India-Born Nasir Ahmed's Algorithm Changed The World, Enabled Image & Video Transfer
A lot of creators who laid the foundations of tech that changed the course of humanity are often forgotten, sometimes neglected by history and in other times by circumstances. One of these pioneers is Nasir Ahmed, the man behind the discovery that makes image and video transmission possible.
Nasir Ahmed's "discrete cosine transform" is a widely used transformation technique used in signal processing and compression of data. In simple words, every time you send an image or a video on any social media app or watching Netflix in high definition, you should be thankful to Nasir Ahmed.
How it all began for Nasir Ahmed
Originally from Bengaluru, Karnataka, Ahmed moved to the United States in 1961 to pursue a Master's degree. During his PhD at the University of New Mexico, Nasir Ahmed came up with "discrete cosine transform".
"I had no idea that it would become a major contribution... In those days, digital technology was just starting," he said in a video.
"The algorithm became the most efficient way of taking an image or a video, processing it in a way that it could be compressed and trasnmitted to any place that you want," Nasir Ahmed said in an interview.
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The technology is used in almost all apps that facilitate data transmission (specifically photos and videos) like Zoom and Facetime. "It makes me feel very happy", Ahmed said.
Nasir Ahmed's contribution to tech was brought into focus after his story was reimagined and performed on the hit US show called "This is us".
Wide ranging applications for DCT
Wondering where all discrete cosine transform (DCT) is used? Everything from JPEG images, MPEG-1/MPEG-2/MPEG-4 to Google's WebP Images and WebM Video, DCT is the driving force for all image and video delivery in high definition in the modern world.
Could you imagine getting through the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic without technology that aids transmission of images and video, be it for communication or for entertainment? We certainly cannot.
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Did you know one of the most important inventions in the world of tech was developed by Nasir Ahmed from Bengaluru? Let us know in the comments below.?For more in the world of?technology?and?science, keep reading?Indiatimes.com.
