Evolution of the Imaging
Industry
Since the creation of the camera, personal histories, historical
records and items of interest have been captured on film. The imaging
industry’s contribution to enhancing our quality of life by capturing
one of a kind moments has fueled the growth of the $80-billion global
market. In 1997, over 85 billion images were captured on 35mm and
Advanced Photo System (APS) film with approximately the same number of
images printed on photographic paper. Pictures permeate daily life, from
recording personal experiences to facilitating commercial transactions.
The imaging industry has traditionally been oligopolistic. Few large
companies have dominated the sale of film, paper, chemicals, cameras,
processing equipment and services to the industry professions,
commercial users and individuals around the world. The oligopoly has
been protected by high barriers to market entry, such as significant
capital costs, captive distribution channels and long-standing brand
equity. Historically, growth and innovation in the imaging industry have
been relatively slow with the entrenched market participants acting to
preserve industry norms.
Periods of accelerated growth in the
imaging industry have been fueled by the development of breakthrough
technologies. The evolution of the industry has been driven by
technological advances which have resulted in; greater access to cameras
(one-time-use disposable camera), and film (35mm and APS), as well as
improved customer convenience (Polaroid cameras, mini-labs or “one-hour”
film developing). Each advance has resulted in improvements in
efficiency and reductions in processing cost per image for the consumer.
Meanwhile image processing and the film itself has remained relatively
unchanged for many years. Although image processing can now be conducted
in photo lab units that are smaller than traditional dark rooms, the
fundamental system remains expensive, infrastructure-intensive and
chemical dependent with hazardous waste by-products.
A key
instrument of change now effecting the status quo of the photography
market is the proliferation of the personal computer (PC) and the
explosive desktop publishing market requiring digitization of images.
Advent of Digital Imaging
Technology
In recent years, worldwide demand created by the desktop and
publishing markets, along with the desire to control all aspects of
production process, has dramatically increased the demand for digital
images. Digitization allows images to be manipulated on a computer,
added to documents, stored electronically, accessed via a database,
transmitted over the Internet, or printed on color-inkjet or laser
printers. The appeal of digital-imaging technology has significant
implications for existing images that reside on conventional film and
the future image production technologies.
According to International
Photo Imaging Industry Report (IPIRR) 1998, published by
Photofinishing News, there are at least 450 billion photographic
images currently in storage (places like libraries, photo labs, file
cabinets, scrapbooks and shoes boxes) worldwide. The report indicates
that the widespread availability of single-user cameras will only
accelerate the annual growth of image capture market.
The existence
of huge image inventories and growing demand driven by desktop
publishing and the Internet to communicate and store these images has
driven the development of scanners, computer drive technologies, and
transmission technologies. According to InfoTrends, a leading industry
research firm, annual sales of scanners in North America has grown
dramatically with annual unit sales increasing from approximately
400,000 in 1990 to projections reaching 18.5 million in 2002. This
growth will be driven by scanners that are cheaper and easier to use,
making them widely accessible for small office, education, and personal
use, as well as more traditional commercial applications. PC’s are
increasingly being used to manipulate and store digitized images. It has
been estimated by International Data Corporation (IDC) another leading
industry research firm, that approximately 50 percent of American Homes
currently have PCs and according to InfoTrends, 27 percent of homes with
PCs use them for image management. The PC-driven demand for easy
digitization is expected to accelerate dramatically in the sub $1000 PC
market as is the bundling of scanners and ink-jet printers with those
PCs. Consumer demand and availability of images will drive the
convergence of the digital marketplace and the traditional photography
market.
For images created in the future, digitization will be
achieved either through scanning traditionally processed photographic
images, or using a digital camera. Consumer acceptance of the digital
camera has been slow due to relatively poor image quality, complexity of
operation, and high price points--although these problems are being
resolved by technology. The IPPIR estimates that by 2001, digital
cameras will annually account for 2.5 percent to 4 percent of all images
captured. As a result, traditional film and scanners will remain the
primary vehicle for digitization throughout the next few years.
Digitization and the New
Competitive Landscape
The potential of digital imaging has attracted the interest of
companies in a wide range of industries. These industries include
consumer electronics and manufacturers of microcomputer chips, PC’s and
PC peripherals (laser and inkjet printers, scanners) and software,
traditional office equipment manufacturers (copiers, fax machines,
copy/print stations), as well as traditional image processing companies.
The growth of digitization also has implications for several related
businesses comprised of manufacturers of storage devices, toner, ink,
and paper, as well as implications for the Internet and e-commerce
businesses. Few other industries are converging as rapidly as the
imaging industry. The ongoing mass digitization of images has begun to
blur the competitive boundaries that traditionally existed between the
technology and photography industries.
