TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY AND MULTIMEDIA
Connectivity, the Key to Multimedia
our environment in other words, to
develop an interaction between the
The
term
connectivity
is
hardly
individual and their surroundings. The
unfamiliar: we define it as the capacity
goal then becomes to make space an
of a program or device to connect with
interface where content that adapts to
other programs or devices; internet
the activity taking place in that space
networks and wireless phones bring it to
can be projected.
mind. Essentially, connectivity allows us
Interactivity in real time is used to
to connect with each other.
achieve this goal: by means of sensors,
As
with
all
technologies,
we
are
we are able to detect a persons
constantly searching to push the limits
movements
and to find innovative ways to integrate
transcribe them in the surrounding
it
Whereas
environment. A master controller, as with
dialogue
interactive
into
our
interactivity
between
daily
allows
human
lives.
for
and
machine,
or
emotions
projects,
is
and
no
to
longer
in
required; here, the activity in the space
contrast, connectivity gathers, links and
itself determines the projected actions.
connects us, no matter where we are.
In other words, thanks to connectivity,
launching
In 2015, we expect to see an even
greater flourishing in the connectivity
trend.
Connectivity in Public Spaces
How do we connect people who are
an
experience
is
not
dependent upon a person to press a
button: it is the space surrounding us,
installed
with
sensors,
that
reacts
according to what we are doing.
Case of the Los Angeles Airport (LAX)
already connected? Having achieved
Cognisant that connectivity could be the
so-called human connectivity, the next
key
challenge is to extend connectivity to
innovation
for
many
future
multimedia projects, Moment Factory
scalability issues and has contributed to
has experimented with it in various
the rise of content delivery network
(CDN) providers (e.g. Akamai, Level3)
installations.
which provide the necessary server
Take, for example, our Tom Bradley
infrastructure to fan-out the unicast
International Terminal project at the Los
streams. Unicast DASH-like streaming
Angeles Airport, where the ambient
imagery
changes
according
to
passengers destinations. The digital
of to-days encoded multimedia content
works well in wireless access networks
since content recovery mechanisms for
unicast flows are operational. However,
artwork on the pillars is connected to the
during live streaming events where
airport
many users within the same wireless
data
system
and
regularly
changes to reflect outbound flights.
domain
Real-time video and sound effects are
known as flash crowds (e.g. sport
triggered by passenger movements,
events, conferences, news broadcasts),
sending passengers on their way with a
personal touch of high-tech magic.
request
the
same
stream,
unicast applied for broadcasting struggle
to utilize network resources, which often
lead to long delays and poor quality of
delivered content. As client devices
continue to improve their ability to
consume high quality video and audio
Streaming infrastructure
(as well as improve in capturing at high
Video and audio streaming has been
quality)
around for a decade and infrastructure
wireless
technology
towards
desirable. Multicast technology is in
chunk based unicast streaming over
principle promising, but has to-day still
network
protocols
many issues related to current media
(HTTP/TCP). The Dynamic Adaptive
encoding standards and wireless access
Streaming over HTTP (DASH) standard
point
has been available since 2011, a
streaming
(P2PLS)
is
standard developed based on earlier
supported
by
fresh
protocols from Adobe (RTMP), Apple
standard. P2PLS can reduce the need
(HLS)
for CDN support, but will not likely help
Unicast
has
converged
transport
and
Microsoft
streaming
(Silverlight).
has
obvious
more
efficient
resources
functionality.
the
is
utilisation
very
much
Peer-to-peer
on
of
live
rise,
WebRTC
much with flash crowd challenges.
additional installed software in clients. It
Hence live streaming of high quality
seems though that the standards aim for
multimedia content in crowded settings
is still to be handled properly in the
future.
medium to low audio-visual quality. They
will support negotiation for high quality
media streams, but it remains to be
seen if any of the popular browser will
implement support for such streams.
Generating Content in Real Time
The
none-commercial
musical
collaborations tools applied by UNINETT
Another major trend this year is the
during
diversion of different types of software
standardized
for use in multimedia projects.
potential improvement of these openly
At
Moment
Factory,
the
software
program Unity, originally intended for
video games, is used to create 3D
content in real time. When connected to
another
software
program,
Touch
Designer, and sensors are activated, the
program content is projected into space.
The people present and living this
experience become, just like in video
games, characters in their environment.
