Background: In the last decade, numerous methods have been proposed to define and detect outliers, particularly in complex environments like networks, where anomalies significantly deviate from normal patterns. Although defining a clear standard is challenging, anomaly detection systems have become essential for network administrators to efficiently identify and resolve irregularities. Methods: This study develops and evaluates a machine learning-based system for network anomaly detection, focusing on point anomalies within network traffic. It employs both unsupervised and supervised learning techniques, including change point detection, clustering, and classification models, to identify anomalies. SHAP values are utilized to enhance model interpretability. Results: Unsupervised models effectively captured temporal patterns, while supervised models, particularly Random Forest (94.3%), demonstrated high accuracy in classifying anomalies, closely approximating the actual anomaly rate. Conclusions: Experimental results indicate that the system can accurately predict network anomalies in advance. Congestion and packet loss were identified as key factors in anomaly detection. This study demonstrates the potential for real-world deployment of the anomaly detection system to validate its scalability.

Objectives: The core objectives of this study centre on enhancing the quality of life and well-being of individuals diagnosed with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. Our aim is to facilitate the monitoring of patient information, benefiting both caregivers and healthcare professionals. Methods: As part of the PROCare4Life platform sensorial ecosystem, a web application with six engaging cognitive games focusing on developing cognitive training and stimulating brain activity are developed. A set of metrics calculated by the application feed machine learning predictive models to evaluate the cognitive status and evolution over time. Long-term analysis of the daily cognitive ability information is used to generate high-level outcomes and identify deviations for each patient from the multimodal fusion engine. And based on these results, a recommender system provides a set of personalized notifications. Results: A 3-month pilot study that took place in five different countries shows the results obtained from 93 patients. An average of 22.4 games were completed per day and the recommender system generated a total of 260 game notifications, 37.7% of them were marked as read by the patients. The Cognitive State Score and the Deviations in Cognitive Abilities measurement, calculated by the multimodal fusion engine, when used in conjunction present a good overview of the patient’s current state and potential deviations. Conclusion: The cognitive games application was well-received by elderly individuals who took part in the study. This tool can be valuable for caregivers and healthcare providers in assessing the cognitive function of patients through engaging in cognitive games.

The evolution of telecommunication networks unlocks new possibilities for multimedia services, including enriched and personalized experiences. However, ensuring high Quality of Service and Quality of Experience requires intelligent solutions at the edge. This study investigates the real-time detection of race bib numbers using YOLOv8, a state-of-the-art object detection framework, within the context of 5G/6G edge computing. We train (BDBD and SVHN datasets) and analyze various YOLOv8 models (nano to extreme) across two diverse racing datasets (TGCRBNW and RBNR), encompassing varied environmental conditions (daytime and nighttime). Our assessment focuses on key performance metrics, including processing time, efficiency, and accuracy. For instance, on the TGCRBNW dataset, the extreme-sized model shows a noticeable reduction in prediction time when the more powerful GPU is used, with times decreasing from 1,161 to 54 seconds on a desktop computer. Similarly, on the RBNR dataset, the extreme-sized model exhibits a significant reduction in prediction time from 373 to 15 seconds when using the more powerful GPU. In terms of accuracy, we found varying performance across scenarios and datasets. For example, not good enough results are obtained in most scenarios on the TGCRBNW dataset (lower than 50% in all sets and models), while YOLOv8m obtain the high accuracy in several scenarios on the RBNR dataset (almost 80% of accuracy in the best set). Variability in prediction times was observed between different computer architectures, highlighting the importance of selecting appropriate hardware for specific tasks. These results emphasize the importance of aligning computational resources with the demands of real-world tasks to achieve timely and accurate predictions.

No-Reference video quality assessment has become a trending and challenging hot topic in estimating perceived quality in audiovisual content. In this paper, we present a proposal to considerably reduce the computational cost of video processing without losing accuracy in QoE estimation. Tests have been performed using the Video-MOS SaaS solution, a hybrid NR-VQA solution based on perceptible video distortions and a machine learning approach. After exploring the spatial and temporal redundancy present in a video sequence, the final approach combines video metric feature extraction in both high and low video resolution, together with a specific frame selection based on a uniform temporal sampling and frame type at the video coding level. An extensive validation with more than 144 hours of audiovisual content from six of the most important HD channels of DTT in Spain demonstrates the validity of the approach, ensuring real-time application on the test device, with computational cost savings of 94.96% and an obtained MOS error of 0.1144, in more than 174000 3-second measurements.

Evaluating Quality of Experience (QoE) is crucial for multimedia services, as it measures user satisfaction with content delivery. This paper presents an objective method for evaluating QoE in adaptive streaming services, using the commercial tool Video-MOS, which allows real-time monitoring and analysis of multimedia content quality across various platforms and networks. The method aims to provide a precise evaluation that incorporates both technical and subjective factors. This approach integrates multiple factors that influence the overall user perception of adaptive streaming quality, offering greater flexibility and performance, which could contribute to more comprehensive future assessment. The method is validated by a test plan that incorporates a variety of content and scenarios to simulate various network conditions. The results demonstrate the method’s effectiveness in predicting QoE, highlighting the rebuffering frequency as a significant factor. In optimal conditions, specific content types can achieve a QoE score as high as 3.36. Conversely, under unfavorable conditions, the QoE may decrease by up to 1.42 Mean Opinion Score (MOS) points, which represents an 80% reduction from its optimal level. Although the rebuffering frequency has a substantial influence, a long initial buffer can have an even more negative effect on QoE, particularly under adverse conditions. Furthermore, adaptive streaming technologies, such as Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH) and Adaptive Bitrate Streaming (ABR) are integral to the assessment process.

The increasing availability of User-Generated Content during large-scale events is transforming spectators into active co-creators of live narratives while simultaneously introducing challenges in managing heterogeneous sources, ensuring content quality, and orchestrating distributed infrastructures. A trial was conducted to evaluate automated orchestration, media enrichment, and real-time quality assessment in a live sporting scenario. A key innovation of this work is the use of a cloud-native architecture based on Kubernetes, enabling dynamic and scalable integration of smartphone streams and remote production tools into a unified workflow. The system also included advanced cognitive services, such as a Video Quality Probe for estimating perceived visual quality and an AI Engine based on YOLO models for detection and recognition of runners and bib numbers. Together, these components enable a fully automated workflow for live production, combining real-time analysis and quality monitoring, capabilities that previously required manual or offline processing. The results demonstrated consistently high Mean Opinion Score (MOS) values above 3 72.92% of the time, confirming acceptable perceived quality under real network conditions, while the AI Engine achieved strong performance with a Precision of 93.6% and Recall of 80.4%.