Datasets and benchmarks column: introduction

Datasets are critical for research and development as, rather obviously, data is required for performing experiments, validating hypotheses, analyzing designs, and building applications. Over the years a plurality of multimedia collections have been put together, which can range from the one-off instances that have been exclusively created for supporting the work presented in a single paper or demo to those that have been created with multiple related or separate endeavors in mind. Unfortunately, the collected data is often not made publicly available. In some cases, it may not be possible to make a public release due to the proprietary or sensitive nature of the data, but other forces are also at work. For example, one might be reluctant to share data freely, as it has a value from the often substantial amount of time, effort, and money that was invested in collecting it.