Abstract: Multimedia documents have to be played on multiple device types. Hence, usage and platform diversity requires document adaptation according to execution contexts, not generally predictable at design time. In an earlier work, a semantic framework for multimedia document adaptation was proposed. In this framework, a multimedia document is interpreted as a set of potential executions corresponding to the author specification. To each target device corresponds a set of possible executions complying with the device constraints. In this context, adapting requires to select an execution that satisfies the target device constraints and which is as close as possible from the initial composition. This theoretical adaptation framework does not specifically consider the main multimedia document dimensions, i.e., temporal, spatial and hypermedia. In this paper, we propose a concrete application of this framework on standard multimedia documents. For that purpose, we first define an abstract structure that captures the spatio-temporal and hypermedia dimensions of multimedia documents, and we develop an adaptation algorithm which transforms in a minimal way such a structure according to device constraints. Then, we show how this can be used for adapting concrete multimedia documents in SMIL through converting the documents in the abstract structure, using the adaptation algorithm, and converting it back in SMIL. This can be used for other document formats without modifying the adaptation algorithm.
Abstract: Currently, many multimedia contents are acquired and stored in real time and on different locations. In order to retrieve efficiently the desired information and to avoid centralizing all metadata, we propose to compute a centralized metadata resume, i.e., a concise version of the whole metadata, which locates some desired multimedia contents on remote servers. The originality of this resume is that it is automatically constructed based on the extracted metadata.
In this paper, we present a method to construct such resume and illustrate our framework with current Semantic Web technologies, such as RDF and SPARQL for representing and querying semantic metadata.
Some experimental results are provided in order to show the benefits of indexing and retrieving multimedia contents without centralizing multimedia contents or their associated metadata, and to prove the efficiency of a metadata resume.
Abstract: With the proliferation of execution contexts (PDAs, mobile phones, blind-friendly interfaces, etc.), medias must be adapted according to the target context. In order to ensure universal access to information, we propose an architecture which uses information retrieval techniques in order to replace incompatible media items with compatible ones. More specifically, we advertise the use of the Web as a repository of potential alternative media items. Moreover, the chosen media item must convey the same message as the original ones, while satisfying the target profile. We show that Web-based search engines can already achieve this to a limited extent. Nonetheless, some results are unsatisfactory because media annotations lack semantics, are partial and are heterogeneous. Hence, we demonstrate the value of Semantic Web technologies, such as RDF descriptions, ontologies, ontology merging and matching, for improving this adaptation framework.
Abstract: The multiplication of presentation contexts (such as mobile phones, PDAs) for multimedia documents requires the adaptation of document specifications. In an earlier work, a semantic approach for multimedia document adaptation was proposed. This framework deals with the semantics of the document composition by transforming the relations between multimedia objects. In this chapter, we apply the defined framework to the hypermedia dimension of documents, i.e., hypermedia links between multimedia objects. By considering hypermedia links as particular objects of the document, we adapt the hypermedia dimension with the temporal dimension. However, due to the non-deterministic character of the hypermedia structure, the document is organized in several loosely dependent sub-specifications. To preserve the adaptation framework, we propose a first straightforward strategy that consists of adapting all sub-specifications generated by the hypermedia structure. Nevertheless, this strategy has several drawbacks, e.g., the profile is not able to change between user interactions. Hence, we propose an incremental approach which adapts document sub-specifications step by step according to these interactions. To validate this framework, we adapt real standard multimedia documents such as SMIL documents.
Abstract: Nowadays, many multimedia contents are created and stored on remote sites through heterogeneous environments having different capacities. This increasing amount of data is generally indexed by algorithms which extract metadata that will be further queried by a user for retrieving some desired information. Because of the large palette and the diversity of these indexing algorithms, it is not suitable to execute at once every indexing algorithms. Actually, it will overload the information system and will also produce metadata that may not be used inside the system. Moreover, it is cumbersome to determine manually, before and during the execution of the system, the suitable set of indexing algorithms that have to be considered. Consequently, we propose in this paper an indexing algorithm description model and show how to use such model for determining, according specific user needs, properties and contexts, a relevant set of indexing algorithms. Our proposal has been integrated in the ITEA2 LINDO project for indexing implicitly and explicitly multimedia contents.
