Most image processing systems load the entire image into the computer's memory and then transform it in a series of steps; each of these steps needs another complete copy of the image being worked on. libVIPS takes a different approach, chopping images into small tiles which are processed by separate cores, before being reassembled into their final form at the end. This enables it to run quickly with much smaller memory requirements. This software has evolved over decades of research projects and is now maintained by an open source community.

OpenIMAJ uses advanced methods to carry out specific tasks such as feature extraction, which uses machine learning to recognise particular shapes or patterns in digital images. The software also incorporates new approaches for the analysis of multimedia data such as videos. 

The researchers worked on developing an image capture method known as reflectance transform imaging (RTI). This involves placing an object under a dome, in which it is photographed around 100 times with different light angles. The resulting data allows the viewer to digitally ‘re-light’ the object in order to investigate small surface details.