Fraunhofer IIS is based in Erlangen, Germany. It has been dedicated to compressed audio technology innovation for more than 20 years developing the MP3 compression algorithm. It is one of the world's authoritative sources for audio and multimedia products and is the co-developer of AAC. Its technology can be found in more than 1 billion devices worldwide.
Fraunhofer IIS is part of Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Europe's largest organization for applied research with 17,000 employees and a $2 billion annual research budget. The institute supports the development of open international standards and data services in ISO MPEG, ITU-T, ITU-R, 3GPP, IETF, DVB, Eureka DAB, ISDB etc. Fraunhofer IIS has contributed to the design and standardization of many digital radio systems, including Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) and Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) as well as U.S. and European satellite radio systems, such as Worldspace Satellite Radio, SiriusXM Satellite Radio, ESDR and DVB-SH. The organization offers contract-based research and development services, and provides its customers with guidance through the maze of multimedia standards and technologies.
I recently spoke with Stefanie Frank, Marketing Manager at the Audio and Multimedia Division of Fraunhofer IIS and Manfred Lutzky, Group Manager Audio for Communication at Fraunhofer IIS.
Wong: What are the trends/issues Fraunhofer is seeing in HD videoconferencing?
Frank: We see major opportunities for new interactivity with telepresence@home, allowing friends and families to take part in social gaming and conversation in-real time, no matter the distance. And with the switch to IP based networks, the living room is becoming a place for not only entertainment but also communication. This development is derived by two ongoing trends. The first one is based on the business world where high-quality video conferencing systems and telepresence systems are available already today (for example Cisco's TelePresence systems). The second trend is driven by the fact that internet connectivity of TVs and set-top-boxes is growing rapidly. Those devices are usually connected to the living room multi-channel HiFi equipment, which allows for high-quality audio. We expect that both worlds will meet so that high-quality video conferencing will also be possible at home. Friends and family can virtually meet at the living room table however far away they might be. Communication will be as natural and as clear as talking to someone in the same room.
We also expect that telepresence@home will go mobile to allow for high-quality communication on mobile phones and smartphones. Apple's FaceTime is pioneering this trend.
Commercial web-based conferencing services for business use, which use the PC-inherent loudspeakers with full audio bandwidth, are becoming increasingly popular. We are seeing a need for better quality communication for those services, addressing higher audio quality, the opportunity to share documents and presence information during the conference call as well as technologies that ensure high-quality conversations even under adverse IP-network conditions.