IIT Kharagpur's new innovation could be the answer to the frequent train and flight delay problems India is facing

IIT Kharagpur has just devised a technology ‘called Real Time Fog And Rain Removal from Videos’ - it can help clear up hazy visuals caused by rain, fog or smog which often leads to delays and cancellations of flights and trains.

In times when scientists need to track the trajectory through cameras mounted in ground stations, the video often gets degraded due to weather conditions. It is in these circumstances, the institute says, the new technology can prove immensely helpful.

How it works is the fog algorithm estimates the distance of objects from the camera in the form of a depth map. The depth map is further refined using anisotropic diffusion to smooth depth map and identify clear boundaries of the object. Based on the refined depth, the image is restored to give clean images.

The algorithm has been developed under the leadership of Sudipta Mukhopadhyay from the department of electronics and electrical communication at IIT Kharagpur.

Finding value in this innovation, the Railways and Defence Research and Development Organisation have initiated talks for acquiring the technology from the institute. The institute is also in talks with the railways for deploying it.

For now, DRDO finds its value during rocket launches and missile test fires done by Integrated Test Range.