JPEG Column: 86th JPEG Meeting in Sydney, Australia

The 86th JPEG meeting was held in Sydney, Australia.

Among the different activities that took place, the JPEG Committee issued a Call for Evidence on learning-based image coding solutions. This call results from the success of the  explorations studies recently carried out by the JPEG Committee, and honours the pioneering work of JPEG issuing the first image coding standard more than 25 years ago.

In addition, a First Call for Evidence on Point Cloud Coding was issued in the framework of JPEG Pleno. Furthermore, an updated version of the JPEG Pleno reference software and a JPEG XL open source implementation have been released, while JPEG XS continues the development of raw-Bayer image sensor compression.

The 86^th JPEG meeting had the following highlights:

• JPEG AI issues a call for evidence on machine learning based image coding solutions
• JPEG Pleno issues call for evidence on Point Cloud coding
• JPEG XL verification test reveal competitive performance with commonly used image coding solutions 
• JPEG Systems submitted final texts for Privacy & Security
• JPEG XS announces new coding tools optimised for compression of raw-Bayer image sensor data

JPEG AI

The JPEG Committee launched a learning-based image coding activity more than a year ago, also referred as JPEG AI. This activity aims to find evidence for image coding technologies that offer substantially better compression efficiency when compared to conventional approaches but relying on models exploiting a large image database.

A Call for Evidence (CfE) has been issued as outcome of the 86th JPEG meeting, Sydney, Australia as a first formal step to consider standardisation of such approaches in image compression. The CfE is organised in coordination with the IEEE MMSP 2020 Grand Challenge on Learning-based Image Coding Challenge and will use the same content, evaluation methodologies and deadlines.

JPEG Pleno

JPEG Pleno is working toward the integration of various modalities of plenoptic content under a single framework and in a seamless manner. Efficient and powerful point cloud representation is a key feature within this vision.  Point cloud data supports a wide range of applications including computer-aided manufacturing, entertainment, cultural heritage preservation, scientific research and advanced sensing and analysis. During the 86th JPEG Meeting, the JPEG Committee released a First Call for Evidence on JPEG Pleno Point Cloud Coding to be integrated in the JPEG Pleno framework.  This Call for Evidence focuses specifically on point cloud coding solutions that support scalability and random access of decoded point clouds.

Furthermore, a Reference Software implementation of the JPEG Pleno file format (Part 1) and light field coding technology (Part 2) is made publicly available as open source on the JPEG Gitlab repository (https://gitlab.com/wg1). The JPEG Pleno Reference Software is planned to become an International Standard as Part 4 of JPEG Pleno by the end of 2020.

JPEG XL

The JPEG XL Image Coding System (ISO/IEC 18181) has produced an open source reference implementation available on the JPEG Gitlab repository (https://gitlab.com/wg1/jpeg-xl). The software is available under Apache 2, which includes a royalty-free patent grant. Speed tests indicate the multithreaded encoder and decoder outperforms libjpeg-turbo. 

Independent subjective and objective evaluation experiments have indicated competitive performance with commonly used image coding solutions while offering new functionalities such as lossless transcoding from legacy JPEG format to JPEG XL. The standardisation process has reached the Draft International Standard stage.

JPEG exploration into Media Blockchain

Fake news, copyright violations, media forensics, privacy and security are emerging challenges in digital media. JPEG has determined that blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT) have great potential as a technology component to address these challenges in transparent and trustable media transactions. However, blockchain and DLT need to be integrated efficiently with a widely adopted standard to ensure broad interoperability of protected images. Therefore, the JPEG committee has organised several workshops to engage with the industry and help to identify use cases and requirements that will drive the standardisation process.

During its Sydney meeting, the committee organised an Open Discussion Session on Media Blockchain and invited local stakeholders to take part in an interactive discussion. The discussion focused on media blockchain and related application areas including, media and document provenance, smart contracts, governance, legal understanding and privacy. The presentations of this session are available on the JPEG website. To keep informed and to get involved in this activity, interested parties are invited to register to the ad hoc group’s mailing list.

JPEG Systems

JPEG Systems & Integration submitted final texts for ISO/IEC 19566-4 (Privacy & Security), ISO/IEC 24800-2 (JPSearch), and ISO/IEC 15444-16 2nd edition (JPEG 2000-in-HEIF) for publication.  Amendments to add new capabilities for JUMBF and JPEG 360 reached Committee Draft stage and will be reviewed and balloted by national bodies.

The JPEG Privacy & Security release is timely as consumers are increasingly aware and concerned about the need to protect privacy in imaging applications.  The JPEG 2000-in-HEIF enables embedding JPEG 2000 images in the HEIF file format.  The updated JUMBF provides a more generic means to embed images and other media within JPEG files to enable richer image experiences.  The updated JPEG 360 adds stereoscopic 360 images, and a method to accelerate the rendering of a region-of-interest within an image in order to reduce the latency experienced by users.  JPEG Systems & Integrations JLINK, which elaborates the relationships of the embedded media within the file, created updated use cases to refine the requirements, and continued technical discussions on implementation.

JPEG XS

The JPEG committee is pleased to announce the specification of new coding tools optimised for compression of raw-Bayer image sensor data. The JPEG XS project aims at the standardisation of a visually lossless, low-latency and lightweight compression scheme that can be used as a mezzanine codec in various markets. Video transport over professional video links, real-time video storage in and outside of cameras, and data compression onboard of autonomous cars are among the targeted use cases for raw-Bayer image sensor compression. Amendment of the Core Coding System, together with new profiles targeting raw-Bayer image applications are ongoing and expected to be published by the end of 2020.

Final Quote

“The efforts to find new and improved solutions in image compression have led JPEG to explore new opportunities relying on machine learning for coding. After rigorous analysis in form of explorations during the last 12 months, JPEG believes that it is time to formally initiate a standardisation process, and consequently, has issued a call for evidence for image compression based on machine learning.” said Prof. Touradj Ebrahimi, the Convenor of the JPEG Committee.

About JPEG

The Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) is a Working Group of ISO/IEC, the International Organisation for Standardization / International Electrotechnical Commission, (ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG 1) and of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T SG16), responsible for the popular JPEG, JPEG 2000, JPEG XR, JPSearch, JPEG XT and more recently, the JPEG XS, JPEG Systems, JPEG Pleno and JPEG XL families of imaging standards.

More information about JPEG and its work is available at www.jpeg.org or by contacting Antonio Pinheiro or Frederik Temmermans (pr@jpeg.org) of the JPEG Communication Subgroup. If you would like to stay posted on JPEG activities, please subscribe to the jpeg-news mailing list on http://jpeg-news-list.jpeg.org.  

Future JPEG meetings are planned as follows:

• No 87, Erlangen, Germany, April 25 to 30, 2020 (Cancelled because of Covid-19 outbreak; Replaced by online meetings.)
• No 88, Geneva, Switzerland, July 4 to 10, 2020