Abstract: A system and method for review of news content (audio, video and/or textual news content), such that an overview of the news content can be quickly ascertained and flexibility in the manner in which it is presented are provided. News programs (e.g. television news programs) and news stories (e.g., on-line news) are acquired and the system enables the user to easily move among and randomly access the segments of news programs and quickly locate the segments of a particular subject. News stories related to the segment of news program being viewed can be identified and displayed. Flexible playback allows speeding-up the display of the news program while displaying summary of one or more program segments and accelerating playback of a paused program after resuming from the pause. The system can additionally indicate to the user which news story is currently being viewed, and which news stories have already been viewed.

Abstract: A processing node in a temporal memory system includes a spatial pooler and a sequence processor. The spatial pooler generates a spatial pooler signal representing similarity between received spatial patterns in an input signal and stored co-occurrence patterns. The spatial pooler signal is represented by a combination of elements that are active or inactive. Each co-occurrence pattern is mapped to different subsets of elements of an input signal. The spatial pooler signal is fed to a sequence processor receiving and processed to learn, recognize and predict temporal sequences in the input signal. The sequence processor includes one or more columns, each column including one or more cells. A subset of columns may be selected by the spatial pooler signal, causing one or more cells in these columns to activate.

Abstract: A method is provided for conducting commerce over a network via vision-enabled content. First, content is encoded to convert it into vision-enabled content. Payment is received for vision-enabling the content. Also, a program to decode the vision-enabled content is provided. Finally, the vision-enabled content is sent to a user over a network. The program decodes the vision-enabled content and receives an image of the user. The vision-enabled content may include advertising content, entertainment content, and educational or instructional content. In one embodiment, the program combines the image of the user with the vision-enabled content. In another embodiment, the program utilizes the image of the user to control the vision-enabled content.

Abstract: A method is provided for conducting commerce over a network via vision-enabled content. First, content is encoded to convert it into vision-enabled content. Payment is received for vision-enabling the content. Also, a program to decode the vision-enabled content is provided. Finally, the vision-enabled content is sent to a user over a network. The program decodes the vision-enabled content and receives an image of the user. The vision-enabled content may include advertising content, entertainment content, and educational or instructional content. In one embodiment, the program combines the image of the user with the vision-enabled content. In another embodiment, the program utilizes the image of the user to control the vision-enabled content.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for producing video content. The method includes acquiring video data from a source. If the video data is not digitized, then the video data is digitized. The method includes generating scene indexes for the video data including a representative still image for each scene and combining the video data and scene indexes along with a media player on a video disc. The video player is operable to play the video data in accordance with the scene indexes including playing a scene from the video data on a client computer while displaying the representative stills for other of the scenes available for display on the video disc.

Abstract: Process-response statistical modeling of visual images can be used in determining similarity between visual images. Evaluation of the content of visual images—and, in particular, image similarity determinations—can be used in effecting a variety of interactions (e.g., searching, indexing, grouping, summarizing, annotating, keyframing) with a collection of visual images.

Abstract: Process-response statistical modeling of visual images can be used in determining similarity between visual images. Evaluation of the content of visual images—and, in particular, image similarity determinations—can be used in effecting a variety of interactions (e.g., indexing, grouping, summarizing, annotating, searching keyframing) with a collection of visual images.

Abstract: The invention automatically evaluates the quality of the visual images in a collection of visual images and selects one or more visual image(s) from the collection based on the evaluation of the quality of the visual images.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for producing video content. The method includes acquiring video data from a source. If the video data is not digitized, then the video data is digitized. The method includes generating scene indexes for the video data including a representative still image for each scene and combining the video data and scene indexes along with a media player on a video disc. The video player is operable to play the video data in accordance with the scene indexes including playing a scene from the video data on a client computer while displaying the representative stills for other of the scenes available for display on the video disc.

Abstract: Digitally compositing an object from an input image onto a destination image is disclosed. The object is composited from an image having an arbitrary or non-uniform colored background containing some non-static elements onto a destination image with reduced effects from shadows cast by the object and with reduced gaps or holes within the object. The effect of shadows emanating from the object is reduced so that the composited object in the destination image contains only the object clearly outlined by the object's physical boundaries without the effect of shadows cast by the object.

