NASA collects massive amounts of long-range imagery, whether for range safety pre-launch, tracking objects after launch, or observing objects in space. All these applications require imaging through the atmosphere at great distances. This causes all the imagery collected to be blurred and often detail is lost. By viewing enhanced imagery, NASA officials will have access to additional information for a variety of key decisions. During launch, added level of detail provides the ability to make more informed "go" or "no go" decisions. When tracking rockets or the shuttle, enhanced imagery allows for more detail on pieces that may fall from the craft during flight. Accounting for atmospheric effects will also improve the quality of all imagery taken of space-based objects from Earth.
Non-NASA commercial applications can be broadly divided into government applications and private-sector applications Government applications include use of this technology in high-precision laser designator/locators, which require a handheld device for enhancing long-range images to allow for location and designation of targets from great distance; long-range cameras for border monitoring, as the US southern border is very difficult to monitor without significant manpower and consists of potentially difficult terrain and climate; and airborne laser applications, which use a telescope to acquire and track targets and can be significantly limited by atmospheric turbulence. Private-sector application will involve coupling our solver into existing camera and processing hardware. In many cases, this will simply involve complying with pre-defined interfaces to attach the necessary components. Success in these markets will depend on cooperation with camera vendors and makers of image processing systems, not end users. The advantage will be that manufactures will then be able to directly integrate our technology into their product lines, significantly reducing NRE cost by volume. We see this approach being particularly valuable in applications that have strict power and size requirements and for systems that will be portable either on the ground, in the air, or in space.
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