CGMB324: MULTIMEDIA SYSTEM DESIGN

Chapter 12Future Developments In Multimedia

Objectives

Upon completing this chapter, you should be able to: Identify and describe the elements and

flagship application of Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC)

Describe how multimedia technology can be applied in our daily life

Discuss current issues related to multimedia system

Introduction To The MSC

It is a length of 15 kilometres wide and 50 kilometres long, that starts from the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), down south to the site of the region's largest international airport, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) which was launched on the 27 Jun 1998.

MSC Location

More On The MSC

Two of the world's first Smart Cities are being developed in the Corridor: PutrajayaPutrajaya, the new seat of government and

administrative capital of Malaysia where the concept of electronic government will be introduced

CyberjayaCyberjaya, an intelligent city with multimedia industries, R&D centres, a Multimedia University and operational headquarters for multinationals wishing to direct their worldwide manufacturing and trading activities using multimedia technology.

The MSC Aspires To Be

A vehicle for attracting world-class technology-led companies to Malaysia, and developing local industries

A Multimedia utopiaA Multimedia utopia offering a productive, intelligent environment within which a multimedia value chain of goods and services will be produced and delivered across the globe

An island of excellence with multimedia-specific capabilities, technologies, infrastructure, legislation, policies, and systems for competitive advantage

The MSC Aspires To Be

A test bed for invention, research, and other ground-breaking multimedia developments spearheaded by seven multimedia applications

A global community living on the leading-edge of the Information Society

A world of Smart Homes, Smart Cities, Smart Schools, Smart Cards and Smart Partnerships, and hopefully, smart people.

The MDC / MDEC

The Multimedia Development Corporation envisions a 20-year time-

frame for the full implementation and

execution of the MSC, when Malaysia will

hopefully have achieved leadership in the Information Age.

The MSC Vision

The 3 Phases of Activity

Phase I:Under this phase, the MDEC will successfully create the Multimedia Super Corridor, attract a core group of world-class companies, launch seven Flagship Applications

Electronic Government Multipurpose Card Smart School Telehealth R&D clusters E-business Technopreneur Development

put in place a world-leading framework of cyberlaws, and establish Cyberjaya and Putrajaya as world-first intelligent

cities.

The 3 Phases of Activity

Phase II: The MDEC envisages that during this period, it

will link the MSC to other cybercities in Malaysia and the world.

It will create a web of corridors and establish a second cluster of world-class companies.

It will also set global standards in flagship applications, champion cyberlaws within the global society, and establish a number of intelligent globally-linked cities.

The 3 Phases of Activity

Phase III: During this final phase, it is expected that

Malaysia will be transformed into a knowledge-based society - being a true global test bed for new multimedia and IT applications and a cradle for a record number of multimedia companies.

It will have a cluster of intelligent cities linked to the global information super highway, and become the platform for the International Cybercourt of Justice.

http://www.msc.com.my/mdc/mdc.asp

Technologies To Come

We can expect to see the field of multimedia expand in the years to come. Since multimedia exploits our senses and uses them to enhance the learning experience, it is likely that existing technologies such as graphics (sight) and audio (hearing) will be improved;while newer technologies such as texture (touch) and smell synthesis (olfactory system) will be introduced.

Application of Multimedia Technology Video Conferencing, Video On Demand Multimedia Store and Forward Mail Source Of Reference (Encyclopedia, etc) Edutainment and Infotainment Advertisement and E-Commerce Digital Library Health (Telemedicine) Education & Training (E-learning,

courseware) Communication and business

Use of MM In Business

We have many uses of multimedia The focus so far has been on entertainment and

developing applications for consumers However, multimedia is also used extensively in

business and in the future, will be even more. For example, applications that support video

conferencing, graphics-based information analysis and media content searching are all of great use to managers

These applications allow for more efficient communication between colleagues, faster comprehension of complex data and quicker access to information.

Virtual Reality

VR technology has been in development for a while now

Its prospects are bright, and technology quite feasible Basically, the aim of VR is to put a person (or more

precisely, an instance of the person) in a computer-generated environment that is exclusive of the real world.

There are many levels of VR ranging from a 2 dimensional display on your computer screen to an encapsulated 3 dimensional environment

VR makes use of expensive hardware like data gloves and headsets to translate our movements into computer commands

Virtual Reality

These commands are then reflected in our ‘virtual environment’ which is, in turn, projected into our headsets

This fools our senses (the only way we perceive the world) into believing that what we are doing is real

Unfortunately, VR environments are visibly synthetic, especially in full 3D encapsulated environments (CAVE)

We are far away from creating a ‘Holodeck’ as seen on the popular TV Series, ‘Star Trek’

The ‘Holodeck’ is VR at its finest. With environments so perfectly synthesized, a person cannot tell the difference from the real world. In theory, this might be possible.

Virtual Reality Benefits

There are many benefits of Virtual Reality technology

To even begin to understand them, think about this; imagine being able to be anywhere at anytime, doing anything, whenever you want, for as long as you want.

