Microsoft Uses De-Blurring Technology To Clarify Bing Maps

Bing receives a lot of flack as a search engine, but it has some cool features. One of them is Bing Maps, a robust competitor to Google Maps – and it’s now a bit sharper than before.

Clarity comes courtesy of a de-blurring algorithm developed by Microsoft. Originally intended for consumer cameras, it has been adapted to help de-blur images on Bing Maps. A crisp satellite image is an obvious ideal, but due to the motion of the satellites and/or planes used to take photographs, blur can sometimes rear its fuzzy head – and, as most amateur photographers know, it becomes more prevalent the further a camera zooms in.

As you can see in the example above, the results aren’t game-changing but they are impressive. Small features on the houses photographed become visible and trees look less like poorly defined green blobs.

This de-blurring algorithm provides Bing Maps with a small advantage over the competition. Since it can be used on any image it’s possible that Bing could have clearer maps even if the source photos were identical.

So far the de-blur effect has only been applied to some images covering the United States and Europe. Additional areas should enjoy the same treatment eventually. Do you think this de-blurring effect is a big deal, or is it just a nice (but small) bonus? Leave a comment and let us know.

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