Signal Processing - September 2016 - 12

from the guest editors
Amit Agrawal, Richard Baraniuk, Paolo Favaro,
and Ashok Veeraraghavan

Signal Processing for
computational Photography and Displays

A

dvances in imaging and displays have
been the source of numerous scientific breakthroughs, as evidenced by
the more than ten Nobel Prizes awarded
for various inventions and discoveries
in the imaging sciences. Over the last
decade, imaging and displays have completely conquered our imagination, with
mind-numbing statistics like more than a
billion cameras being sold every year,
more than a trillion photos taken each
year, more than 200,000 images uploaded to Facebook alone every minute, and
so on. In addition, interest and excitement
around three-dimensional (3-D) displays,
augmented reality displays, and virtual
reality displays have grown exponentially
over the last decade. This revolution in
consumer imaging and displays is unparalleled and is a direct result of a decade
of advancement in semiconductor fabrication technologies that have made image
sensors and displays less expensive but
with higher resolution every passing year.
Parallel to this imaging revolution,
we have also witnessed a computing
revolution with ever-more sophisticated
algorithms, more computing, and storage horsepower available at the ready
even on mobile devices. In addition, the
ongoing cloud computing revolution is
starting to provide consumers and other
users with computing and data processing capabilities that have been, until
now, unimaginable.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MSP.2016.2583358
Date of publication: 2 September 2016

12

ultra-small form-factor Cameras

(a)

(b)

Cameras with ultra-small form factors, such as a (a) cubic-millimeter wireless sensing
example surveyed in the article by Koppal on page 16) and (b) an enabling technology of
lensless imaging in the article by Boominathan et al. on page 23).

aging and display systems to break tradiComputational imaging and displays
tional barriers. One of the most celebrated
is a field at the confluence of these two
breakthroughs from this growing field is
fast-growing and ever-expanding disthe Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2014, which
ciplines. The field of computational
was awarded for superresolution fluoimaging and displays seeks to create
rescence microscopy,
new imaging, photowherein imaging, flugraphic and display
functionalities, and
this issue of the magazine orescent markers, and
signal processing tools
experiences that go
brings together a variety
were used in concert
beyond what is posof articles covering
to break the resolusible with traditional
an exciting range of
tion limit imposed by
cameras and image
application areas that
diffraction. Another
processing tools. The
key insight is that the
showcase the potential for example is the emerging field of immersive
codesign of sensor
the field to revolutionize
3-D displays, and virsystems and signal
imaging and displays
tual/augmented realprocessing algorithms
and transform the way in
ity platforms such as
to handle the sensor
which we capture, share,
GearVR, Hololens,
data provides several
and interact with the
and Oculus. These are
new degrees of design
examples of an early
freedom, enabling imvisual world around us.
IEEE SIgnal ProcESSIng MagazInE

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September 2016

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signal Processing - September 2016
