Harpreet Singh Sawhney

Title:

Technical Director, Vision & Learning Systems

What is your focus at Sarnoff?

I am responsible for technical innovation and leadership in initiating, directing and executing projects in a wide variety of areas, such as: real-time video and sensor data analysis and processing systems, video indexing and data mining, high-dimensional pattern intelligence, object recognition and fingerprinting, LIDAR and image-based 3D modeling, 3D graphics and image synthesis, security and surveillance systems, immersive tele-presence systems, and intelligent computer vision systems.

Additionally, I work with external clients to understand their problem domains and offer cutting-edge solutions to advance Sarnoff’s business and technology portfolio. I offer technical and organizational leadership in mentoring groups of researchers and developers, as well as hire new people who have a passion for making Computer Vision work in the real world.

I take an entrepreneurial role in identifying and championing technologies and programs that may lead to new Sarnoff technology ventures as start-up companies. I also maintain external visibility within the research and academic communities.

Describe a typical day for you at Sarnoff.

My typical day is multi-faceted. I hold project meetings to guide current technology development, as well as brainstorming ideas for developing new technology and pursuing business opportunities. I am responsible for business and organizational planning to set goals for the Vision Technologies sector. I also work out algorithms and formulations for problems at hand that enable us to keep up with the state-of-the-art.

What experience did you have prior to joining Sarnoff?

After earning my Masters degree in India, I started my professional career working as a Data Communications Systems Engineer at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Satellite Center (ISAC) in Bangalore, India. While at ISAC, I became interested in Microprocessor-based microcontrollers, and joined the R&D group at India’s first indigenous computer manufacturer, Hindustan Computers Limited (HCL), as a Hardware Design Engineer. After completing my Ph.D. in the United States, I joined IBM’s Almaden Research Center in San Jose, CA, as a Research Staff Member and started an activity on video content indexing in parallel with IBM’s pioneering QueryByImageContent (QBIC) system.

What is your background in academics?

1992: Ph.D. in Computer and Information Science
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

1981: Masters of Technology in Electrical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India

1979: Bachelors of Technology in Electrical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur India

Why did you choose Sarnoff?

I wanted to be in a place where computer vision and related sensor analysis, processing and decision support technologies were key in the technical and business domains. Sarnoff also offered an environment where R&D needs to work in real-world settings. For Sarnoff, the whole world is the customer. So the technology base could be taken into many different real-world applications.

Commercialization through start-up businesses was another attractive aspect of Sarnoff. Also, the technical and humane quality of people at Sarnoff was a significant factor.

What is your proudest professional achievement?

Three achievements stand out for three aspects of my Sarnoff experience.

My first encounter with technology development for a start-up at Sarnoff, VideoBrush, was an exhilarating experience from the aspect of honing technology to serve the needs of everyday users. VideoBrush developed shrink-wrapped software for real-time mosaic creation from videos and images in the early days of PCs and cameras. Standing in the Sarnoff booth at COMDEX, the biggest computer show on Earth, and showing off VideoBrush to users from all walks of life was an amazing experience.

Developing software for 3D IMAX movie creation from stereo imagery was another proud achievement, especially when even IMAX professionals could not tell the difference between real and synthetic content.

Finally, the technical “wow” factor and business success generated by the VideoFlashlight and VisionAlert class of technologies was the crowning achievement of recent times. Developing and deploying the technology in pilot programs at airports and bases, and then commercializing it, was the best example of the Sarnoff technical and business model.

Over and above technology, I am proud to have played a role in the building of Vision Technologies activity by working with highly motivated, sharp and sincere people. When I joined Sarnoff, there were about 20-30 people in the group and now there are almost 100. They are the most valuable asset for me and the enterprise.