A new "perfection tool" to help investigatorsenhance raw video images and identify suspects has been developed byTel Aviv University scientists. Even though TV crime shows oftenpresent clever police technicians who zoom in on a security cameravideo to read a license plate or capture the face of a thief, this doesnot work in real life because enhancing low-quality video is a verydifficult task.
Butnow, Prof. Leonid Yaroslavsky and his team have developed the newenhancement tool for live or recorded video that has been commissionedby a defense-related company to improve what the naked eye cannot seewith live video recordings in color or black-and-white. "Thisenhancement of resolution can be a critical factor in locatingterrorists or identifying criminal suspects," says Yaroslavsky, who haspublished their findings in Optical Letters and the Journal of Real Time Image Processing.
The new invention enhances the resolution of raw video images.This can mean the difference between "seeing" trees blowing in the windand finding a terrorist hiding among them. "Our video perfection toolworks to improve visual quality and achieve a higher resolution of thevideo image," explains Yaroslavsky. Once a commercial partner is found,the device can be integrated into existing technology in a matter ofmonths, he says.
SPACE COOPERATION WITH ITALY
Scienceand Technology Minister Prof. Daniel Herschkowitz recently signed anagreement with Italy at the Paris Air Show promoting cooperation inspace research and activities. The space agencies of the two countrieswill develop satellites for hyper-spectral observation andtelecommunications, as well as in agriculture, environmental qualityand the identification of air and water pollution. Herschkowitz and Dr.Daniel Zvi Kaplan, head of the Israel Space Agency, said thepartnership would "significantly contribute to Israel's economy." Theysigned the agreement with Enrico Saggese, head of the Italy SpaceAgency. The cooperation will bring about academic exchanges, jointresearch and use of infrastructure on land.
BRINGING BUSINESS TO CAPITAL
erusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, who envisions thecapital as a world center for bioscience and culture in addition to itsexisting assets, recently visited the new Hadassah MedicalCenter-Hebrew University Biotechnology Park (JBP-Jerusalem BioPark) inEin Kerem. The visit coincided with Barkat's announcement that NIS 100million would be invested in the development of the capital'sbiomedical industry over the next five years to create jobs and attractlocal and foreign businesses. The JBP is a cornerstone of this plan,and is heralded as first of its kind in Israel. Barkat declared thatthe municipality and the Jerusalem Development Authority support plansto extend the Jerusalem light rail train (if and when the first stageever opens) to Hadassah Ein Kerem campus, including the BioPark.
The medical center, he continued, is a world-class medicalfacility; Hadasit, the Hadassah Medical Organization's technologytransfer company, and the Hebrew University "have successfully pushedboundaries and pioneered new terrain in terms of the marriage ofscience and business. Today, we bear witness to a vision realized, thebeginnings of a thriving biopark, the essential infrastructure elementto compliment the existing innovation and commercialization programs."The BioPark, which recently opened it doors, comprises customizedoffices and access to Hadassah's state-of-the-art Clinical ResearchCenter (HCRC) which provides pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medicaldevice companies a complete package of services and facilities for drugand device clinical studies.
| More about: | Nir Barkat, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Ein Kerem |