Schedule

The draft schedule of conference tracks, talks and events is available at Schedule. Names of speakers and the titles of their talks can also be found at Conference Speakers. This information can be sorted by speaker name and track name.

Tracks

The conference includes 6 tracks addressing issues important to real time communications.  The names of the tracks, and their high level descriptions are shown below:

• Research Track
• Programmable Real-Time Networks
• VoiceTech
• WebRTC & Real-Time Applications
• Next Generation Emergency Communications Services
• Internet of Things
• HackRTC

Research Track

Track Co-Chairs: Ronald Marx and Jose Aguerre

The functions and scope of real-time mixed media applications are expanding as these applications are integrated with IoT, ML/AI, blockchain, voice- and financial technologies, and more. While there are conferences devoted to each of these technologies separately, and to the underlying networks and platforms that support them, the RTC Conference Technical Program is specifically interested in exploring the issues, opportunities and challenges associated with the integration of these disparate technologies. The online version of this Call for Papers can be found at Call for Papers.

The RTC Research Track invites paper submissions in the area of interactive multimedia communications describing architectures, design, theoretical results, experiments, innovative systems, prototyping efforts and case studies. Papers that are accepted and presented at the conference will be submitted for publication in IEEE Xplore.

We are in particular interested in works at the intersection of multimedia interactive communications with technologies in the area of internet of things, vehicular networking, confidential computing, machine learning, network management, programmable network services, security, privacy, machine learning, voice technologies, blockchain, gaming, and robotics. The Technical Program inherits the 14-year legacy of the IPTComm Conference which evolved from a focus on Voice over IP to include some topics listed above. The archive of IPTComm publications is located at archive.

Important Dates

• Paper submission deadline: Sunday, July 16 – 1800 EDT
• Notification of acceptance: Sunday, August 13 – 1800 EDT
• Final camera-ready submission: Sunday, September 10 – 1800 EDT
• Conference Dates: October 3-4, 2023

Programmable Real-Time Networks

Track Co-Chairs: Maureen Stillman and Chris Mayer

By putting vast computing resources at the fingertips of billions of people, the cloud continues to be the defining technology of the twenty-first century, and offers some level of resilience. At the same time, rapidly rising mobile data consumption, coupled with the high costs for deploying 5G are forcing operators to re-examine how they deploy next generation networks. This is leading network operators to focus on advanced technologies to increase flexibility, efficiency and automation by transitioning to disaggregated systems such as Open RAN and cloud-native 5G cores, coupled with distributed compute and data, along with increased reliance on machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI).

This evolution makes it possible to build, deploy, and operate new communications services quickly and with relative ease. It increases the number of communications developers and ushers in an era of “programmable real time networks” that are focused not only on technologies such as 5G, virtualization, and machine learning (ML), but also on potential future intersections with technologies such as dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS), blockchain distributed ledgers, quantum computing, and many others.

This transition toward programmable networks gives rise to a new class of developer – network engineers armed with the ability to programmatically interact with the networks they administer. Programmatic interfaces enable network engineers to automate the creation of new network services (rapidly accelerating real time network creation and service activation functions), and to monitor and scale existing network services in real time to meet the rapidly increasing demands of the applications that run on top of them.

This track will focus on the technologies behind resilient networks and the shift to programmable real time networks, new skills required for the emerging class of network developers, and how these technologies are democratizing the way developers and network engineers create value and solve problems in disparate verticals. We will also delve into the intersection of voice, video and messaging technologies with other disciplines to examine potential threats and opportunities as developers and customers define new cutting-edge services and create new, disruptive applications.

VoiceTech

Track Chair: Jordan Hosier

Speech technology has changed the nature of our daily interactions. From voice assistants to conversational bots, speech and artificial intelligence technologies give way to amazing opportunities for business applications as well as academic research.

Natural language understanding is foundational to voice-powered technology. When this technology is performing at its best, the user experience is natural, fluid, and efficient. When it breaks down, the results can be frustrating. Despite recent advances in the field of AI, most conversational technologies still require a high degree of design skill to make this technology useful and effective. Chat GPT-4 is just one example of the exciting advances being made in the field of generative AI. However, there are ethical implications associated with the use of Chat GPT-4 and similar generative models. These models bring about concerns related to privacy, data security, and ethics.

This track brings attendees up-to-date on current and emerging NLU technology, analyzing how state-of-the-art technology is applied and the potential implications when it fails. We will cover concepts related to conversational AI including, but not limited to, optimization and implementation of NLU engines, conversational design, voice biometrics and authentication, as well as best practices for the collecting, generating, and annotating of voice data. This track will highlight recent developments in NLU, challenge the operational impact of emerging technology, and identify opportunities for growth and improvement in the field of VoiceTech.

WebRTC & Real-Time Applications

Track Chair: Alberto Gonzalez

Real-time applications are now a critical part of our distributed lives, enabling us to stay connected through live audio and video, as well as real-time data transfers. WebRTC has emerged as the standard for allowing JavaScript code to access microphone and camera via the browser, enabling peer-to-peer video, audio, and data connections directly between browsers.

