AWIC V: Adaptive Wavelet Image Compression for Video

This report extends MITRE's Adaptive Wavelet Image Compression (AWIC) algorithm to video compression. The resulting software, called AWIC V, uses AWIC to compress each frame of a video stream followed by a lossless motion compensation using the low-pass band of the compressed frames as reference. In practice, motion compensation adds little to the overall performance, except for possibly some global frame motion compensation. When compared to MPEG2, AWIC V performs better on the target video set of Predator Unmanned Airborne Vehicle (UAV) video, but not as well for more general purpose video. In either case, AWIC V is faster than MPEG2. We also suggest how compression techniques can be used to assist in video exploitation. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author thanks Rich Forkert, Margeret Lepley, and Pankaj Topiwala for many useful discussions about AWIC. The Predator UAV video was provided by Steve Hansen. This work was supported by the MITRE Sponsored Research program. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE