Pictures of the Future    Fall 2006

In Brief

^? The areas of application of automatic image processing include quality control in industry, video surveillance and biometric recognition, automatic letter sorting, automotive driver assistance systems, robotics, medicine, and intelligent imaging and image evaluation. In the future, these system will be able to perceive their surroundings with ever more accuracy and to make autonomous decisions   ^{more at  Trends and  Facts and Forecasts}

^? Siemens has developed one of the world’s most innovative video monitoring systems. It not only provides analog systems with the advantages of digital video surveillance, but can also provide the latest functions using a simple software update. The system can carry out functions such as intruder detection—whereby it distinguishes between a genuine intruder and animals or other objects—and tracking. It forwards only relevant information to security personnel. The system can even recognize acts of sabotage and report them. In the future, this type of system will also be able to detect wanted persons in large crowds    ^more

^? Machines are learning to see in three dimensions. Today, laser scanners, cameras and intelligent software can already autonomously steer fork-lifts around warehouses or help harbor cranes stack containers weighing many tons on top of one another with precision. The ability to measure three-dimensional shapes also provides a basis for biometric security processes, high-precision vehicle chassis tuning, and the manufacture of perfectly-fitting hearing aids    ^more

^? Reading units from Siemens are being used in letter sorting systems to acquire the addresses from up to 60,000 mail pieces per hour—even if they are written in Cyrillic, Arabic or Chinese. Recognition rates have increased enormously over the last few years. Furthermore, automobile and airplane companies are also making increased use of reliable reading instruments and counterfeit-proof markings—so-called 2D codes—to protect their products    ^more