Leonid Kravets, Patent Counsel in InterDigital’s Corporate Development and Strategy Group, has accepted an invitation to join Ben Franklin Technology Partners (BFTP) of Southeastern Pennsylvania's IT Technical Advisory Council (TAC). BFTP is Pennsylvania's private investment arm, tasked with growing the local entrepreneurial ecosystem through angel and venture investments in local companies. Over the years, BFTP has invested more than $165 million to grow more than 1,750 regional enterprises.  Learn more about the organization, and their impact at www.sep.benfranklin.org.

As a member of BFTP's IT TAC, Leonid will work with a team of investment and engineering professionals to perform due diligence on candidate companies seeking investment from BFTP.  More information about the BFTP Advisory Committees can be found here.

IEEE’s The Institute has published a special report on the Internet of Things (IoT), including a Smarter Sensors article.  This article features thought leadership from InterDigital’s Chonggang Wang, who is a Senior Engineer researching machine-to-machine (M2M) communications and developing the architecture, protocols, applications, and other enabling technologies for the IoT.  According to Wang the full potential of the IoT can be reached if it is SMART (Scalable, Monitored and managed, Adaptable, Reliable, and Trustworthy).

Chonggang Wang is also a Senior IEEE Member and Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Internet of Things Journal.

To learn more about our vision of M2M/IoT, search for “M2M” on the InterDigital Vault.

A new depth-based video pre-processing solution that delivers bandwidth savings has been announced by the development team of InterDigital and DDD.  This technology addresses the increasing demand for streaming high-definition video both at home and on the go.

The pre-processing solution typically saves more than 20% of the bit rate over unprocessed video when streaming 2D video to Smart TVs, smartphones, and tablets.  By combining DDD’s depth-based video pre-processing solution with InterDigital’s user-adaptive streaming technology, bit-rate savings are possible to reduce bandwidth costs without compromising picture quality.

This new solution pre-processes 2D video before it is encoded and streamed, then, at the receiver, a conventional decoder is used to play back the video.  InterDigital is able to adjust the bit rate of the video stream based on the device’s sensors to optimize the perceived resolution of the video image for any given screen size and viewing distance.  InterDigital and DDD’s technology solution has enabled full 1080 HD versions of content to be delivered where conventional encoding techniques reduce the picture quality to 720 HD resolution based on the available bandwidth.

Demonstrations at CES 2014 and Mobile World Congress 2014 were the first to reveal this new technology as a viable solution to current market demands and trends.  "The increasing demand for streaming video on smartphones and tablets, coupled with the lower transmission speeds that are available to mobile users makes Mobile World Congress an ideal venue to showcase our leading edge video solutions." -Scott McQuilkin, Senior Executive Vice President, Innovation at InterDigital.

Read more at Display Central or view InterDigital’s original press release.

Update: Thursday, February 27, 2014 - 12PM CET (6AM Eastern) -

It's the final day of the show, and other than some tired feet, everyone is still in good spirits.  We're recording a number of interviews and demonstrations while we're here, and it will all be available on the InterDigital Vault after the event.  Once again we will be utilizing our Advanced Video Solutions to share our live video feed which you can watch from your computer or mobile device.  Enjoy the show, and check back next week for links to all the great content we're capturing during the event.  In the meantime, take a look at some of the pictures below.

Update: Wednesday, February 26, 2014 - 1:30PM CET (7:30AM Eastern) -

Day three is here, and the excitement continues to build.  Our demo stations have been full, and visitors are truly enjoying the technologies we're showcasing this year, including Smart Access Manager, Spectrum and mmW Solutions, and our Advanced Video Solutions.

Yesterday, Bill Merritt, Interdigital's President and CEO spoke with TIA NOW's Abe Nejad, and discussed why standards are important, and what InterDigital is doing to continue to drive them forward.

Remember to check out the live stream from your computer or mobile device to get a live view from the show. The Mañaners will be performing again today at 5PM CET (11AM Eastern), so be sure to check back to catch their final performance from our booth.

Update: Tuesday, February 25, 2014 - 2:30PM CET (8:30AM Eastern) -

Get ready, we're about 30 minutes away from our Creating the Living Network discussion series on Wi-Fi management with TIA.  The audio and video will be streamed live at 3PM CET (9AM Eastern).  Tune in to watch the live feed from your computer or mobile device.  As if that's not enough excitement, we will also be featuring a live band at 5PM CET (11AM Eastern).  A very popular local band, The Mañaners will perform live in our booth, and once again the feed will be available to watch on the Web.  Tune in to hear some great music, and watch a their memorable performance.

Update: Tuesday, February 25, 2014 - 10AM CET (4AM Eastern) -

After a great first day, we're ready for day two of Mobile World Congress 2014. Today at 3PM CET (9AM Eastern), InterDigital and the Telecommunications Industry Association will kick off InterDigital's Creating the Living Network discussion series by streaming a live panel on Wi-Fi management. Hosted by TIA NOW's Abe Nejad, the panel will feature thought leaders from some of the industry's leading vendors as well as Berge Ayvazian, a senior consultant with Heavy Reading, one of the telecom industry's leading analysis publications. This session will be available on the Web using LiveCast’s broadcast platform, and utilizing InterDigital’s video scaling solution.

Watch the live feed from your computer or mobile device, and enjoy the show!

Posted February 24, 2014 - 10AM CET (4 AM Eastern) -

Welcome to our live blog post directly from our booth at Mobile World Congress 2014, Hall 7 stand 7A71!  This post is the spot to be kept up to date with everything going on at the event.  We’ll continue to add to this post throughout the week: we have a few sessions planned, and will update this post with all the details, so check back often for updates.

One of the many things that are new this year is a live video feed from the booth, which will show the action on an ongoing basis and then be used for the panels on W-Fi offload and other topics we’ll be hosting through the conference. Use the links below to access the video page, and click the LIVE button to view the current feed.  Archives will also be accessible from this page as they become available.

From your computer:

http://bit.ly/1h4ubin

From your mobile device:

http://bit.ly/1k4ECFF

Stay tuned!

In a recent IP Watchdog post, William Merritt, our President and CEO, talks about a conversation he had last year with a journalist at a leading tech website.  The reporter, who given his beat should be in-the-know, was clueless about how wireless standards are developed—even worse, he was misinformed.

For Bill, the conversation represents the lack of understanding that exists in both the tech world—even among long term insiders—and Washington about standards development, the pivotal role standards play in wireless technology, and the importance of patenting key innovations that contribute to standards. Misconceptions, he posits, underlie the current heated argument against licensing patents. (Just read the post’s comments to see the debate in action.)

In his piece—InterDigital’s Story: Fostering Industry Solutions and Profiting from its Growth—Bill attempts to clear up these misconceptions. He looks at how companies like InterDigital develop standards and why these research and development bodies should be able to patent the valuable intellectual property behind standards.  It’s a good read for people in and outside of the wireless space and lays the foundation for informed, meaningful debate about monetizing innovations that are the backbone of the wireless market.

“There are few topics in America today that are as hungry for reasoned debate and discussion as the area of patents.  Unfortunately, in many corners innovators are vilified simply because they choose to license what they develop. This is problematic when you consider that research and development companies have developed many great innovations. I remain hopeful that a reasoned debate will prevail.”