Multimedia delivery in the future internet

The term “Networked Media” implies that all kinds of media including text, image, 3D graphics, audio and video are produced, distributed, shared, managed and consumed on-line through various networks, like the Internet, Fiber, WiFi, WiMAX, GPRS, 3G and so on, in a convergent manner [1]. This white paper is the contribution of the Media Delivery Platform (MDP) cluster and aims to cover the Networked challenges of the Networked Media in the transition to the Future of the Internet. Internet has evolved and changed the way we work and live. End users of the Internet have been confronted with a bewildering range of media, services and applications and of technological innovations concerning media formats, wireless networks, terminal types and capabilities. And there is little evidence that the pace of this innovation is slowing. Today, over one billion of users access the Internet on regular basis, more than 100 million users have downloaded at least one (multi)media file and over 47 millions of them do so regularly, searching in more than 160 Exabytes1 of content. In the near future these numbers are expected to exponentially rise. It is expected that the Internet content will be increased by at least a factor of 6, rising to more than 990 Exabytes before 2012, fuelled mainly by the users themselves. Moreover, it is envisaged that in a near- to mid-term future, the Internet will provide the means to share and distribute (new) multimedia content and services with superior quality and striking flexibility, in a trusted and personalized way, improving citizens’ quality of life, working conditions, edutainment and safety. In this evolving environment, new transport protocols, new multimedia encoding schemes, cross-layer inthe network adaptation, machine-to-machine communication (including RFIDs), rich 3D content as well as community networks and the use of peer-to-peer (P2P) overlays are expected to generate new models of interaction and cooperation, and be able to support enhanced perceived quality-of-experience (PQoE) and innovative applications “on the move”, like virtual collaboration environments, personalised services/ media, virtual sport groups, on-line gaming, edutainment. In this context, the interaction with content combined with interactive/multimedia search capabilities across distributed repositories, opportunistic P2P networks and the dynamic adaptation to the characteristics of diverse mobile terminals are expected to contribute towards such a vision. Based on work that has taken place in a number of EC co-funded projects, in Framework Program 6 (FP6) and Framework Program 7 (FP7), a group of experts and technology visionaries have voluntarily contributed in this white paper aiming to describe the status, the state-of-the art, the challenges and the way ahead in the area of Content Aware media delivery platforms

Digital Rights Management and Consumer Acceptability: A Multi-Disciplinary Discussion of Consumer Concerns and Expectations

The INDICARE project – the Informed Dialogue about Consumer Acceptability of DRM Solutions in Europe – has been set up to raise awareness about consumer and user issues of Digital Rights Management (DRM) solutions. One of the main goals of the INDICARE project is to contribute to the consensus-building among multiple players with heterogeneous interests in the digital environment. To promote this process and to contribute to the creation of a common level of understanding is the aim of the present report. It provides an overview of consumer concerns and expectations regarding DRMs, and discusses the findings from a social, legal, technical and business perspective. A general overview of the existing EC initiatives shows that questions of consumer acceptability of DRM have only recently begun to draw wider attention. A review of the relevant statements, studies and reports confirms that awareness of consumer concerns is still at a low level. Five major categories of concerns have been distinguished so far: (1) fair conditions of use and access to digital content, (2) privacy, (3) interoperability, (4) transparency and (5) various aspects of consumer friendliness. From the legal point of view, many of the identified issues go beyond the scope of copyright law, i.e. the field of law where DRM was traditionally discussed. Often they are a matter of general or sector-specific consumer protection law. Furthermore, it is still unclear to what extent technology and an appropriate design of technical solutions can provide an answer to some of the concerns of consumers. One goal of the technical chapter was exactly to highlight some of these technical possibilities. Finally, it is shown that consumer acceptability of DRM is important for the economic success of different business models based on DRM. Fair and responsive DRM design can be a profitable strategy, however DRM-free alternatives do exist too.Digital Rights Management; consumers; Intellectual property; business models

