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NASA Science News for March 26, 2003

Evil-doers Beware!

NASA scientists have invented a new video technology that helps
police track down criminals. 

March 26, 2003: FBI and other law enforcement officers, whose
investigations are normally down-to-Earth, recently have been seeking
the help of two NASA scientists who study the Sun and storms like
hurricanes. 

Why are specialists from such different worlds working together?

The NASA researchers--using their expertise and equipment for
analyzing satellite video--have created a new crime-fighting software
tool called VISAR. Short for Video Image Stabilization and
Registration, VISAR transforms dark, jittery images captured by
security systems and video cameras in police cars into clear, stable
images that can reveal clues about crimes. This new technology is
expected to benefit medical research and improve home entertainment,
too. 

No wonder NASA has selected VISAR as its Commercial Invention of the
Year for 2002. 

VISAR inventors David Hathaway and Paul Meyer at NASA's Marshall
Space Flight Center didn't start out as crime-fighters. Hathaway, a
solar physicist, is usually busy studying images of violent
explosions on the Sun, and Meyer, an atmospheric scientist, examines
hazardous weather conditions on Earth. "At NASA, we routinely take
satellite images of storm clouds and enhance them to see what is
going on in the atmosphere," notes Meyer. "Looking for clues about
what is happening in a storm is similar to being a detective and
finding out what took place at a crime scene." 

The scientists' foray into the world of forensics began when they
helped the FBI analyze video of the bombing that killed two people
and injured hundreds more at the 1996 Olympic Summer Games in
Atlanta. Hathaway and Meyer successfully clarified nighttime
videotapes made with handheld camcorders, revealing important details
about the bomb and the explosion. 

Hathaway and Meyer have since worked with the police and FBI on
dozens of criminal cases, and with each case they've refined and
improved the VISAR technology. Now it's ready to be transferred to
companies that produce video enhancement systems for law enforcement,
the military and even home computers. (Intergraph Corporation of 
Huntsville, AL, includes VISAR on their Video AnalystTM workstations
for law enforcement and military applications.) 

"After analyzing crime video for detectives and seeing the horrible
details of some of these crimes, it gives me great satisfaction that
police can use NASA technology to put murderers behind bars," says
Hathaway. 

For example: Hathaway helped enhance security camera videotape made
during the kidnapping of a Minnesota teenager. In an intensive
effort, the FBI and police worked with Hathaway to identify the
abductor and try to find the teenager. "Her killer has since been
tried and convicted," says Hathaway. "The video was key evidence used
in his capture." 

To evaluate the use of the video enhancement software for medical
purposes, Meyer and Hathaway are working with the Casey Eye Institute
at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland through a NASA
Space Act Agreement. Officials at the institute have called the
initial video evaluations "awesome." Through partnerships with the
National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health,
scientists at the Portland institute use an innovative technique to
study video of cell movements in the eye associated with immune
system diseases. 

"Working with the NASA software, we can answer questions that advance
our understanding of processes unique to the eye and our
understanding of how the immune system works," says Stephen Planck,
associate professor for the Casey Institute. "After NASA enhanced the
video, we could see cell movements inside the eye that were
undetectable before." 

Hathaway believes the biggest potential market could be home
consumers, who would use VISAR to improve the quality of homemade
movies. Home videos are often shot by amateurs who are just learning
how to use their cameras as they're shooting. The resulting quality
can be poor. Although many camcorders have built-in anti-jitter
devices, there are currently no devices to fix problems having to do
with zoom and tilt. 

"If you've ever used a video camera, you've probably hit the wrong
end of the zoom button," Hathaway states wryly. "VISAR can be used to
correct these mistakes afterward." 

VISAR would also allow people to give their homemade videos
movie-style special effects. "VISAR would be great for all those
Steven Spielberg wanna-bees who want to make a video of their kids
being chased by dinosaurs." VISAR would allow them to determine
precisely where someone is in the frame and add a layer of special
effects correlated to that position. Using VISAR, you can invite a
digital T-Rex to your next birthday party!

Home video special effects. Medical research. Crime fighting. Says
Hathaway: "Not bad for a couple of space scientists." 

Credits & Contacts
Author: Dr. Tony Phillips
Responsible NASA official: Ron Koczor 
Production Editor: Dr. Tony Phillips 
Curator: Bryan Walls 
Media Relations: Steve Roy

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