Ahmad Alhilal, PhD

Postdoctoral researcher at Aalto University · pioneering adaptive real‑time streaming, cloud‑rendered XR, and scalable visual computing.

Research frontier Latest publications Latest highlights Teaching & mentorship Presentations Projects

Core research areas

Real-time Streaming

networked XR systems, congestion control for XR streaming, and QoE optimization for cloud gaming

WebRTCALVRGCC NADA NVidia NVEnc

Cloud‑rendered XR Gaming

foveated video encoding for immersive experiences, foveated rendering for scalable low-latency encoding

VR cloud gamingUnityFoveated Video Encoding

Scalable Visual Computing

Generative AI for 3D spaces, gaze‑adaptive compression, real-time rendering of photorealistic views

3D Gaussian SplatNeRFComplexity‑aware FVESaliency‑Guided FVE
Collaborate with me — adaptive video streaming, cloud rendering, networked XR systems: ahmad.alhilal[AT]aalto[DOT]fi

Latest highlights

Recent awards & recognition
🏅 Honorable Mentions for Best Papers in IEEE VR 2026
🏅 Honourable Mention Award in CHI Play 2024
View all honors & awards →
Breaking news
📢 Three papers accepted at IEEE VR 2026
📢 Paper accepted at ACM CoNEXT 2025
📢 Paper accepted at ACM Multimedia 2025
📢 Started as Postdoctoral Researcher at Aalto University - Dec 2024
More news & updates →

Selected publications

The Web Conference (WWW)
2026
FovRL: Joint Foveation and Quality Control for Immersive VR Streaming
Tsui, Wu, Alhilal, Siekkinen, Hui
IEEE VR
2026
Frame Complexity-Aware FVE for Real-time High-Quality Streaming
Wu, Alhilal, Tsui, Siekkinen, Hui
ACM CoNEXT
2025
EyeNexus: Adaptive Gaze-Driven Streaming for VR Cloud Gaming
Wu, Alhilal, Tsui, Siekkinen, Hui
ACM Multimedia
2025
Congestion Control for VR Cloud Gaming: Integration and Comparison in Real VR Gaming Environment
Alhilal, Wu, Kämäräinen, Braud, Siekkinen
ACM MMSys
2024
FovOptix: Human Vision-Compatible Encoding in VR Cloud Gaming
Alhilal, Wu, Tsui, Hui
The Web Conference (WWW)
2022
Nebula: Reliable Low-latency Video Transmission for Mobile Cloud Gaming
Alhilal, Braud, Han, Hui
Full publication list →

Teaching & mentorship

Academic teaching appointments and research supervision with location highlights.

2025 - 2026 • Espoo, Finland
Aalto University
Lecturer – CS-E4265 Multimedia Systems
2024 • Hong Kong, China
HKUST
Guest Lecturer – Extended Reality: Systems, Principles and Design
2016–2017 • Damascus, Syria
Arab International University
Lecturer – Introduction to Computer Systems
2019–2023 • Hong Kong, China
HKUST
Teaching Assistant – Java Programming, Database Systems, Mobile App Development
2014–2016 • Damascus, Syria
Damascus University / Arab International University
Teaching Assistant – Network Security, Computer Networks
2020–Present • Hong Kong & Finland
Research Mentorship
PhD, MPhil & UROP Advising
Supervising researchers on XR systems, cloud gaming, and generative AI for 3D spaces.
LAM Kit Yung (XR interaction) CHEUNG Clarence (Deception in VR) YANG Liang (Metaverse Interop) WANG Xuetong (VR Sketching) WU Ze (VR Gaming streaming) TSUI Yuk Hang (ML+CV) Simin YANG (GenAI spaces) PARK Chun Ho (Localization)

Advisor of 9+ Final Year Projects at Damascus University.

Complete teaching portfolio →

Ongoing research projects

Advancing networked XR, cloud gaming, and photorealistic 3D streaming – with institutional highlights.

Aalto University
2025 – present
Real‑time Rendering & Streaming of Photorealistic 3D Views
Leveraging 3D Gaussian Splatting and generative scene representations for real-time novel view synthesis. We design adaptive streaming pipelines that deliver photorealistic immersive scenes to lightweight XR headsets with minimal bandwidth.
3D Gaussian Splatting NeRF Splat Streaming Splat Renering CUDA
HKUST & Aalto University
2023 – present
Adaptive Bitrate Streaming for XR Cloud Gaming
Developing low-latency adaptive bitrate algorithms and congestion control for immersive XR cloud gaming. Focus on integrating gaze-driven foveated transport and real-time encoding optimizations for stable quality under fluctuating network conditions.
WebRTC Foveated Encoding Foveated Rendering ALVR GCC/NADA NVidia Coding
Explore all research projects →

Invited presentations & talks

Oct 2025 • Dublin, Ireland
ACM Multimedia 2025
Congestion Control for VR Cloud Gaming: Integration and Comparison in Real VR Gaming Environment
Dec 2025 • Hong Kong, China
ACM CoNEXT 2025
EyeNexus: Adaptive Gaze-Driven Quality and Bitrate Streaming for Seamless VR Cloud Gaming Experiences
Jul 2023 • Hong Kong, China
SocialMeta Workshop
Network Traffic in the Metaverse: The Case of Social VR
Apr 2022 • Lyon, France
The Web Conference (WWW) 2022
Nebula: Reliable Low-latency Video Transmission for Mobile Cloud Gaming
Full list of talks →

Get in touch

ahmad.alhilal[AT]aalto[DOT]fi
Tietotekniikantalo, Konemiehentie 2, 02150 Espoo, Finland

Let's push the boundaries of real-time visual computing, edge intelligence & XR streaming.