Special Issue on Immersive and networked media for next-gen communications Submission Date: 2025-10-15 In recent years, Extended Reality (XR) systems are experiencing an unprecedented diffusion. The availability of relatively low-cost devices, together with an increasing number of applications calling for high quality XR content has pushed the research community to investigate and develop new XR solutions. In parallel, the increase of bandwidth availability and in-network computational capability is fostering the realization of collaborative and interactive immersive applications thus opening a new era of communication services.

To support the development of fully immersive communication systems many challenges are yet to be tackled. This includes on the one hand the generation of the XR content, and the subsequent adoption and perception by the user. In addition, for networked applications, another key element is in the delivery of the XR content, coping with bandwidth and timing constraints. This is particularly relevant since, while XR experiences become more realistic, the complexity of rendering virtual scenes is growing beyond the capabilities of compact headsets, thus requiring finding a suitable trade-off between the local processing and the off-load to cloud-based services. In such scenarios, predictive compression and resource allocation techniques must be envisaged. These challenges become even more complex to tackle when multi-user and real-time services are involved. Furthermore, the ultimate success of XR solutions is up to the final user whose expectations must be fulfilled. Based on this, the Quality of Experience (QoE) aspects in terms of feeling of immersion and presence, quality of interaction and overall usability and accessibility are of utmost importance. Therefore, the definition of QoE-aware XR solutions is needed. Finally, as for other network-based multimedia services, the security aspects cannot be disregarded. To address these challenges, this special issue welcomes contributions on the following topics:

XR content generation and rendering (e.g., omni-directional images and videos, pointclouds, 3D meshes, AI-generated content)

QoE-aware compression and transmission techniques (e.g., predictive and adaptive techniques)

User modelling (e.g., physical tracking, avatar generation, emotional understanding)

QoE methodologies for XR

Secure XR communications (e.g., identification and authentication techniques, content authenticity control)

The special issue will be open to all contributors of the research community and will leverage the critical mass of the FUN-Media project which specifically addresses immersive media communications over networks. FUN-Media is one of the core projects of RESTART (“RESearch and innovation on future Telecommunications systems and networks, to make Italy more smart”) – an initiative funded under the NextGeneration EU framework representing

Guest editors:

Prof. Nicola Conci

Università di Trento, Trento, Italy

Dr. Sara Baldoni

Università degli Studi di Padova, Padua, Italy

Manuscript submission information:

Guest Editor Invitation Only

Open for Submission: from 27-Jul-2025 to 15-Oct-2025

Submission Site: Editorial Manager®

Article Type Name: "VSI: IMAGE_Immersive and Networked Media" - please select this item when you submit manuscripts online

All manuscripts will be peer-reviewed. Submissions will be evaluated based on originality, significance, technical quality, and clarity. Once accepted, articles will be posted online immediately and published in a journal regular issue within weeks. Articles will also be simultaneously collected in the online special issue.

For any inquiries about the appropriateness of contribution topics, welcome to contact Leading Guest Editor

Guide for Authors will be helpful for your future contributions, read more: Guide for authors - Signal Processing: Image Communication - ISSN 0923-5965 | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier

For more information about our Journal, please visit our ScienceDirect Page: Signal Processing: Image Communication | Journal | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier

Keywords:

Extended Reality;

Omni-directional images and videos;

Pointclouds; 3D meshes;

AI-generated content;

Quality of Experience;

QoE-aware compression and transmission;

Avatar generation;

Emotional understanding;

Content authenticity control