Abstract: A system includes a laser displacement sensor which is provided on a shoulder of a roadway, emits a laser beam which scans a roadway space in a height direction thereof, receives a beam reflected by an object which is present in the roadway space, and measures a distance up to a reflection point on the object, at which the laser beam was reflected; and a vehicle window detection device that detects a window of the vehicle based on the distance measured by the laser displacement sensor. The vehicle window detection device detects the window of the vehicle based on a change in a distance in a horizontal direction from the laser displacement sensor to the reflection point after the vehicle in the roadway space was detected.

Abstract: A method capable of constructing an accurate three-dimensional image is offered. The method comprises the step (S10) of obtaining a first series of tilted images which are constituted by electron microscope images or elemental mapping images of a sample (S) at different tilt angles and which have been obtained by tilting the sample in angular increments, the step (S14) of obtaining a second series of tilted images which are constituted by electron microscope images or elemental mapping images of the sample at different tilt angles and which have been obtained by rotating the sample about an axis (P) perpendicular to a surface (Sf) of the sample and then tilting the sample in angular increments, and the step (S16) of constructing the three-dimensional image on the basis of the first and second series of tilted images.

Abstract: An image capture device, such as a smartphone or point of sale scanner, is adapted for use as an imaging spectrometer, by synchronized pulsing of different LED light sources as different image frames are captured by the image sensor. A particular implementation employs the CIE color matching functions, and/or their orthogonally transformed functions, to enable direct chromaticity capture. These and various other configurations of spectral capture devices are employed to capture spectral images comprised of spectral vectors having multi-dimensions per pixel. These spectral images are processed for use in object identification, classification, and a variety of other applications. Particular applications include produce (e.g., fruit or vegetable) identification. A great variety of other features and arrangements are also detailed.

Abstract: In video quality control and estimation, the joint evaluation of compression artifacts and channel artifacts is a problem. The invention considers the joint perception of both a compression artifact level Dm(V) and a channel artifact level Dh(V) in a method for calculating overall distortion in a video being affected by compression artifacts and channel artifacts. The method comprises a step of adding a compression artifact level Dm(V) and a summand S that is derived from log (Dh(V)) multiplied with a factor that decreases with increasing compression artifact level Dm, such as D(V)=Dm(V)+c·(K?Dm(V))·log(Dh(V)). The result obtained is a measure for the overall distortion.

Abstract: An apparatus and a method are for detecting precipitation on a windscreen of a motor vehicle. A camera device records a first image and thereafter a second image. A comparison device produces a first comparison image by comparing the first image with the second image. An image detection device identifies objects on the first comparison image, and determines motion of the objects, to detect whether there is precipitation on the windscreen.

Abstract: Systems and methods may be directed to de-blurring panoramic images and/or video. An image processor may receive a frame, where the frame comprises a plurality of pixel values arranged in a grid. The image processor may divide the frame into a first section and a second section. The image processor may determine a first motion kernel for the first section and apply the first motion kernel to the first section. The image processor may also determine a second motion kernel for the second section and apply the second motion kernel to the second section.

Abstract: Methods for palette coding of image and video data to avoid issues associated with zero-size palette or to improve performance by conditionally signaling CU (coding unit)-level escape pixel presence flag are disclosed. In one embodiment, size information related to palette size of a current palette table of the current CU is signaled conditionally based on the escape indication flag, where the escape indication flag indicates whether there is any sample in the current CU coded as an escape pixel. In another embodiment, the CU-level escape pixel presence flag is conditionally signaled according to the current palette size or both of the predicted palette size and the new palette size. Conditionally signaling the palette sharing flag may also be based on the palette sharing flag.

Abstract: Reconstructed prediction errors in a sub-portion (12) of a residual block (11) obtained by inverse transforming a transform block (10) are modified in order to spatially improve localized portions of the residual block (11), e.g. to compensate for visual artifacts from transform coding. The modification affects reconstructed prediction errors in the sub-portion (12) of the residual block (11) but not reconstructed prediction errors in a remaining portion of the residual block (11).

Abstract: An imaging apparatus includes a lens, a moving mechanism, an imaging device, and a controller. The moving mechanism moves the lens in the optical axis direction. The controller drives, in response to an input of an imaging instruction, the moving mechanism to move the lens to a plurality of imaging positions from one of infinity and close-up ends to the other and drives the imaging device when the lens is positioned at each of the imaging positions. Since the interior of an oral cavity, for example, is difficult to capture, the focus can hardly be adjusted on it with high accuracy when an autofocus mechanism is used. However, since the lens is moved to the plurality of imaging positions in the optical axis direction in response to each input of the imaging instruction to obtain captured images, an in-focus image can be reliably obtained.

Abstract: A method of controlling a stereo convergence and an image processor using the method are provided. The method includes: detecting objects from a stereo image; grouping the detected objects into at least one or more objects according to setup specification information; and moving at least one of left and right eye images of a stereo image of the grouping or a setup area including the grouping in a horizontal or vertical direction or in the horizontal and vertical directions.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to a device for capturing person-specific data of a person, wherein the person-specific data comprises a facial image of the person, wherein the device has a camera for recording the facial image of the person, a lighting apparatus, and a semi-transparent mirror, wherein the semi-transparent mirror is arranged between the person and the camera, wherein the semi-transparent mirror is oriented such that, on the side of the semi-transparent mirror facing towards the person, the optical path of light incident on the semi-transparent mirror is parallel to the optical path of the portion of this light reflected back by the semi-transparent mirror, wherein the lighting apparatus is used to illuminate the person from the front, wherein the device also has a control unit for capturing an image, by generating light by means of the lighting apparatus in order to illuminate the face of the person and, during the illumination, capturing a first image of the face of the person by means of the camera,

Abstract: A monitoring camera apparatus including a processing unit configured to process a video image input by an imaging unit, an upload control unit configured to upload the video image processed by the processing unit to a server via a network, a setting unit configured to set a parameter for the imaging unit to perform imaging or a processing parameter for the processing unit, and a transmission control unit configured to stop uploading of the processed video image to the server when the setting unit is in use.

