In a ground-breaking innovation, IIT Kharagpur has developed an algorithm that aims to cut delays and cancellations of flights and trains, by clearing hazy visuals caused by rain, fog or smog, all in REAL TIME!
What is this innovation?
IIT Kharagpur has named the technology ‘Real Time Fog Removal from Videos & Real-Time Rain Removal from Videos’.
This fog algorithm will estimate the distance of objects from the camera in the form of a depth map. The depth map is further advanced, using anisotropic diffusion to smoothen the depth map and identify clear boundaries of the object. Based on the refined depth, the image is restored to give clean images, reported the Economic Times.
This operation is performed on every frame of the video to generate a defogged video stream in real time.
How is it useful?
“We are in touch with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and they are interested in using this technology during rocket launches and missile test fires done by Integrated Test Range (ITR),” said Sudipta Mukhopadhyay of the department of electronics and electrical communication who led the project.
“During such events, scientists need to track the trajectory through cameras mounted in ground stations, but the video often gets degraded due to weather conditions,” he added.
What does the road ahead look like?
The technology has been widely appreciated and has received an international patent. The Railways and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have initiated talks for acquiring and deploying it from the Institute.
Know more about IIT-Kharagpur’s innovations here.