15 years EXPLORING THE URBAN LIFE History of the MediaTeam Oulu Research Group
15 years EXPLORING THE URBAN LIFE History of the MediaTeam Oulu Research Group
2
Publisher MediaTeam Oulu Research Group + University of Oulu + Computer Science and Engineering Editors Joonas R책man + Mika Rautiainen + Marika Leskel채 Photographers Jukka Kontinen + Kati Leinonen + Kai Nurmi (cover) Graphic designer Teijo R채ty Printing house Erweko Oy
ISBN 978-951-42-9969-8
3
4
table of
contents
10-17
1
[ MediaTeam Today ]
2
18-23
24-25
26-27
[ Open and Ubiquitous ]
3
[ Future Internet ]
4
[ Digital Watermarking ]
5
28-29
[ Language and Speech Technologies ]
5
6
[ Content-based Information Retrieval ]
7
[ The Early Years ]
8
[ Selected Publications ]
9
[ Acknowledgements ]
10
[ MediaTeam timeline of projects and milestones ]
30-31
32-37
38-39
40-41
42-43
6
// Preface
W
elcome
to
computing in real life urban
in an authentic setting we are
network began as a research tool
history
setting using unique research
able to generate more reliable
of the MediaTeam.
of discipline-
infrastructure.
Media Team’s
data on what actually works
needed access to a wireless
defining
research topics have evolved
and what does not. Media Team
local area network in order
MediaTeam Oulu Research Group.
from the research on multimedia
has ten years of experience
to study novel context-aware
MediaTeam is an international
processing
on
mobile multimedia services in
and multidisciplinary research
networking to social networking
group based in the Department
in
the
an
and
urban
intelligent
research
in
the
real-life
environment.
The group
an authentic environment in the
environment.
Oulu city center. City of Oulu
and
MediaTeam is celebrating the
When measuring societal impact,
Engineering at the University
15th Anniversary by publishing
the public access network OULU
development of the panOULU
the History of the Group.
(panOULU) is our most important
network,
achievement by far. On a global
network has well over a thousand
of
Computer
Science
of Oulu, Finland. The group has gained international recognition
and other partners joined in the and
currently
the
due to ground-breaking research
Internationally, there is growing
scale, open networks like this are
base stations and roughly 35-40
on
interest on so-called ‘in the wild’
still very uncommon. Originally,
thousand users every month.
research. By testing the theories
the
urban
and
ubiquitous
panOULU
open
wireless
7
The network is free-to-use and
urban
and
Oulu. No one else in the world
of our selected publications in
accessible without separate user
technology. What really sets the
has a similar infrastructure for
these pages as well.
identification.
program apart is that we are
research purposes – not to forget
systematically building a rich
that it has a societal function as
I would like to thank researchers
Some of the most visible aspects
urban laboratory upon a versatile
well.
who worked in the MediaTeam
of Media Team work are the
teleinformatic
numerous
interactive
UBI
hotspots stationed around the
spaces,
humans
over
infrastructure
the
years
for
the
which includes, for example:
The UBI Program has brought
achievements reached by the
the panOULU network, the UBI
Media Team a lot of international
group. Also, I would like to thank
city of Oulu. The UBI hotspots
hotspots, sensor and Bluetooth
recognition and the group has
our research partners around the
were built as a research tool
networks
remodeled the way research
globe. I am very grateful to our
welcoming
financiers and industrial partners
and
many
others
for the UBI (UrBan Interactions)
aspects. Researchers of the UBI
is
Research
Program also strive to create a
professionals from across the
and last but not least the City of
3D virtual model of downtown
world to experiment with the
Oulu.
studies
Program urban
which
computing
and the interaction between
conducted
by
infrastructure. You’ll find the list
Professor Timo Ojala Co-founder and Director of MediaTeam
8
// Prof. Tapio Sepp채nen
// Adj. Prof. Mika Ylianttila
9
// Prof. Vassilis Kostakos
// Prof. Timo Ojala
10
// 1. MediaTeam Today
M
ediaTeam is an international and multidisciplinary research team based in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Oulu. The research conducted by MediaTeam focuses on the different aspects and applications
of ubiquitous computing and digital multimedia. The team was founded in 1997 and currently has roughly 40 personnel, from many different scientific fields. MediaTeam has gained a great deal of international recognition due to groundbreaking research on urban
Oulu, Finland
and ubiquitous computing. The ongoing UBI Program, alongside with many other topical research projects, serves as a testament to the three aspects that distinguish MediaTeam research, it is multidisciplinary, increasingly international, and it remains relevant in an authentic environment.
