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Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are essential tools for researchers and practitioners, serving purposes from training to entertainment: many of these applications rely on agents. This study explores the impact of agent characteristics on user reactions, focusing on gaze as a primary visual attention indicator in AR and VR. While existing research has investigated the agent’s gaze and its influence on the user, it is unclear how the agent’s auralization and visualization influence gaze behaviour. We investigate this by studying the impact of rendering style and type of audio on gaze behaviour during a narrative AR experience. Participants listened to a story with the agent visualized as a cartoon-style or realistic virtual human and auralized with spatial or non-spatial audio. The results revealed that the agent’s rendering style significantly influenced gaze behaviour, with cartoon-style agents capturing more visual attention. Audio variations did not yield significant differences. Together, our findings inform the design of AR user interfaces with agents, suggesting that low-realism visualizations are more captivating and, thus, more suitable for experiences where the user is supposed to look at the storyteller.

This report documents the program and the outcomes of Dagstuhl Seminar 23042 "Quality of Sustainable Experience (QoSE)". The seminar aimed to bring together people from different fields, perspectives and backgrounds. The participants discussed how experiences - as the main selling point of products and services – in various ICT-related domains can be made more sustainable, how they can contribute to relevant sustainable development goals, and how the quality and degree of sustainability of such experiences may be evaluated and be better understood. The main objectives of the seminar were to foster new alliances, to inspire, to trigger scientific renewal, as well as to identify future opportunities and research challenges through a hands-on approach.

Videoconferencing (VC) is a type of online meeting that allows two or more participants from different locations to engage in live multi-directional audio-visual communication and collaboration (e.g., via screen sharing). The COVID-19 pandemic has induced a boom in both private and professional videoconferencing in the early 2020s that elicited controversial public and academic debates about its pros and cons. One main concern has been the phenomenon of videoconference fatigue. The aim of this conceptual review article is to contribute to the conceptual clarification of VC fatigue. We use the popular and succinct label "Zoom fatigue" interchangeably with the more generic label "videoconference fatigue" and define it as the experience of fatigue during and/or after a videoconference, regardless of the specific VC system used. We followed a structured eight-phase process of conceptual analysis that led to a conceptual model of VC fatigue with four key causal dimensions: (1) personal factors, (2) organizational factors, (3) technological factors, and (4) environmental factors. We present this 4D model describing the respective dimensions with their sub-dimensions based on theories, available evidence, and media coverage. The 4D-model is meant to help researchers advance empirical research on videoconference fatigue., open access

Recently an impressive development in immersive technologies, such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and 360 video, has been witnessed. However, methods for quality assessment have not been keeping up. This paper studies quality assessment of 360 video from the cross-lab tests (involving ten laboratories and more than 300 participants) carried out by the Immersive Media Group (IMG) of the Video Quality Experts Group (VQEG). These tests were addressed to assess and validate subjective evaluation methodologies for 360 video. Audiovisual quality, simulator sickness symptoms, and exploration behavior were evaluated with short (from 10 seconds to 30 seconds) 360 sequences. The following factors' influences were also analyzed: assessment methodology, sequence duration, Head-Mounted Display (HMD) device, uniform and non-uniform coding degradations, and simulator sickness assessment methods. The obtained results have demonstrated the validity of Absolute Category Rating (ACR) and Degradation Category Rating (DCR) for subjective tests with 360 videos, the possibility of using 10-second videos (with or without audio) when addressing quality evaluation of coding artifacts, as well as any commercial HMD (satisfying minimum requirements). Also, more efficient methods than the long Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) have been proposed to evaluate related symptoms with 360 videos. These results have been instrumental for the development of the ITU-T Recommendation P.919. Finally, the annotated dataset from the tests is made publicly available for the research communit

