From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!npoiv!npois!cbosgd!djb
Newsgroups: net.space
Title: Re: space mining and computer graphics
Article-I.D.: cbosgd.2606
Posted: Wed Sep  8 13:35:49 1982
Received: Thu Sep  9 04:58:17 1982
References: houti.150

This is slightly off the subject, but I couldn't help but be reminded
of it.  

When I was in graduate school at the University of Tennessee, two other
graduate students were working on a real-time image inhancement system
targeted for use in the Space Shuttle.  Part of the shuttle's remote
repair system included a camera located on the maintenance robot,
allowing the crew to direct activity from within the cabin.  As
position and illumination conditions changed, the view could easily go
from extremely bright to quite dark, and most points between.  Using
the real-time image inhancement system, the camera's picture could be
interactively adjusted by the crew (using direct histogram
specification), allowing almost instantaneous correction and providing
a consistantly good view.  Input was from a special controller that
used several slide potentiometers to approximate the desired histogram
(very much like a hi-fi graphic equalizer).

I saw the system under test conditions, and it performed very well.
It was quite easy to use, and one rapidly got surprisingly good at
manipulating the histogram and improving the "picture".  (Now, if
I could do the same with my TV...)

					David Bryant
					 cbosg!djb