Case Study: DRM-protected Music Interoperability and e-Innovation

This report – representing one of three case studies that are part of a transatlantic research project aimed at exploring the potential relation between ICT Interoperability and eInnovation – examines issues surrounding DRM interoperability within the context of music content. Recognizing that interoperability will likely be defined differently by different stakeholders, we begin by establishing a rough, holistic working definition of interoperability and then assess the implementation of DRM in the music content market and associated problems with regard to interoperability. We then go on to explore the technological, market, and legal environments in their relation to and impact upon the achievement of interoperable DRM systems. In part 2, we analyze potential benefits and drawbacks of an interoperable DRM environment for the music content market. We then evaluate both private and public-initiated approaches towards the accomplishment of interoperability using a series of qualitative benchmarks. Lastly, we conclude by summing up the merits and demerits of the various approaches. Our findings lead us to surmise that normative considerations weigh in favor of greater interoperability in general. The challenge of determining the optimal level of interoperability and the best approach for attaining it, however, points toward consideration of a number of complex factors. We conclude that the best way to determine the optimal level of interoperability and means of accomplishing it is to rely upon economic-based assessments on a case-by-case basis

Open DRM and the future of media

This article offers an analysis of the various methods for implementing interoperable digital rights management platforms.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

HDTV and DRM: A Need of Further Regulation?

In Germany, the TV broadcasting of the Winter Olympics 2010 marked the official start of high definition television (HDTV). However, the transition from standard to high definition television has been significantly hampered by inconsistent change management. While the large international movie and TV-series producers aim for increased (end-to-end) intellectual property rights protection on the one hand, the satellite and cable-TV network operators in coalition with the private commercial TV-broadcasters strive for advanced business models with increasingly differentiated pricing models on the other hand. The resulting technological requirements lead to rapid changes in technology, which in turn affects consumers and equipment manufacturers We analyze especially the related advancement of the systems and interface standards for encryption and copyright protection which are of central importance in this context, namely the so-called Common Interface (CI) and its enhancement to CI Plus as well as the HD+ satellite platform in order to identify critical issues for media regulators and competition authorities. Our analysis supposes that the German regulatory institutions' capabilities to deal with the issue of regulation against the background of efficient innovation management in a timely manner should be improved. This might also be an opportunity at the level of the European Community to set framework conditions based on principles similar to network neutrality to overcome the current deadlock in Germany and encourage regulatory reform. Especially consumer rights could be protected more effectively in a future regulatory framework for digital content distribution and in order to avoid a tragedy of the anti-commons being an impediment for the rapid transition to HDTV. Overall, our recommendations aim to contribute to achieve the goals of swift digitalization and transition to HDTV. --HDTV,Innovation Management,Tragedy of the Anti-Commons

Smart Chips for Smart Surroundings -- 4S

The overall mission of the 4S project (Smart Chips for Smart Surroundings) was to define and develop efficient flexible, reconfigurable core building blocks, including the supporting tools, for future Ambient System Devices. Reconfigurability offers the needed flexibility and adaptability, it provides the efficiency needed for these systems, it enables systems that can adapt to rapidly changing environmental conditions, it enables communication over heterogeneous wireless networks, and it reduces risks: reconfigurable systems can adapt to standards that may vary from place to place or standards that have changed during and after product development. In 4S we focused on heterogeneous building blocks such as analogue, hardwired functions, fine and coarse grain reconfigurable tiles and microprocessors. Such a platform can adapt to a wide application space without the need for specialized ASICs. A novel power aware design flow and runtime system was developed. The runtime system decides dynamically about the near-optimal application mapping to the given hardware platform. The overall concept was verified on hardware platforms based on an existing SoC and in a second step with novel silicon. DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) and MPEG4 Video applications have been implemented on the platforms demonstrating the adaptability of the 4S concept

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) and how to accelerate the development and commercialization of carbon capture technologies and carbon-based products in the European and United States markets

