Improving SMIL with NCM Facilities

SMIL is an XML-based language for specifying documents with temporal and spatial synchronization relationships, recommended by the W3C. However, SMIL has some limitations as a hypermedia authoring language. In order to overcome these limitations, this work presents the integration of SMIL documents with HyperProp, a hypermedia system based on an object-oriented model called NCM (Nested Context Model). As benefits, the integration makes both NCM facilities and HyperProp authoring and formatting tools available for SMIL documents. Furthermore, this work presents how the SMIL language can be extended to incorporate NCM facilities through the inclusion of new XML elements and attributes found in NCL, the NCM declarative language. Among the facilities, we can highlight the possibility of reusing document components and their presentation characteristics, offering flexibility in temporal specifications, adapting a document presentation according to user navigation and specifying n-ary relationships expressing causality or constraint among components.     

基于HyTime的超媒体文档系统研究

超媒体文档系统不仅要求支持离散媒体（例如文本和静止图象）和连续媒体（例如声音和视频）等信息。而且要描述不同媒体之间的同步关系。为实现这样的超媒体文档系统,采用ＳＧＭＬ和ＨｙＴｉｍｅ文档标准来描述各种单一媒体之间的时空关系,主要讨论基于ＳＧＭＬ和ＨｙＴｉｍｅ标准的超本文档系统的实现问题。     

Cooperative hypermedia an enabling paradigm for cooperative work

This paper describes the integration of computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW), multimedia, and hyperstructures into a single framework calledCooperative Hyper Media (CHM). The concept of CHM supports groups of users acting on a single hypermedia document. Cooperative HyperMedia is a layered concept that integrates several notions related to the production of hypermedia documents, namely, document contents, access, and organization. To test the applicability of the concepts of this approach to CSCW we have realized a generic CHM editing architecture (Co MEdiA), telecommunication mechanism for multimedia objects (Tele Media), and service for cooperative work over long distances for time-dependent media (MISTER COOL).     

Toward intelligent styling for digital museum exhibitions: modularization framework for aesthetic hypermedia presentations

In current Web-based hypermedia environments, constructing and maintaining a large-scale interactive aesthetic hypermedia exhibition is a difficult task. In particular, the shaping of presentation styles requires tedious multimedia composing and is indeed extremely laborious. As our first step toward developing an intelligent styling system for digital museum exhibitions, this paper proposes a fine-grained modularization framework that decomposes the styling of a typical hypermedia presentation into fine-grained style modules (FGSM). A hypermedia document based on a monomodal media handler and a digital museum exhibition management framework have been designed to realize the concept of FGSM. We have implemented a Web-based authoring system that allows content providers to efficiently construct mediacentric, interactive, aesthetic hypermedia Web sites. In the future, relevant optimization and constraint-solving techniques will be exploited to achieve the goal of intelligent styling for digital museum exhibitions .     

Response time driven multimedia data objects allocation forbrowsing documents in distributed environments

Distributed information processing, in many WWW applications, requires access to and the transfer and synchronization of large multimedia data objects (MDOs) across the communication network. Moreover, end users expect very fast response times and high QoS. Since the transfer of large MDOs across the communication network contributes to the response time observed by the end users, the problem of allocating these MDOs so as to minimize the response time is challenging. This problem becomes more complex in the context of hypermedia documents, in which the MDOs need to be synchronized during presentation to the end users. The basic problem of data allocation in distributed database environments is NP-complete. Therefore, there is a need to pursue and evaluate solutions based on heuristics which generate near-optimal MDO allocation. We address this problem by: (1) conceptualizing this problem by using a navigational model to represent hypermedia documents and their access behavior by end users, and by capturing the synchronization requirements on MDOs, (2) formulating the problem by developing a base case cost model for response time and generalizing it to incorporate user interaction and buffer memory constraints, (3) designing two algorithms to find near-optimal solutions for allocating MDOs of the hypermedia documents while adhering to the synchronization requirements, and (4) evaluating the trade-off between the time complexity to obtain the solution and the solution quality by comparing the solutions generated by the algorithms with the optimal solutions generated through an exhaustive search     

Grammar-based articulation for multimedia document design

This paper describes an approach to the problem of articulating multimedia information based on parsing and syntax-directed translation that uses Relational Grammars. This translation is followed by a constraint-solving mechanism to create the final layout. Grammatical rules provide the mechanism for mapping from a representation of the content and context of a presentation to forms that specify the media objects to be realized. These realization forms include sets of spatial and temporal constraints between elements of the presentation. Individual grammars encapsulate the “look and feel” of a presentation and can be used as generators of such a style. By making the grammars sensitive to the requirements of the output medium, parsing can introduce flexibility into the information realization process.     

A hypermedia authoring tool for augmented and virtual reality

Most existing hypermedia authoring systems are intended for use on desktop computers. These systems are typically designed for the creation of 2D documents and therefore employ 2D authoring mechanisms. In contrast, authoring systems for nontraditional multimedia/hypermedia experiences for 3D virtual or augmented worlds focus mainly on creating separate media objects and embedding them within the user's surroundings. As a result, linking these media objects to create 3D hypermedia is a tedious manual task. To address this issue, we present an authoring tool for creating and editing linked 3D hypermedia narratives that are interwoven with a wearable computer user's surrounding environment. Our system is designed for use by authors who are not programmers, and allows them to preview their results on a desktop workstation, as well as with an augmented or virtual reality system.     

