Sony Edge Analytics brings hybrid learning to Bamberg University

The video technology based on artificial intelligence of Sony Edge Analytics and SRG-X120 IP-4K PTZ cameras have brought hybrid learning to larger classrooms and the auditorium.

A team of multimedia technicians and IT specialists has implemented a digital system to optimize hybrid learning operations in the University of Bamberg, ensuring that students can benefit from a face-to-face or distance system. The innovative artificial intelligence technology of Sony, Edge Analytics, is part of the solution.

Founded in 1647 as Bambergensis Academy, The University of Bamberg (Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg) it is one of the oldest in Germany and currently attracts almost 13.000 students from all over the world. Like many other institutions, faces major digital transformation challenges, in addition to the uncertainties of this time of pandemic.

In the modern An der Weberei building of the University of Bamberg, specifically in the classroom in the classroom WE5/00.022 a PTZ camera has been hung from the ceiling IP-4K SRG-X120 from Sony. This equipment captures in high resolution every corner of the room of 300 square meters. An element that has become fundamental to hybrid learning.

“currently, we have five large classrooms permanently equipped with these modern cameras. This technology is a fundamental element to be able to continue university education even during a pandemic”, Says Christoph Seeger, working at the computer science centre at the University of Bamberg.

The project has been carried out with the Sony supplier MR Datentechnik Vertriebs und Service, based in Nuremberg.

However, it's not the ceiling-mounted PTZ cameras that create the hybrid learning system. That role falls on the small and even less striking black boxes to which the cameras are connected..

The little cube, of little more than 10 centimeters in length, Edge Analytics, contains an ai-based video technology.

“That's where the intelligence behind our system lies.”, Explains Michael Fries, Account Manager de Professional Displays & Solutions Business Group at Sony, specialized in hybrid learning systems for the education sector. “Edge Analytics detects the teacher and makes it possible for the PTZ camera to follow the class. It also detects gestures from participants and saves notes from the whiteboard, even if the teacher covers part of it”.

The Edge Analytics system is configured through a web-based user interface and managed with a standard multimedia control unit, compatible with all common professional multimedia control units.

The five classrooms at Bamberg University that are equipped with Sony's Edge Analytics system use controls and touch panels from Extron.

“Edge Analytics generates engaging content in real time and automatically. You can stream video from the camera directly to a screen or storage media, over IP, to any location in the world or, as at the University of Bamberg, to the video streaming server you use. This system works on its own, without teachers having to constantly check or adjust media settings”, adds Fries.

Flexibility and mobility

The University of Bamberg has not yet modernized all the classrooms and seminaries of its various buildings throughout the city., so to deliver hybrid learning in more rooms, has purchased two mobile units, in addition to the five permanently installed systems.

The mobile units also consist of a Sony PTZ camera and the Edge Analytics box. The system is compact, is installed in a transport box and can be moved from one room to another.

“Teachers can connect the system themselves in a few simple steps, get it up and running and set it up for the class or course, For example, specify whether the class is to be streamed live or saved for later download”, says Fries. Installation is also easy, because individual components are only connected to each other using network and HDMI cables, and then to the multimedia control unit.

Edge Analytics Features

The Edge Analytics system has a total of five functions that can be activated through a licensing model according to the needs.

First of all, there is the automatic PTZ tracking, that puts connected camera technology into operation and ensures that cameras follow a moving object completely automatically, especially in large classrooms such as those in Bamberg. An algorithm allows automatic tracking of speakers so they always remain sharp and focused.

The handwriting extraction feature uses augmented reality techniques so that the words and diagrams written on the board are visible to students at all times. Edge Analytics automatically detects handwritten text, drawings and diagrams, extracts from them a real-time overlay and displays it in front of the speaker. Even if the speaker is placed directly in front of the board, students will always be able to see ideas and reasoning. The extracted text can be downloaded to a laptop as a JPEG file.

Sony's Edge Analytics uses gestures to detect certain movements in the room. For example, if someone in the auditorium gets up, the camera automatically zooms in on that person and focuses on them while they're talking. According to Fries, this is especially useful in classes or corporate presentations to capture questions or comments.

Screen cropping feature improves class dynamics, as it can be used to display adjustable image sections on additional screens. This means that multiple screen views can be achieved with one camera.

last, although no less important, the overlay function can be used to display additional content on the screen that is visible to students, as the presentation window, the fixed university logo or a completely different background.

As Seeger comments, in Bamberg, six of the seven Edge Analytics systems are equipped with the PTZ automatic tracking license. "One of our systems has all the licenses. At the moment, we are using it as a test system and we are testing the individual functions. Installation and configuration were very straightforward and there were no compatibility issues with our current Extron system. We now have a modern hybrid learning system in our large classrooms and auditorium, where we are also using this solution”.

Other articles on Extron, Extron Electronics, MR Datentechnik Vertriebs und Service, Sony, University of Bamberg