Edge Video Analytics: A Survey on Applications, Systems and Enabling Techniques

Video, as a key driver in the global explosion of digital information, can create tremendous benefits for human society. Governments and enterprises are deploying innumerable cameras for a variety of applications, e.g., law enforcement, emergency management, traffic control, and security surveillance, all facilitated by video analytics (VA). This trend is spurred by the rapid advancement of deep learning (DL), which enables more precise models for object classification, detection, and tracking. Meanwhile, with the proliferation of Internet-connected devices, massive amounts of data are generated daily, overwhelming the cloud. Edge computing, an emerging paradigm that moves workloads and services from the network core to the network edge, has been widely recognized as a promising solution. The resulting new intersection, edge video analytics (EVA), begins to attract widespread attention. Nevertheless, only a few loosely-related surveys exist on this topic. The basic concepts of EVA (e.g., definition, architectures) were not fully elucidated due to the rapid development of this domain. To fill these gaps, we provide a comprehensive survey of the recent efforts on EVA. In this paper, we first review the fundamentals of edge computing, followed by an overview of VA. The EVA system and its enabling techniques are discussed next. In addition, we introduce prevalent frameworks and datasets to aid future researchers in the development of EVA systems. Finally, we discuss existing challenges and foresee future research directions. We believe this survey will help readers comprehend the relationship between VA and edge computing, and spark new ideas on EVA.Comment: 31 pages, 13 figure

End-to-end 3D video communication over heterogeneous networks

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Three-dimensional technology, more commonly referred to as 3D technology, has revolutionised many fields including entertainment, medicine, and communications to name a few. In addition to 3D films, games, and sports channels, 3D perception has made tele-medicine a reality. By the year 2015, 30% of the all HD panels at home will be 3D enabled, predicted by consumer electronics manufacturers. Stereoscopic cameras, a comparatively mature technology compared to other 3D systems, are now being used by ordinary citizens to produce 3D content and share at a click of a button just like they do with the 2D counterparts via sites like YouTube. But technical challenges still exist, including with autostereoscopic multiview displays. 3D content requires many complex considerations--including how to represent it, and deciphering what is the best compression format--when considering transmission or storage, because of its increased amount of data. Any decision must be taken in the light of the available bandwidth or storage capacity, quality and user expectations. Free viewpoint navigation also remains partly unsolved. The most pressing issue getting in the way of widespread uptake of consumer 3D systems is the ability to deliver 3D content to heterogeneous consumer displays over the heterogeneous networks. Optimising 3D video communication solutions must consider the entire pipeline, starting with optimisation at the video source to the end display and transmission optimisation. Multi-view offers the most compelling solution for 3D videos with motion parallax and freedom from wearing headgear for 3D video perception. Optimising multi-view video for delivery and display could increase the demand for true 3D in the consumer market. This thesis focuses on an end-to-end quality optimisation in 3D video communication/transmission, offering solutions for optimisation at the compression, transmission, and decoder levels.Brunel University - Isambard Research Scholarshi

Compression et transmission d'images avec énergie minimale application aux capteurs sans fil