Videoconferencing (VC) is a type of online meeting that allows two or more participants from different locations to engage in live multi-directional audio-visual communication and collaboration (e.g., via screen sharing). The COVID-19 pandemic has induced a boom in both private and professional videoconferencing in the early 2020s that elicited controversial public and academic debates about its pros and cons. One main concern has been the phenomenon of videoconference fatigue. The aim of this conceptual review article is to contribute to the conceptual clarification of VC fatigue. We use the popular and succinct label "Zoom fatigue" interchangeably with the more generic label "videoconference fatigue" and define it as the experience of fatigue during and/or after a videoconference, regardless of the specific VC system used. We followed a structured eight-phase process of conceptual analysis that led to a conceptual model of VC fatigue with four key causal dimensions: (1) personal factors, (2) organizational factors, (3) technological factors, and (4) environmental factors. We present this 4D model describing the respective dimensions with their sub-dimensions based on theories, available evidence, and media coverage. The 4D-model is meant to help researchers advance empirical research on videoconference fatigue., open access

Recently an impressive development in immersive technologies, such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and 360 video, has been witnessed. However, methods for quality assessment have not been keeping up. This paper studies quality assessment of 360 video from the cross-lab tests (involving ten laboratories and more than 300 participants) carried out by the Immersive Media Group (IMG) of the Video Quality Experts Group (VQEG). These tests were addressed to assess and validate subjective evaluation methodologies for 360 video. Audiovisual quality, simulator sickness symptoms, and exploration behavior were evaluated with short (from 10 seconds to 30 seconds) 360 sequences. The following factors' influences were also analyzed: assessment methodology, sequence duration, Head-Mounted Display (HMD) device, uniform and non-uniform coding degradations, and simulator sickness assessment methods. The obtained results have demonstrated the validity of Absolute Category Rating (ACR) and Degradation Category Rating (DCR) for subjective tests with 360 videos, the possibility of using 10-second videos (with or without audio) when addressing quality evaluation of coding artifacts, as well as any commercial HMD (satisfying minimum requirements). Also, more efficient methods than the long Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) have been proposed to evaluate related symptoms with 360 videos. These results have been instrumental for the development of the ITU-T Recommendation P.919. Finally, the annotated dataset from the tests is made publicly available for the research communit

Research into multi-modal perception, human cognition, behavior, and attention can benefit from high-fidelity content that may recreate real-life-like scenes when rendered on head-mounted displays. Moreover, aspects of audiovisual perception, cognitive processes, and behavior may complement questionnaire-based Quality of Experience (QoE) evaluation of interactive virtual environments. Currently, there is a lack of high-quality open-source audiovisual databases that can be used to evaluate such aspects or systems capable of reproducing high-quality content. With this paper, we provide a publicly available audiovisual database consisting of twelve scenes capturing real-life nature and urban environments with a video resolution of 7680x3840 at 60 frames-per-second and with 4th-order Ambisonics audio. These 360 video sequences, with an average duration of 60 seconds, represent real-life settings for systematically evaluating various dimensions of uni-/multi-modal perception, cognition, behavior, and QoE. The paper provides details of the scene requirements, recording approach, and scene descriptions. The database provides high-quality reference material with a balanced focus on auditory and visual sensory information. The database will be continuously updated with additional scenes and further metadata such as human ratings and saliency information., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, accepted and presented at the 2022 14th International Conference on Quality of Multimedia Experience (QoMEX). Database is publicly accessible at https://qoevave.github.io/database