11
It is becoming increasingly important to be able to transfer research results from the laboratory to the actual environment
“
// Prof. Timo Ojala
Multidisciplinarity broadens the perspectives of researchers from all scientific fields, and it is a very prolific approach
“
12
// Dr. Tiina Suopajärvi
Multidisciplinary
T
he UBI Anthropos research project is part of the UBI research program, and an interesting example of the multidisciplinary nature
of MediaTeam research. In this project engineers and anthropologists join forces to find out how new ubiquitous technologies are designed and used in the everyday urban setting. Doctor Tiina Suopajärvi has witnessed first-hand this unique marriage of social and computer sciences, and the resulting benefits: “I am a cultural anthropologist and I study how people perceive and interact with ubiquitous technologies, both in private and public spaces. Multidisciplinarity broadens the perspectives of researchers from all scientific fields, and it is a very prolific approach.” According to Suopajärvi, expertise in social sciences can benefit computer sciences specifically in the methodical level: “We were asked to join the UBI program because we focus on the user’s point of view, we have the appropriate tools for data collection and the relevant expertise for qualitative analysis. After all, technology is designed to be used by humans.”
13
fascinated and also excited about
International
this environment. Joining full-time
R
ecent years have seen an
was a very easy choice for me.
increase
international
Having worked in very international
interest on MediaTeam, largely due
environments before, like the UK
to the unique UBI research program
and the US, I can say that the Finnish
and
of
Researchers
society and culture as a backdrop is
from all over the world are coming
an interesting element to have, and
to Oulu to experiment with the
adding to that an international team
UBI hotspots in a real life setting,
of researchers makes sparks come
something which they could not do
out,” Professor Kostakos says.
infrastructure.
“
to similar extent anywhere else. In the future Professor Kostakos
Professor Vassilis Kostakos joined
sees a global increase of interest
MediaTeam in November 2011 and
on MediaTeam’s work: “We need
works as the associate director
to make sure we continue, and
for the research group. Professor
intensify, our internationalization
Kostakos first visited MediaTeam in
efforts. Already, there has been a lot
2010 as a FiDiPro fellow working
of interest in our Summer School
on the Urban Flows and Networks
program, and researchers across the
project. “I had an opportunity to
world are coming here to play with
see the university, the research,
our technology.”
and the people here. I was very
We need to make sure we continue, and intensify, our internationalization efforts // Prof. Vassilis Kostakos
14
years of experience on influencing the
Relevant
society. “From the very beginning we
C
urrently, the focus has shifted
were intent on making a bigger impact
from
to
on the society then what is normally
more basic level, discipline-defining
expected from a university research
projects. Nonetheless, understanding
group. A great majority of research will
the real-life environment is crucial,
never be visible to the average citizen.
especially
researching
Despite being published in the most
ubiquitous technologies in a genuine
prestigious journals, the actual results
urban setting.
may never have any kind of impact
applied
research
when
on everyday life. That is not the case Professor Timo Ojala is the co-
with MediaTeam. For example, the
founder and Director of MediaTeam.
original purpose of the UBI Program
According to Ojala it is becoming
was to make visible and permanent
increasingly important to be able
changes to the Oulu cityscape, and
to transfer research results from the
that is something we have definitely
laboratory to the actual environment.
achieved,” Professor Ojala relates.
“Internationally,
there
is
growing
interest on so-called ‘in the wild’ research.
It has become apparent
that theories and patterns developed in laboratories do not directly transfer to the real-life environment. By testing the theories in an authentic setting we are able to generate more reliable data on what actually works and what does not,” Professor Ojala says. Whereas others are only recently starting
to
emerge
from
the
laboratories, MediaTeam already has 15
15
UBI hotspot in use at the Oulu market square
16
//
MediaTeam Research Group 28.8.2012
17
Top row from left to right
Tommi Heikkinen, Arto Heikkinen, Mika Rautiainen, Eero Väyrynen, Vassilis Kostakos, Jani Ylioja, Tomi Juntunen, Tapio Seppänen, Fabio Kruger
Middle row from left to right
Ville Valkama, Mika Ylianttila, Timo Mäkinen, Pauli Paaso, Timo Ojala, Jorge Conçalves, Hannu Kukka, Erkki Harjula, Teijo Räty, Timo Koskela, Denzil Ferreira, Paavo Pokkinen
Bottom row from left to right
Tomas Lindén, Jouni Sarvanko, Toni Hakanen, Archana Ramalingam, Anja Keskinarkaus, Johanna Ylipulli, Tiina Suopajärvi, Daniele Zanni, Meirong Liu, Hannakaisa Aikio, Anu Pramila, Marika Leskelä
Missing from the photo
Toni Alatalo, Oleg Davidyuk, Simo Hosio, Marko Jurmu, Ilkka Juuso, Aki Mikkonen, Mikko Mäkelä, Pauli Närhi, Joonas Råman, Ossi Salmi, Jiehan Zhou
18
// 2. Open and Ubiquitous The phrase ”Ubiquitous Computing” was coined by Mark Weiser in 1988. In essence, ubiquitous computing, or pervasive computing, is a model of human-computer interaction where information processing is integrated into everyday objects and actions. The fundamental goal is to create an environment in which information processing is unobtrusive and easily accessible. Ideally, the environment understands the user’s social surroundings and reacts accordingly. It is not a virtual reality, but a hybrid reality where the physical world is augmented by effortless and open access to information.
