Home video users benefit from QinetiQ's marine expertise

An underwater navigation software tool designed for the Royal Navy has been reapplied to benefit home users of camcorders and digital video. The computer programme, based on QinetiQ video mosaicing technology, can turn a moving digital sequence into a single panoramic picture.

QinetiQ, Europe's largest science and technology organisation, has partnered with software company, Tiny Red Monkey, to launch the programme, known as SnapDV. Home users can now download SnapDV from the internet for £25 allowing high resolution images, including panoramas and group shots, to be produced. Using a roll capable printer (such as the Epson 915) a range of different sized images up to 21cm x 250cm can easily be printed at home. Until now the technology has only been available to professionals at a cost of thousands of pounds.

Tiny Red Monkey's Sean Bell said: "QinetiQ originally developed video mosaicing technology for underwater navigation but we have worked with them to bring it into people's homes as a fun software tool. It will be of interest to anyone with a digital camera or video camera, which means that we are addressing a potentially huge market.

"SnapDV enables you to produce long panoramic still pictures which you couldn't do from video before. We have also had interest from people who play computer games about how this software can help them place themselves in the games. With our technology people can take panoramic pictures of their own heads and import them as characters into games such as Quake and The Sims."

QinetiQ is continuing to develop the technology for other commercial uses, such as seabed mapping for the oil industry, a range of medical, sporting and military purposes and for installation on mobile phones.

Dr David Penny of QinetiQ said: "Commercialising defence technology is a key part of QinetiQ's business. We are delighted to be working with Tiny Red Monkey to make our video mosaicing technology available to the general public through SnapDV."

SnapDV is now available for download from Tiny Red Monkey's website (www.tinyredmonkey.com). The site also contains examples of images produced by the programme, including 360 degree images of Weymouth's harbour and Hope Square.