Five Companies Leading the Way in Image Processing

Image processing is defined as a method of performing operations on an image to extract useful information from it or get an enhanced image. It has become useful in various fields, including science, where it can be used in face detection, biometrics, and forecasting. The image processing concept can be said to have resulted in applications such as Photo Grid, where you can blur, sharpen or contour images. Before you claim to be an expert in image processing based on how good you are at editing your pictures, some companies have set themselves apart in this regard. Let’s take a look at the top five.

Nvidia

Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) are essential in image processing because they draw graphics and process images. According to Forbes, Nvidia’s cofounders foresaw the need for GPUs because of the rise and rise of video gaming. The GPUs were sold as chips to be inserted into a PC’s motherboard to get ultrafast 3-D graphics. As per the article, they were introduced to the gamers more than twenty years ago and were still raking in $5 billion in revenues for Nvidia by 2016.

The sky is the limit for Nvidia because, in 2018, the company decided it was time to help those whose photography skills were yet to be impressive. It worked on a project called Noise2Noise, which aimed at reducing the noise in pictures to produce an image as close as possible to the original. Such noise is usually evident in photos taken in dim lighting. Although many phones incorporate an almost similar technology, the Nvidia software was hailed as more superior, and it was projected to be a big hit if it worked. Unfortunately, since then, there has not been any report on the progress made for such a revolutionary project.

Pixelworks, Inc.

On January 11, 2021, PR Newswire published that Pixelworks, Inc. had announced that it would extend its multi-year contract with TCL. The agreement aimed at leveraging the company’s display innovation in future smartphone models. TCL trusts Pixelworks. Inc. to provide it with the next-generation visual processor and technologies. Pixelworks, Inc. is praised as the leader in motion processing, color accuracy, adaptive display features, and other advancements.

In September 2020, the company had announced that it was unveiling its 6th generation mobile visual processor, which would be the first with low-power Artificial Intelligence technology. TCL is among many companies that have chosen Pixelworks, Inc. for its outstanding innovations. Even as early as 1999, the company was picked by ViewSonic for its Image Processors. The single-chip ImageProcessor from Pixelworks, Inc. at the time was the best because it could support analog, digital, and video standards. Besides, it was compatible with almost every personal computer and video source. If the company could make such strides over two decades ago, imagine how much more it is capable of doing in the future.

Varex Imaging

If you can count the number of businesses that have survived for nearly 100 years, not many will make the list. Yet Varex Imaging has survived the World War, the Great Depression, the financial crisis, and even the COVID-10 pandemic to claim a position among the leading image processing companies worldwide. It was not always known as Varex Imaging; according to Profile Magazine, the company was founded by Bill Eitel and Jack McCullough in the 1930s, and it was known as Eimac Products. It became such a household name thanks to its reputation in providing high-quality and high-power transmitter tubes that it landed a military contract. It grew to make cathode ray tubes and then merged with Varian to include X-ray imaging in its product offering. In 2017, Varex Imaging became an entity on its own after spinning off from Varian for $200 million. It remains an industry leader in all image processing solutions, although it is mostly known for medical imaging. Despite being affected by the pandemic and financial advisors advising against buying the stock, it was predicted that by 2021 and beyond, the company would experience a 3% growth in sales.

Polarr

Polarr came into the picture in 2014 after it was co-founded by Borui Wang, Derek Van, and a Stanford graduate, according to Venture Beats. In 2019, before securing funding for off-line on-device computation photography, it was renowned for its photography apps for both android and iOS. Its Vision Engine enables users to access various photo-editing apps, including Deep Crop, Photo Editor, and Album +. The features you can enjoy in these apps include face editing and filters; thus, no wonder the Photo Editor app has attracted over 20 million users worldwide and 4 million monthly users. Such a massive adoption of its use is impressive considering that Photo Editor is the most expensive among the three going for $2.49 per month and $23.99 annually. In 2020, it unveiled a Style Creator Program making photo editing simple enough even for the young generation keen on photography to stand out from the crowd.

Ceres Imaging

Just when you thought that image processing is limited to science and technology, Ceres Imaging is here to prove that it can be applied in agriculture. According to PR Newswire, the company was proud to announce that its success is due to selling images that facilitate the decision-making process. The CEO said that Ceres Imaging owes its success to its focus on helping farmers solve significant problems at the farm level. The firm has concentrated on the agriculture aerial imagery market and has been keen to expand its operations. It increased its workforce from 70 to 100, established a new headquarters, and increased its shares in the crop specialty market from 10% to 18%. In 2020, it introduced a new interface that allows farmers to quantify any stress pattern across the farm and take corrective action. Such high-resolution aerial imagery is transformed into actionable insight, thus casts image processing in a whole new light.