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Advanced Video Compression Capability
Navy SBIR 2019.2 - Topic N192-097 NAVSEA - Mr. Dean Putnam - [email protected] Opens: May 31, 2019 - Closes: July 1, 2019 (8:00 PM ET)
TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Information Systems
ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PEO IWS 1.0, AEGIS Integrated Combat Systems Program Office
The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 3.5 of the Announcement. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws.
OBJECTIVE: Develop an enterprise hardware/software solution to perform advanced size compression of video files to significantly reduce bandwidth utilization to more efficiently transfer data using existing United States Navy (USN) data transmission methods.
DESCRIPTION: AEGIS Integrated Combat Systems include video capability for technology insertion into the computing infrastructure. Both analog and digital video systems are installed Fleet-wide that capture beneficial data that increases situational awareness. Due to recent incidents, there is a need to improve situational awareness with an enterprise hardware/software solution to more efficiently transfer stored video files via existing data transmission methods. Using video files sent to onshore command centers in near real-time allows the Fleet to improve processes and implement high velocity learning to assess situations and prevent future incidents. One area of interest includes developing and selecting video compression or formatting algorithms and methodologies to send video files off ship using an enterprise video compression solution to other Fleet locations. By developing an advanced video compression capability, the efficiency and timeliness of transferring video files would be improved since bandwidth utilization during data transmissions would be maximized.
Global Broadcast Service (GBS) provides high-speed broadcast of large-volume information products such as video, imagery, maps, and weather data to deployed tactical operations centers (TOCs) and garrisoned forces worldwide. GBS is a space-based communications system that is sponsored by the United States Air Force (USAF). This service is not available Fleet-wide and currently only available on select aircraft carriers and submarines for the USN. The AEGIS Fleet relies on existing satellite communications to transfer video data off the ship. The timeliness of transferring data files via satellite communications is highly dependent on the size of the file. Prioritization and bandwidth availability vary depending on what else is being transferred at any given time. Therefore, advancements in size compression and video file editing capabilities would expedite the off-ship transfer of video files without having to implement a new transmission system similar to GBS. In addition, there are stringent bandwidth requirements and limitations to transmit data across Radio Frequency (RF) networks; therefore, the current state capabilities limit the transfer of video files to using satellite transmission methods due to their size. Headquarters and the In-Service Engineering Agent (ISEA) would benefit from finding innovative means to compress and transfer currently available video files to provide near real-time information from ships to the Fleet. A technology is needed that will take existing video files with varying video formats and compress or format them into smaller files so they can be transmitted over existing data transmission methods. The needed technology will provide for further compressing video files that are captured by various analog and digital video systems onboard USN ships. The video data that is captured by the various video systems is sent to the Video Distribution System (VDS) or Integrated Video Data Distribution System (IVDDS) in various formats and compression types (e.g., NTSC, VGA, DVI, VGA, HDMI, MPEG, H.264, H.265) based on the vendor of the analog or digital video systems. The application for advanced size compression and video file editing would improve the efficiency of transferring the video files at near real-time off the ship due to smaller video files requiring less bandwidth utilization during data transmissions. This improved data transmission speeds will increase operational and situational awareness.
The hardware/software technology will take previously stored video files of various formats and use a Commercial- off-the-Shelf (COTS) standard protocol to convert and compress the same video files so they can be used onboard AEGIS ships and onshore. Specifically, the technology will be capable of compressing existing video files and reducing them by 50% from the VDS or IVDDS to package in a manner that will be suitable for transmission across existing data transmission methods to other ships and onshore facilities. The receiving ships and onshore facilities would then use the technology to decompress and play the video file. The technology will need to retain adequate fidelity and quality of the video file after decompressing on the receiving end so it remains useful to the End User. Video files that are 5 Gigabyte (GB) are the maximum size required to be compressed; however, compression of various sized video files ranging from 100 Megabytes (MB) to 5 GB will be required to test the technology.