19
The ambitious goal of MediaTeam research for the past ten years has been to realize Mark Weiser’s vision. In fact, MediaTeam has been doing this in a living lab environment, with actual users, to such an extent that anyone living in, or visiting, the city of Oulu will be hard-pressed to miss the impact the group has had in the cityscape.
20
panOULU
O
riginally, the panOULU open wireless network began as a research tool for the Rotuaari project, started in 2003.
In this project MediaTeam studied novel context-aware mobile
panOULU WLAN AP panOULU WSN ER
multimedia services. In order to test and develop these services the group needed access to a wireless local area network. However, a sufficiently capable WLAN connection could not be found from the Oulu city center, which prompted the researchers to construct their own network – a very open minded and daring solution.
The network has been extremely well-received in Oulu
Over
the
years,
the
city of Oulu and other partners joined in the network, and currently the network has well over a thousand base stations and roughly 3540 thousand users every month. The network is
free-to-use and accessible without separate user identification. Naturally, the network has been extremely well-received in Oulu. Professor Timo Ojala has closely followed the growth and popularity of the panOULU network: “When measuring societal impact, the panOULU network is our most important achievement by far. On a global scale, open networks like this are still very uncommon. There have been several interest group surveys regarding panOULU and 99.9 % of the feedback has been positive.”
panOULU BT AP
21
UBI Program
S
ome of the most visible aspects of Media Team work are the numerous UBI hotspots
stationed around the city of Oulu. These hotspots were first introduced in 2009 as part of the UbiCity project and serve both as one-way and interactive broadcasting platforms. These hotspots provide a vast variety of services including maps, news, bus schedules, event calendars and games. The UBI hotspots were built as a research tool for the UBI (UrBan Interactions) Research Program which studies urban computing and the interaction between urban spaces, humans and technology. Professor Timo Ojala is in charge of the UBI Program. “The purpose of the UBI Program is to conduct research on ubiquitous computing in an authentic environment and in that sense the program is a thematic successor to our Rotuaari project. What really sets the program apart is that we are systematically building a rich urban laboratory upon a versatile teleinformatic infrastructure which includes, for example: the panOULU network, the UBI hotspots, sensor and Bluetooth networks and many others aspects. No one else in the world has a similar infrastructure for research purposes – not to forget that it has a societal function as well,” Professor Ojala explains.
22
The UBI Program has brought Media Team a lot of international recognition and the group has remodeled is
the
way
conducted
by
professionals
from
research inviting across
to
world to experiment with the infrastructure. “The UBI Program has been noticed in the world, and we have a solid reputation as an authority on ubiquitous computing.
We
have
also
introduced certain unprecedented functions to the international field of research that are definitely noteworthy. We have hosted three one-week UBI Summer Schools that
of downtown Oulu.
In this project
international, and to achieve this we
systems. The next challenge was
have been very popular. In addition,
the UBI hotspots and the panOULU
have several different activities to
context-awareness, and now that
the international UBI Challenge 2011
network will be utilized to transgress
attract researchers from across the
this has been tackled, we are moving
was also an important contribution,”
the boundaries between physical and
globe.”
from one person systems to large
Ojala relates.
virtual worlds.
user group computing, to so-called Media Team is attuned to future
complex socio technical systems.
According to Professor Ojala, Media
developments
of
We are becoming more and more
Team has several ideas to develop the
ubiquitous computing and the UBI
interested in the behavior of the
he future of the UBI Program
UBI Program even further: “Currently,
Program is certain to evolve alongside
masses. One example of this is our
seems bright. Many new and
we are planning, together with the
them. Professor Ojala has followed
Urban Flows and Networks project
interesting projects have become
city of Oulu and the neighboring
the developments in this field closely:
which studies vehicle and pedestrian
part of the program. One such
municipalities, the regional expansion
“The first challenges in the field were
flows, as well as social networking in
project is NIMO, in which researchers
of the UBI infrastructure. Furthermore,
related to very basic communication
an urban environment.”
strive to create a 3D virtual model
we need to become even more
between
Future Developments
T
in
different
the
field
hardware
and
23
The UBI Program has been noticed in the world, and we have a solid reputation as an authority on ubiquitous computing // Prof. Timo Ojala
24
// 3. Future Internet
A
s more and more devices and users become connected, the stress on the online network architecture also increases. Despite this, communication has to remain swift and reliable. MediaTeam researchers have approached this challenge of international relevance by studying the varied aspects of the Future Internet. peer (P2P) technologies as well as the
The challenges of mobility were
growing machine-to-machine (M2M)
answered
ediaTeam has several topical
technologies. MediaTeam researchers
and
projects aimed at enhancing
have conducted valuable research on
mobile
both topics.
middleware development has been
Removing the Obstacles
M online
communication
and
infrastructure. The Future Internet project focuses on removing the obstacles that limit the construction of online infrastructure and services. This
is
achieved
by
improving
the router system health, internet security,
information
storage
and
delivery methods, and end-to-end connectivity. The network has to be constructed in a way which can handle both peer-to-
and
developing
appropriate
novel
middleware
for
“Research
on
platforms.
very productive by nature, and we
Peer-to-Peer
P
by
have been able to combine wireless technologies, different protocols and
rofessor
Mika
Ylianttila
has
focused his research on online multimedia
communications.
related applications – all in all, it is a very innovative platform,” Professor Ylianttila says.