Abstract: A distance measurement device includes a detection unit, an optical path forming unit, a common reduction unit that reduces influence of variation of an optical axis of an image formation optical system, and reduces variation of an optical axis of the directional light, an auxiliary reduction unit that auxiliarily reduces at least one of influence of variation of the optical axis of the image formation optical system or variation of the optical axis of the directional light, and a control unit that, in a case of operating the common reduction unit and the auxiliary reduction unit at the same time, controls the common reduction unit and the auxiliary reduction unit to reduce variation of an irradiation position of the directional light in a subject image received as light by a light receiving section.

Abstract: Frame sequences from multiple image sensors may be combined in order to form, for example, an interleaved frame sequence. Individual frames of the combined sequence may be configured a by combination (e.g., concatenation) of frames from one or more source sequences. The interleaved/concatenated frame sequence may be encoded using a motion estimation encoder. Output of the video encoder may be processed (e.g., parsed) in order to extract motion information present in the encoded video. The motion information may be utilized in order to determine a depth of visual scene, such as by using binocular disparity between two or more images by an adaptive controller in order to detect one or more objects salient to a given task. In one variant, depth information is utilized during control and operation of mobile robotic devices.

Abstract: A distance measurement device includes a detection unit, an optical path forming unit, a first reduction unit, based on a detection result of the detection unit, influence of variation of the optical axis of the image formation optical system, a second reduction unit that is disposed in a different part from a common optical path and reduces variation of the optical axis of the directional light with respect to the subject based on the detection result of the detection unit, and a control unit that, in the case of operating the first reduction unit and the second reduction unit at the same time, controls the first reduction unit and the second reduction unit to reduce variation of an irradiation position of the directional light in the subject image received as light by the light receiving section.

Abstract: The optical system (1) is intended to measure the bidirectional reflectance and/or transmittance distribution function BRDF, BTDF and BSDF of a surface (10) of at least a portion of an object (7), the system comprising successively: an aplanatic lens (2) having an opening angle, the absolute value of which is comprised between 45° and a value strictly lower than 90°, a converging field lens (3) downstream of the plane P, an image pickup lens (4), the field angle of which is higher than or equal to the convergence angle of the scattered light beams emerging from the field lens, and a video sensor (5), the aplanatic lens (2), the converging field lens (3), the image pickup lens (4) and the video sensor (5) being arranged so as to allow a conjugation C1 between the surface (10) and the entrance pupil of the image pickup lens (4) and a conjugation C2 between an intensity pattern and the video sensor (5).

Abstract: A distance measurement device includes a detection unit, an optical path forming unit, a first reduction unit that reduces, based on a detection result of the detection unit, influence of variation of the optical axis of the image formation optical system, a second reduction unit that is disposed in a different part from the common optical path and reduces variation of the optical axis of the directional light based on the detection result of the detection unit, and a control unit that, in the case of operating the first reduction unit and the second reduction unit at the same time, controls the first reduction unit and the second reduction unit to reduce variation of an irradiation position of the directional light in the subject image received as light by the light receiving section.

Abstract: A distance measurement device includes an emission unit, a detection unit, a first reduction unit that reduces, based on a detection result of the detection unit, influence of variation of an optical axis of the image formation optical system on the subject image received as light by the light receiving section, a second reduction unit that reduces variation of an optical axis of the directional light with respect to the subject based on the detection result of the detection unit, and a control unit that, in the case of operating the first reduction unit and the second reduction unit at the same time, controls the first reduction unit and the second reduction unit to reduce variation of an irradiation position of the directional light in the subject image received as light by the light receiving section.

Abstract: A distance measurement device includes an emission unit, a detection unit, a first reduction unit that reduces, based on a detection result of the detection unit, influence of variation of an optical axis of the image formation optical system on a subject image received as light by a light receiving section, a second reduction unit that reduces variation of an optical axis of the directional light with respect to the subject based on the detection result of the detection unit, and a control unit that, in the case of operating the first reduction unit and the second reduction unit at the same time, controls the first reduction unit and the second reduction unit to reduce variation of an irradiation position of the directional light in the subject image received as light by the light receiving section.

Abstract: A plurality of high speed tracking cameras are pointed towards a routine hovering area of an in-the-field sports participant who routinely hovers about that area. Spots within the hovering area are registered relative to a predetermined multi-dimensional coordinates reference frame (e.g., Xw, Yw, Zw, Tw) such that two-dimensional coordinates of 2D images captured by the high speed tracking cameras can be converted to multi-dimensional coordinates of the reference frame. A body part recognizing unit recognizes 2D locations of a specific body part in the 2D captured images and a mapping unit maps them into the multi-dimensional coordinates of the reference frame. A multi-dimensional curve generator then generates a multi-dimensional motion curve describing motion of the body part based on the mapped coordinates (e.g., Xw, Yw, Zw, Tw).