By Royce de Melo, Tactical Intelligence International
The slightest variance or visual anomaly could make all the difference in forensics, or for pilots flying in bad snowy weather on rescue missions, or in security operations;
- A visual boost could mean solving a criminal case or a terrorist attack
- Or a helicopter pilot avoiding those power lines along the side of a mountain and not crashing
- It could mean saving lives in a security operation
ProHawk is a new revolutionary patented video and image enhancement technology system gaining serious interest worldwide, from both private and government sectors.
ProHawk has a variety of applications in a multitude of areas such as forensics (including Post Blast Analyses), law enforcement, border services, port authorities, intelligence, military, aviation/aerospace, public transportation, traffic enforcement/tolls, vehicles, maritime, mining, and security companies and more.
And ProHawk is plug and play: turn on and it works in real time, with almost any video system, including thermal/Flir.
National Police Force Demonstration
(Side by side comparison of ProHawk in night/low light surveillance conditions. Courtesy of ProHawk and YouTube)
During a recent ProHawk demonstration at the facility of one national police force, a handheld video camera scanned the room, ProHawk picked up writing that had been wiped clean on a white board much to the surprise of those in the room.
And sheets of paper turned upside down on the table had the letters showing through, appearing as though the writing was intentionally written backwards on the surface of those papers.
A Canadian tollway company provided Tactical Intelligence International (TII) with series of photographs of vehicles that had slipped through their tolling system while the cameras were down, a few of the images were virtually black.
After TII ran the photographs through ProHawk all the images came back clearly showing the vehicles, and many with clearly legible license plates.
(ProHawk cutting through a tinted window, and through the glare, helping with facial recognition. Courtesy of ProHawk and YouTube)
ProHawk instantly solves issues caused by poor lighting conditions including glare, low light and back light scenarios, including bad weather such as snow fall, fog, rain, etc.
The counter assault sniper team of a government agency saw the value of ProHawk, particularly for their sniper teams, as the technology can cut through glare on windows, tinted windows, darkness, fog, snow, rain, backlight, haze, and it will enhance thermal/flir imaging, making ProHawk a valuable tool for target recognition.
ProHawk’s magic is perfect for real-time surveillance.
ProHawk Enhanced Thermal/FLIR Imaging
(Flir Thermal Imaging Cameras for Security. Courtesy of cctvbiz and YouTube)
Thermal cameras compliment and complete your security camera network by giving you the power to see threats invisible to the naked eye, turning night into day.
Thermal security cameras make images from the heat energy that is around us all the time, not from reflected visible light, giving you true 24/7 imaging capability without lights or illuminators.
Thermal energy penetrates atmospheric obscurants better and farther than visible light, allowing you to see what’s out there through haze, smoke, dust and even light fog.
ProHawk will enhance thermal/FLIR imaging, making it far better.
(Side by side comparison of playground video at night. ProHawk is able to show details that are previously hidden in the shadows. Courtesy of ProHawk and YouTube)
Compression is the enemy
Although the technology offers so much it can have its limitations. ProHawk pulls up what information is already there, information the human eye often can’t see, it adds nothing, it changes nothing, but if and when video is compressed a lot of information will be lost from the native footage. ProHawk can only work with what information is there.
Yet, even after compression, with heavy pixilation, an experienced eye will often catch those subtle things, those anomalies not seen before, which can make enough of a difference to solve a case or stop an incident.
ProHawk utilizes powerful processors and sophisticated software algorithms to enhance video images captured under challenging conditions – in real-time.
Easy Control
ProHawk is simple to operate with automatic calibration and operation.
The level of detail enhancement and color enhancement can also be changed easily by the operator requiring minimal training.
Plug & Play
ProHawk solutions are plug and play, meaning they can be quickly and simply integrated into existing camera and imaging systems. No need to set any parameters. Just connect the equipment between the camera and monitor/recorder.
The ProHawk image enhancement system is the most comprehensive and effective solution in the market. It works by analyzing, processing and enhancing, every pixel of every image, in every frame, all in real-time.
Backlight and Haze Reduced
(ProHawk for Maritime applications, cutt through haze and back light. Courtesy of ProHawk and YouTube)
ProHawk cuts through the haze and back light, to show details on the ship, horizon, sea, sky, and helping with facial recognition.
ProHawk instantly solves issues caused by poor lighting conditions including glare, low light and back light scenarios, including bad weather such as snow fall, fog, rain, etc.
ProHawk is a highly optimized platform for dynamic range enhancement and contrast optimization which increases the visible content of images.
(ProHawk’s incredible real-time video enhancement for government. Courtesy of ProHawk and YouTube)
Environmental issues such as sand storms can impact transport networks and the safety and security of people.
Now the worlds most powerful video enhancement system Prohawk can effectively reduce the impact of any man made condition, meaning camera feeds are clear.
ProHawk technology can enhance the output of any video camera because all video systems suffer from a similar set of challenges in providing quality images under varying environmental conditions.
(ProHawk real-time video enhancement for underwater applications. Courtesy of ProHawk and YouTube)
ProHawk real-time video enhancement technology instantly solves issues caused by poor subsea conditions. Ideal for underwater operations including construction, inspection, and security.
The Digital Enhancement Filter (DEF) combines six interconnected processes to deliver the highest quality enhancement:
Dynamic Range Enhancement
- Using density histogram analysis in an innovative way to display the images hidden in both the bright and dark areas of the frame to optimize contrast.
Haze Reduction
- The DEF algorithm converges the visual gradient to minimize the effect of haze, mist, fog, dust and smoke.
Contextual Enhancement
- DEF identifies the color in the over- and under-exposed areas of the image, delivering improved color representation.
Edge Sharpening
- The DEF algorithm reviews each pixel together with contiguous pixels for significant color and brightness changes, generating unrivaled edge sharpening and enhancing the detail in the resultant image.
Rapid Movement Detection
- DEF allows the user to reduce the impact of rapid movement on the image. This minimizes the effects of rain, drizzle and snow.
Visual Noise Reduction
- Minimizes the impact of “noise” during high levels of enhancement.
ProHawk Through Snowfall Showing Power Lines
(ProHawk through Snow, monitoring Power Lines. Courtesy of ProHawk and YouTube)
ProHawk provides real-time video enhancement for cameras effected by adverse weather conditions, allowing operators to see no matter the weather, improving both efficiency and safety.
ProHawk is supported by the highest levels of video resolution:
- SD, HD, HD-SDI, 3G-SDI
- Our algorithms are complex and therefore general purpose in nature
- Support for all types of environmental conditions
- ProHawk solutions use very powerful hardware
- FPGA’s are 50-100 times more powerful than CPU’s used by our competitors
- Tight binding between our software and hardware
- True “real-time” performance (<20 microseconds latency)
- Our algorithms adapt to the environment in which they are used
- Automated adaptive enhancement
- ProHawk solutions provide forensic and diagnostic level detail enhancement
- Edge sharpening, structural details
- Sophisticated enterprise wide control software
- Support for 100 devices or up to 400 cameras
- IP support is under development and will support H.264 standards
ProHawk can literally help see what your missing.
About the Author:
Royce de Melo, Canadian and International Representative, Tactical Intelligence International
He is a security and defense consultant, and analyst, with comprehensive experience working with a variety of entities, companies, and governments, specializing in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North Africa.
Mr. de Melo has lived and worked throughout the Middle East for over 20 years.