The paper presents a conceptual, multidimensional approach to understand the technological factors that are assumed to or even have been proven to contribute to what has been coined as Zoom Fatigue (ZF) or more generally Videoconferencing Fatigue (VCF). With the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, the usage of VC services has drastically increased, leading to more and more reports about the ZF or VCF phenomenon. The paper is motivated by the fact that some of the media outlets initially starting the debate on what Zoom fatigue is and how it can be avoided, as well as some of the scientific papers addressing the topic, contain assumptions that are rather hypothetical and insufficiently underpinned by scientific evidence. Most of these works are acknowledge the lacking evidence and partly suggest directions for future research. This paper intends to deepen the survey of VC-technology-related literature and to provide more existing evidence, where possible, while reviewing some of the already provided support or evidence for certain causal hypotheses. The technological factors dimension and its identified sub-dimensions presented in this paper are embedded within a more holistic four-dimensional conceptual factors model describing the causes for ZF or VCF. The paper describing this overall conceptual model is written by the same group of authors and currently under revision for an Open Access Journal publication. The present paper expands on the technological factors dimension descriptions provided in the overall model paper and provides more detailed analyzes and concepts associated with how VC technology may affect users' perception, cognitive load, interaction and communication, possibly leading to stress, exhaustion and fatigue. The paper currently is a living document which will be expanded further with regard to the evidence for or against the impact of certain technological factors., Comment: 15 pages

Videoconferencing (VC) is a type of online meeting that allows two or more participants from different locations to engage in live multi-directional audio-visual communication and collaboration (e.g., via screen sharing). The COVID-19 pandemic has induced a boom in both private and professional videoconferencing in the early 2020s that elicited controversial public and academic debates about its pros and cons. One main concern has been the phenomenon of videoconference fatigue. The aim of this conceptual review article is to contribute to the conceptual clarification of VC fatigue. We use the popular and succinct label "Zoom fatigue" interchangeably with the more generic label "videoconference fatigue" and define it as the experience of fatigue during and/or after a videoconference, regardless of the specific VC system used. We followed a structured eight-phase process of conceptual analysis that led to a conceptual model of VC fatigue with four key causal dimensions: (1) personal factors, (2) organizational factors, (3) technological factors, and (4) environmental factors. We present this 4D model describing the respective dimensions with their sub-dimensions based on theories, available evidence, and media coverage. The 4D-model is meant to help researchers advance empirical research on videoconference fatigue., open access

Recently an impressive development in immersive technologies, such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and 360 video, has been witnessed. However, methods for quality assessment have not been keeping up. This paper studies quality assessment of 360 video from the cross-lab tests (involving ten laboratories and more than 300 participants) carried out by the Immersive Media Group (IMG) of the Video Quality Experts Group (VQEG). These tests were addressed to assess and validate subjective evaluation methodologies for 360 video. Audiovisual quality, simulator sickness symptoms, and exploration behavior were evaluated with short (from 10 seconds to 30 seconds) 360 sequences. The following factors' influences were also analyzed: assessment methodology, sequence duration, Head-Mounted Display (HMD) device, uniform and non-uniform coding degradations, and simulator sickness assessment methods. The obtained results have demonstrated the validity of Absolute Category Rating (ACR) and Degradation Category Rating (DCR) for subjective tests with 360 videos, the possibility of using 10-second videos (with or without audio) when addressing quality evaluation of coding artifacts, as well as any commercial HMD (satisfying minimum requirements). Also, more efficient methods than the long Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) have been proposed to evaluate related symptoms with 360 videos. These results have been instrumental for the development of the ITU-T Recommendation P.919. Finally, the annotated dataset from the tests is made publicly available for the research communit

Recently an impressive development in immersive technologies, such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and 360 video, has been witnessed. However, methods for quality assessment have not been keeping up. This paper studies quality assessment of 360 video from the cross-lab tests (involving ten laboratories and more than 300 participants) carried out by the Immersive Media Group (IMG) of the Video Quality Experts Group (VQEG). These tests were addressed to assess and validate subjective evaluation methodologies for 360 video. Audiovisual quality, simulator sickness symptoms, and exploration behavior were evaluated with short (from 10 seconds to 30 seconds) 360 sequences. The following factors' influences were also analyzed: assessment methodology, sequence duration, Head-Mounted Display (HMD) device, uniform and non-uniform coding degradations, and simulator sickness assessment methods. The obtained results have demonstrated the validity of Absolute Category Rating (ACR) and Degradation Category Rating (DCR) for subjective tests with 360 videos, the possibility of using 10-second videos (with or without audio) when addressing quality evaluation of coding artifacts, as well as any commercial HMD (satisfying minimum requirements). Also, more efficient methods than the long Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) have been proposed to evaluate related symptoms with 360 videos. These results have been instrumental for the development of the ITU-T Recommendation P.919. Finally, the annotated dataset from the tests is made publicly available for the research communit

