solutions will form the backbone of future telecommunications software protocols.