SPx classes support the receipt of network video in raw and compressed formats. An increasing number of radar manufactures are providing direct digital outputs for their radars, so there are inevitably a number of proprietary formats for network video. SPx provides a set of software objects that accept radar video in a defined SPx format, in the open ASTERIX CAT-240 format or a number of proprietary formats. Where translation from the actual network format to one supported by SPx is required this can be done by the customer (with support from the SPx library) or Cambridge Pixel can implement a custom interface module.
If you are looking for a ready-made distribution server to move radar video from a sensor to a set of displays, then Cambridge Pixel has appropriate software and hardware solutions. SPx Tracking Server is available to provide software-based compression and distribution, using one of the HPx series of radar input cards if required to interface to an analogue radar.
Alternatively, Cambridge Pixel can provide a software toolkit of C++ classes that you can use to add radar acquisition, compression and distribution into your existing software. It is easy-to-use, compact and cost efficient. The software toolkit approach keeps you in control. You can use as many or as few SPx software modules as you need. Add capabilities such as test pattern generator, scenario generation or radar recording by simply including additional classes from the SPx library. The full range of radar processing and display capabilities are available if you need them.
Compression Standards
SPx supports radar video compression through the ORC (Open Radar Coding) format, which is Cambridge Pixel's own open-standard for radar video coding and network distribution and ZLIB, which is a widely used compression standard based on the Lempel-Ziv compression standard. SPx uses both ZLIB and ORC to implement low-latency, lossless compression of radar video for recording or network distribution. ZLIB generally achieves a higher level of compression than ORC, at the expense of slightly more CPU time for compression and decompression.
If desired, other SPx processing modules can be used ahead of the compression process to improve the compression ratio, at the expense of some signal loss.
Using SPx Compression Modules
You can add radar compression into your application software by using the standard classes to compress and decompress radar video. For example, radar manufacturers looking to add network distribution can use ORC or ZLIB compression to provide lossless encoding of the video. The supporting client-side classes provide easy-to-use capabilities to receive and decompress the video, which may then be made available to application software, or to more SPx processing and display modules.
Alternatively, you can use the ready-made SPx Tracking Server application to deliver radar video from a point of acquisition to multiple display consoles. You could use SPx software on the client side or not, it is your choice. Everything in SPx is open, so you are free to select where you want to interface.
