Bristol’s position as an emerging centre for innovative 3D technology has been underpinned by new research to help surveillance systems identify suspicious objects or people easier.
The Government-funded study, which aims to develop 3D imaging technology, forms a continuation of the link-up between UWE Bristol’s Centre for Machine Vision, part of the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, and Sussex-based tech firm Aralia Systems.
It is funded by the UK’s innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board. 
Current surveillance systems have difficulty capturing even two-dimensional images at long range under normal sunlight conditions.
The ability to extract high-resolution 3D video information up to hundreds of metres away, particularly in bright sunshine, would be a major advance.
It would have immediate applications in the security and defence industries, for example for long-distance face-recognition, improved identification of left luggage, or the detection of concealed weapons.
UWE Centre for Machine Vision director Mel Smith said: “This study will test the feasibility of combining photometric stereo with recent developments in sensor and illumination technology.
“We are going to build a demonstrator system able to operate both at close range and at long distance, and will test it in realistic outdoor environments during night and daytime.
“The 3D information is extracted using novel black silicon sensor technology by analysing multiple images artificially illuminated from different directions. The resulting 3D representation can be relit or rotated so it can be examined from different angles, even if the original detail was saturated with light.”
There are many potential applications for this technology, but CCTV is an obvious one.
Aralia Systems CEO Glynn Wright added: “This new approach combines novel detector technology and image processing techniques and would be an important advance for the CCTV market. The device could be built into existing security networks.
“There is a need to be able to observe and monitor sites such as ports, airports, shopping centres, embassies, government offices, and energy companies under all natural lighting conditions including bright sunlight or total darkness, or where there is smoke or fog. Using an enhanced remote system like this would reduce the need for a physical security presence.”
The researchers expect that these improvements would lead to cost savings due to fewer false alarms and a reduction in fraudulent insurance claims, as well as increasing safety for citizens and the deterrence of criminal or terrorist activity.
