Abstract: A digital image processing method for generating a low resolution, low bit depth digital image from a higher resolution, higher bit depth input color digital image, includes the steps of: generating a gray scale image from the input color digital image; generating a low resolution sketch image from the grayscale image; generating a low resolution halftone image from the gray scale image; and combining the low resolution sketch image and the low resolution halftone image to form the low resolution, low bit depth digital image.

Abstract: A method for representing an image in terms of the shape properties of its identified segments of interest involves analyzing each segment of interest to automatically identify one or more of its perceptually significant components and then representing each perceptually significant component in terms of its shape properties, e.g., by means of Fourier descriptors. The image segment is then characterized as a composition of the shape properties of its perceptually significant components. By repeating the foregoing steps, the image is represented as a composition of its characterized segments. This technique can then be used to archive and retrieve images based on the shape properties of identified segments.

Abstract: Intermediate panoramic images are each generated from two original panoramic images, where each panoramic image provides a 360 degree field of view of a scene from different nodal points. First, pairs of planar images are derived, where each pair corresponds to original planar views derived from respective portions of the original panoramic images, where a similar area of the scene is visible from each pair of planar views. Then, an intermediate planar image is generated from each pair of planar images, and the resulting series of intermediate planar images are cylindrically concatenated to form the intermediate panoramic image.

Abstract: In a method for varying one or more print attributes of a print made from a digital image, a print attribute value is computed for the digital image based on a determination of the degree of importance, interest or attractiveness of the image and the resulting print attribute value is used to control a print attribute of the print made from the image. The print attribute value is derived from an emphasis or appeal value, wherein an appeal value is an assessment of each image taken by itself and the emphasis value is an assessment of each image in relation to other images in a group. In a typical embodiment, the print attribute is either the number of prints made of the image, the size of a print made from the image, or the magnification factor used for the image.

Abstract: A method for varying the image processing path for a digital image involves the steps of (a) computing an image processing attribute value for the digital image based on a determination of the degree of importance, interest or attractiveness of the image; and (b) using the image processing attribute value to control the image processing path for the image. In one embodiment, the image processing attribute value is based on an appeal value determined from the degree of importance, interest or attractiveness that is intrinsic to the image. In another embodiment, wherein the image is one of a group of digital images, the image processing attribute value is based on an emphasis value determined from the degree of importance, interest or attractiveness of the image relative to other images in the group of images.

Abstract: It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a structure and method of processing signals, which includes transforming a signal into subbands by applying a forward discrete wavelet transform (FDWT) to the signal, partitioning the subbands into overlapping subband subsets, inverse transforming the overlapping subband subsets into signal subsets by applying at least one inverse discrete wavelet transform (IDWT) to the overlapping subband subsets, and combining the signal subsets to reproduce the signal. The IDWT is applied to all of the subband subsets in parallel.

Abstract: A method and structure for developing a photographic image from a camera, filtering the image, and developing the image. Filtering of an image entails separating the image into a luminance channel and chrominance channels, alternating the luminance channel by saturation and hue to produce the altered luminance channel and recombining the chrominance channels and the altered luminance channel. The hue controls the color of filtering and the saturation controls the strength of the filtering. Prior to separating and converting the linear exposure is converted to a logarithmic space. This conversion of linear exposure to logarithmic space allows the luminance's channel to be altered independently from the chrominance channels. The alteration creates a filtered RGB to YCrCb matrix and applying the matrix to the logarithmic space produces a filtered logarithmic space. The invention recombines the YCrCb to RGB matrix to the filtered logarithmic space.

Abstract: A method is described for enhancing a digital image channel, particularly where the digital image channel is split into pedestal and texture signals that substantially comprise the digital image channel. The method utilizes a predetermined tone scale conversion to enhance the digital image channel. Initially, image values are provided from the pedestal signal corresponding to image pixels from a region of the image. Then, a statistical characteristic of the image pixels in the region is identified, and the predetermined tone scale conversion is normalized for the statistical characteristic in order to generate a normalized tone scale conversion. The normalized tone scale conversion is then performed on a central pixel of the region in order to generate a pedestal signal with enhanced image values; and the pedestal signal with enhanced image values is combined with the texture signal to generate an enhanced digital image channel.

Abstract: A method and structure for adjusting the contrast of a digital image includes inputting an image, dividing the image into a pedestal signal and a texture signal, applying a tone scale function to the pedestal signal to produce a modified pedestal signal, and adding the texture signal to the modified pedestal signal to produce a processed digital image channel. The dividing filters a pixel of the image using weighting that is dependent upon coefficients of neighboring pixels adjacent the pixel. The filtering blurs the pedestal signal such that flat areas of the image are blurred more that discontinuities in the image.

Abstract: A method for generating an image-dependent tone scale curve includes (a) computing an image activity histogram for an input image value as a function of the number of neighboring pixels that have a predetermined amount of image modulation exclusive of a predetermined noise modulation; and (b) constructing an image-dependent tone scale curve from the image activity histogram. The predetermined amount of image modulation may comprise any image value within two specified intervals each bounded by a noise threshold and a modulation threshold. In another aspect, a tone scale curve that optimizes the rendering of image activity is generated under one or more constraints. More particularly, one or more slope-limit constraints and/or point constraints are established and then a tone scale function is constructed by applying the slope-limit constraints in a tone scale derivative space. An image activity histogram is computed and applied to the tone scale slopefunction.

