From conferencing solutions to power consumption and data management, AI is making its presence felt in a myriad of ways across pro AV
Words David Davies
It’s hard to think of another technological movement in which things have moved so quickly – or so unpredictably. The rise of artificial intelligence has been breathtaking in its speed, while its potential impact on so many areas of both work and non-work life has generated an unprecedented amount of comment and discussion.
Perhaps inevitably, though, practical use cases have been quicker to emerge in some sectors than others. For example, media and entertainment production has proven to be an early adopter, with a variety of applications – from content localisation to archive indexing and management – ensuring that it has received broader attention.
But if the more diffuse nature of pro audio-visual has meant that obvious use cases were slightly slower to emerge, there are definite signs that the sector is now catching up. In the process of compiling this article, LIVE encountered an impressive array of AI-enhanced solutions covering everything from live stage tracking to LED displays. There are also exciting hints that AI could be used to address some more practical problems, including the reduction of power consumption during a period when there is an acute awareness of the industry’s not-insignificant impact on the environment.
What then follows is a snapshot of a remarkable explosion of creativity that shows no signs of abating any time soon.
Ready to invest
But first, a little context. Some recent research from organisational design and planning platform specialist Orgvue strongly underlines the mixture of both excitement and uncertainty surrounding AI in 2024. It has found that 82% of organisations surveyed have already invested in AI, with another 33% saying they are expecting to increase this by more than 50% in the coming year.
At the same time, however, the researchers also discovered that 48% of those interviewed were unsure about how to manage developments in AI in order to optimise use of the technology. It also reported that 80% planned to re-skill employees to use AI effectively in the workplace.
All of this suggests that there is a significant opportunity for vendors to develop AI solutions which are complementary – rather than an alternative – to human workers and which can be readily understood by an entire workforce.
Conferencing solutions
In pro AV, this has so far been manifested in several primary applications, of which improvements to conferencing and communication have perhaps been the most high profile. There is no doubt that Covid-19 and the subsequent normalisation of hybrid working played a part here, with so many companies realising – sometimes overnight – that their conferencing and collaboration capabilities were short of ideal.
Ronja Harste, Sennheiser’s portfolio manager for Business Communications, recalls: “During the pandemic, the need for improving hybrid meeting experiences became much higher as attendees wanted to have similar experiences remotely to what they would experience in face-to-face meetings. Whereas audio is still the most important part of being able to understand each other clearly, advanced video quality and algorithms became significantly more important.”
With increased meeting equity becoming a near-universal goal – including for those participants in the room who are ‘sitting far away from the camera and can often be hard to see for the remote participants’ – Sennheiser integrated AI-based camera features into its Team Connect Bar Solutions family of scalable, all-in-one conferencing devices with built-in camera, microphones and speakers. AI-based features such as auto framing and person tiling – which allows users to view multiple participants at once during a video call – enable remote attendees to view the movement and gestures of people more clearly within the meeting room.
Harste is not alone in identifying the ability of AI algorithms to improve video experiences and, on the audio front, filter out unwanted noises. But, there is also a note of caution as tracking technology becomes more ubiquitous: “As people and voices are tracked, often recorded and sometimes even assigned to individual voice profiles, security will become a much bigger topic to ensure the protection of personal data.”
Tracking technologies
Staging and performance-related applications are another growth area for AI in AV. Among the companies leading the way here is Naostage, whose K System is described as the world’s first and only beaconless 3D tracking system. It comprises three elements: Kapta, a lightweight 3D sensor bar that scans in real time; Kore, an IP computing unit – trained by deep learning over thousands of show hours – that merges sensor data and automatically detects, tracks and identifies people moving within the tracking areas; and Kratos, a complete user software to design projects and manage interactions with external AVL systems.
Invited to consider Naostage’s starting point for its exploration of AI, CTO Olivier Le Doeuff responds: “This is a tough question. The simple answer is that it has become a de facto method used in the computer vision industry. Our AI models are essentially extensions of the previous algorithm we were using, but instead of manually tuning all the parameters of the algorithm, we rely on a so-called training step. It sounds ‘magical’ and gives the impression that the model learns, but in reality it’s trying to find the best set of parameters to produce the optimal results for your dataset.”
In terms of the aspects that distinguish Naostage’s approach to AI, he points out: “What sets us apart is the fact that we own all of these processes. We don’t rely on an off-the-shelf OEM product that we treat as a black box. When the AI fails to perform its tasks, we have the ability to identify how and why. We can then take the necessary steps to meet our clients’ goals.”
