Image processing technique magnifies movement

Researchers at MIT (Cambridge, MA, USA) and Quanta Research Cambridge (Cambridge, MA, USA) have developed a novel image processing technique to reveal and display temporal variations in videos that are difficult or impossible to see with the naked eye.

The so-called "Eulerian Video Magnification" technique takes a standard video sequence as input and applies spatial decomposition followed by temporal filtering to the frames. The resulting signal is then amplified to reveal hidden information.

The temporal filtering approach can be used to amplify color variation in a video, enabling it, for example, to visualize the flow of blood as it fills a face. It can also reveal low-amplitude motion to enhance the subtle motions around the chest of a breathing baby.

A detailed technical article describing the technique is available here, and a video illustrating the principles used can be seen on YouTube here.

-- by Dave Wilson, Senior Editor, Vision Systems Design