NEC enables high quality live images from ambulances and emergency vehicles

Tokyo, November 11, 2015 - NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) today announced the development of an "Adaptive Rate Control Technology" that enables the transmission of high quality live images via mobile networks (LTE/3G), even in unstable communications environments such as ambulances traveling at high speeds.

This technology optimizes image quality based on the change in communications throughput, where mobile communications speed is measured on an emergency vehicle's route and high quality image distribution is confirmed.

"Currently, emergency medical services rely mainly on voice communications, such mobile phones or radio, to convey information between hospitals and the treatment scene. With the use of this technology, accurate information using images can be shared between the emergency medical services at the scene and the hospital, allowing the hospital to better prepare for treating the patient's condition," said Motoo Nishihara, General Manager, Cloud System Research Laboratories, NEC Corporation. "This in turn improves the survival rate and helps to enhance the quality of emergency medical services offered."

Key features of this new technology are as follows:

The new technology optimizes the image bit-rate and frame-rate in accordance with the change in the communication throughput. Using its "communication throughput forecast technology," NEC can forecast communication throughput variation on a commercial mobile network one minute in advance with an 80% degree of accuracy. By sending data using the "Adaptive Rate Control Technology" and highly accurate forecast technology, optimized image data can be sent without delay, even when there is throughput variation, thereby achieving high quality image distribution in real time.