He relates the early challenges of the field: “We had seen the growth of
MediaTeam was also eager to study
mobile technologies, and there was
the
talk of all communication becoming
The DECICOM project focused on
IP-based. That was the spirit of the
optimizing the usage of P2P networks
times.”
for application-level communication.
emerging
P2P
technologies.
We had a top-notch research consortium, including researchers and representatives from Nokia and Ericsson. During the project we truly witnessed the growth of P2P technologies and were able to develop many interesting realizations. // Prof. Mika Ylianttila
25
The Internet of Things
T
he expansion of the industry and partner network
brought
about
the
broader
challenge of scalability. “Around 2006-2007 our thematic started to concern the next stages of internet technology. During the past ten years the amount of online communication has exploded, which brought about the need for more efficient and reliable solutions, scalable up to hundreds of millions of users,” Professor Ylianttila says. The next stage of network evolution is the socalled “Internet of Things” where more and more machines and objects become connected. “During the past couple of years, a trend can be seen where different devices and sensors become part of the network. These Machine-to-Machine networks do not have a traditional end-user,” Professor Ylianttila relates. MediaTeam
is
involved
in
the
Mammoth
project, which focuses on M2M networks; more specifically, on the millions of sensor nodes that can be connected in them, and on the organizing of the information these nodes provide. In the future, such M2M metering systems will have more and more control over many everyday aspects of human life, such as water and electricity utilities and industry automation, which will stress the importance of reliability and efficiency.
26
// 4. Digital Watermarking
D
igital watermarking is a research area where MediaTeam truly has an internationally unique position. MediaTeam is currently one of the leading research groups on digital watermarking in its subfield.
27
P
rofessor
Tapio
Seppänen
leads MediaTeam research on
Information
Hiding: “In
essence,
Digital Watermarking is the act of hiding additional information, within digital media content. We can, for example, insert hidden information to a digital image by manipulating the values of the individual pixels. This information is not visible to the human eye, but can be extracted with specific algorithms. Similarly, we can hide information in an
audio file, or in fact, almost any type
domain digital rights management,
that, even though making scientific
of digital format.”
the main research focus is on value
publications
adding services: “The watermark
we also want to create something
could, for example, include a link
directly applicable. One example is
to a webpage where one could find
our work on digital watermarking
additional information related to the
of printed media. An image with
artist, or purchase similar products,”
digitally
Professor Seppänen says.
printed out. We proceed to pick out
Imperceptible, Robust and Capacious
W
hen
asked
about
the
current challenges in Digital
Watermarking, Professor Seppänen
is
hidden
important
work,
information
is
the watermark with a mobile phone
names three: “The hidden content
Latest developments in this field have
camera, and in fact, we are one of
has to stay hidden, which means that
ensured MediaTeam’s expert status
the few groups in the world that
we strive to make it as imperceptible
on Information Hiding technologies.
can successfully demonstrate this,”
as possible, so as to not distort the
Digital Watermarking of Speech and
Professor Seppänen says.
actual product. The watermark has
Holograms project concerned topics
to be robust against attacks from
that
hackers, especially when dealing
in
with copyright information. Finally, there is always call for more capacity,
holographic image processing and
can vary, and we may not even
the more information we can hide
solidified the research on area of
know the exact location of the
the better.”
speech watermarking.
watermark, and yet our technology
Value Adding Information
Watermarking of Printed Media
W
hile
certain
applications
practical for
Digital
Watermarking were found from the
untouched
The challenges related to this project
scientific
are substantial: “The camera can
community. MediaTeam researched
be held freehand, the lightning
were the
“T
practically international
can acquire the hidden content. The same applies to audio files; we can discern the watermark with a mobile phone microphone, despite a noisy
he
fundamental
behind
our
idea
research
is
background,” elaborates.
Professor
Seppänen
28
// 5. Language and Speech Technologies
R
esearch in the field of Language and Speech Technologies is another fine example of the multidisciplinary nature of MediaTeam’s work. Through the years, MediaTeam has worked with experts from a wide range of disciplines to answer the challenges of human-computer interaction.
Professor Tapio Seppänen is leading
conducting research on emotion
the research in this field: “By its very
recognition of the speech signal,”
nature, this type of research has to
Professor Seppänen explains.
be multidisciplinary and multimodal. It is a challenge that engineers alone
“We
are ill-equipped to answer.”
technologies
and
try
to
conclusions
on
the
speaker’s
Emotion Recognition
“C
use
different
observational draw
emotional status. By measuring and analyzing data gathered in this way,
urrently
we
are
focused
on the calculation of the
we can influence the way the machine operates.
Plausible
The Real Environment
features,
and,
should
the
need
arise, offer different related services
M
ediaTeam is advocating the
proactively,”
current tendency to move
relates.
Professor
Seppänen
the research to more natural settings, away from the laboratories. “This creates a whole new level of difficulty, as the content and prosody of naturally occurring speech is always contextual,” Seppänen describes.