Tesi en modalitat de cotutela: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya i Politècnico di TorinoThe main theme of this work revolves around the CO2 molecule, a stable waste gas of low value, low energy and often available in large quantities in different places. This work examines some viable avenues for capturing, using, and storing CO2 (CCUS), with the ultimate goal of reducing GHG emissions and global warming. In addition, the study also examines several ways to accelerate the commercialization of carbon-based products and their technologies. Various technologies that show promising features of commercial scalability and advanced mobility. In addition, the rapid decline in the costs of many renewable sources (mainly solar and wind) has made low-cost, almost zero-carbon electricity abundant in terms of capacity and location. Consequently, this has driven some markets to offer electricity at an affordable cost and in some cases even at negative prices. As renewable electricity gradually decreases in price, there has been a greater knowledge of possible new applications (e.g. CCU and CCUS) considering turning this trend into a profitable business. This work focuses on six main aspects related to emerging CCUS processes and technologies based on renewable energies: 1. A comprehensive investigation of three emerging renewable energy technologies and processes (RETPs) (i.e., biogas and fuel cells, synthetic fuels, mineral carbonation of fly ash) that fall into the CCUS paradigm and are special forms , relatively new or advanced from major energy sources. All explanations of RETP CCUS are followed by its market share, challenges, implications for further adoption, prospects and drawbacks. 2. Analysis of experimental work related to the direct use of fuel containing CO2 of biological origin to supply an electrochemical process dedicated to the production of energy at high efficiency. In addition, the work analyzes a case study called DEMOSOFC located at a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Turin, Italy. It analyzes energy production through the use of biogas produced in WWTPs and reports the results of the use of carbon (CO2 content), as it produces energy and heat (in CHP configuration) using fuel cells; specifically, solid oxide fuel cells. 3. Analysis of the experimental and modeling work carried out at the Turin Polytechnic, related to the use of the carbon molecule to produce synthetic fuels (e-methane (CH4) and e-methanol (CH3OH)) through two processes: electrolysis of the steam + methanation, and steam electrolysis + methanol production. 4. Analysis of the chemical process called mineral carbonation (MC), a carbon capture and storage (CCUS) technology that can capture large amounts of CO2 and turn it into stable carbonate products that can be easily used in the carbon market. cement and concrete. 5. Examining the potential commercialization of CCUS technologies by identifying four main markets and eight key product categories to drive new investment and innovation at an accelerated pace. The main markets and products discussed in this chapter are: (1) Markets: building materials, chemical intermediates, fuels, polymers (2) Products: carbonate aggregates, methanol, formic acid, syngas, liquid fuels, methane, polyols and polycarbonates. 6. Assess the continued increase in RETP CCUS despite the Covid-19 pandemic resulting from a mix of policies, regulations, incentives and past innovations embedded in the electricity sectors of many advanced countries.El tema principal d'aquest treball gira al voltant de la molècula de CO2, un gas residual estable de baix valor, poca energia i sovint disponible en gran quantitat en llocs diferents. Aquest treball examina algunes vies viables per capturar, utilitzar i emmagatzemar CO2 (CCUS), amb l'objectiu final de reduir les emissions de GEH i l'escalfament global. A més, l'estudi també examina diversos camins per accelerar la comercialització dels productes a base de carboni i les seves tecnologies. Diverses tecnologies que mostren funcions prometibles d'escalabilitat comercial i mobilitat avançada. A més, la ràpida disminució dels costos de moltes fonts renovables (principalment la solar i l'eòlica) ha fet que l'electricitat de baix cost i gairebé nul·la de carboni sigui abundant en termes de capacitat i localitat. En conseqüència, això ha impulsat alguns mercats a oferir electricitat a un cost assequible i, en alguns casos, fins i tot a preus negatius. Com que l'electricitat renovable disminueix gradualment en el preu, hi ha hagut un major coneixement de les possibles noves aplicacions (per exemple, CCU i CCUS) considerant convertir aquesta tendència en una empresa rendible. Aquest treball se centra en sis aspectes principals relacionats amb processos i tecnologies CCUS emergents basades en energies renovables: 1. Una investigació exhaustiva de tres tecnologies i processos emergents d'energies renovables (RETP) (és a dir, biogàs i cèl·lules de combustible, combustibles sintètics, carbonatació mineral de cendres voladores) que entren en el paradigma CCUS i són formes especials, relativament noves o avançades de les principals fonts d'energia. Totes les explicacions de RETP CCUS van seguides de la seva quota de mercat, els reptes, les implicacions per a una major adopció, les perspectives i els inconvenients. 