Since 2020, the usage of WebRTC has grown dramatically, increasing the need for scalability, higher quality, and usability. As an official standard announced by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), WebRTC is now being used in billions of browsers, mobile phones, and other devices across various industries such as social media, telecommunications, healthcare, education, broadcasting, and more.

In this track we will:

• Explore the current status of WebRTC from both standards and market perspectives
• Learn about the latest Open Source project updates
• Delve into best practices for implementing real-time applications using WebRTC 
• Learn how people is scaling WebRTC
• Examine leading use cases for WebRTC applications and integrations with AI and much more!

Join us to discover the latest advancements in WebRTC and explore its potential for enhancing modern applications

Next Generation Emergency Communications Services

Track Chair: Mark J Fletcher – ENP

Next Generation Emergency Communications continues to be a nascent multi-media technology revolutionizing emergency communication modalities. At its core, an NG911 architecture radically departs from its legacy E911 predecessor in many ways. Because of this, traditional transition or migration plans aren’t feasible. Implementing a new NG911 ESINet requires new network infrastructure and Functional Elements in order to route, transport, and deliver information in the payload, and, at the far end, an NG911-enabled ECC/PSAP to receive the session and decode any associated data elements provided by the origination network or any of the carrier or intermediary elements in the path. All of this must be done in a secure environment. During the transition, standards-based interoperability must be implemented with legacy networks and the E911 centers utilizing legacy gateway technology for backward adaptability.

As we followed the progress of this evolution for the past decade, now is finally the time to examine both real-world and hypothetical examples of deployment. We can now examine the required security models and frameworks. And we can examine the real-world implementation barriers. How will new 5G networks contribute to the foray and how will that forcefully influence the overall architecture? There is no longer the question of, can we build it? There is no longer a question of when we will build it? We are now ready to fire it up and see how it runs. What data can we pass? What are the use cases we can deliver? What kind of monster did we create? The experts have asked, and the industry has delivered. Let’s examine what we did. . . .

Internet of Things

Track Chairs: Alvin Chin and Dieff Vital

Internet of Things (IoT) networks and technologies are expected to connect 25 billion smart objects to the Internet by 2025. New applications are making use of the growth in connectivity and the data generated by these networked smart objects to produce innovative and ground-breaking solutions. Older service paradigms are being transformed by this technology.

Disparate technologies including Silicon, Devices, Software, Multimedia Communications Systems, System and Service Integration are all reaping the benefits afforded by the accelerating availability of smart objects and the information they send. Vertical industry segments such as manufacturing, healthcare, digital workplace technologies, transportation and public sector continue to invest their resources heavily in IoT in order to capitalize on this burgeoning market which is poised to have an overall impact of many trillion dollars. Through these applications, the data collected can foster breakthroughs in decision making, operational efficiencies, safety, and security and have an effect on nearly every aspect of the customer experience.

IoT relies upon a vast confluence of technologies and standards – including sensors and actuators, wearable computing, communications & protocols, network, storage and compute infrastructure, big data and analytics, middleware, security, visualization and control and finally immersive applications. Many applications in domains such as manufacturing, automotive, transportation, healthcare, retail and in-home environments are leveraging AI and cloud computing to create edge solutions that use AI models to draw useful conclusions rapidly based on the analysis of the sensor data.

This track brings together researchers from academia and industry to present and discuss their latest development work, deployment activities and research in the many and various fields employing the IoT paradigm.

HackRTC

Track Co-Chairs: Muhammad Hamza Nasir and Kanwarjeet Randhawa

We’re excited for the inaugural HackRTC taking place September 30 – October 1 (weekend immediately prior to the main conference) on IIT’s Mies Campus. The RTC Conference at Illinois Tech is passionate about fostering innovation, collaboration, and technological advancements. With a focus on demonstrating the power of programmable real-time communications, HackRTC brings together talented developers, designers, and tech enthusiasts over a weekend to create prototype solutions to real-world challenges, while providing a platform for participants to showcase their skills, learn from industry experts, network with sponsors, and compete for prizes.

HackRTC is a weekend-long hackathon focused on creating real-time communications enabled hacks (prototype applications) utilizing software resources supplied by the HackRTC sponsors. At the conclusion of the event on Sunday afternoon, the hacking teams produce 5 minute demo pitches showcasing what they have created. Based on these pitches, judges from the sponsors award prize money to the teams deemed to have created the most compelling hacks on the sponsor resources. Of course, throughout HackRTC we’ll be fueling hackers energy with tons of great food and drink.

We’ll also be keeping the buzz going Oct. 3-5 at The RTC Conference by inviting the winning teams to return to deliver their demo pitches in a presentation to an influential group of industry leaders. And all demo pitches will be live-streamed, and recorded and published on our website so hackers effort is rewarded with collateral that can be used on their resumes, at work, or simply to wow friends. We’re eager to see what hackers create as they mash up programmable telecoms with many other services available over the web to solve problems across all aspects of people’s lives!