In January 2023, hosted by Alibaba Cloud and Intel, and co-organized by Alibaba Cloud Tianchi Platform, Edge Cloud, and Video Cloud, the rematch of the "New Computing Power and New Experience" Imagine Computing Innovation Technology Competition came to a successful conclusion. After more than two months of fierce competition, 12 shortlisted teams stood out from more than 6,900 participating teams from 8 countries and regions at home and abroad, and entered the final stage of competition.
The Imagine Computing Innovation Technology Competition is the first competition focusing on the application of algorithms and audio and video processing technologies in the edge cloud field. It explores the proposition of "new computing power and new experience" with two major tracks. Among them, the "Edge Cloud Content Distribution Network Customer Experience Prediction Algorithm" track encourages participants to use algorithm models to solve the problem of CDN freeze rate prediction innovatively; while the "Designing Real-time Audio and Video Applications with Low Latency and High Experience" track With the application of audio and video processing technology as the core, combined with the characteristics of edge cloud computing nearby, low-latency, high-experience real-time audio and video application development is carried out.
1. Multi-state computing power, edge cloud drives new value in the industry
With the acceleration of the digital process of enterprises, the computing power on the cloud is gradually extended from the center to the edge of the network, thus forming a new type of edge infrastructure. The edge cloud can provide near-end users, global coverage, and elastic distributed computing resources, thereby reducing response delays, reducing cloud pressure, and reducing bandwidth costs. Accurately predicting the user experience level of Internet users is the basis and compass for CDN network node optimization and traffic scheduling. Based on this, the exploration of customer experience prediction algorithms for edge cloud content delivery network becomes crucial.
During the competition, participating teams used a variety of machine learning (such as LightGBM, Xgboost, Catboost, etc.) and deep learning algorithms (such as Deep Neural Network, etc.) , character type) to carry out corresponding feature engineering design, and continuously improve the accuracy of the model. At the same time, the participating teams continuously optimized the reasoning speed of the model through IO optimization, data streaming reading and other technologies, achieved a comprehensive balance between model reasoning accuracy and reasoning speed, improved the engineering usability of the model, and brought great benefits to the Internet experience of a wide range of users. More possibilities.
2. Ultimate experience, video cloud revitalizes the industry
Whether it is the development of edge cloud or the progress of content distribution network technology, its essence is the ultimate pursuit of experience. As a high-density, multi-dimensional information carrier, video applications are accelerating penetration into all walks of life. In the future, with the outbreak of low-latency and high-computing scenarios such as cloud games, 4K/8K video conferencing, virtual digital humans, and autonomous driving, audio and video applications will usher in explosive growth, further radiating new vitality for the digital economy.
Experience has always been the foundation driving the development of the audio and video industry. The integration of computing power and network is accelerating at the edge side, and whether video applications are smooth, high-definition, and low-latency has become the most concerned topic for user experience. How to build real-time audio and video processing applications based on edge cloud has become another focus of this competition. track. During the competition, the participating teams develop based on the code framework provided by ffmpeg. By running run.sh, they can output and obtain delay, CPU usage, fps, output video, image quality, bit rate and other result information, and perform various analysis on the output results. The continuous optimization of various indicators has effectively reduced computing delays and costs, improved end-user experience, and provided more technical support for application innovation for the development of the video cloud industry.
3. Industry-university-research integration to create a new trend of promoting production through competition
The integrated development of industry-university-research is an effective path for China to vigorously promote in the field of technology. This year's competition brings together the top talents in the industry and academia. According to the data disclosed by the competition organizing committee, this year's competition has attracted dozens of famous universities at home and abroad, including Tsinghua University, Peking University, Fudan University, University of Sydney, University of Birmingham, University of Nottingham, etc. The scientific research team, as well as teams from well-known enterprises such as China Mobile, Ping An, ByteDance, Huawei, Meituan, and iFlytek participated, can be said to have brought together elite forces in the industry.
The innovation and breakthrough of cutting-edge technology is the joint exploration of academia and industry. The participating teams continued to explore deeply in their scientific research fields relying on real business data; enterprises used the competition to anchor the pain points of the industry and seek ways to break the situation. Both parties had positive interactions and exchanges through the bridge of the Tianchi Competition. The Alibaba Cloud Imagine Computing Innovation Technology Competition, closely following the cloud computing industry's " low latency, high experience " needs, promotes learning through competitions , promotes research through competitions , and promotes production through competitions , becoming a link between scientific research strength and real business scenarios.
Alibaba Cloud Edge Cloud is an edge cloud computing platform with leading technology and global coverage. It provides low-latency, high-bandwidth network access, polymorphic computing and distribution services in more than 100 major countries and regions around the world, helping customers to use the cloud conveniently. edge collaboration capabilities, optimize service access response speed, and improve end-user experience. At the same time, the edge cloud platform can further expand the functions of the cloud infrastructure, provide a broader digital intelligence soil for enterprise technology application innovation, and continuously release the infinite possibilities contained in the Internet.
Attached list of finalists
