UND Aerospace UAS Center receives video software gift (U-Letter dated 2/12/15)
The Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems is one of three such college-based program nationwide to receive an image processing package from MotionDSP.
Ben Solhjem, center at laptop, manager of field engineering for MotionDSP, leads a UND aerospace team through training on its new software
The in-kind gift is part of a collaborative research effort to discover critical new applications using video. Along with the advanced software, MotionDSP is providing expert analyst training.
In a release issued today, the company said that it aims to discover ways to tackle critical issues facing the oil and gas, agriculture, health and wildlife, law enforcement, and search-and-rescue sectors.
“This is a perfect example of private industry and academia partnering to provide state-of-the-art tools for research, education and training at the University of North Dakota,” said Al Palmer, director of the UND Center for UAS Research, Education & Training in the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences.
MotionDSP, provider of high-end video processing software for defense applications, has now partnered with UND, Kansas State University Salina, and Auburn University to apply this software to solve critical problems in civilian and commercial applications using video from UAS.
“For a decade, our team has been working with bright young analysts in the military and intelligence community, solving critical international security challenges,” said Sean Varah, MotionDSP CEO. “It’s exciting to work with innovative young minds at these centers of excellence to develop next generation-applications in aerial data collection – not only for defense, but also for important civilian and commercial applications.”
Video plays an important role in our lives, from identifying a suspect in a robbery to finding the source of a forest fire. MotionDSP software provides experts with the ability to use video and its data to gain valuable insights about what’s happening around the world.
“Combining the efficiency and speed of image processing and computer vision with the nuance of human experts creates a unique approach to finding truth in video that may not be able to be captured with just a computer or just a human. The combination of expert eyes and software is very powerful,” said Varah.
About MotionDSP
MotionDSP is a leading provider of advanced imaging processing and computer vision software that helps commercial organizations and governments extract critical information from real-time video to answer high stakes questions. MotionDSP’s solutions support operational deployments within the U.S. Department of Defense and National Intelligence agencies, as well as within the homeland security and law enforcement communities and commercial markets.
About UND Aerospace Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Research, Education and Training
The Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Research, Education and Training provides a conduit between private industry and UAS researchers, promoting commercialization of new UAS-related products and services while bringing new UAS-related business ventures to North Dakota. The center’s goals are to create world-class infrastructure for UAS development, testing, and evaluation, create the finest training program of its kind anywhere in the world, promote commercialization of new UAS-related products and services, and promote private sector job growth within Grand Forks and throughout the state of North Dakota.