The next natural step for Artificial Intelligence
technologies
is
the
ability to automatically understand and process the emotional behavior of human beings. In the words of Professor Seppänen: “The topic is
applications
acoustic-phonetic features of spoken
could be found, for example, from
However, the authentic environment
extremely challenging, and no doubt
language, and on the applications
the
game
also provides many new potential
there is work to be done for tens, if
that can be derived from it. The
industry, or from more general work
research topics, such as the intelligent
not hundreds of years. We are getting
actual content of the speech does not
done towards enhancing human-
environment: “Such an environment
there, step by step.”
interest us as much as the prosody
computer
could
of it. For a while now, we have been
Seppänen explains.
medical
domain,
interactions,”
the
Professor
monitor
interpersonal
communications and their prosodic
29
“
The topic is extremely challenging, and no doubt there is work to be done for tens, if not hundreds of years. We are getting there, step by step // Prof. Tapio Seppänen
30
// 6. Content-based Information Retrieval
O
rganizing and searching multimedia databases through manual metadata, such as tag-words, quickly becomes challenging as the amount of content grows. To counter this effect information can be searched and indexed with the actual semantic content of the media.
31
Content-based information retrieval allows the
applications which rely on semantic knowledge
user to search multimedia data based on the
processing. This technology is used in content
content objects with the help of computational
recommendation applications, where users are
interpretation and pattern recognition.
assisted to discover new and relevant content effortlessly with computational methods.
Online Solutions
M
Scoping Future Topics ediaTeam has researched ways to close the so-called ‘semantic gap’ which exists
between low-level computable features such as
D
Mika
Rautiainen
describes
the
advantages of content-based information “Content-based
includes
the
but
the web, which scans Finnish television channels
objects, actions and feelings, which are difficult to
and allows the user to search for programs based on
compute. Closing this gap allows for more effective
their content. The user can search for any programs
searching, and has been the focus in projects such
that mention the word ‘theatre’ and the results will
as Semantic Gap, Vikings and CBIR. These projects
show all the programs which contain this word, and
helped to accumulate knowledge on multimedia
if these programs are viewable on the web. Being able to create something as directly
retrieval:
rich,
novel television program search engine on
color histograms, and high-level features, such as
information retrieval systems.
Content is King octor
O
ne tangible application is the Kuukkeli-TV, a
information
computational
unstructured
retrieval
management
information.
of
Through
the computational management we can make this unstructured data better suited for different applications.” Rautiainen illustrates this with an example: “–In Youtube we can find videos based
Currently, the research focus is on scalability and
applicable and scalable as Kuukkeli-TV requires an
online
solutions
understanding of future trends, as well as a sound
is central since computational resources have
theoretical foundation of multimedia information
become a commodity on the Internet. Scalability
retrieval. Dr. Rautiainen is confident that in the
allows automatic content interpretation to become
future MediaTeam will remain open to new
available for broad spectrum of applications. The
challenges and topics: “The goal of the research
greatest challenges are establishing solutions
is to probe five or ten years in to the future. It is
that work with growing multimedia collections
satisfying to see results and discoveries made years
and creation of value adding features for online
back become part of everyday human life. Certainly
applications,” Rautiainen explains.
MediaTeam will be able to position itself around
solutions. “Creating
scalable
on the title and description, but not based on the
evolving research challenges and establish global
actual objects that appear in them. We have enough
The latest project on the subject, Adaptive Content
content already, we need to improve relevance
Delivery Cluster, focuses on creating an online
next.”
content delivery cluster with a focus on user-aware
status as an expert on information technology.”
32
// 7. The Early Years
T
he year is 1997. Two young researchers, Timo Ojala and Jaakko Sauvola, have just defended their doctoral theses and gained valuable experience working in a research group called Machine Vision and Media Processing, led by Professor Matti Pietikäinen in the University of Oulu. The two men discovered a void of research on multimedia processing and intelligent networking in Finland, and it quickly became apparent to them that to answer the needs of this emerging academic field, as well as those of the growing industry, a separate group would need to be established — one which would gather experts of multimedia, mobility, and intelligent networks under one roof.
28
a way which would
The
promote team work
Telephony Integration
watermarking.
A
Ojala and Sauvola were joined by Tapio
and openness. “The
(CTI) team studied
notable
of
Seppänen who now leads MediaTeam
traditional
the
of
the team’s work is the
research on Digital Watermarking and, in
organization
is
distributed processing
Duchess wireless 4G
1997, a separate Media Processing Team
structured around a
and ubiquitous service
office concept.
was born within the Machine Vision and
guru-professor
who
access, with a specific
Media Processing research group. In its
has a collection of
focus on added-value
The
Mobile
present form, MediaTeam came in to
subordinates
elements in a network
Information
Systems
environment.
