Picturing Video
Video cameras have become so commonplace today, they often
are used in place of still cameras. However, trying to generate
a high quality still image from a frame of video footage has
been no easy task until now. After completing a Phase I and Phase
II NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract
with Marshall Space Flight Center, Irvine Sensors Corporation
created a subsidiary, Redhawk Vision, Inc., to commercialize
the resulting technology.
Redhawk is now prepared to introduce Video Pics,TM
a software program that generates high-quality photographs from
video. Using Irvine Sensors' patented neural network technology
originally developed for NASA and the U.S. Air Force, Video Pics
takes information content from multiple frames of video and enhances
the resolution of a selected frame of interest. The resulting
images have the sharpness and clarity of 35mm camera photos and
are generated as digital files compatible with image editing
software.
The software uses a complex patent-pending algorithm to extract
clear images from noisy, grainy video similar to the way the
human brain "sees" video content. Video Pics removes
jitter, noise, and compression artifacts, while increasing resolution
so a shot can be re-framed and magnified. Brightness can be adjusted
without reducing image quality.
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Video
PicsTM allows users to turn video recordings into
high-quality still photographs, with all the clarity of a 35mm
camera. |
The NASA SBIR work was performed on technology known as Real-Time
Self-Contained Image Compensation for Spaceborne Imaging Instruments
(SIMC). The SIMC algorithm determines which direction the scene
has moved and repositions it back to the original position. Redhawk
believes its method is considerably faster and more flexible
than traditional signal processing techniques. Video Pics will
also salvage otherwise unusable video with its ability to zoom
and motion stabilize video without any loss of detail.
Video Pics represents Irvine Sensors' first commercial application
to stem from its Silicon Brain research, the company's initiative
to develop a computer that thinks like a human brain. Redhawk's
first product line will be targeted at video editing professionals
and can be used in conjunction with Adobe and Apple®
video editing software. Redhawk envisions bringing the technology
to the average consumer to facilitate e-commerce photo finishing.
James D. Evert, chairman and CEO of Redhawk Vision, believes,
"[C]onsumers of all ages could use such a tool to extract
photographs of interest from the estimated five trillion frames
of video that are captured by camcorders each year."
Irvine Sensors, located in Costa Mesa, California, is engaged
in the development of high density electronics, miniaturized
sensors and sensor readout circuits, miniature cameras, optical
interconnections, image processing software and devices, and
low-power analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits for diverse
systems applications. The company worked with NASA on previous
SBIR contracts to develop a three-dimensional memory system.
Video PicsTM is a trademark of Redhawk Vision,
Inc. Apple® is a registered trademark
of Apple Computer, Inc.
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