PROMOTING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BETWEEN INDIA AND THE U.S.
Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering
University of California, San Diego
Professor Nguyen’s research applies the theory of wavelets and filter banks to image and video processing, with an emphasis on low-power low-cost systems useful in entertainment, surveillance, and defense. Wavelets refer to the tiny waves of video information into which video streams may be decomposed for further manipulation and processing. Among platforms that are target of Nguyen’s algorithms are: cell phones, and pocket PCs. He has succeeded in using novel techniques to provide for smoother motion animations on wireless systems that normally lack sufficient bandwidth to sustain frame rates high enough to avoid herky-jerky movement. Using the original signal, extra frames are built via temporal interpolation. In one case, next-generation (2.5G) cell phones have been made to display 20 frames of video per second, twice what would be expected from wireless connection’s native data rate. Nguyen’s research also been applied to increase the frame rate of conventional NTSC television signals, transforming them for HDTV and to enhance signals from robotic underwater devices functioning as robotic mine sweepers.