Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!elroy!cit-vax!cit-vlsi!flaig
From: flaig@cit-vlsi.Caltech.Edu (Charles M. Flaig)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Subject: Re: Fractal Compression
Keywords: Economic aspects, trade offs
Message-ID: <6603@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu>
Date: 19 May 88 19:52:25 GMT
References: <686@thalia.rice.edu> <5546@cup.portal.com> <1947@tansei.cc.u-tokyo.JUNET>
Sender: news@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu
Reply-To: flaig@cit-vlsi.UUCP (Charles M. Flaig)
Organization: California Institute of Technology
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In article <1947@tansei.cc.u-tokyo.JUNET> b39756@tansei.cc.u-tokyo.JUNET (Martin J. Duerst) writes:
>    Another tradeoff aspect is the comparision with other encoding algorithms.
>Many methods are available that provide reasonalble compression ratios,
>are much faster, esp. for encoding, and at least as easily implementable
>in hardware. They probably fit the CPU/storage cost relations much better.
>    Fractal encoding is an interesting research subject, but economic
>and engineering tradeoffs don't help it. Better put your money on 
>something else. It could die silently.

There are always a few applications for which almost any improvement in 
compression ratio is worth the CPU time required to get it.  A major one
that comes to mind is the transmission of pictures from deep space probes.
Sending back 2K rather than 10K requires 1/5 as much energy, and they can
afford to take their time processing the image after it is stored in the
probes memory before transmitting it.

Whether or not such applications are a driving force in the development of
IFS technology depends a lot on the funding available.  NASA's funding isn't
too impressive of late, but if the military had a good use for such a high
compression ratio (sending images out of hostile territory?--less data means
less chance of being detected) then you can be sure of *lots* of development!

______________________________________________________________________________
  ___   ,               ,                                           ,;,;;;,
 /   Y /|              /|              Charles Flaig                ;/@-@\;
|      |/     __, ,__  |/              flaig@csvax.caltech.edu       | ^ |
|      /^\   /  | | |  /  /\  /\                                      \=/ 
 \____/|  \_/|_/\_/ \_/ \_\/_/_/_/     "What, you think they PAY me for this?"