Towards the Design and Evaluation of More Sustainable Multimedia Experiences: Which Role Can QoE Research Play?
Katrien De Moor, Markus Fiedler, Alexander Raake, Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Vahiny Gnanasekaran, Sruti Subramanian, Thomas Zinner · ACM SIGMultimedia Records · 2022
In this column, we reflect on the environmental impact and broader sustainability implications of resource-demanding digital applications and services such as video streaming, VR/AR/XR and videoconferencing. We put emphasis not only on the experiences and use cases they enable but also on the "cost" of always striving for high Quality of Experience (QoE) and better user experiences. Starting by sketching the broader context, our aim is to raise awareness about the role that QoE research can play in the context of various of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), either directly (e.g., SDG 13 "climate action") or more indirectly (e.g., SDG 3 "good health and well-being" and SDG 12 "responsible consumption and production").