VISAR (Video Image Stabilization and Registration) is a software program that will stabilize video images distorted as a result of video camera motion. It is effective on images that move side-to-side and up-and-down, as well as images that suffer from camera rotation and zooming effects, seen when the background and foreground of a field of view are moving at different rates.

In the past, video stabilization has been limited to cross-correlation or absolute differences between areas in separate images to determine relative shifts in the horizontal and vertical directions. These methods did not account for rotational or zooming effects in video data sequences, and were sensitive to the effects of parallax in which the background and foreground were moving at different rates and/or directions. The NASA design corrects the image that is distorted by any and all of these adverse camera motions.

At present, the invention is a post-processing tool only used by a computer after the video images have been taken. Optimizing the software and dedicating hardware to certain functions may make the design become more of a "real-time" tool in the future, such that images could be stabilized as they are shown, with only a minimal time delay presented to the viewer.

The NASA invention was produced at the request of the FBI in order to better view a high profile national crime scene. There are multiple applications for this technology, including stabilization of images from mobile platforms, crime scenes, robotic systems, space craft, and home video. Optimization in hardware and software may be needed for the high-end market to achieve better performance, with the ultimate goal of real-time stabilization with only a negligible time delay.

Licensing Information

Contact: Sammy Nabors NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center

Point of Contact

Sammy Nabors
Phone: (256) 544-5226
NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center
FAX: (256) 544-1815
George C. Marshall Space Flight Center MSFC, AL 35812

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