The content we are talking about is
therefore live, and connected to a
database.
experimentation
signalling
lacks
support.
available tools is to add WebRTC based
signalling and media transport. However
keeping end-to-end delay to a minimum
may turn out to be challenging. Good
news with respect to delay is the
growing availability of fast cameras,
displays
and
consumer
projectors.
interface
Popular
standards
like
HDMI, DVI and USB now support bitrates which enable image and audio
capture
at
such
high
frame-rates,
frequencies and resolutions that the
inevitable buffering in the devices goes
close
to
unnoticed.
Consumer
The advent of the WebRTC/rtcweb
standards also imply consumer products
standards has already enable new
which again imply lower investment
browser
cost.
base
collaboration
tools,
without the need for plug-ins or other
of sweat and to provide
tracking of a person's health.
Wearable Technology
As regards wearable technologies, 2015
will
continue where 2014 left off.
Technological objects will be revisited
and improved with the aim of facilitating
the everyday. One very obvious trend in
wearable technologies
will
be
the
smartwatch, the intelligent watch that,
in addition to telling time, allows us to
remain connected and keep our hands
free.
Commercially
available
wearable
sensors, like the Fitbit and the Apple
Watch, track users' physical activities
and some vital signs, such as heart rate.
However, they do not provide data about
a user's health on a molecular level.
Now, scientists say "smart" wristbands
and headbands embedded with sweat
sensors could sync data wirelessly in
real time to smartphones using
Bluetooth.
Previously, studies of sweat largely
relied on perspiration collected off the
body in containers that was later
analyzed in a lab. Now, researchers
have devised a soft, flexible, wearable
sensor array to continuously monitor
changes in four molecular components
real-time
These devices might one day help
athletes track their performance and
enable doctors to continuously monitor
the health of their patients to better
personalize their medication, the
scientists said.
"This could help tell athletes to take
liquids or warn them they are going
through heat shock," Javey told Live
Science.
The invention uses five sensors to
simultaneously track levels of glucose,
lactate, sodium and potassium, as well
as skin temperature. This data is fed to
a flexible board of microchips that
processes these signals and uses
Bluetooth to wirelessly transmit data to a
smartphone. All of these electronics
could be incorporated into either a
wristband or headband.
3D Printing
When it comes to 3D printing, evolution
of printer technology is at the fore.
Refinements will be made to reduce
printing time and improve the quality of
printed objects.
One of this years important themes will
It can be seen in the throughput of
be improving and innovating the objects
printers, the quality of the finished
we became familiar with in 2014.We
product, and the range of materials. For
already mentioned it above, but will
enterprise 3D printers, more effort is
reiterate here: connectivity will be this
being put into quality assurance tools
years watchword, notably in relation to
that integrate into the printer itself, so
the appropriation of urban spaces by
the operator can be assured of the
multimedia projects. Moment Factory is
quality as the part is being made.
working hard to create future projects
that showcase these new trends, and
that will allow you to live experiences as
intensely as last year!
In 2015, we saw big advances in the
quality, speed, and abilities of 3D
printers. Although they have not quite
become
mainstream
yet,
it
seems
inevitable that new technology in 3D
printing will lead us to produce products
from prescription drugs to food to new
homes. To learn more about what we've
seen, and what's to come, TechRepublic
spoke
to
Pete
Basiliere,
Research
Director, Imaging and Print Services for
Gartner,
for
his
take
on
what's
happening in 3D printing.
How has 3D printing improved over
the last year?
What is stereolithography, and why
do
you
predict
it
will
become
increasingly important in 2016?
Stereolithography, or SLA, is a type of
additive manufacturing using layering.
The technology was invented 30 years
ago by Charles Hull, the founder of 3D
systems. We are forecasting very strong
growth
in
stereolithography.
Our
compound annual growth rate for SLA
from 2015-2019 is 85.5 %. A lot of the
growth comes in 2017, '18, '19, when
we'll
be
seeing
the
shipments.Carbon3D,
doubling
which
stereolithography (SLA),
of
uses
was
announced three months ago.
What about composite printing, using
multiple materials?
