This fascinating software program created by Dr. Ariel Shamir analyzes images by gradient magnitude and removes or adds irregular lines. Watch as images are reduced and expanded – not by scaling or cropping but by algorithmically removing “empty” space. Rocks slide over one another, objects are eclipsed by other elements, and proportions of each element are generally preserved.

The use of gradient magnitude to “block” meaningful areas of an image is fascinating – our brains already edit out a huge amount of what we see and this technology may be performing a similar function. Also interesting is the emphasis on the technology’s use for displaying images at various sizes and aspect ratios – to me, the ability to “shrink” information out of an image simply by resizing the frame is fascinating on a deeper level than simply to aid page layout. (Note that the title of the linked article refers to the removed material as “the useless”) And the implications for the integrity of photos we see on a day-to-day basis give me pause as well.

Via OhGizmo.com

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This entry was posted by Jeffrey Warren on Thursday, August 23rd, 2007 at 8:42 am and is filed under Design, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.