Generating New Views
from Above
Many people have had the luxury of watching a movie or
enjoying a theme park ride in 3-D. However, 3-D technology is
capable of producing far more than an enjoyable entertainment
experience. Current research at the University of Central Florida
(UCF) seeks to unlock the true potential of this technology.
Through a partnership with Robert Jackson of Jackson
Technologies LLC, a small software development and consulting
services irm, UCF researchers funded through The Corridor’s
Matching Grants Research Program (MGRP) are working to
develop new techniques for using multiple sensors to generate
2-D/3-D panoramic views of the environment surrounding an
aircraft. The resulting aerial images can be used for a variety of
different applications, including simulation and training.
Formerly employed by Lockheed Martin for 25 years, Jackson has
a strong background in aviation and computer vision. With the
help of many engineering colleagues, he was able to add various
sensors, including cameras and scanners to an experimental
aircraft, which he personally lew across the country to gather
data from the environment. The challenge for UCF was how to
make sense of all the information he gathered.
“Many may think aerial vision is an old technology, but it is only an
old technology in a laboratory environment where everything is
controlled,” explains UCF computer science professor Dr. Hassan
Foroosh, lead researcher on the project. “This data is taken from
a moving and agile platform, so there are additional challenges.”
Foroosh, leading a team of two Ph.D. students, aims to take the
data collected by Jackson Technologies and develop stereo
rhythm algorithms to create actual models that can be displayed
in 3-D.
What makes this project unique is the use of multiple camera
views to passively locate and measure objects, as opposed to
actively measuring them using a radar or laser sensor. The newly
developed algorithms will make Jackson’s product useful to a
variety of industries, including defense and homeland security,
but also entertainment and extreme 3-D movies. It also has
potential military use for battleield awareness and commercial
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uses such as remote measurement and
surveying of power lines.
As a small company, Jackson
Technologies is extremely thankful for
the resources provided by UCF and The
Corridor.
“Working with the university has
beneited Jackson Technologies
enormously as a research partner
with outstanding expertise and
awareness of the latest research and
emerging trends in computer vision
technology,” said Jackson.
He enjoys working with, and learning
from, the Ph.D. students who, according
to Foroosh, were the benefactors of
funding from The Corridor. “Without
Ph.D. students this type of research is just
not going to happen. And I think that’s
where The Corridor’s support helped us –
to have that additional manpower.”
Jackson Technologies has already
secured one contract with a major
corporation, and expects to see interest
from many more organizations once the
project is completed.