Visual Media: History and Perspectives

Visual data has evolved tremendously since the first set of pictures were digitized. This evolution has occurred in all aspects of storage, delivery, and understanding. Recent years in particular have witnessed unprecedented growth, and we expect exciting new breakthroughs in the near future. Moreover, these aspects are quickly converging via the ubiquity of devices and algorithms leading to stronger interactions with humans. In the near future, the human factor will continue to be at the center of the field´s development and will be the source of inspiration for the major working fields for media researchers and engineers in the next era.