Recently an impressive development in immersive technologies, such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and 360 video, has been witnessed. However, methods for quality assessment have not been keeping up. This paper studies quality assessment of 360 video from the cross-lab tests (involving ten laboratories and more than 300 participants) carried out by the Immersive Media Group (IMG) of the Video Quality Experts Group (VQEG). These tests were addressed to assess and validate subjective evaluation methodologies for 360 video. Audiovisual quality, simulator sickness symptoms, and exploration behavior were evaluated with short (from 10 seconds to 30 seconds) 360 sequences. The following factors' influences were also analyzed: assessment methodology, sequence duration, Head-Mounted Display (HMD) device, uniform and non-uniform coding degradations, and simulator sickness assessment methods. The obtained results have demonstrated the validity of Absolute Category Rating (ACR) and Degradation Category Rating (DCR) for subjective tests with 360 videos, the possibility of using 10-second videos (with or without audio) when addressing quality evaluation of coding artifacts, as well as any commercial HMD (satisfying minimum requirements). Also, more efficient methods than the long Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) have been proposed to evaluate related symptoms with 360 videos. These results have been instrumental for the development of the ITU-T Recommendation P.919. Finally, the annotated dataset from the tests is made publicly available for the research communit

Videoconferencing (VC) is a type of online meeting that allows two or more participants from different locations to engage in live multi-directional audio-visual communication and collaboration (e.g., via screen sharing). The COVID-19 pandemic has induced a boom in both private and professional videoconferencing in the early 2020s that elicited controversial public and academic debates about its pros and cons. One main concern has been the phenomenon of videoconference fatigue. The aim of this conceptual review article is to contribute to the conceptual clarification of VC fatigue. We use the popular and succinct label "Zoom fatigue" interchangeably with the more generic label "videoconference fatigue" and define it as the experience of fatigue during and/or after a videoconference, regardless of the specific VC system used. We followed a structured eight-phase process of conceptual analysis that led to a conceptual model of VC fatigue with four key causal dimensions: (1) personal factors, (2) organizational factors, (3) technological factors, and (4) environmental factors. We present this 4D model describing the respective dimensions with their sub-dimensions based on theories, available evidence, and media coverage. The 4D-model is meant to help researchers advance empirical research on videoconference fatigue., open access

Videoconferencing (VC) is a type of online meeting that allows two or more participants from different locations to engage in live multi-directional audio-visual communication and collaboration (e.g., via screen sharing). The COVID-19 pandemic has induced a boom in both private and professional videoconferencing in the early 2020s that elicited controversial public and academic debates about its pros and cons. One main concern has been the phenomenon of videoconference fatigue. The aim of this conceptual review article is to contribute to the conceptual clarification of VC fatigue. We use the popular and succinct label "Zoom fatigue" interchangeably with the more generic label "videoconference fatigue" and define it as the experience of fatigue during and/or after a videoconference, regardless of the specific VC system used. We followed a structured eight-phase process of conceptual analysis that led to a conceptual model of VC fatigue with four key causal dimensions: (1) personal factors, (2) organizational factors, (3) technological factors, and (4) environmental factors. We present this 4D model describing the respective dimensions with their sub-dimensions based on theories, available evidence, and media coverage. The 4D-model is meant to help researchers advance empirical research on videoconference fatigue., open access