2. Anàlisi de treballs experimentals relacionats amb l'ús directe de combustible que conté CO2 d'origen biològic per subministrar un procés electroquímic dedicat a la producció d'energia a alta eficiència. A més, el treball analitza un estudi de cas anomenat DEMOSOFC situat en una planta de tractament d¿aigües residuals (EDAR) a Torí, Itàlia. Analitza la producció d'energia mitjançant l'ús de biogàs produït a les EDAR i informa dels resultats de l'ús de carboni (contingut en CO2), ja que produeix energia i calor (en configuració CHP) mitjançant piles de combustible; concretament, les piles de combustible d'òxid sòlid. 3. Anàlisi del treball experimental i de modelització realitzat al Politècnic de Torí, relacionat amb l'ús de la molècula de carboni per produir combustibles sintètics (e-metà (CH4) i e-metanol (CH3OH)) mitjançant dos processos: electròlisi del vapor + metanació , i l'electròlisi del vapor + producció de metanol. 4. Anàlisi del procés químic anomenat carbonatació mineral (MC), una tecnologia d'utilització i emmagatzematge de captures de carboni (CCUS) que pot capturar grans quantitats de CO2 i convertir-lo en productes carbonats estables que es poden utilitzar fàcilment al mercat del ciment i el formigó. 5. L'examen de la comercialització potencial de les tecnologies CCUS mitjançant la identificació de quatre mercats principals i vuit categories de productes fonamentals per impulsar noves inversions i innovació a un ritme accelerat. Els principals mercats i productes discutits en aquest capítol són: (1) Mercats: materials de construcció, productes intermedis químics, combustibles, polímers (2) Productes: agregats de carbonat, metanol, àcid fòrmic, syngas, combustibles líquids, metà, poliols i policarbonats. 6. Avalua l'increment continuat de RETP CCUS malgrat la pandèmia Covid-19 resultant d'una barreja de polítiques, regulacions, incentius i innovacions passades incrustades en els sectors elèctrics de molts països avançats.Le preoccupazioni per il riscaldamento globale e il cambiamento climatico hanno innescato gli sforzi internazionali per ridurre la quantità e la concentrazione delle emissioni di CO2 per scongiurare enormi danni economici e ambientali. Negli ultimi anni, lo sviluppo di tecnologie efficienti e convenienti per ridurre le emissioni di CO2 antropogeniche ha preso piede in tutto il mondo. L'argomento principale di questo lavoro ruota intorno alla molecola di CO2, un gas di scarto a basso valore, a bassa energia e stabile, spesso disponibile in grandi quantità in singole località. Questo lavoro esamina alcune strade percorribili per catturare, utilizzare e immagazzinare la CO2 (CCUS), con l'obiettivo finale di ridurre le emissioni di gas serra e il riscaldamento globale. Inoltre, lo studio esamina anche vari percorsi per accelerare la commercializzazione dei prodotti a base di carbonio e delle loro tecnologie. Attualmente le tecnologie CCU stanno vivendo vari stadi di performance e maturità; tuttavia, ci sono progressi significativi nelle tecnologie CCU che hanno progredito negli ultimi dieci anni; varie tecnologie che mostrano una promettente scalabilità commerciale e caratteristiche di mobilità avanzate. Inoltre, il rapido declino dei costi di molte fonti rinnovabili (principalmente solare ed eolico) ha reso l'elettricità a basso costo e quasi a zero emissioni di carbonio abbondante in termini di capacità e località. Di conseguenza, questo ha spinto alcuni mercati a offrire elettricità a costi accessibili e, in alcuni casi, anche a prezzi negativi. Poiché l'elettricità rinnovabile sta gradualmente diminuendo di prezzo, c'è stato un aumento della conoscenza delle nuove applicazioni potenziali, (per esempio, CCU e CCUS) considerando di trasformare questa tendenza in un'impresa redditizia. Questo lavoro si concentra su sei aspetti principali relativi ai processi e alle tecnologie emergenti di CCUS basati sull'energia rinnovabile: 1. Un'indagine approfondita di tre tecnologie e processi emergenti di energia rinnovabile (RETP) (cioè, biogas e celle a combustibile, combustibili sintetici, carbonatazione minerale di ceneri volanti) che rientrano nel paradigma CCUS e sono speciali, relativamente nuovi, o forme avanzate delle fonti di energia tradizionali. La spiegazione di ogni RETP CCUS è seguita dalla sua quota di mercato, dalle sfide, dalle implicazioni per una maggiore adozione, dalle prospettive e dagli svantaggi. 