SYSTEMS DESIGN VIDEO STABILIZATION
hurdle is being able to synchronize
motion sensors with a video stream
— a critical, resource-intensive step
that will determine the effectiveness
of the final solution. In addition,
developing an in-house stabilization
solution requires expertise on energy
optimisation. A video stabilizer can
be power hungry and if, for example,
you’re creating a video-enable drone,
inattention to energy consumption
by the in-house stabilizer could cut
significantly into flight times.
Plus, one of the potential benefits
of in-house stabilizer development -
namely, the ability to customise - can
also prove a challenge. For instance,
you may have to account for different
types of camera systems, or some
that are used for different purposes,
which will mean the development team
must calibrate specifically for each
use case and integrate each type of
camera system differently.
And when the product is finished,
assuming it’s reached the level of
stabilization quality required, in most
cases it will be time to develop the
next-generation product. This is an
area where technology advances
quickly. A video stabilizer is not a
one-time expense. The company will
need to regularly upgrade, maintain,
and improve it.
Path 2: Using hardware
Alternatively, a company could introduce
advanced video stabilization to its
mobile camera product through the
hardware systems it chooses, including
cameras that have greater capabilities
built into their chipsets. In general,
there are two types of hardwarebased
video stabilization solutions to
consider: optical image stabilization
(OIS), which involves mechanically
keeping the camera or lens still to
counteract shakiness, and hardwareintegrated
electronic image stabilization
(EIS), which involves digitally correcting
shakiness with algorithms built into the
device’s chipset.
OIS can deliver highly effective
stabilization for small movement, but
it struggles with to overcome greater
movement. Moreover, relying on OIS
can make it difficult to integrate other
features that improve video quality,
such as noise reduction or object
tracking.
EIS built into chipsets is similar to
a software-based solution, but less
flexible. EIS in a chipset is usually
designed as a one-size-fits-all solution,
often for the smartphone market. But
of course, using a camera for drone
monitoring is completely different from
using it for a ‘selfie’ video.
Both types of hardware solution
- OIS and EIS pre-integrated into
hardware - can require a relatively large
investment. If a company is looking to
add video stabilization to an existing
product line, depending on how many
cameras and their age, it might not
As important as stabilization is
in creating high-quality content, it’s
usually just one of many features for
improving video quality. Understanding
what else a product might require
is important. A device that will be
deployed at night may need to
compensate for low light. Another
may need to exploit new artificial
intelligence capabilities to track and
identify objects. Such features can
be quickly and easily added through
integrated software.
Although purchasing software
spares a company the effort and
expense of developing stabilization
from scratch, that software still needs
to be professionally integrated and
calibrated. Experienced software
vendors not only support the widest
variety of camera platforms, but
they also know how to calibrate
hardware and software to ensure the
highest stabilization performance.
In addition, they specialize in tuning
their solutions, taking the product
development process a step
further to differentiate a solution. If
calibration involves testing to see
if a camera product’s software and
hardware are in sync, tuning involves
adjusting parameters to suit specific
needs.
In the end, of the three paths to
video stabilization in mobile camera
products, software stabilization offers
the best chance to future-proof a new
product. We’ve arrived at a point in
time when video is applicable to a
wide variety of business solutions, and
quality continues to improve. To keep
up with innovation in the overlapping
video, camera, smartphone and
“camera in motion” markets, a
software-based stabilization approach
allows the device maker to push
regular updates, add new features
like AI, calibrate and tune for any
use case, and support advances in
hardware without being handcuffed to
any one hardware platform.
The result is greater value from
mobile video for the greatest universe
of potential users.
Author details:
Johan Svensson
is CTO, IMINT
Intelligence
Above: Video
stabilization is critical
when applied to
surveillance video
from drones
be practical to replace or upgrade
them now. Another problem with
relying on a hardware-based solution
is that there is no such thing as an
out-of-the-box stabilizer that works for
every use case. If you want to achieve
outstanding video quality, you’ll need
to calibrate the solution for each
application. Hardware can be inflexible
and difficult to adapt.
Path 3: Integrated software
Finally, advanced video stabilization
exists that can be integrated into
existing camera platforms. The key
advantages to this path are that it
doesn’t require a significant capex
investment and that software is
more easily upgradable, whether the
manufacturer wants to add features or
improve performance.
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