Abstract: The number and the heterogeneity of multimedia contents handled by information systems are increasing steeply. These contents are indexed in order to produce some metadata that are used during the retrieval process. However, several existing metadata standards can be used for describing the multimedia contents and choosing a particular one does not cover all the metadata features. A solution is the mixing of these standards and formats, but this does not ensure interoperability. To overcome this problem, we have proposed a metadata framework that could encapsulate the most common metadata standards. In this paper we present the validation of this framework in the context of the LINDO project.
Abstract: Inside an information system, the indexation process facilitates the retrieval of specific contents. However, this process is known as time and CPU consuming. Simultaneously, the diversity of multimedia indexing algorithms is growing steeply which makes harder to select the best ones for particular user needs. In this article, we propose a generic framework which determines the most suitable indexing algorithms according to user queries, hence optimizing the indexation process. In this framework, the multimedia features are used to define multimedia metadata, user queries as well as indexing algorithm descriptions. The main idea is that, apart from retrieving contents, user queries could be also used to identify a relevant set of algorithms which detect the requested features. The application of our proposed framework is illustrated through the case of an RDF-based information system. In this case, our approach could be further optimized by a broader integration of Semantic Web technologies.
Abstract: The diversity of presentation contexts (such as mobile phones, PDAs) for multimedia documents requires the adaptation of document specifications. In an earlier work, we have proposed a semantic adaptation framework for multimedia documents. This framework captures the semantics of the document composition and transforms the relations between multimedia objects according to adaptation constraints. In this paper, we show that capturing only the document composition for adaptation is unsatisfactory because it leads to a limited form of adapted solutions. Hence, we propose to guide adaptation with functional annotations, i.e., annotations related to multimedia objects which express a function in the document. In order to validate this framework, we propose to use RDF descriptions from SMIL documents and adapt such documents with our interactive adaptation prototype.
Abstract: Currently, many multimedia contents are acquired and stored in real time and on different locations. These contents are indexed in order to provide some metadata that are used during the retrieval process. However, several existing metadata standards can be used for describing the content, and mixing them do not ensure interoperability. To overcome this problem, we propose in this paper a generic metadata framework that defines an abstract representation of a multimedia document and encapsulates the most common metadata standards.
Abstract: Currently, a lot of distributed multimedia systems exist but they do not address the problem of distributed indexation. The project LINDO enables to deploy remotely, on demand, different indexing algorithms that might produce metadata in different formats. This could yield to an interoperability problem because of the existing differences between various standard metadata formats in terms of structures and vocabularies. In this paper, we propose a metadata model that encapsulates the most common metadata standards, such as MPEG-7, EXIF, MXF, ID3, Dublin Core, etc.
Abstract: RDF is one of the most used languages for resource description and SPARQL has become its standard query language. Nonetheless, SPARQL remains limited to generate automatically documents from RDF repositories, as it can be used to construct only RDF documents. We propose in this paper an extension to SPARQL that allows to generate any kind of XML documents from multiple RDF data and a given XML template. Thanks to this extension, an XML template can itself contain SPARQL queries that can import template instances. Such an approach allows to reuse templates, divide related information into various templates and avoid templates containing mixed languages. Moreover, reasoning capabilities can be exploited using RDF Schema or simply RDFS.
Abstract: Checking satisfiability of temporal constraint networks involves infinite variables domains. We explore a solution based upon finite partitions of infinite domains. Though a straightforward partition results in a sound and complete backtrack, its extension to forward checking is not complete. Using bi-intervals, we obtain sound and complete backtrack and forward checking algorithms. Moreover, we show that bi-intervals used in a hybrid algorithm which also instanti- ates constraints improve backtrack efficiency.
Abstract: The multiplication of presentation contexts (such as mobile phones, PDAs) for multimedia documents requires the adaptation of document specifications. In an earlier work, a semantic framework for multimedia document adaptation was proposed. This framework deals with the semantics of the document composition by transforming the relations between multimedia objects. However, it was lacking the capability of suppressing multimedia objects. In this paper, we extend the proposed adaptation with this capability. Thanks to this extension, we present a method for summarizing multimedia documents. Moreover, when multimedia objects are removed, the resulted document satisfies some properties such as presentation contiguity. To validate our framework, we adapt standard multimedia documents such as SMIL documents.
