Caught On Tape

Marshall Space Flight Center technology may soon be helping law enforcement officials around the country solve crimes with Video Image Stabilization and Registration (VISAR), a new concept in clear video imagery.

At the request of law enforcement officials, NASA developed VISAR for use in a recent and famous crime scene. Impressed by the results, the Los Alamos National Laboratory concluded that VISAR was unsurpassed in its clarification of blurred and unstable video images.

The VISAR technology improves the clarity of video footage by correcting distortion caused by adverse conditions. VISAR stabilizes camera rotation and zoom effects; produces clearer images of moving objects; smoothes jagged edges; enhances still images; and reduces video noise or "snow". After the footage has been "cleaned up" it can be further enhanced through sharpening and de-blurring techniques.

Recently, VISAR was introduced at a conference sponsored by the Office of Law Enforcement Technology Commercialization (OLETC), which is part of the National Institute of Justice. VISAR's inventors, David Hathaway and Paul Meyer, along with Sammy Nabors of Marshall's Technology Transfer Office and Jody Page from Research Triangle Institute demonstrated the technology and commercialization potential to innovators, venture capitalists, manufacturers, and law enforcement representatives. Using a prepared video of a mock car chase VISAR was able to clarify the license plate of the car. In another example, using home video footage taken from Headline News coverage of the Ireland bombing in the fall of 1998, VISAR was able to clarify the face of a person in a crowd which was a complete blur in the original version.