Dealing with Uncertain Durations in Synchronized Multimedia Presentations

In this paper, we discuss the effect of the uncertainty in the duration of some multimedia objects on the quality of the presentation of multimedia scenarios. This uncertainty can be due to external factors such as the access delay over internet or the user interaction. An uncertain duration is often followed by a period of desynchronization during which the presentation deviates from the desired scenario. To solve this problem, we present in this paper a solution that integrates two complementary approaches which reduce the desynchronization and limit its propagation in the rest of the presentation. These approaches are non-blocking and use the flexibility in the duration of multimedia objects in order to resynchronize the presentation as rapidly as possible.     

视觉信息管理的数据模型研究

从多媒体信息系统建造目标出发,综述了时基媒体,超媒体文献,视频信息,多媒体复合对象的基本数据模型的研究成果。分析了在实现基于内容检索和特征识别中所采用的视觉数据逻辑表达方法,并就当前图形图象数据库的研究重点和方向发表了见解。     

Integrating the Amsterdam hypermedia model with the standard reference model for intelligent multimedia presentation systems

The standard reference model (SRM) for intelligent multimedia presentation systems describes a framework for the automatic generation of multimedia presentations. This framework, however, lacks an explicit document model of the presentation being generated. The Amsterdam hypermedia model (AHM) describes the document features of a hypermedia presentation explicitly. We take the AHM and use it as a basis for describing in detail the stages of generating a hypermedia presentation within the SRM framework, which we summarise in a table. By doing so, the responsibilities of the individual SRM layers become more apparent.     

Content-based navigation of music using melodic pitch contours

We describe a system which supports dynamic user interaction with multimedia information using content-based hypermedia navigation techniques, specialising in a technique for navigation of musical content. The model combines the principles of open hypermedia, whereby hypermedia link information is maintained by a link service, with content-based retrieval techniques in which a database is queried based on a feature of the multimedia content; our approach could be described as ‘content-based retrieval of hypermedia links’. The experimental system focuses on temporal media and consists of a set of component-based navigational hypermedia tools. We propose the use of melodic pitch contours in this context and we present techniques for storing and querying contours, together with experimental results. Techniques for integrating the contour database with open hypermedia systems are also discussed.     

A model for secure multimedia document database system in a distributed environment

The Internet provides a universal platform for large-scale distribution of information and supports inter-organizational services, system integration, and collaboration. Use of multimedia documents for dissemination and sharing of massive amounts of information is becoming a common practice for Internet-based applications and enterprises. With the rapid proliferation of multimedia data management technologies over the Internet, there is growing concern about security and privacy of information. Composing multimedia documents in a distributed heterogeneous environment involves integrating media objects from multiple security domains that may employ different access control policies for media objects. In this paper, we present a security model for distributed document management system that allows creation, storage, indexing, and presentation of secure multimedia documents. The model is based on a time augmented Petri-net and provides a flexible, multilevel access control mechanism that allows clearance-based access to different levels of information in a document. In addition, the model provides detailed multimedia synchronization requirements including deterministic and non-deterministic temporal relations and incomplete timing information among media objects.     

基于XSL转换超媒体课件文档的研究与实现

基于XSL的转换技术提供了强大的机制和功能,可以实现多种文件变换。它具有部分高级编程语言的特征,因而利用XSL可以方便灵活地转换异构的超媒体XML文档。文中介绍了一个利用XML技术的超媒体课件系统,该系统使用XML保存课件内容,利用XSL来重新组织课件和指示课件对外表示的模式或风格,根据超媒体课件在不同场合不同情况下根据要求展现不同的外在风格和形式。通过应用XML及其XSL的超媒体文档格式转换,描述了基于XSL对超媒体课件文档的转换应用,并实现了基于XML的超媒体课件系统。     

Retrieval schedules based on resource availability and flexible presentation specifications

A distributed multimedia document presentation involves retrieval of objects from one or more document servers and their presentation at the client system. The presentation of the multimedia objects has to be carried out in accordance with the specification of temporal relationships between the objects. The retrieval of multimedia objects from the document server(s) is influenced by factors such as temporal specification of objects presentations, throughput offered by the network service provider, and the buffer resources on the client system. Flexibility in the temporal specification of the multimedia document may help in deriving an object retrieval schedule that can handle variations in network throughput and buffer resource availability. In this paper, we develop techniques for deriving a flexible object retrieval schedule for a distributed multimedia document presentation. The schedule is based on flexible temporal specification of the multimedia document using the difference constrai nts approach. We show how the derived retrieval schedule can be validated and modified to ensure that it can work with the offered network throughput and the available buffer resources.     