(MIS) team studied
Natural Evolution
academic
ranging
existence in 1999 when the MVMP group
from post-docs and
was split into two independent units:
doctoral thesis students
Machine Vision Group and MediaTeam. Professor Ojala sees the founding of MediaTeam as a natural part of the evolution of the academic environment: “The short-term goal of many young doctors is to set up their own research group. This also serves to rejuvenate the academia, as it is neither feasible nor
research
Multimedia
We
assistants. decided
to
and
example
Content-based Retrieval
(CMR)
IP-based services
multimedia and
system
team
architectures. The team
among
developed the Princess
consciously challenge
developed,
this model through a
other
low hierarchy and our
Vikings content-based
which
so-called
multimedia
retrieval
unique ability to adapt
competence
projects,
for
mobile service platform included
the
movie
to the user’s terminal device and network
databases.
type.
five competence teams
The Media Telephony
The Multimedia Signal
which
represented
(MET) team studied
Processing (MSP) team
different focus areas of
IPT protocols, media
focused
the overall theme of
conferencing,
watermarking,
networked multimedia.
streaming
was organized around
system
the
and sound recording
teams,” Ojala says. Originally, MediaTeam
structure of the group was designed in
management
multimodal and mobile
all the way down to
docs in already established groups.”
From the very start, the organization
challenges
The
practical for them all to remain as post-
Competence Teams
Computer
and media
conducted
on
digital and
important
33
34
35
36
37
One of the strengths of the research group is the ability to see beyond purely academic achievements
research
both
on
Digital
Rights
the research group is the ability to see
finalized realizations ended up in the
It is safe to say that this change of
Management and digitally hidden value-
beyond purely academic achievements.
Nokia portfolio. This kind of work can
priorities has paid off. The research
adding information.
Practical applications, new business
be very rewarding and enlightening for a
has reached the theoretical core of
or job opportunities, and technology
young researcher.”
the discipline, and the personnel, are
Changing Interests
academically more distinguished than
enablers are some of the benefits gained from embracing applied research.
New Themes
were replaced with a structure based on
The
Commissioned research is now a thing
separate research projects. According to
conducting
research
of the past for MediaTeam, and the
Professor Ojala, this was done to better
projects for the industry, and although
focus is firmly on basic level research,
reflect the changed priorities of the field:
currently MediaTeam has moved on
which has brought with it recognition
A lot has changed in the industry and
“It was a natural reaction we needed
from this type of work, Professor Ojala
from
scientific
academia in fifteen years, but many of
in order to make everyday operations
does not downplay the importance of
community. This success can largely be
the MediaTeam ideals have persisted. As
more fluent. In addition, some of the
industry-funded research for the young
contributed to the new research themes
before, experts from all over the world
research themes these competence teams
group: “Long-term resource allocation is
MediaTeam chose to pursue in the mid
and from a wide variety of disciplines
were organized around did not prove to
a challenge for many young groups, and
2000s. MediaTeam’s research topics have
are still working under one roof, the
commissioned research did give us more
noticeably shifted from multimedia
research is applicable in the society, and
leeway. Some of the realizations we made
communication and signal processing to
the spirit of team work is more respected
for Nokia and Sonera, for example,
ubiquitous computing. This shift can be
than ever before.
were huge. Some of these polished and
seen in all the focus areas and projects.
In 2001, the five competence teams
remain entirely relevant over the years.” This change of priorities reflected in the nature of research conducted in MediaTeam. One of the strengths of
{
early
years
saw
MediaTeam
commissioned
the
ever before. The same can be said of
international
the publication forums. MediaTeam is intent on continuing this development in the future as well.
The research has reached the theoretical core of the discipline, and the personnel, are academically more distinguished than ever before
{
38
// 8. Selected Publications 2013:
Liu M, Koskela T, Ou Z, Zhou J, Riekki J & Ylianttila M (2011). Super-Peer-based Coordinated Service Provision. Journal of Network and Computer Applications
Koskela T, Kassinen O, Harjula E & Ylianttila M (2013). P2P Group Management
34(4): 1210-1224
Systems: A Conceptual Analysis. ACM Computing Surveys, to appear. Ojala T, Kukka H, Heikkinen T, Lindén T, Jurmu M, Hosio S & Kruger F (2011).
2012:
Engaging citizens and community with the UBI-hotspots. Foth M, Forlano L, Gibbs M & Satchell C (eds.) From Social Butterfly to Engaged Citizen – Urban
Ojala T, Kostakos V, Kukka H, Heikkinen T, Lindén T, Jurmu M, Hosio S, Kruger F
Informatics, Social Media, Ubiquitous Computing and Mobile Technology to
& Zanni D (2012). Multipurpose interactive public displays in the wild: Three years
Support Citizen Engagement, MIT Press, 335-352.
later. Computer 45(5):42-49.
2010: Kukka H, Kostakos V, Ojala T, Ylipulli J, Suopajärvi T, Jurmu M & Hosio S (2012). This is not classified: everyday information seeking and encountering in smart
Hosio S, Jurmu M, Kukka H, Riekki J & Ojala T (2010). Supporting distributed
urban spaces. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, online first.
private and public user interfaces in urban environments. Proc. 11th Workshop on Mobile Computing Systems and Applications (HotMobile 2010), Annapolis, MD,
Hosio S, Kostakos V, Kukka H, Jurmu M, Riekki J & Ojala T (2012). From school food
USA, 25-30. (Best Presentation Award)
to skate parks in a few clicks: Using public displays to bootstrap civic engagement of the young. Proc. 10th International Conference on Pervasive Computing
Hosio S, Kukka H, Riekki J (2010). Social Surroundings: Bridging the Virtual and
(Pervasive 2012), Newcastle, UK, 425-442.
