Fast Search & Transfer(TM) (OSEAX: FAST.OL) (FAST(TM)), the
leading developer of search technologies, today announced that the
European Commission (EC) has granted funding to a research project
that will be led by FAST. The Platform for Search of Audiovisual
Resources Across Online Spaces (PHAROS) project will build a
next-generation audiovisual search platform, designed, developed and
applied jointly by a global consortium of high-profile academic and
industrial players with proven track records in innovation and
commercial success.
The mission of PHAROS is to transform audiovisual search from a
point-solution search engine model to an integrated search platform
paradigm, incorporating future user and search requirements as key
design principles. These forward-looking requirements will be defined
through collaboration with European and national initiatives, as well
as through cooperation with some of the largest and most sophisticated
organizations in the media and telecommunications sector. This unified
effort will ensure industry relevance and worldwide application reach.
PHAROS Partners
PHAROS involves 13 partners (Engineering Ingegneria Informatica
SpA, France Telecom, L3S Research Centre at the University of
Hannover, Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology, Ecole
Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Knowledge Media Institute of The
Open University, Fundacio Barcelona Media Universitat Pompeu Fabra,
Technical Research Centre of Finland, Circom Regional, Metaware SpA,
Web Model, SAIL LABS Technology and FAST) in 9 different countries
(Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Switzerland
and the UK), including large European players that will help ensure
future project sustainability and subject matter experts who will
manage highly focused technology components. The development of this
advanced multimedia search platform with partners from multiple
European countries supports a continued focus on building a
technologically-competitive future for the continent.
"This research fund is validation of the key tenets and concepts
behind PHAROS, and we would like to thank the European Commission for
its confidence in the project," said Bjorn Olstad, FAST's CTO and
designated Technical Director of PHAROS. "We look forward to
developing the next generation multimedia search in cooperation with
such a highly regarded group of partners."
Exploding Volume of Audiovisual Data
Private and public organizations consistently find themselves at a
loss over how to handle the exploding volume of audiovisual data,
formats and technologies. The growth of audiovisual content is driving
demand for new services and making audiovisual search one of the major
challenges for businesses today.
The PHAROS Search Platform will create a new infrastructure for
managing and enabling access to information sources of all types,
supporting advanced audiovisual processing, content handling and
management that will enhance the control, creation and sharing of rich
media content for all users in the value chain. The PHAROS platform
will enable organizations with audiovisual content to strengthen and
extend product and service offerings by integrating best-of-breed
products with advanced search technologies. Ultimately this will
produce competitive advantage by enabling organizations to address the
full content management processing chain.
Far-Reaching Impact of PHAROS
The overall impact of PHAROS is expected to be far-reaching. The
platform's support of seamless interaction with multimedia, awareness
of presence, personality and needs, and responsiveness to speech,
multilingual and multicultural access will enable long-sought
unfettered access to information. The effects of this fundamental
shift will be evident across a range of industries and organizations
and will create cross-cultural ripple effects for businesses,
professionals and citizens.
"With the high growth rate of multimedia content production,
increasing broadband access, convergence of devices and users'
sophistication level rapidly rising, it is essential to drive the
development of advanced multimedia search capabilities further," said
John M. Lervik, FAST's CEO. "FAST is spearheading innovation in
information access technology, and the appointment of yet another FAST
driven research project within a short period of time, is a welcomed
proof point of just that."
About FAST
FAST is the leading developer of search technologies that are
behind the scenes at the world's best known companies with the most
demanding search problems. FAST's flexible and scalable enterprise
search platform (FAST ESP) elevates the search capabilities of
enterprise customers and connects people to the relevant information
they seek regardless of medium. This drives revenues and reduces total
cost of ownership by effectively leveraging IT infrastructure. FAST's
solutions are used by more than 2,600 global customers and partners,
including America Online (AOL), Cardinal Health, CareerBuilder.com,
Chordiant, CIGNA, CNET, Computer Associates, Dell, EMC Documentum,
Factiva, Fidelity Investments, Findexa, IBM, Knight Ridder,
LexisNexis, Merrill Lynch, Rakuten, Reed Elsevier, Reuters, Sensis,
Stellent, Tenet Healthcare, Thomas Industrial Networks, T-Online, US
Army, Virgilio (Telecom Italia) and Vodafone.
FAST is headquartered in Norway and is publicly traded under the
ticker symbol 'FAST' on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The FAST Group
operates globally with presence in Europe, the United States, Asia
Pacific, Australia, South America, and the Middle East and Africa. For
further information about FAST, please visit www.fastsearch.com.
(C) 2006 Fast Search & Transfer ASA - Fast Search & Transfer,
FAST, FAST ESP, Contextual Insight and the FAST logo are trademarks of
Fast Search & Transfer ASA. All rights reserved. All other names
mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