Videoconferencing (VC) is a type of online meeting that allows two or more participants from different locations to engage in live multi-directional audio-visual communication and collaboration (e.g., via screen sharing). The COVID-19 pandemic has induced a boom in both private and professional videoconferencing in the early 2020s that elicited controversial public and academic debates about its pros and cons. One main concern has been the phenomenon of videoconference fatigue. The aim of this conceptual review article is to contribute to the conceptual clarification of VC fatigue. We use the popular and succinct label "Zoom fatigue" interchangeably with the more generic label "videoconference fatigue" and define it as the experience of fatigue during and/or after a videoconference, regardless of the specific VC system used. We followed a structured eight-phase process of conceptual analysis that led to a conceptual model of VC fatigue with four key causal dimensions: (1) personal factors, (2) organizational factors, (3) technological factors, and (4) environmental factors. We present this 4D model describing the respective dimensions with their sub-dimensions based on theories, available evidence, and media coverage. The 4D-model is meant to help researchers advance empirical research on videoconference fatigue., open access

Recently an impressive development in immersive technologies, such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and 360 video, has been witnessed. However, methods for quality assessment have not been keeping up. This paper studies quality assessment of 360 video from the cross-lab tests (involving ten laboratories and more than 300 participants) carried out by the Immersive Media Group (IMG) of the Video Quality Experts Group (VQEG). These tests were addressed to assess and validate subjective evaluation methodologies for 360 video. Audiovisual quality, simulator sickness symptoms, and exploration behavior were evaluated with short (from 10 seconds to 30 seconds) 360 ∘ sequences. The following factors’ influences were also analyzed: assessment methodology, sequence duration, Head-Mounted Display (HMD) device, uniform and non-uniform coding degradations, and simulator sickness assessment methods. The obtained results have demonstrated the validity of Absolute Category Rating (ACR) and Degradation Category Rating (DCR) for subjective tests with 360 videos, the possibility of using 10-second videos (with or without audio) when addressing quality evaluation of coding artifacts, as well as any commercial HMD (satisfying minimum requirements). Also, more efficient methods than the long Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) have been proposed to evaluate related symptoms with 360 videos. These results have been instrumental for the development of the ITU-T Recommendation P.919. Finally, the annotated dataset from the tests is made publicly available for the research community.

With the coming of age of virtual/augmented reality and interactive media, numerous definitions, frameworks, and models of immersion have emerged across different fields ranging from computer graphics to literary works. Immersion is oftentimes used interchangeably with presence as both concepts are closely related. However, there are noticeable interdisciplinary differences regarding definitions, scope, and constituents that are required to be addressed so that a coherent understanding of the concepts can be achieved. Such consensus is vital for paving the directionality of the future of immersive media experiences (IMEx) and all related matters. The aim of this white paper is to provide a survey of definitions of immersion and presence which leads to a definition of immersive media experience (IMEx). The Quality of Experience (QoE) for immersive media is described by establishing a relationship between the concepts of QoE and IMEx followed by application areas of immersive media experience. Influencing factors on immersive media experience are elaborated as well as the assessment of immersive media experience. Finally, standardization activities related to IMEx are highlighted and the white paper is concluded with an outlook related to future developments.

Recent colorization works implicitly predict the semantic information while learning to colorize black-and-white images. Consequently, the generated color is easier to be overflowed, and the semantic faults are invisible. As a human experience in colorization, our brains first detect and recognize the objects in the photo, then imagine their plausible colors based on many similar objects we have seen in real life, and finally colorize them, as described in the teaser. In this study, we simulate that human-like action to let our network first learn to understand the photo, then colorize it. Thus, our work can provide plausible colors at a semantic level. Plus, the semantic information of the learned model becomes understandable and able to interact. Additionally, we also prove that Instance Normalization is also a missing ingredient for colorization, then re-design the inference flow of U-Net to have two streams of data, providing an appropriate way of normalizing the feature maps from the black-and-white image and its semantic map. As a result, our network can provide plausible colors competitive to the typical colorization works for specific objects., Comment: Code is available at https://minhmanho.github.io/semantic-driven_colorization

