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We describe a method for bandwidth-efficient processing of video imagery to be viewed by the teleoperator of a remotely-operated vehicle on which the camera is mounted. The method comprises image coding, transmission, and reconstruction. We make certain initial assumptions: first, that transmission bandpass is the limiting factor rather than encoding/decoding schemata; second, that image coding and reconstruction will be done within the general abilities of the NASA/TI Programmable Remapper; and third, that the ratio of retained local detail to the operator's visual resolution is held constant throughout the large-field image he sees. Novel features include that the compression and reconstruction address certain characteristics of the human visual system (HVS), that two-way communication controls a moving "fovea" in the transformation, and that resolution varies over the image. Conventional motivations accommodated include the Cartesian raster-scan nature of available imagers and display devices and a need for low bandwidth in the image transmission. Unique image processing hardware, NASA's Programmable Remapper, allows demonstration of the method. Once refined, the technology could be adapted to special purpose imagers and display devices, or otherwise to dedicated image processing hardware.
Juday et al. (1989) studied this question.