Multimedia and Interactive Virtual Environments

Description:
Multimedia Communicationsis the field concerned with the representation, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of machine-process-able information that is expressed in multiple media, such as text, voice, graphics, audio, video, haptics, and 3D virtual worlds. Collaborative Multimedia Communications refers to that area in Multimedia which features collaborative work among several participants who are concurrently engaged in a multimedia session. A virtual environment is an artificial environment created with computer hardware and software and presented to the user in such a way that it appears and feels like a real environment. These environments (e.g., Second Life) are widely used now by major companies (IBM, CISCO) for selling their products. Haptics refers to the hardware/software representation and electronic transmission of the feeling of human touch.

Applications: The potential of the technology is significant. The technology has been explored in contexts as diverse as modeling and animation, geophysical analysis, dentistry training, virtual museums, assembly planning, mine design, surgical simulation, design evaluation, control of scientific instruments, gaming, and robotic simulation and manipulation in hazardous environments.

PROFESSORS:

• Boukerche (group)
  wireless multimedia ,QoS in heterogeneous wired and wireless networks, large-scale distributed interactive simulation, DoD High Level Architecture (HLA/RTI), parallel and distributed simulation, distributed and collaborative virtual environments
• Dubois, Eric
  digital signal processing, data compression, image processing and communication
• El Saddik, Abdulmotaleb
  - haptic audio visual environments, multimedia communications, multimedia tele-surveillance, knowledge management, interactive media and games, collaborative ambient intelligence systems and applications
  -ambient multimedia intelligence systems, dynamic gesture recognition interfaces, multimedia tele-surveilance, collaborative virtual environments, tele-haptics, Web telecollaboration applications, intelligent Internet sensors and appliances, service science
• Laganière, Robert
  image and video processing, computer vision, visual surveillance, image-based modeling, view matching and 3D reconstruction
• Lang, Jochen
  computer graphics, image-based modeling, physics-based modelling deformable modeling, computer vision, 3D sensing and modeling, interactive acquisition, navigation systems, virtual environments, haptics
• Lee, WonSook
  computer graphics and animation, human modeling and animation, face recognition, human-computer interaction, virtual reality in health care, medical application, music analysis, computer vision, computer game, graphics related e-commerce
• Petriu, Emil M.
  intelligent sensors, robot sensing and perception, interactive virtual environments, neural networks and fuzzy systems, digital integrated circuit testing
• Shirmohammadi, Shervin
  massively multiuser online gaming and simulations, tele-haptics and telecollaboration systems, multimedia adaptation and peer-to-peer communication protocols
• Zhao, Jiying
  image and video processing, digital watermarking, multimedia communications

Research groups involving several professors:

• Distributed and Collaborative Virtual Environments Research Lab (Discover)
• Multimedia Communications Research Lab (MCRLab)

Leadership:

• The Multimedia Communications Research Laboratory (MCRLab), established in 1984, was the first of its kind in Canada. Its first pioneering application was the Multimedia Medical Communications System MUSIC, installed for clinical trials at the Ottawa Civic Hospital in 1989. The system received the 1990 TRIO Industrial Feedback Award from the Telecommunications Research Institute of Ontario (TRIO) [Georganas; Partners: Nortel, Bell Canada, Telesat Canada, TRIO]
• The Java Enabled Telecollaboration System (JETS), won 1st prize at the 1998 IBM-ACM Quest for Java Competition [Shirmohammadi; Partner: TeleLearning NCE]
• The DISCOVER team won a $3.4 million Shared University Research (SUR) grant from IBM [Georganas, Petriu, El Saddik, Shirmohammadi, Boukerche]
• DISCOVER professors and students have received a great number of International and National Awards for their research.

Some recent projects:

• MUSES_SECRET: MUltimodal-SurvEillance System for SECurity-RElaTed Applications [Petriu; Ontario Research Fund: Research Excellence ($2 million); Partners: IBM, Vestec, IMS, Visual Cortek, NRC, CRC, NCIT]
• HAVE: Hapto-Audio-Visual Environments for Collaborative Tele-Surgery Training over Photonic Networking [Hall, Georganas, CANARIE Project; Partner: BigBangwidth] show details
• PET: Personalized Electronic Tailor [Lee; ORNEC, Partner: XYZ_RGB]
• Search and Delivery of Advanced Multimedia Learning Objects [Georganas, El Saddik, NSERC Research Network; Partner:CAE] show details
• Personalized Privacy Preserved Collaborative e-Commerce Environments [Shirmohammadi, ORNEC; Partner: IBM Canada] show details
• HARVEST: A Framework for HAptic, inteRactive Virtual EnvironmentS for Tele-presence" [Shirmohammadi, El Saddik, Georganas; NSERC Strategic project ; Partners: CAE, Espial and D-Box] show details
• VERGINA :Virtual Environment Research in hapto-visual Gesture-recognition Interfaces [Georganas, CITO Champions of Innovation Project] show details
• Federation Grid [Boukerche, El Saddik, Georganas; CANARIE Project; Partner: MDA] show details
• AMIS : Ambient Multimedia Intelligence Systems [Georganas; NSERC Discovery] show details