Physical Divide. IEEE MultiMedia 17 (2), 26 - 33.
2011:
Linden T, Heikkinen T, Ojala T, Kukka H & Jurmu M (2010). Web-based framework for spatiotemporal screen real estate management of interactive public displays.
Dey A, Wac K, Ferreira D, Tassini K, Hong J-H, Ramos J (2011). Getting closer:
Proc. 19th International World Wide Web Conference (WWW 2010), Raleigh, NC,
an empirical investigation of the proximity of user to their smart phones. Proc
USA, 1277-1280.
UbiComp ‘11 Proceedings of the 13th international conference on Ubiquitous computing, September 17-21, Beijing, China, 163-172
Ojala T (2010). Case studies on context-aware mobile multimedia services. Journal on Digital Information Management 8(1):3-14.
39
Z. Ou, E. Harjula, O. Kassinen, M. Ylianttila (2010). “Performance Evaluation of
2005:
a Kademlia-based Communication-oriented P2P System under Churn”, Elsevier Journal of Computer Networks, The International Journal of Computer and
Scheible J & Ojala T (2005). MobiLenin - Combining a multi-track music
Telecommunications Networking, ISSN: 1389-1286, Vol 54 (5): 689-705, 2010.
video, personal mobile phones and a public display into multi-user interactive
2009: Scheible J and Ojala (2009). MobiSpray: Mobile phone as a virtual spray can for
entertainment. Proc. ACM Multimedia 2005, Singapore, 199-208. Best Arts Paper Award.
2004:
painting BIG anytime anywhere on anything. ACM SIGGRAPH 2009 E. Harjula, M. Ylianttila, J. Ala-Kurikka, J. Riekki, J. Sauvola (2004). “Plug-andJ. Zhou, Z. Ou, M. Rautiainen, T. Koskela, M. Ylianttila (2009). “Digital Television
Play Application Platform: Towards Mobile Peer-to-Peer”, in the Proceedings of the
for Mobile Devices”, IEEE Multimedia, ISSN: 1070-986X, Vol.16., No.1 (2009), pp.60-
3rd International conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous multimedia (MUM2004),
71.
College Park, Maryland, USA, October 2004, pp. 63-69.
2008:
Aalto L, Göthlin N, Korhonen J & Ojala T (2004). Bluetooth and WAP Push based
Scheible J, Ojala T & Coulton P (2008). MobiToss: A novel gesture based interface for creating and sharing mobile multimedia art on large public displays. Proc. ACM International Conference on Multimedia 2008, October 27-31, Vancouver,
location-aware mobile advertising system. Proc. Second International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications and Services, Boston, MA, 49 - 58.
2002:
Canada, 957-960.
2007: Hosio S, Kawsar F, Riekki J & Nakajima T (2007). Utilizing Everyday Artefacts for Content Sharing. Proc. 9th International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp 2007), 16-19 September, Innsbruck, Austria, 204-207
Ojala T, Pietikäinen M & Mäenpää T (2002). Multiresolution gray-scale and rotation invariant texture classification with Local Binary Patterns. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence 24(7):971 - 987.
