Zhou Wang, an ECE professor here at the University of Waterloo, has won an Emmy award for his work developing the Structural SIMilarity (SSIM) Index, used for the measurement of video quality. The co-founder and Chief Scientist of SSIMWave Inc., along with his co-creators from NYU, the University of Texas, and Samsung, will receive the award on October 28 in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony will be fittingly hosted by Josh Brener, who plays Bighead on HBO’s Silicon Valley.
According to The Television Academy, the award is presented only to those who have contributed to developments that significantly improve the transmission, recording, or reception of television. This year, there are two more recipients of the Engineering Emmy, which includes EdiCue, a workflow software that helps to sync sound cueing systems, and SpeedTree, a way to facilitate the design and creation of trees and vegetation by artists. The SSIM algorithm family, invented more than a decade ago by Dr. Wang, is used for predicting human perception of video quality. It makes use of neuroscience-based models of visual systems in the human brain in order to refine video quality. It is capable of being applied in real-time and with relatively simple computation and little need for additional hardware.
The algorithm is now the most widely-used tool for television broadcasting and post-production, with Wang’s papers, most notably the ones pertaining to structural similarity, being the most frequently cited sources in the image processing field all over the world. The applications are also ever-growing, as it is predicted that within the next two years, video-based material will account for more than three-quarters of internet traffic, a dominant source of video data. Furthermore, it can also be used in medical imaging and satellite transmission. The use of this software improves the visual experience for viewers, minimizes bandwidth use, and therefore improves streaming quality and speed.
Professor Wang is not only the recipient of an Emmy; the IEEE fellow also received the E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship Award from NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada). Nowadays, his team at SIMWave Inc., a spinoff company operating at the Accelerator Centre in David Johnston R & T Park, serves to further develop tools for video quality monitoring, diagnosis, and compression.
Professor Wang’s achievements are truly remarkable, and the university is fortunate to have him imparting his knowledge and furthering research within these walls.
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