It's been one of the initiatives around 3D
technology, along with improving the
throughput, the quality, the range of
jetted has colors in it. It's like printing a
materials, and the size of the output. We
piece of paper. So you have additive
do have the ability to print multiple
color capabilities.
materials
with
extrusion
Boston,
If you've seen 3D figurines, whether it's
enables printing of a plastic-like nylon
a bride and groom or a sports player,
and
they're
technology.MarkForged,
in
fiberglass,
fiber. Voxel8 enables
carbon
extrusion
of
generally
technology.
printed
There's
with
that
Japanese
plastic like an ABS and conductive metal
company
material as well. Those are the products
Engineering using that technology and
that are on the market already. So while
has brighter colors than what's available
there may not be multiple materials,
now. Another company called MCOR
there are absolutely initiatives along
technologies, based in Ireland, prints 3D
those lines. Stratasys is a company that
with paper. The paper's actually printed
has the ability to print multiple colors of
as the paper is fed into the device. The
the
brightest
same
materials
using
jetting
called Mimaki
most
vibrant
colors
are
technology.
available with MCOR's technology.
What about colors? Are 3D printers
Has the price point changed much
getting better at that?
over the last year? Will 3D printing
become more affordable?
Most of the technologies print in one
color. There are a couple of exceptions.
We
One is binder jetting, a technology
enterprise and consumer printers. In the
developed
first
consumer market, there are numerous,
commercialized by Z Corporation, a
tens of hundreds of manufacturers of 3D
company
subsequently
printers worldwide that are trying to sell
acquired by 3D Systems. Binder jetting
printers to consumers costing under
technology is basically laying down a
$1000. Companies are aggressively
light plaster material and jet it as if it was
lowering the price point for those
a piece of paper. That binder ink that is
devices. In the enterprise realm, I don't
by
that
MIT
was
and
have
to
distinguish
between
see as much of a price decline as the
The most exciting thing I'm seeing is the
improvements in quality. Rather than
rapid advance in metal 3D printing
reducing the cost of the printer, they're
where we take a powdered 3D metal
adding
via
and are using that to do more than
throughput, materials, better quality. In
prototyping, to do a wider range of
the enterprise field, you may see lower
finished
cost entry level machines come into the
comes the challenge of making sure that
market, but we won't see a significant
a part can perform well when it's made
decline in price because there are
with 3D printing, hence the interest in
improvements in quality, performance,
quality assurance tools. With metals
and range of materials.
comes the ability to do more medical
value
to
that
printer
goods.
With
that
potential
implants than we have today. While
What are the most innovative 3D
there are some very complex parts and
printing companies today?
it can be labor and cost-intensive to
MarkForge
and
Voxel8,
startup
companies, are definitely innovators. It's
a tough question. There are companies,
along with research institutions and
laboratories, that are innovating at every
level, so it's hard to say whether one is
more
innovative
than
another.
But
companies like MarkForge, Voxel8, and
Carbon3D
who
are
pushing
the
envelope, absolutelyand they're also
startups.
produce with traditional technologies,
used by the aerospace, automotive, and
a wide range of other industries, oil and
gas and so forth. So with those
advances come the need ofnot only
improvements in the technology and
quality assurancebut also comes a
need for designers and engineers who
are trained in additive manufacturing
and know the design for building layer
on layer and learn about the capabilities
of the different devices. So we need to
What do you see for the future of 3D
have more and more people coming out
printing?
of school and the military that are
What's
excited about?
are
you
most
versed in designing for 3D printing.
What's the coolest thing a 3D printer
can make?
Personally, the most exciting part of 3D
printing is in medical devices. It's
absolutely life-altering. Things like hip
implants, dental implants, hearing aids.
But we're also seeing, in the realm of
bioprinting, dissolvable materials that
are already printed and put into monthold children in order to overcome an
issue the child was born with.
Medical devices are the most exciting
and life-altering benefit and opportunity
for 3D printing.Pete Basiliere
The other component is prosthetics.
While 3D printing offers opportunities to
improve prosthetic devices, one of the
greatest and most exciting parts is when
we take a low-cost 3D printer that may
only print with material extrusion, that
printer is taken to a less-developed
country, and there, people who have
had no access to prostheses now can
have inexpensive prosthetic limbs made
for them with very inexpensive 3D
printer. I wear 3D printed hearing aid
shells. So for me, medical devices are
the most exciting and life-altering benefit
and opportunity for 3D printing.
Multimedia Systems Design
and Development
Prepared by:
Ria L. Castillo
Submitted to:
Prof. Francis G. Balason
