Publikationen

Video content and technology is an integral part of our private and professional lives. We consume news and entertainment content, and besides communication and learning there are many more significant application areas. One area, however, where video content and technology is not (yet) utilized and exploited to a large extent are production environments in factories of the producing industries like the semiconductor and electronic components and systems (ECS) industries. This article outlines some of the opportunities and challenges towards better exploitation of video content and technology in such contexts. An understanding of the current situation is the basis for future socio-technical interventions where video technology may be integrated in work processes within factories.

This paper gives a comprehensive overview of the Virtual Director concept. A Virtual Director is a software component automating the key decision making tasks of a TV broadcast director. It decides how to mix and present the available content streams on a particular playout device, most essentially deciding which camera view to show and when to switch to another. A Virtual Director allows to take decisions respecting individual user preferences and playout device characteristics. In order to take meaningful decisions, a Virtual Director must be continuously informed by real-time sensors which emit information about what is happening in the scene. From such (low-level) 'cues', the Virtual Director infers higher-level events, actions, facts and states which in turn trigger the real-time processes deciding on the presentation of the content. The behaviour of a Virtual Director, the 'production grammar', defines how decisions are taken, generally encompassing two main aspects: selecting what is most relevant, and deciding how to show it, applying cinematographic principles.