Multimedia communications for users

Research on next-generation multimedia communications services and technologies within a highly interdisciplinary research program that encompasses behavioral science, computer science, and electrical engineering is discussed. The authors state that they have taken an approach to their research that allows the needs of users and the demands of end-to-end applications to shape the future of the multimedia communications network. They use several examples to show how such a perspective affects the development of practical, advanced communications services. These examples span a wide range, including: empirical studies of people´s use of technology to communicate in collaborative work settings; the design of software supporting the real-time network delivery of interactive multimedia documents for casual information users in the home; and the creation of next-generation prototypes that support the transmission and viewing of multimedia information in homes, offices and classrooms.<>