4G Color was founded in 2001 to develop image processing infrastructure for mobile devices and peer-to-peer networks. ColorBender is the first commercial application of the 4G Color Technology. The company is located in Palo Alto, CA.

The 4G Technology consists of

• An architecture suitable for all parts of the image processing chain
• A comprehensive set of Algorithms that avoids pathologies such as clipping and color shifting
• The use of Analytic functions (rather than lookup tables or chains of operations)
• Distributed control for user edits, user preferences and device characteristics

The Architecture separates control from processing.

• Control is provided by a compact data structure called a control object.
• Control objects can be created, edited, combined and managed independently from pixel processing.
• A sequence of control objects can be combined into a single equivalent control object.
• Each stage, device, or application in an image chain can assert preferences, device characteristics and image edits without processing pixels.
• When pixels are needed, all the accumulated control objects are dynamically combined into a single object and the raw image data is processed for the needed pixels.
• The executable doesn't change, so it can be highly optimized and readily ported to hardware/firmware devices. Product design Engineers do not need to be image processing experts.
• Since control objects are combined into a single object, processing speed is independent of the number of steps in the control sequence.

4G technology is based on a set of special functions. The characteristics of these functions are:

• They are analytic.
• They are parametrically generated at high precision.
• Any sequence of these functions can be combined into a single equivalent function that is also in the set of functions. Moreover, the parameters for the equivalent function can be directly computed from the parameters corresponding to the sequence of functions.
• All of the functions have inverses that are also in the set of functions. Moreover the parameters for the inverse function can be directly computed from the function parameters.
• The functions satisfy three dimensional boundary conditions corresponding to the color gamut and the neutral axis.

The importance of using these functions for image processing is

• A chain of operations can be accurately combined into a single operation without processing pixels.
• Performance does not depend on the number of steps in an editing sequence.
• They can be computed at high accuracy and are extremely smooth.
• Since the operations have well defined inverses and are gamut compliant, they can be used for color management and device color compensation.

Dr. George Dalke has developed algorithms and designs for all parts of the image chain. He is interested in automating and simplifying color image processing.

To talk with George about 4G Color Technology, you may email him directly at gdalke@4gcolor.com

The images used in this website were contributed by the following people. These images are copyrighted and the owners reserve all rights.

Shelly Alger, www.ShellyAlger.com

Rob Coish, rcoish@yahoo.com

George Dalke, gdalke@4gcolor.com