FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

B F Systems - Another First

Founder Files Patent

6/1/98 -- B F Systems founder, Roger A. Green, and co-inventor William W. Brison file for patent on a state-of-the-art image post-processor design, being used in conjunction with optical processors for several high-speed image analysis applications. Although rights to the invention ultimately belong to Lockheed Martin Corporation, for which the original design work was done, credit for the novel architecture and algorithms used for the reliable detection and reporting of image correlation peaks at extremely high speeds belongs to the engineers who developed it.

The use of optical processors for image correlation has been understood and demonstrated for many years, but mostly in laboratory environments and at restricted operational speeds.  Recent advances in the resolution and speed of spatial light modulators, the key component of an optical correlator, has opened the door for the practical implementation of optical processors in solving many real world image processing or "recognition" problems.  On-going work by Lockheed Martin Astronautics' Advanced Processing group in Denver, Colorado, has resulted in the successful demonstration of electro-optical processing to solve many diverse image processing problems. These applications have ranged from automatic target recognition for military applications, to commercial problems such as printed circuit board inspection systems and mammography analysis, to more recently the proposed task of autonomous descent and landing of spacecraft on Mars and other complex navigational or docking maneuvers in space. All of these applications have one thing in common. That is the need for extremely high-speed image analysis without the encumbering size and power consumption of numerous electronic processors or super-computers.

The use of optical processing techniques has certainly not negated the need for high-speed electronic processing elements however. As optical correlators routinely process complex images at over 1000 frames per second, the downstream analysis of their output images or correlation peaks can still be an incredibly demanding job.  That is where the post-processor invention excels. With a unique combination of ASIC convolutional elements and FPGA based calibration, control, sorting and reporting functions, it is now possible to provide a real-time output of optical image correlation results at over 1000 image frames per second, pre-sorted and prioritized. Even with many objects or peaks per image, this 20 billion operation per second function has been accomplished with a mere 25 watts of power consumption, which is less than your average personal computer.

For More Information Contact:

B F Systems
P.O. Box 1234, Conifer, Colorado, USA 80433-1234
Tel: 303-697-0117
FAX: 303-697-0117
Internet: info@bfsystems.com

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