ABSTRACT
The field of image compression continues to grow at a rapid pace. As we look to the future, the need to store and transmit images will only continue to increase faster than the available capability to process all the data. Even with the rapid growth in computer power and the increase in Internet bandwidth, the ability to process and transmit the desired amount of image data continues to be problematic. Additionally, advances in video technology and the corresponding growth in the multimedia market, including high-definition television and streaming video, are creating a demand for new, better, and faster image compression algorithms.
Applications that require image compression are many and varied. Use of images and graphics in business documents is rapidly increasing—from product catalogs to stock reports—and these documents are often stored in databases and transmitted over the Internet. Today most organizations have their entire libraries available on the Internet; from the U.S. Library of Congress to professional organizations such as the IEEE and ACM.