With our current VR technology, this is not quite the case yet.

However, it hasn’t stopped us from successfully applying it in the medical sector (to calm and heal patients), to entertainment (immersive computer games).

It will also used in education to simulate biological functions and surgery for medical students as well as in training exercises for the military and pilots.

MSC – Virtual Reality Center

http://cmc.msc.com.my/

The CAVE The CAVE is a surround-screen, surround-sound, projection-based virtual reality (VR) system.

The illusion of immersion is created by projecting 3D computer graphics into a 10'x10'x9' cube composed of display screens that completely surround the viewer.

It is coupled with head and hand tracking systems to produce the correct stereo perspective and to isolate the position and orientation of a 3D input device.

A sound system provides audio feedback.

The viewer explores the virtual world by moving around inside the cube and grabbing objects with a three-button, wand-like device.

Holographic Memory

For increased storage requirements, scientists are now working on a new optical storage method, called holographic memory, that will go beneath the surface and use the volume of the recording medium for storage, instead of only the surface area.

This idea was actually first proposed in the early 1960s.

Holographic memory offers the possibility of storing 1 terabyte (TB) of data in a sugar-cube-sized crystal, with an access time of 1 GB/s. Perfect to suit the needs of multimedia in the future.

3D data storage will be able to store more information in a smaller space and offer faster data transfer times. We might expect to see this technology being commercially applied within a decade.

                                                                                   

                                                             

Holographic Memory

Holographic Memory

First, a blue-green argon laser is fired and a beam splitter creates two beams.

One beam, known as the object or signal beam, will go straight, bounce off a mirror and travel through a spatial-light modulator (SLM).

The SLM is a liquid crystal display (LCD) that shows pages of raw binary data as clear and dark boxes.

The information from the page of binary code is carried by the signal beam around to the light-sensitive lithium-niobate crystal.

A second beam, called the reference beam, shoots out the side of the beam splitter and takes a separate path to the crystal.

When the two beams meet, the interference pattern that is created stores the data carried by the signal beam in a specific area in the crystal -- the data is stored as a hologram.

Holographic Memory

In order to retrieve and reconstruct the holographic page of data stored in the crystal, the reference beam is shined into the crystal at exactly the same angle at which it entered to store that page of data.

Each page of data is stored in a different area of the crystal, based on the angle at which the reference beam strikes it.

During reconstruction, the beam will be diffracted by the crystal to allow the recreation of the original page that was stored. This reconstructed page is then projected onto the charge-coupled device (CCD) camera, which interprets and forwards the digital (binary) information to a computer.

The key component of holographic data storage systems is the angle at which the second reference beam is fired at the crystal to retrieve a page of data. It must match the original reference beam angle exactly. A difference of just a 1/1000 of a millimeter will result in failure to retrieve the data.

Holographic Memory(Retrieving Data)

                                                                                        

                                                    

Sex & Violence In Multimedia

Introduction

Apart from having the technical skills to create multimedia applications, and the creative skills to apply them effectively, we must also have a sense of ethics and responsibility.

We’ve learned that the client plays a big role in any multimedia system project development.

We give clients what they want and clients (people) usually subscribe to what sells.

Sex sells, and so does violence. The question is, with increasing sexual and

violent content in multimedia (computer games, Internet, movies etc.), how do we tailor our applications to be useful, entertaining but ethical?

The Problem At Hand

People are beginning to realize that our younger generation are too exposed to sex and violence in almost every multimedia application they use.

It is rampant on the Internet, in practically every TV show and even in games.

This is why TV shows, movies, games and even some Internet sites have rating systems where the audience or client base is restricted to a certain age group.

Censorship is also a means by which we restrict and often deny altogether certain types of content which is deemed unsuitable.

But how does this serve global multimedia interaction and content distribution?

Resolving The Problem

We cannot eradicate sex and violence completely from multimedia. There will always be those who want and crave more of it – some say it’s human nature.

So, as a developer, if your content contains elements of sex and violence (which you couldn’t avoid – e.g. scenes of death etc.); how do you solve the problem of protecting our youth without losing the bulk of your clients?

Apart from rating systems and censorship which is done by independent bodies and governments (who don’t really care whether your content sells or not), you can impose internal filters in your software using sophisticated technology.

Resolving The Problem

Computer games sometimes have a violence level setting or parental lock which alters it a little to suit slightly more impressionable audiences.

Rather than censoring full scenes from a movie, video clip or animation, blurring certain areas of the human anatomy is sometimes done instead. This way, less information is lost.

We can also use other areas of interest instead of sex and violence to promote our multimedia systems. For example, many people find science and technology fascniting. Humour is quite useful also. Think of some of the most successful movies you know – are they mainly about sex and violence? Could be – but not necessarily.

Resolving The Problem

There are many other ways to help solve the problem of multimedia being a bad influence.

With expanding technology, we must strive to provide varied content, yet it is must not be harmful in any way to our clients – be it psychological or physical .

This requires a combination skills and also ethics, but it is what separates successes from failures.