By / Jinzhong Branch of the People’s Bank of China Wang Rongzhen Liu Xin
With the popularity of “cloud computing” and “cloudification”, more and more traditional applications have begun to receive attention, among which video conferencing has become an important part. However, due to the need for complex encoding and decoding, as well as other technologies, it may lead to poor audio and video quality and unstable connections in virtualized video conferencing. In recent years, with the continuous improvement of hardware server performance, it has become possible to build high-quality video conference systems based on virtualization through software. In addition, AI technology is also developing rapidly, which can be applied to video conferencing systems to effectively enhance the quality of meetings.
Issues Faced
1. Device Selection and Compatibility.In the construction of video conferencing systems, selecting suitable devices and ensuring compatibility among various devices is an important task. Due to the compatibility differences among devices from different manufacturers, comprehensive inspections and connectivity tests are required to ensure interoperability.
2. Network Bandwidth and Stability.Video conferencing has high requirements for network bandwidth and stability. Insufficient or unstable network bandwidth may cause video lag, audio delay, and other issues, affecting the effectiveness of meetings and user experience. It is necessary to optimize the network to ensure sufficient bandwidth and stable connections.
3. Security and Confidentiality.Video conferences may involve the transmission and exchange of confidential information and sensitive data, so it is essential to ensure communication encryption and access control in the video conferencing system to prevent unauthorized personnel from accessing meeting content.
4. User Training and Technical Support.Users of video conferencing systems need to be familiar with operation and usage skills, and training is required to improve users’ capabilities. In addition to providing necessary technical support to resolve issues and equipment failures that users may encounter during use, the human resource cost is relatively high.
5. Daily Maintenance and Updates.Daily maintenance and updates include regular inspections of equipment, routine maintenance, and upgrades of the system. A corresponding maintenance and update mechanism should be established to ensure system stability and security.
6. Expansion and Upgrades.Expanding and upgrading the video conferencing system involves adjustments to system architecture and replacement of devices, requiring advance planning and preparation to meet future development needs.
Exploring the “Virtualization + AI” Model
With the arrival of the post-pandemic era, the high frequency of meetings has greatly increased the load on video conferencing equipment, reducing the normal lifespan of devices and increasing the incidence of equipment failures, thus raising the technical and human resource costs of video conferencing operation and maintenance. To address these pain points and difficulties, the “Virtualization + AI” video conferencing model may be an effective solution. The “Virtualization + AI” technology allows video conferencing equipment to be “cloud-based” and utilizes virtualization technology to virtualize core hardware devices for video conferencing, significantly reducing the pressure of terminal construction and maintenance. By leveraging the service advantages of AI technology, various types of meetings can be easily convened based on demand, allowing home smart TV scenarios like “Hey AI, call XX” to be applied in video conferencing modes.
Future Prospects of Video Conferencing Using “Virtualization + AI”
1. Utilizing Virtualization Technology.This involves converting complex physical resources (such as servers and storage devices) into abstracted and pooled resources for more effective allocation and management. In video conferencing systems, virtualization technology can optimize hardware resource utilization, improving system performance and scalability. For example, multiple physical servers can be virtualized into virtual machines, enabling resource sharing and dynamic allocation to meet different user needs. Additionally, virtualization technology can provide flexible backup, recovery, and disaster recovery capabilities, enhancing system reliability and availability.
2. Utilizing AI Technology.AI technology can be applied in multiple areas of video conferencing systems to help enhance user experience and improve the efficiency of automated system management. For example: video quality optimization, where AI technology can quickly detect, identify, and address anomalies during video transmission, effectively improving the accuracy and smoothness of image transmission; speech recognition and real-time translation, where AI technology can implement real-time speech-to-text functionality in video conferencing systems, and can also achieve real-time translation in multiple languages to enhance communication effectiveness and efficiency; facial recognition and identity verification, where AI technology can be used for facial recognition functions in video conferencing systems, enabling automatic identification and verification to improve meeting security and accuracy, preventing unauthorized personnel from entering meetings; sentiment analysis and intelligent assistants, where AI technology can analyze the emotions of participants in meetings, providing sentiment recognition and feedback features to enhance the interactive experience. Furthermore, AI-based intelligent assistants can provide real-time meeting records, topic categorization, and knowledge retrieval functionalities to improve meeting efficiency and participants’ work effectiveness.
In summary, the application of “Virtualization + AI” can enhance the reliability, security, and interactive experience of video conferencing systems, providing users with more efficient and convenient meeting services.
(This article was published in the May 2024 issue of “Financial Electronics”.)
New Media Center
Director / Kuang Yuan
Editors / Yao Liangyu Fu Tiantian Zhang Jun Tai Siqi