The technology should include a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that can perform the advanced lossless compression and file editing capability onboard AEGIS ships. At minimum, the GUI should enable the User to crop, edit, format, and advance compress or decompress the video file. The video file of interest will be processed by the software application to edit the video and to further compress it to reduce its overall size by 50%. The objective is to ensure that the End User can successfully decompress the advanced compressed video file and understand the content of the video playback. The qualification testing will include both objective and subjective tests. The objective tests will determine the bit rate savings as a result of the compression process. Subjective video quality analysis will be conducted by the Government on the decompressed video files during the qualification testing of the prototype. A grading scale from 1 to 5 will be used during the subjective video quality analysis of the decompressed video file. The testing will verify the GUI�s functionality and determine the technology�s capabilities and limitations. In addition, the technology should be capable of processing a variety of formats and coding schemes (e.g., NTSC, VGA, DVI, VGA, HDMI, MPEG, H.264, H.265) to support the various analog and digital video system outputs that are in the Fleet. The criteria for success would be based on the quality of the reconstructed video file after its compression and whether the video file has been reduced by 50% of its original size.
Depending on the technology implementation, the solution should comply with the following standards instructions: DoDI 8500.1 for Cybersecurity, DoDI 8520.02 for Public Key Infrastructure, DoDI 8520.03 for Public Key Infrastructure, DoDI 8523.01 for Communications Security, DoDD 4630.08 for Interoperability, IEEE 12207 for System and Software Engineering and selected output COTS video format. The International Software Testing Standard (ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119) would be the relevant standard for testing.
The Phase II effort will likely require secure access, and NAVSEA will process the DD254 to support the contractor for personnel and facility certification for secure access. The Phase I effort will not require access to classified information. If need be, data of the same level of complexity as secured data will be provided to support Phase I work.
Work produced in Phase II may become classified. Note: The prospective contractor(s) must be U.S. Owned and Operated with no Foreign Influence as defined by DoD 5220.22-M, National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual, unless acceptable mitigating procedures can and have been be implemented and approved by the Defense Security Service (DSS). The selected contractor and/or subcontractor must be able to acquire and maintain a secret level facility and Personnel Security Clearances, in order to perform on advanced phases of this contract as set forth by DSS and NAVSEA in order to gain access to classified information pertaining to the national defense of the United States and its allies; this will be an inherent requirement. The selected company will be required to safeguard classified material IAW DoD 5220.22-M during the advance phases of this contract.
PHASE I: Develop a concept that will take existing video files of various formats and convert them to a new existing COTS video format that provides more efficiency so they can be more quickly transmitted using existing USN data transmission methods. Ensure that the technology shows it can feasibly meet the requirements in the Description. Demonstrate feasibility through analysis. Develop a Phase II plan. The Phase I Option, if exercised, will include the initial design specifications and capabilities description to build a prototype solution in Phase II.
PHASE II: Design, develop, and deliver a prototype solution for video file compression and decompression suitable for a military environment. Demonstrate that the prototype meets the requirements stated in the Description. Provide a Phase III qualification and transition plan at the end of Phase II.
It is probable that the work under this effort will be classified under Phase II (see Description section for details).
PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Support the Navy in transitioning the technology to Navy use. The technology will be used on AEGIS and any other USN class ships that do not have a dedicated satellite-based communications system such as GBS. Support the Navy in the system integration requirements for the prototype developed in Phase II through land-based integration, ship integration, and the Trident Warrior test event to transition the technology into AEGIS class ships and onshore facilities.
Potential applications for this capability are in markets such as security, digital broadcast television, video card manufacturers, compression standard bodies, video content Internet data providers, and transportation.
REFERENCES: 1. O�Mara, Deborah. �The Newest Video Compression Standard Is Here.� Electrical Contractor, April 2017. https://www.ecmag.com/section/systems/newest-video-compression-standard-here
2. Markov, Nikolay and Sharabayko, Maxim. "Contemporary video compression standards: H.265/HEVC, VP9, VP10, Daala." International Siberian Conference on Control and Communications (SIBCON), Moscow, 12-14 May 2016. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7491791/
3. SMPTE Standard � �VC-2 Video Compression.� ST 2042-1:2017, June 2017 http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7967896/
4. Radhakrishnan, Bab, Tom, Manu, and Wadekar, Paras. �A survey on compressed domain video analysis techniques� Multimedia Tools and Applications. January 2016, Volume 75, Issue 2, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11042-014-2345-z#citeas
KEYWORDS: Video Compression; Fidelity Loss; Video Distribution System; Video File Types; Data Compression; Global Broadcast Service; GBS
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