TRACTION brings the Co-Creation Stage

to IEEE BMSB 2022

Photograph by Joaquim Dâmaso – SAMP

The scientific and technological research in TRACTION, mainly represented by Vicomtech, CWI and DCU, has had a very relevant presence at the IEEE International Symposium on Broadband Multimedia Systems and Broadcasting hosted in Bilbao from the 15th to the 17th of June of 2022.

In particular, the Co-Creation Stage has raised interest within the research community as a web-based tool to orchestrate media content to enable distributed, co-located and participatory performances.

On the 15th of June, on behalf of Mohammed Togou (DCU), Anderson Simiscuka (DCU) presented a research paper called “An Elastic DASH-based Bitrate Adaptation Scheme for Smooth On-Demand Video Streaming”. Since the Co-Creation Stage needs to orchestrate live events, including delivery of on-demand video, DCU proposed a new adaptive pre-recorded multimedia delivery algorithm which maximizes the efficiency of bandwidth usage while minimising the fluctuations across representations of varyied quality that could affect the experience of a remote performance.

On the 16th of June, Gabriel-Miro Muntean (DCU) gave a keynote talk focused on an exciting topic related to the need for media adaptation, as is the case with the Co-Creation Stage. In his presentation “Can We Support High Quality Rich Media Content when Delivered in Current Network Environment?”, Gabriel did an overview of the current trends in media distribution towards better quality, 360-degree videos, immersive content and the relevance of extending media adaptation towards live and on-demand FoV (Field-of-View) media adaptation.

Related to this last topic, on the same day, Anderson Simiscuka (DCU) presented the research paper “An Evaluation of 360° Video and Audio Quality in an Artistic-Oriented Platform”. He showed user tests with 24 participants, in order to understand the requirements for new immersive media adaptation algorithms.

On the 17th of June, Mikel Zorrilla (Vicomtech) provided a keynote on “Orchestration of Next-generation XR Media Services”. His talk reviewed the role of the orchestration in media services, such as those supported by the TRACTION Co-Creation Stage, to understand the challenges and translate those to future media scenarios: collaborative multi-user and multi-sensory XR experiences. Mikel analysed the adaptation and responsiveness challenges of XR applications while exploring the role of 5G – and beyond – technologies in the orchestration.

Finally, Mikel Zorrilla (Vicomtech) also presented the research paper “Experimenting with distributed participatory performing art experiences”. In this collaboration between Vicomtech and CWI, the manuscript presents the research, experimentation and evaluation of two open pilots performed with the Co-Creation Stage tool during 2021: one in the field of opera, performing a co-created work-in-progress between professionals led by SAMP and inmates, workers and relatives of a youth prison in Leiria; and another in the field of theatre, with an interactive and participatory theatre work performed by Utopian, where remote viewers could be part of the experience by interacting with the actors and influencing the narrative. Mikel presented the lessons learnt in the evaluation of these pilots through questionnaires and interviews with participants, audiences, and experts. All these lessons are being applied for the final performances of TRACTION in 2022.

In summary, it was the first time after the pandemic that the BMSB returned to the “traditional” format, even though some participants, particularly in China, attended it online. The conference hosted by UPV/EHU in Bilbao was a great success, and TRACTION has been very present with seven researchers from Vicomtech and DCU, making valuable contributions related to the challenges of the Co-Creation Stage tool.