FSB was required to software for the analysis of images and video

The Russian intelligence agency selects 10 million rubles for creation of the program which will allow to find similarities on different images and videos.^[1]

The body 68240 Federal Security Services announced competition for research operation and creation of the software model allowing to find similar elements in arrays of videos and images of high resolution including – satellite pictures. The Russian intelligence agency estimated the cost of such product at 10 million rubles. On their accomplishment the contractor will have 21 months.

As it appears from the competitive technical project, software should support search in files in the JPG, BMP, PNG, KMZ, AVI, VOB, MPG, MP4, ASF, WMV, MOV, 3GP, RM and FLV formats. The program should function running the Windows XP and Windows 7 operating systems.

The developed solution should be able to find similar images on a sample, color, a form, a part of a circuit, the size and also set of these parameters taking into account mismatch of scale and permission of images. Besides, the program will have to set gradation of degree of similarity of the found images and issue information on signs of similarity.

The customer specifies that the "Ensuring Video Surveillance, Automatic Detection and Recognition of the Purposes and Disturbing Situations in Real Time according to the Video Image and Formation in Real Time Databases of the Recognizable Purposes" project approved by the government commission on upgrade and technology development forms the basis for software development. According to the order of the government of January 11, 2011 of all for this project in 2011-2012 it is going to select from the state budget 308 million rubles.

In the description of this project it is told that its main objective is creation of domestic multibiometric hardware-software complexes of identification of the person in real time, including - based on video surveillance systems with elements of artificial intelligence and computer vision.

According to the commission, at the moment there is no completely domestic software for the similar systems working in real time, and the systems of recognition existing in the Russian market and really working in the conditions of transport infrastructure have the built-in foreign "engine of recognition" or are completely constructed based on import software.

Last year within this project of FSB the system of recognition of Caucasians on a voice held competitions on research in the field of creation of different technologies among which – a computer system for identification in crowd of potential offenders on a look.

The research associate of Laboratory of computer graphics and multimedia of MSU Anton Konushin told CNews, on exploratory researches its university submitted the application for one of tenders, but lost. "We take small part in other contract on the same project. In it we investigate an opportunity to remotely analyze stress level according to video surveillance using the thermal imager", - he says.

Recognition engines, according to the employee of MSU, in Russia are really used foreign – for example, the face recognition module from Cognitic company which is used by almost all firms offering video surveillance systems. "Serious academic achievements in the field of computer vision in Russia in general is not enough. The majority of developments which conduct the companies, - derivative of foreign methods", - he considers.

Search algorithms of images according to contents (Content-based image retrieval) are investigated since 1994, Konushin says. One of the very first systems was called QBIC, it was even used for search in a collection of the Hermitage. But real progress, according to the expert, is reached only in the last several years when the first products on search of images began to appear.

In addition to the systems of recognition, software for search of similar images it can also be applied to search of architectural sights in the photo from phone, search in base of archaeological images, object search for criminalists, Konushin says.

As for the tender price, according to Igor Ashmanov, the head of Ashmanov and Partners company, all question consists in quality of work – distinguishes or not. "Most likely, cost in 10 million rubles is the cost of operational development of the available core (engine) to trade dress – for specific narrow application in the security systems. And the core in such cases is always much more expensive", - he considers.