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“Prediction is very difficult,
especially about the future…”

~ Niels Bohr

Predicting the future is a very difficult business, and I’m not talking Nostradamus-like prophecies here. I’m talking about tech companies looking a couple of years ahead, trying to predict what the next big thing is, what technology advances will be available, what will we be able to do then and will it be worth anything.

Such predictions are vital for a tech company if it wants to stay successful. Usually these predictions are the responsibility of the CTO’s office, which I am now a proud member of. However there is not a clear path that leads to such predictions. In fact, it is quite a grand challenge.

ACM’s Multimedia Grand Challenge

Therefore, I was very thrilled when my good friend, Mor Naaman, contacted me regarding the Multimedia Grand Challenge, to be held for the first time at ACM MM 2009. ACM Multimedia is one of the most important annual events on multimedia research, technology and art. This year it introduces the Multimedia Grand Challenge, a novel and bold attempt to solve relevant, interesting and challenging questions about the future of the multimedia industry.

The basic idea behind the Grand Challenge is simple – each corporate participant posts a challenge or a set of challenges. Researchers then use the challenges as motivation/inspiration/source for research. Eventually they submit their results addressing these challenges, and present them during the ACM conference. And, of course, the best submission wins the challenge.

Mor, an assistant professor at Rutgers University’ SCILS, is co-chairing this effort, and the list of participants is quite impressive: Google, Yahoo, HP, Nokia and others. And, yes – RADVISION will be participating as well, with a couple of challenges that we believe will occupy the mind of our industry two to five years from now. As the challenges are public, as of today, I can discuss them here in my blog.

The RADVISION Challenges

Challenge #1: Data Collaboration Adaptation for Various Devices

Data collaboration is a very important part of visual communications technology. Supported by virtually all industry members, a data collaboration channel allows a presenter to share data with all participants via a dedicated channel. This data is usually a video captured of a document or a desktop view.

As the visual communication market moves towards mobility (pdf), various devices will be used to display such data. This then raises the challenge of adaptation of the data, in real-time, to different devices with different capabilities.

Data Collaboration using RADVISION’s thin client
running on Samsung SYNCON LCD Screen.

Challenge #2: Conferencing technologies to surpass “In-Person “Meeting Experience

While it is common in our industry to try and meet the “in-person” meeting experience using visual communication technologies, it is likely that in a couple of years visual communications will be able to offer a better experience, thus making “physical” meetings almost redundant.

The challenge is to develop such new technologies and ideas, and in the process to come up with a set of measures to evaluate the “experience”, so various technologies, including face-to-face meetings, can be compared.

Looking Forward

I strongly believe in a strong relationship between researchers and the tech industry. I think that the Grand Challenge can provide a great platform for new ideas and technologies to be thought, tested and later “ported” to real products that will change our lives for the better.

All of the participants are companies that strive in innovation and market leadership, and I believe that the coming months will be very interesting for all participants, tech companies and researchers alike, as they struggle to meet the challenges presented. I wish everyone all the best of luck.