Abstract: A method for automatically processing a digital image to locate one or more windows that are substantially brighter than their surroundings begins by processing the digital image to compute a feature image identifying the location of features in the image based on a weighted contribution of edge information, brightness information, information corresponding to spatial activity and occlusion boundary information. Then the feature image is processed with one or more morphological filtering operations to provide edge smoothing and noise removal, thereby generating a filtered image. The filtered image is processed to identify zero or more regions, wherein the presence of one or more regions provides a segmented image, and the segmented image is logically combined with the occlusion boundary information to provide zero or more window candidates. Actual windows are deduced by verifying zero or more of the window candidates based on their mean intensity relative to the mean intensity of the digital image.

Abstract: A computer vision/image processing method of removing blond hair color pixels in digital image skin detection for a variety of imaging related applications, such as redeye defects detection, employs a combination of skin detectors operating in a generalized RGB space in combination with a hue space derived from the original image space to detect skin pixels and blond hair pixels within the skin pixels.

Abstract: A method for placing a human understandable item, such as a caption, text or a figurative element, in a digital image includes the steps of (a) digitally processing the digital image to recognize and identify an optimal location in the digital image for placing the item and (b) modifying the placement of the item in relation to human understandable image content so as to minimally obscure such human understandable image content in the digital image. The recognition and identification of an optimal location further includes the identification of an optimal open space region and then finding an optimal location for the item within the open space region. The placement of the item may be done so as to minimally obscure human understandable image content either in other locations of the optimal open space region, or in regions of the digital image adjoining the optimal open space region.

Abstract: A light integrator produces diffuse illumination from a beam of light wherein image artifacts due to debris within the integrator are suppressed. The light integrator includes an integrator block having an elongated cylindrical light integrating cavity enclosed by end walls and a longitudinal cylindrical chamber wall having a diffusely reflecting interior surface The chamber wall includes a longitudinally extending output slit for emitting light from the cavity. A dust-free zone exists within the cavity in the shape of a sector of a circle within which contaminants cannot come to rest without producing visible artifacts, wherein the origin of the sector is located at or nearby a plane of the original. An elongated light pipe extends into the cavity through one of the end walls, where the light pipe has an input port at one end thereof for introducing the beam of light and a treatment along its length for emitting light entering its port into the cavity.

Abstract: A scannerless range imaging system includes an illumination system for illuminating a scene with modulated illumination of a predetermined modulation frequency, and an image intensifier receiving reflected modulated illumination and including a modulating stage for modulating the reflected modulated illumination from the scene with the predetermined modulation frequency. An image responsive element includes an array of individual pixels for capturing images output by the image intensifier, whereby the modulation of the reflected modulated illumination incorporates a phase delay corresponding to the distance of objects in the scene from the range imaging system. A transmittance filter, including a plurality of filter elements having a spatially varying pattern of transmittance, are arranged in a one-to-one mapping with respect to the pixels forming the image responsive element.

Abstract: Non-symmetric distortion generated by an imaging system producing a distortion predominantly in one image dimension is corrected by providing a distortion model capable of correcting the non-symmetric distortion in an image that is predominantly in the one image dimension, providing one or more correction parameters, wherein at least one correction parameter relates to the distortion predominantly in the one image dimension, and generating an image corrected for the non-symmetric distortion by using the distortion model and the one or more correction parameters.

Abstract: A method for detecting skin color in a digital image having pixels in an RGB color space generally includes the steps of performing statistical analysis of the digital color image to determine the mean RGB color values; then, if the mean value of any one of the colors is below a predetermined threshold, applying a transformation to the digital image to move skin colors in the image toward a predetermined region of the color space; and employing the transformed space to locate the skin color pixels in the digital color image. More specifically, if the mean value of any one of the colors is below a predetermined threshold, a non-linear transformation is applied to the digital image to move skin colors in the image toward a predetermined region of the color space.

Abstract: An image is automatically assessed with respect to certain features, wherein the assessment is a determination of the degree of importance, interest or attractiveness of the image. First, a digital image is obtained corresponding to the image. Then one or more quantities are computed that are related to one or more features in the digital image, including one or more features pertaining to the content of the digital image. The quantities are processed with a reasoning algorithm that is trained on the opinions of one or more human observers, and an output is obtained from the reasoning algorithm that assesses the image. More specifically, the reasoning algorithm is a Bayesian network that provides a score which, when done for a group of images, selects one image as the emphasis image. The features pertaining to the content of the digital image include people-related features and/or subject-related features.

Abstract: An object-oriented method for describing the content of a video sequence comprises the steps of (a) establishing a temporal object-based segment for an object of interest; (b) describing the temporal object-based segment by describing one or more semantic motions of the object within its temporal object-based segment; and (c) describing the temporal object-based segment by describing one or more semantic interactions of the object with one or more other objects within its temporal object-based segment. The semantic motions of the object may be further described in terms of the properties of elementary coherent motions within the semantic motion. Additionally, the semantic interactions of the object may be further described in terms of the properties of the elementary spatio-temporal relationships among the interacting objects.

Abstract: A system that stores a color management transform, typically using a grid table, where one or more of the input channels represents parameters used to control the reproduction of the conventional color image channels. The invention augments the existing grid-table based transform structure with additional channels to control the operation of the color models involved. These additional channels are not the conventional calorimetric or colorant image channels such as red, green, and blue, but are to control other aspects of the color transformation, such as exposure level or saturation. The augmentation also includes identification information that identifies the type of control (exposure, grey component replacement, etc.) the extra channels provide.