ITR/SI(SPS)+AP+SY: High Resolution Video and Still Reconstruction with Applications to Visual Communications and Image Enhancement

Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

ABSTRACT Proposal 0113681 Altunbasak, Yucel GA Tech Res Corp - GIT ITR/SI(SPS)+AP+SY: High-Resolution High-Precision Video Reconstruction with Applications to Visual Communications and Image Enhancement The problem of resolution and bit-depth enhancement from compressed data will become increasingly important for applications in the emerging, error-prone, restricted bandwidth, wireless and heterogeneous computing environments. This research involves enhancing the spatial, temporal and bit-depth resolution of video signals by means of multi-frame and multi-channel processing. The system that is developed as part of this work is applicable to various areas of video communications and multi-media processing. The number of bits assigned to represent the intensity or color information at points in an image is usually referred as the bit depth. When the bit depth is not sufficient, images suffer from ridge-like structures known as false contours. Bit-depth limitations become important when low-contrast details are required, as in medical imaging, aerial/satellite photography, and high-quality scanning applications. Noting the similarity between the bit-depth and spatial resolution enhancement, this research examines a method for increasing the bit depth. Specifically, when a sequence of video frames is available, it is possible to achieve a higher bit depth and higher spatial resolution through a projections-onto-convex-sets (POCS) based data fusion method. The multiple-frame video processing algorithms and their multimedia and communication applications form an integral part of the signal processing education agenda at Georgia Tech. Motivated and encouraged by the level of interest in multi-frame processing (by the students), the project constructs a web-centric demo of image resolution and precision enhancement for the benefit of the undergraduates as well as the research community.