Taking a closer look, when an
image is digitized, the competitive landscape associated with the
duplication enhancement, distribution and storage of that image is
changed permanently. A digitized image is infinitely more functional, it
can be stored on a computer, a zip or jazz drive or a CD. The image can
be distributed electronically over the Internet, posted on a web page or
it can be printed on demand. Furthermore, once digitized, it can be
cropped, modified, and manipulated by anyone ranging from the most
unsophisticated end-user to a professional in a photo lab to an
advertising agency and instantly and uniquely configured for each
situation. Consumer and industry demand has also dramatically changed
the output devices market. Until recently, photo-quality reproduction
could not be produced or reproduced using conventional office equipment.
InfoTrends, March 1999 “The Market Opportunity Report from
Scanners & Digital Photography” stated in 1998 the combined printer
inks and media revenues generated by image capture devices reached $8.8
billion and could reach $33.7 billion in 2002.
Digitization is
dramatically reshaping the imaging industry. Scanners are currently the
primary input devices for digitizing images. Thus, final-image quality
is constrained by the original image quality and the scanner’s ability
to capture image data. Consumer and professionals expectations of
digitized image detail and quality has been set by film and the human
eye defined more specifically by something called ‘the Kodak moment’.
Currently there is a large quality gap in expectations and digital image
capture.
InfoTrends, March 1999 report also states that the
three most important scanner features for print-related features are;
#(3) Better printed photos, #(2) much better image quality and #(1)
higher resolution images. This creates an enormous opportunity for
technology capable of; 1) improving the quality of images produced
regardless of their source and 2) making access to digitization more
efficient for participants in the industry and less costly for the end
consumer.
Applied Science Fiction
Overview
Applied Science Fiction (ASF) was founded in June 1995 with a mission
to capitalize on the digitization trend the proliferation of PCs,
desktop publishing, scanners and the Internet were beginning to put on
the traditional photography marketplace. ASF would focus on developing
revolutionary new technologies, with compelling commercial applications
for digital and photographic industries. The company’s strategy was to
license and brand its technology to original equipment manufacturers
(OEM’s) and software companies who produced imaging products for the
Internet, professional, retail and consumer home-photo imaging markets.
By 1999, Applied Science Fiction is a leading innovator, developer
and licensor of proprietary imaging technologies that optimize and
enhance the digitization process of photographic images for desktop,
professional and Internet publishing and traditional photo processing
applications.
Applied Science Fiction’s two principle technological
directions are; 1) advanced technologies that are embedded in scanners
with the ability to eliminate surface defects and restore faded color
values in existing photographic and film negatives and positives; and 2)
innovative digital film processing technologies that will bridge the gap
between traditional images and those captured digitally, with an
additional goal to provide a better digital image from film.
Digital ICE
Technology
The first technology made available to customers is ASF’s
internationally proclaimed award winning Digital Image Correction and
Enhancement Technology (Digital ICE). Digital ICE Technology, when
installed in the scanner by the OEM, eliminates dust, scratches,
fingerprints and other surface defects from scanned slides and
negatives. Digital ICE technology contains proprietary patented
technology and must be licensed by an OEM. Since hardware and software
modifications are required, Digital ICE technology must be designed into
a scanner in the design phase.
The goal of Digital ICE technology is
to remove surface defects automatically without altering the underlying
image. Unlike competitive technologies, Digital ICE technology does not
remove the detail content of the image. The process is accomplished by
obtaining information about the nature and location of surface and near
surface defects as an image is scanned.
During the typical scanning
process, red, green and blue image (RGB) information is gathered
utilizing the existing RGB channels. Digital ICE technology uses a
unique fourth channel, referred to as the “defect” or “D” channel to
collect defect information during the RGB scanning process.
Once the
surface defect information is collected through the “D” channel,
sophisticated and proprietary algorithms are used to ‘erase’ the defects
without any degradation to the image. These algorithms are accepted by
Digital ICE technology as four channel RGB+D, then output as regular
three channel RGB surface-defect-free images.
The three-channel RGB
output resulting from the application of Digital ICE technology, is like
any other RGB image and can be used by higher-level applications without
any special accommodations for the third-party software. Higher-level
software applications, such as Adobe PhotoShop, may be used to render
the images as scanned, or, it maybe further manipulated by the user for
artistic reasons.
Digital ICE technology accurately identifies
surface defects on a scanned photographic, slide or film
positive/negative and automatically removes it from the resultant
digitized image. This technology offers imaging professionals and
amateurs alike a fast, cost-effective way of ensuring that the
photographic images reproduced in digital form are consistently of
superior quality.
Implementing Digital ICE technology involves
modifications to both the scanner’s hardware and software. A scanner
manufacturer will first modify the basic scanner hardware to be Digital
ICE capable by implementing a proprietary ASF design specification. The
scanner is then able to generate and transmit a high quality “D”
channel. ASF will adapt or customize the Digital ICE software
specifically to the OEM scanner in order to optimize performance and
quality. Digital ICE technology is a transparent operation when
installed and initiated, although many manufacturers also allow users to
turn Digital ICE “off”. Most users, after a little experimentation,
leave the Digital ICE on for all scans.