Abstract: Controlling an event in a virtual environment is disclosed. A video image from one or more video cameras is received. A video enhanced script is executed to display the virtual environment in a video display within a web browser. An event in the virtual environment is controlled based on the video image. The video enhanced script is configured to communicate with a web browser extension module.

Abstract: A system for implementing a hierarchical temporal memory (HTM) network using a plugin infrastructure. The plugin infrastructure registers the plugins to be used in instantiating the HTM network. The plugin may include one or more functions for creating one or more components of the HTM network in a runtime engine. The plugin is associated with a component specification describing the components of the HTM network created by invoking the functions of the plugin. After the plugin is registered, the plugin infrastructure allows functions of the plugin to be invoked to instantiate The HTM network on a runtime engine. After the HTM network is instantiated, the runtime engine may run the instance of the HTM network to learn and infer the causes of input data. The system may also include one or more external programs to provide various supporting operations associated with the runtime engine by referencing the component specification.

Abstract: Controlling an event in a virtual environment is disclosed. A video image from one or more video cameras is received. A video enhanced script is executed to display the virtual environment in a video display within a web browser. An event in the virtual environment is controlled based on the video image. The video enhanced script is configured to communicate with a web browser extension module.

Abstract: The invention enables the apparent display rate of an audiovisual display to be varied. The invention can modify an original set of audio data in accordance with a target display rate, then modify a related original set of video data to conform to the modifications made to the audio data set, such that the modified audio and video data sets are synchronized. When the modified audio and video data sets so produced are used to generate an audiovisual display, the audiovisual display has an apparent display rate that approximates the target display rate. The target display rate can be faster or slower than a normal display rate at which an audiovisual display system generates an audiovisual display from the original sets of audio and video data. The target display rate can be established solely by a user instruction, by analysis of the audiovisual data, or by modification of a user-specified nominal target display rate based upon analysis of the audiovisual data.

Abstract: A visual recording can be automatically edited in a manner that creates a summary of the visual recording in which only content that is of unacceptably low quality and/or very little or no interest is eliminated, thereby enabling the original unsummarized visual recording to be discarded if desired. Additionally, a summary of a visual recording can be automatically produced in accordance with a format template that imposes a certain overall style to the visual recording summary. Further, a viewer of a visual recording can be enabled to provide input which can affect the visual recording content included in an automatically generated summary of the visual recording.

Abstract: The invention enables the apparent display rate of an audiovisual display to be varied. The invention can modify an original set of audio data in accordance with a target display rate, then modify a related original set of video data to conform to the modifications made to the audio data set, such that the modified audio and video data sets are synchronized. When the modified audio and video data sets so produced are used to generate an audiovisual display, the audiovisual display has an apparent display rate that approximates the target display rate. The target display rate can be faster or slower than a normal display rate at which an audiovisual display system generates an audiovisual display from the original sets of audio and video data. The target display rate can be established solely by a user instruction, by analysis of the audiovisual data, or by modification of a user-specified nominal target display rate based upon analysis of the audiovisual data.

Abstract: The invention automatically evaluates the quality of the visual images in a collection of visual images and selects one or more visual image(s) from the collection based on the evaluation of the quality of the visual images.

Abstract: A web-based hierarchical temporal memory (HTM) system in which one or more client devices communicate with a remote server via a communication network. The remote server includes at least a HTM server for implementing a hierarchical temporal memory (HTM). The client devices generate input data including patterns and sequences, and send the input data to the remote server for processing. The remote server (specifically, the HTM server) performs processing in order to determine the causes of the input data, and sends the results of this processing to the client devices. The client devices need not have processing and/or storage capability for running the HTM but may nevertheless take advantage of the HTM by submitting a request to the HTM server.

Abstract: A hierarchical temporal memory (HTM) based system may be provided as a software platform. The software platform includes: a runtime engine arranged to run an HTM network; a first interface accessible by a set of tools to configure, design, modify, train, debug, and/or deploy the HTM network; and a second interface accessible to extend a functionality of the runtime engine.

Abstract: The invention automatically evaluates the quality of the visual images in a collection of visual images and selects one or more visual image(s) from the collection based on the evaluation of the quality of the visual images.