Collaborative Research Center

SFB-TRR 161

Quantitative Methods for Visual Computing

We are living in a data society in which data is generated at amazing speed; individuals, companies, organizations, and governments are on the brink of being drawn into a massive deluge of data. The great challenge is to extract the relevant information from vast amounts of data and communicate it effectively.

Typical scenarios include decision and policy making for urban and environmental planning or understanding relationships and dependencies in complex networks, e.g., social networks or networks from the field of bioinformatics. These scenarios are not only of interest to specialized experts; in fact, there is a trend toward including the broad public, which requires the information to be presented in a reliable, faithful, and easy-to-understand fashion.

Visual computing can play a key role in extracting and presenting the relevant information.

In visual computing research the aspect of quantification is often neglected. The SFB-TRR 161 seeks to close this gap.

The long-term goal is to strengthen the research field by establishing the paradigm of quantitative science in visual computing.

About the SFB-TRR 161

News

All SFB-TRR 161 News

SFB-TRR 161 Events

Nov 16th, 2026, 4 pm - 6 pm

University of Konstanz

Lecture | Bridging visual arts, AI with robotics - using painting machines for art production at Goldsmiths

Held by:

Frederic Fol Leymarie & Daniel Berio, Goldsmiths College, London, UK

Abstract:

Prof. Fol Leymarie and Dr. Berio will present an overview and some recent results at the core of their research activities, at the junction of the visual arts, creativity, AI, robotics. Underlying the research agenda is the objective of studying and better understand what makes humans specific as a species, in particular in relation to our capacity to leave traces, designs, drawings, writings, which stimulate our imagination, but also have permitted the accumulation of knowledge over generations.

We will further present recent results in modeling expert artistic movements when manipulating tools such as brushes and ink, and in adapting some current AI techniques, such as "differentiable vector graphics rendering" (DiffVG), to expand the creativity palette of the human artist, while offering new avenues of R&D in robotics.

We will also briefly present the EACVA project, jointly directed with Prof. Deussen in Konstanz, and introduce the new Drawing Centre for Humans and Machines (DCHM) at Goldsmiths, a joint venture between the Schools of Art and Computing.

Bios:

Prof. Frederic Fol Leymarie is with the School of Computing at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is the Project Director of “EACVA: Embodied Agents in Contemporary Visual Art” for the U.K. team. With expertise encompassing computer graphics, computer vision, gamification, and scientific visualisation, he has made significant contributions to our understanding of the visual world. He seeks to better understand human intelligence by adopting a multidisciplinary approach, which has involved collaborating with experts in various fields, including the visual arts, architecture, psychology, bio-sciences, art curating, and applied robotics.

At Goldsmiths he has initiated novel graduate programs in Computational Arts and in Computer Games. He co-founded London Geometry Ltd. (2011) together with artist William Latham. They are the force behind the Creative Machines series of events (in the UK in 2014, 2018, 2022, 2023, and in China in 2024 & 2025-6).

Dr. Daniel Berio is a lecturer in the School of Computing at Goldsmiths. He is also a computational artist and does research at the intersection between computer graphics, robotics, graffiti art, and calligraphy. In his Ph.D. he held at Goldsmiths (2022), he explored novel methods for the computer-aided design and procedural generation of (synthetic) graffiti art and calligraphy.

Previously, Daniel specialised in multimedia software development, especially applications involving real-time hardware accelerated rendering and vector graphics techniques. Artistically, Daniel comes from a graffiti writing background and explores this same aesthetic in algorithmically generated forms.

Location:

University of Konstanz, Room ZT 1202

University of Stuttgart: The lecture will be transmitted to VISUS, room 00.012

The talk is available via Zoom.

Meeting ID: 667 5746 8101
Passcode: 194875

For participants via Zoom: The transmission will kindly be managed by Dimitar Garkov.  He will be on site and monitor/manage the Zoom-Session incl. Q&A during and after the talk as well. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with Dimitar in case of questions or problems regarding the transmission/your online participation: dimitar.garkov@uni-konstanz.de

Nov 23rd, 2026, 4 pm - 6 pm

University of Konstanz

Lecture | Assessing the Compression Performance of Video Coding Schemes

Held by:

Mathias Wien, RWTH Aachen

Abstract:

The compression performance of video coding schemes is primarily characterized by the distortion achieved at a given bit rate, commonly analyzed through rate-distortion behavior. In practice, distortion may be estimated using objective quality metrics or measured directly through subjective viewing tests. While objective metrics are essential for efficient codec development and large-scale evaluation, their reliability can be limited, particularly when applied to previously unseen content, novel coding tools, or codec properties that were not well represented during metric design or validation.
Subjective assessment therefore remains a crucial tool for evaluating visual quality and validating objective metrics. However, formal subjective tests with naïve viewers require substantial effort in terms of test design, content preparation, laboratory conditions, participant recruitment, and statistical analysis. This motivates the use of complementary approaches, including expert viewing tests, which can provide faster feedback and support decision-making in codec standardization, while raising important questions about reliability, bias, and suitability for specific evaluation purposes.
This talk discusses the role of subjective and objective quality assessment in video codec evaluation, with a focus on the reliability and applicability of metrics for specific use cases. It will report on streamlined testing efforts carried out in the context of JVET and MPEG meetings, where efficient assessment procedures are used to support technical decisions. In addition, results from the MPEG AG 5 CVQM activity will be presented, highlighting how such resources can help analyze metric behavior and improve confidence in compression performance evaluation. CVQM provides a dataset of compressed video for the study of quality metrics, including HD and UHD test sequences encoded with conventional and learning-based codecs. 

