| UCL/TELE | MIGRATOR2000 | |||||
Most of all, the continuous support given to developers, with the basic tools on line for free, and the ability for partners to tailor the authoring tools and users modules to the specific applications they address, are innovations in the multimedia marketplace which will then be extendable to other domains. For each of the application lines addressed above, JPEG 2000 has features to ease the integrator's work, and for the next types of applications it has the "open standard" concept allowing for all types of new features. Let's take a look at JPEG 2000 and see how MIGRATOR 2000 will address the next functionalities. In 1995, thanks to the incredible enhancement of the PC power, it was possible to have software decoder displaying images as fast then faster than the hardware modules which were the current implementation of JPEG at that time. In 1996, it was decided by JPEG to investigate the new possibilities of compressing the image data in a more efficient way, as Fractals and Wavelet technologies began to become possible solutions. As time went on, it became obvious that a new standard could be ready by the year 2000, and the name JPEG 2000 was decided for this new standard. A call for technology resulted in some 20 proposals, most of them based on wavelet technology which was eventually chosen as the new algorithm for JPEG 2000. Then the requirement group came out with a list of typical applications, from which we shall only address some more demanding in terms of quality, protection (integrity and IPR), metadata management and on line applications. The main innovative features of JPEG 2000 are :
And new features made possible with the open standard concept will include :
The project will therefore focus on creating content for image banks from all different types of images, different in size as well as in destination, from art work to tourists imaging, some technical images where details require close up examination. All images will be packed up in a unique database, searched through with a search engine available on the market, and the result of the project will be a set of recommendations to potential users of JPEG 2000 who want to make their image assets available to the public or to a restricted public by means of internet or intranet. A particular attention will be given to the Internet type of exchange protocol using the IIP concept (Internet Imaging Protocol). As a conclusion of the project, the basic tools will be made publicly available for integrators to use them in their products, while the partners will be ready for implementing the whole set of functionalities in their products, given their knowledge of the new standard. A web site open as of the beginning of the project will give continuous update on the progress of the project and elementary tools will be downloadable as soon as they are certified by the consortium for public use. In particular, examples of images and related metadata will be available together with the necessary viewer to display images and documentation and encourage content owners and creators in using the new standard. To keep Europe well ahead in terms of Cultural Heritage exploitation, a particular attention will be put to this range of applications in selecting the content for demonstration and dissemination of the project's results. Publications are expected as outcome of the project as well as conferences and specialised trade shows presence. | ||||||