Un réseau de capteurs d'images sans fil (RCISF) est un réseau ad hoc formé d'un ensemble de noeuds autonomes dotés chacun d'une petite caméra, communiquant entre eux sans liaison filaire et sans l'utilisation d'une infrastructure établie, ni d'une gestion de réseau centralisée. Leur utilité semble majeure dans plusieurs domaines, notamment en médecine et en environnement. La conception d'une chaîne de compression et de transmission sans fil pour un RCISF pose de véritables défis. L'origine de ces derniers est liée principalement à la limitation des ressources des capteurs (batterie faible , capacité de traitement et mémoire limitées). L'objectif de cette thèse consiste à explorer des stratégies permettant d'améliorer l'efficacité énergétique des RCISF, notamment lors de la compression et de la transmission des images. Inéluctablement, l'application des normes usuelles telles que JPEG ou JPEG2000 est éner- givore, et limite ainsi la longévité des RCISF. Cela nécessite leur adaptation aux contraintes imposées par les RCISF. Pour cela, nous avons analysé en premier lieu, la faisabilité d'adapter JPEG au contexte où les ressources énergétiques sont très limitées. Les travaux menés sur cet aspect nous permettent de proposer trois solutions. La première solution est basée sur la propriété de compactage de l'énergie de la Transformée en Cosinus Discrète (TCD). Cette propriété permet d'éliminer la redondance dans une image sans trop altérer sa qualité, tout en gagnant en énergie. La réduction de l'énergie par l'utilisation des régions d'intérêts représente la deuxième solution explorée dans cette thèse. Finalement, nous avons proposé un schéma basé sur la compression et la transmission progressive, permettant ainsi d'avoir une idée générale sur l'image cible sans envoyer son contenu entier. En outre, pour une transmission non énergivore, nous avons opté pour la solution suivante. N'envoyer fiablement que les basses fréquences et les régions d'intérêt d'une image. Les hautes fréquences et les régions de moindre intérêt sont envoyées""infiablement"", car leur pertes n'altèrent que légèrement la qualité de l'image. Pour cela, des modèles de priorisation ont été comparés puis adaptés à nos besoins. En second lieu, nous avons étudié l'approche par ondelettes (wavelets ). Plus précisément, nous avons analysé plusieurs filtres d'ondelettes et déterminé les ondelettes les plus adéquates pour assurer une faible consommation en énergie, tout en gardant une bonne qualité de l'image reconstruite à la station de base. Pour estimer l'énergie consommée par un capteur durant chaque étape de la 'compression, un modèle mathématique est développé pour chaque transformée (TCD ou ondelette). Ces modèles, qui ne tiennent pas compte de la complexité de l'implémentation, sont basés sur le nombre d'opérations de base exécutées à chaque étape de la compression

Discrete Wavelet Transforms

The discrete wavelet transform (DWT) algorithms have a firm position in processing of signals in several areas of research and industry. As DWT provides both octave-scale frequency and spatial timing of the analyzed signal, it is constantly used to solve and treat more and more advanced problems. The present book: Discrete Wavelet Transforms: Algorithms and Applications reviews the recent progress in discrete wavelet transform algorithms and applications. The book covers a wide range of methods (e.g. lifting, shift invariance, multi-scale analysis) for constructing DWTs. The book chapters are organized into four major parts. Part I describes the progress in hardware implementations of the DWT algorithms. Applications include multitone modulation for ADSL and equalization techniques, a scalable architecture for FPGA-implementation, lifting based algorithm for VLSI implementation, comparison between DWT and FFT based OFDM and modified SPIHT codec. Part II addresses image processing algorithms such as multiresolution approach for edge detection, low bit rate image compression, low complexity implementation of CQF wavelets and compression of multi-component images. Part III focuses watermaking DWT algorithms. Finally, Part IV describes shift invariant DWTs, DC lossless property, DWT based analysis and estimation of colored noise and an application of the wavelet Galerkin method. The chapters of the present book consist of both tutorial and highly advanced material. Therefore, the book is intended to be a reference text for graduate students and researchers to obtain state-of-the-art knowledge on specific applications

Towards Computational Efficiency of Next Generation Multimedia Systems

To address throughput demands of complex applications (like Multimedia), a next-generation system designer needs to co-design and co-optimize the hardware and software layers. Hardware/software knobs must be tuned in synergy to increase the throughput efficiency. This thesis provides such algorithmic and architectural solutions, while considering the new technology challenges (power-cap and memory aging). The goal is to maximize the throughput efficiency, under timing- and hardware-constraints

Review of Path Selection Algorithms with Link Quality and Critical Switch Aware for Heterogeneous Traffic in SDN

Software Defined Networking (SDN) introduced network management flexibility that eludes traditional network architecture. Nevertheless, the pervasive demand for various cloud computing services with different levels of Quality of Service requirements in our contemporary world made network service provisioning challenging. One of these challenges is path selection (PS) for routing heterogeneous traffic with end-to-end quality of service support specific to each traffic class. The challenge had gotten the research community\u27s attention to the extent that many PSAs were proposed. However, a gap still exists that calls for further study. This paper reviews the existing PSA and the Baseline Shortest Path Algorithms (BSPA) upon which many relevant PSA(s) are built to help identify these gaps. The paper categorizes the PSAs into four, based on their path selection criteria, (1) PSAs that use static or dynamic link quality to guide PSD, (2) PSAs that consider the criticality of switch in terms of an update operation, FlowTable limitation or port capacity to guide PSD, (3) PSAs that consider flow variabilities to guide PSD and (4) The PSAs that use ML optimization in their PSD. We then reviewed and compared the techniques\u27 design in each category against the identified SDN PSA design objectives, solution approach, BSPA, and validation approaches. Finally, the paper recommends directions for further research