2. Analisi del lavoro sperimentale relativo all'uso diretto del combustibile contenente CO2 di origine biologica per alimentare un processo elettrochimico dedicato alla produzione di energia ad alta efficienza. Inoltre, il lavoro analizza un caso di studio chiamato DEMOSOFC situato in un impianto di trattamento delle acque reflue (WWTP) a Torino, Italia. Esso esamina la produzione di energia utilizzando il biogas prodotto presso il WWTP e riporta i risultati dell'uso del carbonio (contenuto nella CO2) per produrre energia e calore (in configurazione CHP) utilizzando celle a combustibile; in particolare, celle a combustibile a ossido solido. 6 3. Analisi del lavoro sperimentale e modellistico svolto presso il Politecnico di Torino legato all'utilizzo della molecola del Carbonio per produrre combustibili sintetici (e-metano (CH4) ed e-metanolo (CH3OH)) attraverso due processi: elettrolisi a vapore + metanazione, ed elettrolisi a vapore + produzione di metanolo. 4. Analisi del processo chimico chiamato carbonatazione minerale (MC), una tecnologia di cattura, utilizzo e stoccaggio del carbonio (CCUS) che può catturare grandi quantità di CO2 e convertirla in prodotti carbonati stabili che possono essere facilmente utilizzati nel mercato del cemento e del calcestruzzo. Il lavoro porta avanti la prova pragmatica che la produzione MC ha il potenziale per fornire un reddito netto positivo e la sua fattibilità commerciale è un'impresa realistica. Tuttavia, la prospettiva di una nuova direzione di cementazione tramite la carbonatazione di FA è ancora in fase di maturazione ma con un grande potenziale di commercializzazione accelerata. L'intensificazione dei benefici ambientali ed economici generati da questo nuovo percorso per la cementazione sono sostanziali se paragonati agli attuali metodi di utilizzo dell'AF nell'industria delle costruzioni. Tuttavia, le politiche e i regolamenti esistenti sul carbonio, che limitano l'uso delle ceneri volanti (principalmente quelle ceneri che contengono maggiori quantità di calcio-HCFA) possono avere un impatto sul progresso delle tecnologie di cattura del carbonio e sulla commercializzazione dei prodotti a base di carbonio. 5. L'esame della potenziale commercializzazione delle tecnologie CCUS identificando quattro mercati principali e otto categorie di prodotti critici per guidare ulteriori investimenti e innovazione ad un ritmo accelerato. I finanziamenti e gli incentivi sono necessari per la maggior parte di questi prodotti per accelerare lo sviluppo e raggiungere una capacità di lancio commerciale su larga scala. I principali mercati e prodotti discussi in questo capitolo sono: (1) Mercati - materiali da costruzione, intermedi chimici, combustibili, polimeri (2) Prodotti - aggregati carbonati, metanolo, acido formico, syngas, combustibili liquidi, metano, polioli e policarbonati. 6. Valuta il continuo aumento di RETP CCUS nonostante la pandemia di Covid-19 derivante da una miscela di politiche passate, regolamenti, incentivi e innovazioni incorporati nei settori energetici di molti paesi lungimiranti. Inoltre, guarda al futuro di RETP CCUS dopo la pandemia.Postprint (published version

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) and how to accelerate the development and commercialization of carbon base products in the European and US market

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

AXMEDIS 2008

The AXMEDIS International Conference series aims to explore all subjects and topics related to cross-media and digital-media content production, processing, management, standards, representation, sharing, protection and rights management, to address the latest developments and future trends of the technologies and their applications, impacts and exploitation. The AXMEDIS events offer venues for exchanging concepts, requirements, prototypes, research ideas, and findings which could contribute to academic research and also benefit business and industrial communities. In the Internet as well as in the digital era, cross-media production and distribution represent key developments and innovations that are fostered by emergent technologies to ensure better value for money while optimising productivity and market coverage