Toward better retrieval and presentation by exploring cross-media correlations

This paper addresses explicit correlation and implicit correlation between various media streams in a composite multimedia document, the so-called navigated hypermedia document in our language learning system, in order to facilitate document retrieval and synchronized presentation. For replaying a recorded lecture in a form as close as possible to the original classroom experience, we devised a capturing mechanism to explicitly record all the lecturing media streams and relations between them, including instructors voice, slide change of the HTML lectures, and various guiding actions (e.g., tele-pointers, pen strokes, document scrolling, keyword highlighting, and text annotations) on HTML-based slides. In addition, for more effective learning, we study three different aspects - temporal, spatial, and content relation - of the implicit correlations that are inherently hidden between the media involved. The implicit relations are discovered by three designed processes: the speech-text alignment process for temporally synchronized speech-text presentation, the automatic scrolling process for the viewing windows spatial synchronization, and the content dependency checking process to ensure consistency of the content processed and the relations involved. The experimental results show that exploring cross-media correlations is helpful for system development in document presentation and retrieving. Users are allowed to replay a vivid and learning-effective multimedia lecture and to access the desired part of the document very easily via cross-media indexing. Hence the results have been applied to the development of online multimedia language learning systems aimed at improving students English and Chinese language capabilities.Published online: 14 December 2004     

Rule-based document structure understanding with a fuzzy combination of layout and textual features

Document image processing is a crucial process in office automation and begins at the ‘OCR’ phase with difficulties in document ‘analysis’ and ‘understanding’. This paper presents a hybrid and comprehensive approach to document structure analysis. Hybrid in the sense that it makes use of layout (geometrical) as well as textual features of a given document. These features are the base for potential conditions which in turn are used to express fuzzy matched rules of an underlying rule base. Rules can be formulated based on features which might be observed within one specific layout object. However, rules can also express dependencies between different layout objects. In addition to its rule driven analysis, which allows an easy adaptation to specific domains with their specific logical objects, the system contains domain-independent markup algorithms for common objects (e.g., lists). Received June 19, 2000 / Revised November 8, 2000     

XTemplate 3.0: spatio-temporal semantics and structure reuse for hypermedia compositions

The use of declarative languages in digital TV systems, as well as IPTV systems, facilitates the creation of interactive applications. However, when an application becomes more complex, with many user interactions, for example, the hypermedia document that describes that application becomes bigger, having many lines of XML code. Thus, specification reuse is crucial for an efficient application development process. This paper proposes the XTemplate 3.0 language, which allows the creation of NCL hypermedia composite templates. Templates define generic structures of nodes and links to be added to a document composition, providing spatio-temporal synchronization semantics to it. The use of hypermedia composite templates aims at facilitating the authoring work, allowing the reuse of hypermedia document common specifications. Using composite templates, hypermedia documents become simpler and easier to be created. The 3.0 version of XTemplate adds new facilities to the XTemplate language, such as the possibility of specifying presentation information, the attribution of values to variables and connector parameters during template processing time and the template ability to extend other templates. As an application of XTemplate, this work extends the NCL 3.0 declarative language with XTemplate, adding semantics to NCL contexts and providing document structure reuse. In addition, this paper also presents two authoring tools: the template processor and the wizard to create NCL documents using templates. The wizard tool allows the author to choose a template included in a template base and create an NCL document using that template. The template processor transforms an NCL document using templates into a standard NCL 3.0 document according to digital TV and IPTV standards.     

Hypermedia presentation and authoring system

This paper describes the Hypermedia Presentation and Authoring System (HPAS), a Web browser with built-in authoring capabilities. In contrast to traditional browsers, it manages time-based hypermedia presentations and the associated dynamic spatial layout with respect to time. The system manipulates various media types by embedding object presenters, editors, and converters, which combine to provide transparent operations on hypermedia objects, such as MPEG videos, GIF images, rich text files, etc.     

多媒体数据库系统中的同步表示管理

支持多媒体应用的扩展数据库系统必须具有新的机制以确保多种媒体数据流的同步表示。为了使用户同时具有多媒体数据流表示的灵活性和高效率,必须将媒体数据流分割成媒体对象,并且定义和保持其间的时间限制。为此要在现有数据库系统上采用能高效管理多媒体数据时间传性的新管理工具。文中讨论了多媒体数据库系统中同步表示管理。当考虑延迟的影响时,提出了多种媒体数据流同步表示的原则。基于这些原则,可以设计出各种同步机制。     

A Cooperative Architecture for Hypermedia Editing – CoMEdiA

CoMEdiA is a cooperative hypermedia editing prototype, which enables co-authors to cooperatively produce hypermedia documents. It allows co-authors to communicate their ideas, drafts, guidelines, constraints, and annotations with other co-authors in order to exchange information (remotely or face-to-face), improvepassages and modify notes until a final document is achieved. We did not concentrate on the depth but on the breadth of the features. Our efforts were on integrating and coordinating concepts from collaboration, multimedia, and hyper organization rather than on making a specialized system in any of them. Our first step was to investigate issues in group editing and cooperation. Then we started by having text in our documents, later static images, and 2D-Graphics. This procedure was adopted because we felt these were the most simple media to integrate and process.