The Gentleman Magazine Issue 18 | December 2019 | Page 95

AI ScaleNet addresses bandwidth limitations within modern
network infrastructures with what’s known as an adaptive AI
Codec. “AI Adaptive Bit Rate Streaming refers to AI technology
that adapts to various bandwidths and adjusts the resolution to
enable seamless streaming,” said Choi. Empowering Richer User Experiences with AI Technology
The difference the technology makes is especially clear when
using over-the-top (OTT) services, where viewers typically
notice changes in picture quality. As Choi explained, however,
Samsung’s AI Codec and AI ScaleNet technology utilize AI
that adapts to changes in bandwidth and optimizes quality, so
users enjoy the highest-quality streaming experience possible. “The first would be greater user convenience, and the second
would be enhanced picture quality,” Choi began. “The first
point is already being delivered with Bixby. To enhance people’s
viewing experiences, technologies that support the best
possible picture quality at minimum bandwidth, such as AI
ScaleNet, should be continuously researched and developed.”
A Groundbreaking Innovation
As the researchers described, the development process wasn’t
without its difficulties. “The most difficult part was ensuring
compatibility with existing codec compression technologies,”
said Choi. “How to design an easy-to-use algorithm that would
be compatible with existing technologies, while delivering the
intended performance at the same time was the question.”
When asked how AI technology will contribute to the
advancement of TV technologies in general, the researchers
pointed to two possible directions.
As the researchers noted, Samsung has big plans for this
versatile technology. “AI ScaleNet has shown us that by
overcoming challenges, we can help usher in the future and
enrich the user experience,” said Park. “Going forward, we will
continue to research and develop additional functionalities
that add to users’ convenience, and through cooperation with
content service providers, we hope to empower diverse services
for Samsung devices.”
Choi also noted difficulties that derived from gaps in
perspective between the research and development teams.
There were several considerations related to complexity, design
and structure which researchers took for granted, and were
questioned by the developers.
“We were able to achieve this result thanks to the synergy
of both our team members, who worked closely to achieve
the same goal, and colleagues who were focused on the
technology’s commercialization,” said Park. “I believe that
AI ScaleNet is the first technology to overcome bandwidth
limitations by addressing complexity issues and separating
the server and client sides, respectively. It’s relatively difficult
to commercialize AI technology today for the purpose of
enhancing resolution, which is different from commercializing
AI for recognition and classification.”
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