Israeli Computer Science Company Devises Technology To Speed Up Video Display (audio)

PRI.org reports that when it comes time to review surveillance video, the biggest obstacle can be the amount of time it takes. But an Israeli computer scientist may have a break-through, discovered only because he wanted to help his students watch home movies faster.

A computer scientist in Israel has developed a clever technique to help law enforcement track down criminals and terrorists.

The software compresses hours of video into just minutes, enabling police to quickly review action captured on surveillance cameras.

Shmuel Peleg, a computer scientist at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, did not set out to help law enforcement when he first conceived the idea of what he calls video synopsis.

“We started to try to shorten the time for watching family videos,” he explained.

Peleg said he’s never shot much home video himself, but his students have, and they wanted to figure out a way to go through long videos more quickly. Tackling the problem seemed like it might be a fun project for Peleg and his students, but it has turned out to have serious applications.

Read or hear more at http://www.pri.org/stories/science/technology/israeli-computer-science-company-devises-technology-to-speed-up-video-display-13940.html