Apical Limited (London, UK) has signed a licensing agreement with Texas Instruments (TI; Dallas, TX, USA) which will alllow TI to integrate Apical’s iridix image processing IP cores into its products targeting digital imaging and display applications.
Apical's iridix is a form ofdynamic rangecompression (also known as tone mapping) that enables cameras to take better pictures and displays to give better viewing experiences in varying, sometimes difficult lighting conditions.
The technology is derived from research into how the human eye adapts to changing lighting environments. It applies different processing to each pixel of each video frame to pull out hidden detail in shadows and highlights while preserving colors, local contrast and natural appearance.
In the image above, iridix applies pixel-by-pixel tone curve adjustment automatically to pull out detail simultaneously from shadows and highlights while leaving mid-tones untouched. The image on the right matches closely the real appearance of the scene.
Michael Tusch, the CEO of Apical, said that the license agreement with TI would enable a variety of end equipment manufacturers to implement the technology into their designs.
-- by Dave Wilson, Senior Editor,Vision Systems Design
