Abstract: An imaging device includes an imaging unit having an imaging element to conduct photoelectric conversion on incident light from a subject and output an electric signal, a signal gain control unit for controlling an output signal level of the imaging unit, a plurality of defective pixel correction units for correcting defective pixels contained in a signal output from the signal gain control unit, an image signal processing unit for generating an image signal from a signal which is output from the defective pixel correction units, a temperature measurement unit for measuring temperature in the vicinity of the imaging element, and a system control unit for generally controlling the imaging unit, the signal gain control unit, the correction units, and the image signal processing unit. The system control unit uses the plurality of defective pixel correction units jointly and causes them to operate according to occurrence causes of defective pixels.

Abstract: An image signal processing system according to the present invention has a function to perform image quality control in photographing a subject having a large difference in brightness in the surrounding environment so that the entire photographed image, in particular a subject which a user desires to view, has an adequate brightness and an adequate gradation. Specifically, this image signal processing system comprises: a video input unit, a video signal processing unit for performing signal processing on a signal output from the video input unit, and generating a video signal; an input-output characteristic control unit for controlling a characteristic of the video signal which the video signal processing unit generates; and a subject recognition unit for performing image processing on the video signal which the video signal processing unit generates, and recognizing and detecting subject information.

Abstract: A photographing apparatuses, enabling to keep dynamic resolution, as well as, to obtain an image being wide in dynamic range, with using a plural number of cameras therein, and further enabling to photograph a further wider range, comprises: a plural number of photographing devices overlapping photographing regions thereof with each other; a brightness distribution detecting portion for detecting brightness levels of image signals, which are photographed by means of the plural number of photographing devices; an area determining portion for determining an area where the brightness level detected by the brightness distribution detecting portion is appropriate, among photographing regions overlapping with each other, in relation with the image signals photographed by the plural number of photographing devices; and a synthesizing portion for synthesizing the image signals photographed by the plural number of photographing devices, with using the image signal of the area, the brightness level of which is determin

Abstract: A picture-data compression system for compressing inputted multiple picture data includes a storage device that stores the multiple picture data; a selection controller that writes the multiple picture data into the storage device and reads the multiple picture data from the storage device; a pixel-number converter that converts the number of pixels of the picture data read from the storage device; and an inter-picture predictive coding unit that codes the picture data whose number of pixels is converted by the pixel-number converter by inter-picture predictive coding. The selection controller reads the picture data written to the storage device at a period of 1/n (positive integer) times the frame period or field period of the picture data. The pixel-number converter converts the number of pixels of the picture data read from the storage device to 1/m times (positive integer) the original.

Abstract: When a motion image is to be compressed, the present invention divides a high-resolution still image into image segments to perform a motion image encoding process on each image segment. In this instance, the importance of each image segment and the relativity of each image segment with another image segment are computed. The image segments are then aligned in the order of importance to determine a picture type for motion image encoding in accordance with the computed relativity. Encoding is performed in accordance with a determined encoding sequence and picture type. Further, the rate control bit allocation amount for motion image encoding is increased for highly important image segments. Therefore, the present invention makes it possible to exhibit a high overall image compression efficiency while avoiding image quality deterioration in an important portion of a still image by using a motion image compression technology for still image compression.

Abstract: The contour correction processing of a still picture that can suppress the generation of a black edge due to an undershoot in a contour portion is enabled while increasing a feeling for resolution. Moreover, an interpolation device that improves the sharpness of a digital picture is provided without increasing a circuit scale.

Abstract: A photographing apparatuses, enabling to keep dynamic resolution, as well as, to obtain an image being wide in dynamic range, with using a plural number of cameras therein, and further enabling to photograph a further wider range, comprises: a plural number of photographing devices overlapping photographing regions thereof with each other; a brightness distribution detecting portion for detecting brightness levels of image signals, which are photographed by means of the plural number of photographing devices; an area determining portion for determining an area where the brightness level detected by the brightness distribution detecting portion is appropriate, among photographing regions overlapping with each other, in relation with the image signals photographed by the plural number of photographing devices; and a synthesizing portion for synthesizing the image signals photographed by the plural number of photographing devices, with using the image signal of the area, the brightness level of which is determin

Abstract: Considering the locations of a self-vehicle and other vehicles changing from moment to moment, an image signal is chosen in relation to the location, orientation, viewing angle, and moving speed of a camera mounted on each vehicle, and information on a region to be a driver's blind spot is provided in real time by means of images and voice. When there is the other vehicles whose camera meets requirements such as the location, orientation, viewing angle, and moving speed for photographing a region to be the self-vehicle's blind spot, it is possible to provide information on the blind spot by the image picked up by the camera. However, since the other vehicle's location also changes with a lapse of time, it is not possible to keep photographing the blind spot with the same camera.

Abstract: A picture-data compression system for compressing inputted multiple picture data includes a storage device that stores the multiple picture data; a selection controller that writes the multiple picture data into the storage device and reads the multiple picture data from the storage device; a pixel-number converter that converts the number of pixels of the picture data read from the storage device; and an inter-picture predictive coding unit that codes the picture data whose number of pixels is converted by the pixel-number converter by inter-picture predictive coding. The selection controller reads the picture data written to the storage device at a period of 1/n (positive integer) times the frame period or field period of the picture data. The pixel-number converter converts the number of pixels of the picture data read from the storage device to 1/m times (positive integer) the original.

Abstract: A stereoscopic imaging system includes a stereoscopic imaging apparatus having a plurality of imaging modules to pick up an image and an imaging sync control module to arithmetically process the video signals output from the plurality of the imaging modules for the stereoscopic imaging operation. In the case where the imaging modules control the exposure using an electronic shutter function and come to have different timing of the center of gravity of the exposure period, an imaging sync control module sets the plurality of the imaging modules at the same timing of the center of gravity of the exposure period by displacing the phase of the timing of the center of gravity of the exposure period of the imaging modules thereby to prevent the image processing capability of the stereoscopic imaging operation from being reduced.

Abstract: A radio communication apparatus includes a first communication unit for transmitting and receiving a nondirectional communication wave, a second communication unit for transmitting and receiving a directional communication wave and a transmitted/received data control unit for controlling transmission and reception of the low-rate data through the first communication unit and the high-rate data through the second communication unit, thereby even under a narrow environment where a number of the radio communication apparatuses transmit and receive a large amount of the high-rate data to and from one another in a short space, transmitting and receiving an image without interruption and quality deterioration.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a A video data recording technique s capable of compressing/encoding video data in real time without deterioration in the playback image quality. Mixed video data into which a plurality of pieces of video data are time-divisionally combined is stored in a memory. According to the number of frames or fields of each video data, each video data is successively selected and read out from the memory and compressed/encoded based on the compress/encode information concerning a first compressing/encoding operation on the video data.

Abstract: The contour correction processing of a still picture that can suppress the generation of a black edge due to an undershoot in a contour portion is enabled while increasing a feeling for resolution. Moreover, an interpolation device that improves the sharpness of a digital picture is provided without increasing a circuit scale.