Abstract: The World Wide Web can be accessed through a number of different devices, each having its own capabilities and limitations. Additionally, the content of the Web is in- creasing tremendously in size and variety. Yet, many devices do not embed support for all types of media and formats. Therefore, in order to provide as much information as possible to all kind of devices, media items have to be adapted. In this paper, we propose to adapt them by replacing in- compatible media items by others found on the Web. The adapted media items must convey the same message as the original ones, while satisfying the target profile. We present a possible architecture to implement this and we show that search engines can already achieve this to a limited extent. Nonetheless, some results are unsatisfactory because media annotations lack semantics, are partial and are heterogeneous. Hence, we propose to use Semantic Web technologies, such as RDF descriptions, ontologies, ontology merging and matching, in order to select better alternatives, thus improving this adaptation framework.
Abstract: The multiplication of execution contexts for multimedia documents requires the adaptation of document specifications. This paper instantiates our previous semantic approach for multimedia document adaptation to the spatial dimension of multimedia documents. Our goal is to find a qualitative spatial representation that computes, in a reasonable time, a set of adaptation solutions close to the initial document satisfying a profile. The quality of an adaptation can be regarded in two respects: expressiveness of adaptation solutions and computation speed. In this context, we propose a new spatial representation sufficiently expressive to adapt multimedia documents faster.
Abstract: The multiplication of execution contexts for multimedia documents requires the adaptation of the document specification to the particularities of the contexts. In this paper, we propose to apply a semantic approach for multimedia document adaptation to the spatio-temporal dimension of documents. To guarantee that the adapted document is close to the initial one respecting adaptation constraints, we define proximities for adapting static documents (i.e., documents without animations) and animated documents. Moreover, we show that these proximities can be refined according to multimedia object properties (e.g., images, videos...). The approach is illustrated by an example.
Abstract: The multiplication of execution contexts for multimedia documents requires the adaptation of document specifications. We proposed a semantic approach for multimedia document adaptation. This paper extends this framework to the hypermedia dimension of multimedia documents, i.e., hypermedia links between multimedia objects. By considering hypermedia links as particular objects of the document, it is possible to adapt the hypermedia dimension with other dimensions like the temporal one. However, due to the hypermedia structure, several specifications have to be considered. Thus, to preserve our adaptation framework, we propose a first straightforward strategy that consists of adapting all specifications generated by the hypermedia structure. However, we show that this one has several drawbacks, e.g., its high computational costs. Hence, we propose to adapt document specifications step by step according to the user interactions.
Notes: [4] EUZENAT J., LAYAÃDA N. and DIAS V. (2003). "A semantic framework for multimedia
document adaptation". In Proc. of the 18th International Joint Conference on
Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), Acapulco (MX), p. 31â36.
Abstract: The aim of this document is to present the overall indexation architecture of the LINDO system. It describes in more details the implicit and explicit indexation process and also the query definition and interpretation.
Abstract: The aim of this document is to present the multimedia content indexation engines which will be deployed and used in LINDO systems, especially on remote sites (i.e., local nodes). Each engine contains several indexing algorithms (also called feature extractors) that are described in this document in terms of inputs, outputs, constraints and performances. The management of these indexing algorithms inside an indexation engine is presented from their installation into the engine to their applications on multimedia contents acquired in real time. Moreover, we also detailed in this deliverable how indexes are aggregated. Actually, in order to produce many information about a multimedia content several indexing algorithms should be applied on it. Consequently, all the extracted metadata must be encapsulated into one metadata file for querying purpose (see LINDO D.3.2). This merging or updating process is called metadata aggregation, and it will be also detailed in this document.
Abstract: The objective of the delivrable D3.3 (LINDO WP3) is to present a multimedia document metadata framework that encapsulates the most common metadata standards, such as MPEG-7, MXF, Dublin Core, Exif... This format is one of the key issues of the LINDO project because it is used as an output interface of any indexing agent that is integrated in the LINDO architecture.
Abstract: This document is the deliverable D2.1 of work package 2 (WP2) of the ITEA2 project number ITEA - 06011. This project is called Large scale distributed INDexation of multimedia Objects (LINDO).
The objective of this WP2 is to study the core modules, common to all applications, and the application specific developments based on the market requirements.