40
// 9. Acknowledgments Public Funding Bodies Academy of Finland European Regional Development Fund
Capricode
Koillismaan Yrityspalvelukeskus
CCC
Kutalab
Center for Economic Development, Transport and
Leiki
the Environment of Northern Ostrobothnia Information Society Technologies (IST) Programme City of Oulu Infotech Oulu Digia Regional Council of Lapland Elektrobit Group State Provincial Office of Oulu Embuzz Tekes Ericsson
Industrial Partners Futurice AGM Lab Galaxo Basari Mobile Hantro BCE HPC Project Bluegiga Technologies IBM BMG Finland Icecom Brieftec Joulupukki-TV BULL Jutel Business Oulu KEWEGO
Liidea Ltd Movial NetHawk Neusoft Mobile Solutions Nokia Nokia Internet Communications Nokia Mobile Phones Nokia Networks OBP Research OPOY/Finnet Group Oulu Business Coalition Oulu Innovation Palko Interactive Pohjolan Mylly
41
Pro Display
Vaasan Läänin Puhelin
Interactive Institute (Sweden)
Renesas Mobile
Viestimaa
LAMP Laboratory (University of Maryland, USA)
RESONATE Mp4
Yomi
Ludvig-Maximilians Universität (LMU) Munich
Sanoma Entertainment
Yritys-Sampo
Luleå University of Technology
Scandinavian A1 Music
Research cooperation
National Science Foundation of China
Sensinode
Aalto University
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Serv-IT
Beijing University of Posts and
University of Art and Design Helsinki (TAIK)
Sesca Innovations Sofia Digital
Telecommunications Centre for Wireless Communication, University of
University of Bergen University of Central Lancashire
Oulu University of Lapland
Starcke Centre Henri Tudor
University of Linköping
Sun Microsystems Columbia University
University of Manchester
Swelcome Department of Information Studies, University of Symbicon
Oulu
University of Technology (Aalto)
Targetor
Helsinki Insitute for Information Technology
University of Turku
TeliaSonera Finland
(HIIT)
VTT Electronics
There Corporation
Information Technology Laboratory (NIST, USA)
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
Thomson Video Networks
Institut Telecom
Waseda University
Intelligent Systems Group, University of Oulu
42
MediaTeam timeline of projects and milestones Media processing team founded 1/97 Idir project started
-97
1/2000 Content-based Mobile Multimedia Retrieval project started 6/2000 Vikings project started 6/2000 Red Skins project started 12/2000 CTI project concluded 12/2000 Distributed Media Processing in Hybrid Networks project concluded 12/2000 Countess project concluded
-00
The structure of the research group is re-organized into six competence groups 2/2001 The MFO Showroom organized in Tietomaa 2/2001 Princess project concluded 8/2001 Semantic Gap project started
-01
2/2004 Application SuperNetworking (All-IP) project started 2/2004 Stego project concluded 3/2004 mGain project concluded 7/2004 Semantic Gap project concluded 11/2004 participation in the Oulu Expo exhibition with the future video browser 12/2004 CAPNET Spearhead & Techonology Enablers projects concluded
-04
Cti project started 1/98 Princess project started 3/98 Distributed media processing in hybrid networks project started 6/98
-98
Machine vision and media processing unit is divided into two groups. Media team and machine vision group are founded. Duchess project started 1/99 Countess project started 1/99 1/99 Cooperative research on computer vision project started and concluded (12/99) IDIR project concluded 12/99
-99
Stardust project started 1/2002 CAPNET Spearhead & Technology Enablers projects started 1/2002 Stego project started 3/2002 Duchess project concluded 3/2002 mGain project started 9/2002 MUM 2002 conference organized 12/2002 Content-based Mobile Multimedia Retrieval project concluded 12/2002
-02
Prosody of Emotions project started 1/2002 CBIR project started 1/2003 The MFO Showroom dismantled 3/2003 Vikings project concluded 5/2003 Red Skins project concluded 5/2003 Rotuaari project started 6/2003
-03
43
1/2005 CAPNET Challenger & Experiments projects started 3/2005 Stardust project concluded 6/2005 Zirion project started 7/2005 Mobile Fair Diary service offered during the national housing fair in Oulu 10/2005 PanOulu project started
-05
5/2008 UbiCity project started 8/2008 Zirion project concluded
-08
1/2009 PSC project started 6/2009 ExpeShare project concluded 6/2009 1st Open Ubiquitous Oulu Seminar in Oulu, Finland 9/2009 UbiLife project concluded 10/2009 RealUbi project started
-09
1/2011 UBI Metrics project started 4/2011 Future Internet project started 5/2011 3rd Open Ubiquitous City Seminar in Oulu 5/2011 2nd International UBI Summer School 2011 6/2011 NIMO project started 7/2011 Mammoth project started 9/2011 RealUbi project concluded 12/2011 PSC project concluded
-11
Rotuaari project concluded 5/2006 CBIR project concluded 12/2006 Prosody of Emotions project concluded 12/2006
-06
Digital Watermarking of Speech and Holograms project started 1/2007 Application SuperNetworking (All-IP) project concluded 2/2007 CAPNET Challenger & Experiments projects concluded 2/2007 ExpeShare project started 4/2007 DECICOM project started 5/2007 UbiLife project started 6/2007 CAM4Home project started 8/2007 MUM 2007 conference organized to celebrate 10 years of multimedia research 12/2007 12/2007 PanOulu project concluded Ubi-program started
-07
UBI Anthropos project started 1/2010 UFN project started 1/2010 Next Media project started 2/2010 The national UBI Challenge 2010 (UBI-haaste 2010) was opened 2/2010 CAM4Home project concluded 4/2010 The 2nd Open Ubiquitous City Seminar 5/2010 The 1st International UBI Summer School 5/2010 ACDC project started 6/2010 Organized the inaugural UBI Oulu Forum in Oulu 6/2010 DECICOM project concluded 7/2010 Organized the UBI Challenge Workshop 2010 9/2010 Contributed to the organization of the Oulu Open Hack 11/2010 Digital Watermarking of Speech and Holograms project concluded 12/2010 Next Media project concluded 12/2010 Installation of the PanOulu WSN network Kuukkeli-tv released The 1st International Open Ubiquitous City Challenge 2010-2011
-10 Future Internet project concluded 3/2012 UbiCity project concluded 3/2012 4th International Open Ubiquitous City Seminar 2012 in Oulu 5/2012 3rd International UBI Summer School 2012 in Oulu 5-6/2012
-12
ISBN 978-951-42-9969-8