Detecting Threats Beyond the Limits of Human, Sensor Sight

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Robert Anderson, left, and Tian Ma developed a new, patented a software system at Sandia National Laboratories that gives remote sensing equipment like satellites, drones, and security cameras a major performance boost in detecting small moving objects from far away (photo by Bret Latter/SNL).
Robert Anderson, left, and Tian Ma developed a new, patented a software system at Sandia National Laboratories that gives remote sensing equipment like satellites, drones, and security cameras a major performance boost in detecting small moving objects from far away (photo by Bret Latter/SNL).

July 26, 2023 | Originally published by Sandia National Laboratories on July 20, 2023

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Remember what it’s like to twirl a sparkler on a summer night? Hold it still and the fire crackles and sparks but twirl it around and the light blurs into a line tracing each whirl and jag you make.

A new patented software system developed at Sandia National Laboratories can find the curves of motion in streaming video and images from satellites, drones, and far-range security cameras and turn them into signals to find and track moving objects as small as one pixel. The developers say this system can enhance the performance of any remote sensing application.

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