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The increased availability of high-speed internet connections, the boom in mobile smartphone usage, and the ubiquity of social networking have all combined to create an affluence of user generated content (UGC).

The most famous manifestation of UGC is YouTube. Associated with social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, YouTube content can reach audiences much faster and more broadly than traditional broadcasting methods.

The recent launched COGNITUS collaborative research project envisages new scenarios in which conventional professionally-produced high quality content in the Ultra High Definition (UHD) format is enhanced and aggregated with user generated content. COGNITUS aims to use this user generated content as the starting point for creating new and interactive UHD viewing experiences, by means of demonstrations at real-life large events such as big sport events or music concerts, enhancing the audience experience.

NOVA LINCS researchers from Multimodal Systems Group, João Magalhães, Nuno Correia and Sofia Cavaco are working on the COGNITUS research project. Running from January 2016 to December 2018, COGNITUS is a H2020 research project led by BBC R&D, comprising the following European partners: BBC (UK), Forthnet (Greece), Queen Mary University of London (UK), NOVA Laboratory for Computer Science and Informatics from FCT NOVA (Portugal), VITEC (UK), FORTH-Institute of Computer Science (Greece), ARRIS-Pace (France).

The consortium brings together researchers and experts in video broadcasting, processing and analytics, with the objective of exploring innovative technology and push the boundaries of conventional broadcasting architectures.