In today's modern information societies, ever-increasing amounts of data are being transmitted or stored. However, since the available bandwidths are severely limited, this is only possible through the use of data compression algorithms. Data compression therefore represents a key technology for data communication and processing. The goal of Mr. Pfaff's research is to develop new data compression methods. Machine learning methods are increasingly being used in this area, particularly to efficiently model the empirical distributions of the underlying data.
In addition to his professorship in Potsdam, Mr. Pfaff heads the "Video Coding Technologies" working group at the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute in Berlin. Together with his working group, Mr. Pfaff is involved in the development of compression methods for practical use. This is achieved, among other things, through the working group's active participation in the activities of international standardization bodies.