President Johnson in Vietnam -
Before
President Johnson in Vietnam - After
Digital ROC
Technology
The second technology developed by Applied Science Fiction is called
Digital Reconstruction of Color (Digital ROC) addresses the need for
high-quality scanned image output, regardless of the color condition of
the original film, slide negatives and positives.
Digital ROC
technology is software specifically tuned to the characteristics of a
specific scanner. The technology automatically and meticulously rebuilds
the lost color values in film positives or negatives and recreates
instant color-corrected digitized images. This technology will always
restore some of the color and in extreme cases will certainly improve
it, although in extreme cases might not be able to totally restore the
image.
Unlike other image-quality improvement products in the market
(Photoshop and Intellihence) that run a series of filters on the
post-scanned image which amounts to intelligent guess-work, Digital ROC
software identifies clues in the original imaging medium to correct the
color. Using a complex set of proprietary algorithms Digital ROC
technology reconstructs the actual colors from the original color data
and presents a fully restored or enhanced image to the user. As with
Digital ICE technology, the process is done during the image capture
phase leaving the user free to use other software for manipulating or
modifying the image. For the novice user, the Digital ROC enabled
scanner will be an automated, single-button solution (on/off). For more
advanced user or professional, Digital ROC software can be configured to
allow for all aspects of image correction including definable profiles
for different input devices, output devices and customer preference.
Digital ROC Technology on a Faded
Image
Family Picnic circa 1960 -
Before
Family Picnic circa 1960 - After
Digital ROC Technology on a New
Image
The
Sweeper by Photographer John Isaac - Before
The
Sweeper by Photographer John Isaac -After
Digital GEM
Technology
Digital Gem technology is based on another complex set of proprietary
algorithms that are used during the data collection portion of the
scanning process. This technology is able to read the grain details in
film or slides and extract all the vital data related to image quality,
color and sharpness much in the way that Digital ICE technology corrects
surface defects. The resultant image is amazingly sharp and clear,
without all the grain clutter or graininess.
Film grain is the
silver halide crystals that compose the photographic emulsion; it’s the
by-product of the film light sensitive emulsion. The graininess of film
refers to a subjective measure of the visible clumping of the grains in
the emulsion. Film grain is similar to the resolution of a computer
monitor, the lower the resolution, the larger the pixels and the less
image detail is provided.
In the past, the best media for
enlargements came from either large format camera’s or small format
cameras using slower speed film. Now faster speed films and smaller
format camera’s (like 35mm) can be used with the same success as the
large format.
Digital GEM Technology on 35mm
Slide Enlargement
Detail from a John Isaac 35mm -
Before
Detail from a John Isaac 35mm - After
Digital ICE3 Imaging
Suite
Digital ICE3 imaging suite is the combinations of all three of these
technologies. A scanner equipment with the integrated trio will provide
the professional and photo enthusiast simply the best digital image
possible, automatically. These three technologies will often be bundled
together and implemented together in scanners, color copiers, photocopy
print station and other digital input/output devices where image quality
and true color correction will be of significant value to the end user.
Circa 1950 Woman - Before
Circa 1950 Woman - After
Applied Science Fiction Business Model
Applied Science Fiction (ASF) researches, develops, markets and
licenses its technologies on a non-exclusive and world-wide basis to
OEMs in the image scanning, photo-quality printing and film processing
industries. It is one of a new class of technology businesses referred
to as Intellectual Property (IP). This business model permits ASF to
focus resources on its expertise of technological innovation and
development and while providing it to a broad OEM customer base. ASF
does not plan to manufacturer or distribute any of its technologies to
end users or the resultant hardware/software products incorporating its
technologies.
Continued
Technology Leadership Position
ASF will maintain and enhance its industry leadership in image
digitization technologies by continuing to invest significant resources
in research and development (R&D). They company employs a
highly-qualified and seasoned staff of researchers and engineers in its
R&D organization. This team is lead by Dr. Albert Edgar a
renaissance thinker, a world class photographer and classic engineer. He
has also been responsible for the primary research on the technologies
the engineering teams are developing into products.
As part of its
IP business model, ASF has developed a strategy to effectively create
broad-based protection of its patents. As of September 10, 1999, ASF has
more 150 patent disclosures, with over 80 patent applications in
process. ASF has over 24 patent applications pending in the United
States (11 of which are in various stages of foreign patent filing
process). While there is no assurance of the written invention
disclosures or pending patent applications will result in the issuance
of patents, ASF is committed to continuing to invest in R&D as well
as its patent protection strategies, to maintain and enhance its
position as a technology leader.
Applied Science Fiction, 1999. Applied Science Fiction, ASF,
Digital ICE, Digital ICE3, Digital ROC and Digital GEM are all
trademarks of Applied Science Fiction, Inc. All other trademarks are
property of their respective companies.
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