In this paper we present the Privacy Dashboard -- a tool designed to inform and empower the people using mobile devices, by introducing features such as Remote Privacy Protection, Backup, Adjustable Location Accuracy, Permission Control and Secondary-User Mode. We have implemented our solution on FirefoxOS and conducted user studies to verify the usefulness and usability of our tool. The paper starts with a discussion of different aspects of mobile privacy, how users perceive it and how much they are willing to give up for better usability. Then we describe the tool in detail, presenting what incentives drove us to certain design decisions. During our studies we tried to understand how users interact with the system and what are their priorities. We have verified our hypothesis, and the impact of the educational aspects on the decisions about the privacy settings. We show that by taking a user-centric development of privacy extensions we can reduce the gap between protection and usability., Comment: In Proceedings of the 9th Workshop on Web 2.0 Security and Privacy (W2SP) 2015

The interest in spatial sound has been growing during the last decade alongside the production of 3D motion picture. Vector-Based Amplitude Panning has predominated as the standard strategy in most situations because of its simplicity and effectiveness in perceptual localization. Other technologies like Ambisonics or Wave Field Synthesis have been developed to achieve a physical correct reconstruction of 3-dimensional sound fields, requiring more complex implementations and loudspeaker setups. Nevertheless, for commercial reasons the majority of sound tools are suitable, Music is organized sound. Usually, we think on organizing sound in frequency and time, but sound may be also organized in space. Today, musicians and scientists have a new artistic and scientific challenge to face, the creation of spatial music. Spatial music is music which involves the organization of sound in the three-dimensional space. So far, the availability of sound reproduction systems with height is very limited. Most popularly, we find stereo and surround systems, which use panning techniques to reproduce sound. From stereo to surround, a very important step further is the use of a scene-based paradigm, which opens the possibilities of music composition beyond the classical stereo image. In this research, a spatial sound system is proposed to create complex virtual sound scenes consisting of several moving sound sources. On the other side, we study the perceptual characteristics of moving sound sources in Vector Based Amplitude Panning, which is one of the most widespread spatial audio technologies for loudspeaker-based setups. Finally, we perform listening tests with a group of subjects to investigate the perceived attributes of moving sound sources reproduced using amplitude panning., La música es sonido organizado. En general, la organización de sonido es en frecuencia y tiempo, pero el sonido puede ser también organizado en el espacio. Hoy en día, músicos y científicos tienen un nuevo reto artístico y científico, la creación de música espacial. La música espacial es música que involucra la organización de sonido en el espacio tridimensional. Hasta el momento, la disponibilidad de sistemas de reproducción de sonido con altura es muy limitada. Más popularmente, nos encontramos con sistemas estéreo y sonido envolvente, que utilizan técnicas de "panning" para reproducir el sonido. Del estéreo al sonido envolvente, un paso adelante muy importante es el uso de un paradigma basado en escenas, que abre las posibilidades de composición musical más allá de la imagen estéreo clásica. En esta investigación, se propone un sistema de sonido espacial para la creación de escenas de sonido complejas que constan de varias fuentes de sonido en movimiento. Por otra parte, se estudian las características perceptivas de fuentes de sonido en movimiento para “Vector Based Amplitud Panning”, que es una de las tecnologías de audio espacial más extendidas para configuraciones basadas en altavoces. Finalmente, llevamos a cabo pruebas de escucha con un grupo de sujetos para investigar los atributos percibidos de fuentes de sonido en movimiento reproducidas usando "amplitude panning"., La música és so organitzat. En general, l'organització de so és en freqüència i temps, però el so pot ser també organitzat en l'espai. Avui en dia, músics i científics tenen un nou repte artístic i científic, la creació de música espacial. La música espacial és música que involucra l'organització de so en l'espai tridimensional. Fins al moment, la disponibilitat de sistemes de reproducció de so amb altura és molt limitada. Més popularment, ens trobem amb sistemes estèreo i so envoltant, que utilitzen tècniques de “panning” per reproduir el so. De l'estèreo al so envoltant, un pas endavant molt important és l'ús d'un paradigma basat en escenes, el qual obre les possibilitats de composició musical més enllà de la imatge estèreo clàssica. En aquesta investigació, es proposa un sistema de so espacial per a la creació d'escenes de so complexes que consten de diverses fonts de so en moviment. D'altra banda, s'estudien les característiques perceptives de fonts de so en moviment per a “Vector Based Amplitud Panning”, que és una de les tecnologies d'àudio espacial més esteses per a configuracions basades en altaveus. Finalment, portem a terme proves d'escolta amb un grup de subjectes per investigar els atributs percebuts de fonts de so en moviment reproduïdes mitjançant “amplitude panning”.