Pondering the overall outlook for AI in AV, Le Doeuff lists his key enthusiasms as the opportunity to streamline tasks in the AV industry. These are to introduce new tools that support the creation of captivating new experiences; empower designers and technicians to achieve things previously ‘either impossible or only accessible with massive budgets’; and develop a generation of technicians who can master new tools and ‘push the boundaries of what’s possible’.
Yet, there are also some grounds for concern. An over-reliance on AI-powered tools can result in creative complacency, suggests Le Doeuff, while there is also a risk of homogenisation. This means there could be a ‘drop in creativity if everyone produces the same shows, effects and designs simply because that’s what the tools can do’.
Pro audio mainstay Powersoft also recognises the potential of AI to support immersive experiences while suspecting it’s “still too early to see this applied to stadium design and integration,” says solutions engineering team leader Davide Quarto. “It has first to be consolidated in performance venues; as a second step, it could be ported into a stadium.”
Perhaps underlining the point made in the introduction of this article about end users wanting to invest in AI – but not being entirely clear of the desired result – Quarto indicates that thought still needs to be given to exactly how the new technology ‘can elevate and bring this experience to a new level’. In the meantime, AI holds clear potential to be applied for understanding and ‘analysing people’s behaviours so [entertainment providers] can have the ability to offer them the best and most customised experience possible’.
Display performance
Absen is another company that has evidently thought deeply about the ways in which AI can be used to optimise the performance and experience of its area of technology – specifically, LED displays used in a wide variety of indoor and outdoor settings. But, as SVP for global business development Ruben Rengel indicates, it is only in the recent past – as the latest generation of processing technologies have become available – that the full scope of possibilities has become apparent.
“AI is something we have been exploring for many years, but the big explosion surrounding real applications seen for AV has probably happened in the last year,” Rengel confirms. The new processors mean it is ‘easier to develop better, which helps our R&D team to come up with more ideas – not just covering the use of the products we have now, but also for future developments in this technology’.
The industriousness of the Absen R&D team is underlined when Rengel shares the application of AI to multiple aspects of a display and its performance. “One aspect is the performance of the display itself, which means how both the screen and image look,” he explains. “On top of that, there is the role of AI in analysing the various environmental variables – the most obvious of which could be the brightness, [though there is also scope to use AI] to analyse the situation of the environment around the screen to adapt to whatever is in contrast to this brightness.” Ultimately, AI algorithms can then be employed to ‘optimise the performance of the screen’ in any given setting or situation.
Rengel also points to another exciting application of AI in AV: the reduction of power consumption. At a time when live event organisers in particular are striving to improve their energy efficiency – sometimes in order to align with specific decarbonisation policies – it seems highly likely that the potential of AI to optimise their power requirements will resonate strongly.
Whereas some applications might be pertinent to specific areas of broadcast or cinema, for instance, Rengel notes: “Power consumption is something that everybody cares about.” In a white paper available on the Absen website, the company outlines an energy-saving model informed by factors such as environmental brightness and the level of footfall around the screen that comprises three main components. There’s the perception layer, which gathers data like lighting and foot traffic using various sensors; the processing layer, which employs AI algorithms to analyse this data and determine optimal brightness and energy settings; and the application layer, which displays content based on these settings while continuously feeding data back to the processing layer for real-time adjustments – thereby ensuring the best display results.
One scenario proposed in the Absen document is Crowd Monitoring Energy-Saving, in which high-precision sensors and advanced image processing technology are utilised to capture and analyse real-time crowd data in the viewing area. It states: “When the system detects prolonged absence of people or extremely low foot traffic, it automatically reduces the LED display brightness or switches to sleep mode to minimise unnecessary energy consumption. The brightness adjustment is gradual and smooth, ensuring energy efficiency while avoiding discomfort for viewers due to sudden changes.”
Meanwhile, the company is also looking inwards to see how AI can improve its own production processes. Rengel says: “There are several aspects where we try to incorporate AI to optimise the operations [related to the actual] production of the LED screens – and when I say production, I include aspects such as quality control of the materials, quality control of the production and optimisation of the warehousing, logistics and so on.”
In short, there is scope for AI to improve the performance and power consumption of the displays, but also ‘the performance as a company’.
This duality of purpose is likely to become increasingly important as the AI-enhanced areas of the pro AV industry grow more competitive. As with any comparatively new area of technology, it is probable that the industry will witness its fair share of misfires and applications that – although interesting – do not really have a long-term commercial future. But what is beyond any doubt is that a great number of companies are looking at a huge variety of potential applications – and it is a fair assumption to suggest there are many more that we are not yet aware of.
For all the understandable trepidation about some aspects of AI, it is clear we are in the early stages of a new golden age of innovation.
