イタリア・カリアリ大学からLuigi Atzori教授が来訪されました

Prof. Luigi Atzori from the University of Cagliari visited XR Group and gave an inspiring talk.

Title: Understanding User Experience in Streaming and VR: A QoE-Centric Approach

Abstract: The exponential growth of multimedia traffic—driven by major streaming platforms and video conferencing applications—combined with users’ ever-increasing expectations for high-quality experiences, places significant pressure on both network and server-side resource management. To meet these demands, it is essential to develop procedures that explicitly incorporate Quality of Experience (QoE), defined as the user’s subjective perception of delight or annoyance when interacting with a service. This presentation explores key challenges in perceived quality analysis and modeling in multimedia streaming, beginning with recent advancements in personalized QoE prediction frameworks that account for individual differences among users. It then introduces innovative approaches that leverage facial expressions and speech-related features to estimate QoE in real time, with a particular emphasis on WebRTC-based video conferencing environments. Further, the talk examines how these insights can be used to strike a meaningful trade-off between QoE and sustainability, balancing user satisfaction with energy-efficient service delivery. Finally, the presentation highlights findings from subjective tests conducted in multi-user collaborative virtual reality gaming, investigating how network conditions and avatar characteristics influence perceived quality in immersive environments.

Bio: Luigi Atzori (PhD, 2000) is Professor of Telecommunications at the University of Cagliari, where he leads the Net4U Laboratory (Network for Humans), comprising approximately 20 affiliated researchers. From 2018 to 2024, he served as coordinator of the Master’s degree program in Internet Technology Engineering. Since April 2025, he has held the position of Head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and is a member of the Academic Senate at the University of Cagliari. His research interests lie in the Quality of Experience (QoE), especially in the context of service and resource management for next-generation multimedia networks for video streaming and VR applications. More recently, he has extended QoE methodologies to the evaluation of IoT services. He has also conducted and still conduct research in the Internet of Things (IoT) area, with a particular focus on designing effective algorithms for enabling social interactions among connected devices—an area known as the Social IoT paradigm. His contributions in this field have had significant impact, with over 20,000 citations to date. Prof. Atzori regularly serves as a reviewer for national and international funding programs, participates in the organizing committees of major international conferences, and acts as associate or guest editor for several prestigious journals, including Ad Hoc Networks, IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society, and IEEE Communications Magazine. He is also co-founder of two spinoffs focused on IoT-based solutions for mobility and human-centered applications.