This dissertation proposes a Quality of Experience (QoE) driven multi-dimensional video adaptation scheme for the optimization of perceptual video quality in heterogeneous communication environments. A multi-dimensional video quality metric MDVQM is developed for the estimation of the perceptual video quality based on the observations from extensive subjective tests. The proposed multi-dimensional video adaptation scheme utilizes MDVQM to optimize the video quality. Significant QoE improvement against conventional video adaptation schemes have been confirmed by performance evaluation., Diese Dissertation schlägt einen multi-dimensionalen Videoadaptionsansatz vor, um die Nutzerzufriedenheit (QoE) in heterogenen Kommunikationsumgebungen zu optimieren. Basierend auf den Beobachtungen aus subjektiven Tests, wird eine multi-dimensionale Videoqualitätsmetrik MDVQM entwickelt, um die wahrgenommene Videoqualität vorherzusagen. Die Metrik wird verwendet, um die Videoqualität bei der Übertragung zum Nutzer zu optimieren. Signifikante QoE-Verbesserungen im Vergleich zu herkömmlichen Verfahren werden durch umfangreiche Leistungsbewertungen bestätigt.

This dissertation proposes a Quality of Experience (QoE) driven multi-dimensional video adaptation scheme for the optimization of perceptual video quality in heterogeneous communication environments. A multi-dimensional video quality metric MDVQM is developed for the estimation of the perceptual video quality based on the observations from extensive subjective tests. The proposed multi-dimensional video adaptation scheme utilizes MDVQM to optimize the video quality. Significant QoE improvement against conventional video adaptation schemes have been confirmed by performance evaluation., Diese Dissertation schlägt einen multi-dimensionalen Videoadaptionsansatz vor, um die Nutzerzufriedenheit (QoE) in heterogenen Kommunikationsumgebungen zu optimieren. Basierend auf den Beobachtungen aus subjektiven Tests, wird eine multi-dimensionale Videoqualitätsmetrik MDVQM entwickelt, um die wahrgenommene Videoqualität vorherzusagen. Die Metrik wird verwendet, um die Videoqualität bei der Übertragung zum Nutzer zu optimieren. Signifikante QoE-Verbesserungen im Vergleich zu herkömmlichen Verfahren werden durch umfangreiche Leistungsbewertungen bestätigt.

This White Paper is a contribution of the European Network on Quality of Experience in Multimedia Systems and Services, Qualinet (COST Action IC 1003, see www.qualinet.eu), to the scientific discussion about the term “Quality of Experience” (QoE) and its underlying concepts. It resulted from the need to agree on a working definition for this term which facilitates the communication of ideas within a multidisciplinary group, where a joint interest around multimedia communication systems exists, however approached from different perspectives. Thus, the concepts and ideas cited in this paper mainly refer to the Quality of Experience of multimedia communication systems, but may be helpful also for other areas where QoE is an issue.

Projecte fianl de carrera fet en col.lboració amb Deutsche Telekom Laboratories

This paper gives an overview of the assessment and evaluation methods which have been used to determine the quality of the INSPIRE smart home system. The system allows different home appliances to be controlled via speech, and consists of speech and speaker recognition, speech understanding, dialogue management, and speech output components. The performance of these components is first assessed individually, and then the entire system is evaluated in an interaction experiment with test users. Initial results of the assessment and evaluation are given, in particular with respect to the transmission channel impact on speech and speaker recognition, and the assessment of speech output for different system metaphors., Comment: 4 pages