Bio:

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Mathias Wien received the Diploma and Dr.-Ing. degrees from Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen (RWTH Aachen University), Aachen, Germany, in 1997 and 2004, respectively. He received his habilitation in 2018 and was appointed as associated professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at RWTH Aachen University in 2025, leading the Visual Media Communication group at the Chair of Imaging and Computer Vision. His research interests include image and video processing, immersive, space-frequency adaptive and scalable video compression, and visual quality assessment. Since 2020, Mathias serves as Convenor of ISO/IEC JTC1 SC29/AG5 “MPEG Visual Quality Assessment”. Mathias has been an active contributor to H.264/AVC, HEVC, and VVC. He has participated and contributed to ITU-T VCEG, ISO/IEC MPEG, the Joint Video Experts Team (JVET) and preceding joint teams on video coding of ITU-T and ISO/IEC. He is the ISO/IEC Convenor-elect of JVET for the period 2027-2030. Mathias has published more than 80 scientific articles and conference papers in the area of video coding and video quality assessment and has co-authored several patents in the area of video compression. Mathias has further authored and co-authored more than 250 standardization documents. He has published the Springer textbook “High Efficiency Video Coding: Coding Tools and Specification”. 

Location:

University of Konstanz, Room ZT 1202

University of Stuttgart: The lecture will be transmitted to VISUS, room 00.012

The talk is available via Zoom.

Meeting ID: 612 0254 1488
Passcode: 025964

For participants via Zoom: The transmission will kindly be managed by Dimitar Garkov.  He will be on site and monitor/manage the Zoom-Session incl. Q&A during and after the talk as well. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with Dimitar in case of questions or problems regarding the transmission/your online participation: dimitar.garkov@uni-konstanz.de

Dec 7th, 2026, 4 pm - 6 pm

University of Konstanz

Lecture | tbd

Held by:

Andrew Cunningham, Adelaide University, Australia

Abstract:

tba.

Bio:

tba

Location:

University of Konstanz, Room ZT 1202

University of Stuttgart: The lecture will be transmitted to VISUS, room 00.012

The talk is available via Zoom.

Meeting ID: tba
Passcode: tba

For participants via Zoom: The transmission will kindly be managed by Dimitar Garkov.  He will be on site and monitor/manage the Zoom-Session incl. Q&A during and after the talk as well. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with Dimitar in case of questions or problems regarding the transmission/your online participation: dimitar.garkov@uni-konstanz.de

Jan 11th, 2027, 4 pm - 6 pm

LMU Munich

Lecture | tba

Held by:

Raimund Dachselt, Dresden University of Technology

Abstract:

tba

Bio:

tba

Location:

LMU Munich, Frauenlobstr. 7A, Raum 357
University of Stuttgart: The lecture will be transmitted to VISUS, room 00.012
University of Konstanz: The lecture will be transmitted to room ZT 1201

The talk is available via Zoom.

Meeting ID: tba
Passcode: tba

For participants via Zoom: The transmission will kindly be managed by Kathrin Schnizer. She will be on site and monitor/manage the Zoom-Session incl. Q&A during and after the talk as well. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with Kathrin in case of questions or problems regarding the transmission/your online participation: kathrin.schnizer@um.ifi.lmu.de

Jan 18th, 2026, 4 pm - 6 pm

University of Konstanz

Lecture | tba

Held by:

Helena Jambor, University of Applied Science, Graubünden - TU Dresden

Abstract:

tba

Bio:

tba

Location:

University of Konstanz, Room ZT 1202

University of Stuttgart: The lecture will be transmitted to VISUS, room 00.012

The talk is available via Zoom.

Meeting ID: tba
Passcode: tba

For participants via Zoom: The transmission will kindly be managed by Dimitar Garkov.  He will be on site and monitor/manage the Zoom-Session incl. Q&A during and after the talk as well. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with Dimitar in case of questions or problems regarding the transmission/your online participation: dimitar.garkov@uni-konstanz.de

Jan 25th, 2027, 4 pm - 6 pm

University of Stuttgart

Lecture | tba

Held by:

Gennady & Natalia Andrienko, Fraunhofer IAIS, University of London

Abstract:

tba

Bio:

tba

Location:

University of Stuttgart, Visualization Research Center (VISUS), Room: 00.012

The talk will be available via WebEx.

Meeting-ID (access code): tba
Meeting password: tba

For participants via WebEx: The transmission will kindly be managed by Patrick Gralka. He will be on site and monitor/manage the WebEx-Session incl. Q&A during and after the talk as well. Please don´t hesitate to get in touch with Patrick in case of questions or problems regarding the transmission/your online participation: Patrick.Gralka@visus.uni-stuttgart.de

Past Events