Abstract: A robot of the present invention moves to a place where a user is, in response to the voice of the user who is calling the robot. Then, when the user presses a switch, the robot recognizes that the user desires to send an urgent call and dials a pre-registered telephone number for sending urgent calls. When a receiver responds, the robot reads out and delivers a predetermined message to the receiver as a voice message, and switches the telephone to the handfree state so that the user can talk without holding the telephone.

Abstract: An image processing process wherein an image is divided into small areas, a polar transformation is applied to the image in each of the small areas, and image processing is performed based on the result of the polar transformation. Further, each of a plurality of images is divided into small areas, a polar transformation is applied to the image in each of the small areas for each of the plurality of images, and correlation is obtained between the results of the polar transformation for the plurality of images. One-dimensional filter processing is applied to the polar-transformed output.

Abstract: An image processing process wherein an image is divided into small areas, a polar transformation is applied to the image in each of the small areas, and image processing is performed based on the result of the polar transformation. Further, each of a plurality of images is divided into small areas, a polar transformation is applied to the image in each of the small areas for each of the plurality of images, and correlation is obtained between the results of the polar transformation for the plurality of images. One-dimensional filter processing is applied to the polar-transformed output.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus is provided which is capable of a high-speed process for obtaining a projection histogram. A digitizing unit subjects a video signal, obtained by acquiring an image of a target mark with a camera, to horizontal scanning and slicing to obtain a binary signal. A window signal output unit, coupled to the digitizing unit, outputs a window signal in accordance with a preset window area. An in-window signal output unit is connected to the outputs of the digital unit and the window signal output unit to perform a logical AND operation on the binary signal and the window signal and outputs an in-window binary signal. A histogram creating unit is coupled to the output of the in-window signal output unit to create a projection histogram by successively counting the high- and low-level states of the in-window binary signal generated as the horizontal scanning progresses.

Abstract: A method of extracting a line segment contained in an original image includes the steps of clipping an image, which conforms to the size of a receptive field defining a small area, from the original image, projecting the clipped receptive-field image from a predetermined projection direction onto an axis (.rho. axis) that intersects the projection direction to obtain projection values at positions along the .rho. axis, subjecting the projection values to differentiation processing along the .rho. axis, similarly subjecting projection values, which are obtained by successively varying a projection-direction angle .theta. incrementally a predetermined amount, to differentiation processing along the .rho. axis to thereby obtain a differential value at each position on a .rho.-.theta. plane, and extracting a line segment contained in the receptive-field image based upon a peak position (.rho.,.theta.) of the differential values.

Abstract: An information extraction device including a coordinate transformation unit for transforming the coordinate values of points on a plane in question to the coordinate values of the points on a spherical surface corresponding to the points on the plane, and a mapping unit for mapping the points on the spherical surface to great circles. This information extraction device is applicable to the detection of the three-dimensional direction of a single line or a single plane existing in space.