Abstract: Provided are RF tags configured to access and/or control electronic media. These tags have a memory programmed to access a particular media source when polled by a RF transceiver connected with (preferably integrated with) a media player. The memory of tags may also be programmed with control parameters relating to the accessed piece of electronic media content. That is, the tags' memories may be written to with information relating to the tag user's preferences with respect to the piece of media, for example parameters such as volume or language for an audiovisual piece of media. Such preferences may be determined, for example, based on previous uses of the media. Or, the memory may register the place in the playback of the media when the tag is removed from the RF field of the RF transceiver so that playback may be resumed from that place when the tag again enters the field and is polled by the transceiver.

Abstract: A system and method are described for providing on line chat help to an applicant. An application identifier and a chat applet are inserted into a web page. The web page is sent to the applicant. The chat applet is configured to determine based on an event that the applicant could benefit from online chat and, upon such determination, to send a request to a chat server for a connection and to include the application identifier with the request.

Abstract: A system and method are described for rendering a left rear surround input signal at a left rear virtual speaker location and rendering a right rear surround input signal at a right rear virtual speaker location. The method includes phase shifting the left rear surround input signal by a first phase shift. The right rear surround input signal is phase shifted by a second phase shift. The phase shifted left rear surround input signal is phase shifted using an HRTF selected to render the left rear surround input signal at the left rear virtual speaker location. The phase shifted right rear surround input signal is transformed using an HRTF selected to render the right rear surround input signal at the right rear virtual speaker location.

Abstract: A power amplifier includes drains and sources of a plurality of transistors connected to each other to produce a plurality of common drains and a plurality of common sources, wherein the common drains are connected at a common drain point and wherein the common drain point is connected via an RF choke to a power supply voltage terminal and wherein the common sources are grounded; an output terminal connected to the RF choke; a plurality of bias terminals each coupled via a resistor to the gate of one of the plurality of transistors wherein each of the gates of the plurality of transistors is also capacitively coupled to a radio frequency input.

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for providing controlling the presentation of information using a telephone including monitoring a signal received from the telephone; receiving control information sent from the telephone; interpreting the control information; generating commands based on the control information; sending the commands to a media source wherein the media source outputs information based on the command; and displaying the information output from the media source on a device separate from the telephone.

Abstract: An interactive karaoke system includes a microphone developing an audio input from at least one karaoke performer; a camera producing a series of video frames including the at least one karaoke performer; and a karaoke processor system including a video environment and a related audio environment for the karaoke performer. The karaoke processor system is coupled to the camera to create extracted images of the at least one karaoke performer from the series of video frames and to composite the extracted images with a background derived from the video environment. The video environment is affected by at least one of a position and a movement of the at least one karaoke performer. A karaoke network includes a local area network, a local karaoke server coupled to the local area network and storing local karaoke content; and a number of karaoke systems coupled to the local area network, each of which can request karaoke content from the local karaoke server.

Abstract: A precision motion platform carrying an imaging device under a large-field-coverage lens enables capture of high resolution imagery over the full field in an instantaneous telephoto mode and wide-angle coverage through temporal integration. The device permits automated tracking and scanning without movement of a camera body or lens. Coupled use of two or more devices enables automated range computation without the need for subsequent epipolar rectification. The imager motion enables sample integration for resolution enhancement. The control methods for imager positioning enable decreasing the blur caused by both the motion of the moving imager or the motion of an object's image that the imager is intended to capture.

Abstract: An acoustic attenuator includes an intake air duct having an intake air duct opening leading to an outside environment and a blower fan opening leading to a blower fan. Air is drawn through the intake air duct opening towards the blower fan and a primary reflecting panel disposed in the intake air duct. The primary reflecting panel is configured to reflect sound propagated from the blower fan away from the intake air duct opening.

Abstract: Segmentation of background and foreground objects in an image is based upon the joint use of both range and color data. Range-based data is largely independent of color image data, and hence not adversely affected by the limitations associated with color-based segmentation, such as shadows and similarly colored objects. Furthermore, color segmentation is complementary to range measurement in those cases where reliable range data cannot be obtained. These complementary sets of data are used to provide a multidimensional background estimation. The segmentation of a foreground object in a given frame of an image sequence is carried out by comparing the image frames with background statistics relating to range and normalized color, using the sets of statistics in a complementary manner.

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for generating a transition in a laser control signal at a precise point in time. A write strategy processor is configured to input a sequence of data and to determine a transition in a laser control signal from the sequence of data. The transition is specified by a number of pulse clock units and a delay. A write pulse generator is configured to input the number of pulse clock units and the delay and to generate a transition by creating a signal having a transition at the time specified by the number of pulse clock units and delaying the transition by the specified delay.

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for reading a multilevel signal from an optical disc. The method includes reading a raw analog data signal from a disc using an optical detector and adjusting the amplitude of the raw analog data signal. A timing signal is recovered from the amplitude adjusted analog data signal and correction is made for amplitude modulation of the raw analog data signal by processing the raw analog data signal and the timing signal.

Abstract: The methods and systems of the present invention receive video or image data, for example via television broadcast, cable, or satellite television signal, or directly from a video player, and process the data to determine the geometry and material properties of various objects represented in the video image. Geometry and material property information may be deciphered from a video image by reference to various fixed data sources and/or the application of known methods for elucidating such information from video or image data, such as shape-from-motion or shape-from-shading techniques. Alternatively, all or some of this information may be provided to the system together with the video or image data via a preconfigured side channel. The system coordinates and assembles the image data with the data relating to geometry and material properties of the objects and provides a realistic haptic interaction with those objects to the user.

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for detecting intrusions in a host system on a network. The intrusion detection system comprises an analysis engine configured to use continuations and apply forward- and backward-chaining using rules. Also provided are sensors, which communicate with the analysis engine using a meta-protocol in which the data packet comprises a 4-tuple. A configuration discovery mechanism locates host system files and communicates the locations to the analysis engine. A file processing mechanism matches contents of a deleted file to a directory or filename, and a directory processing mechanism extracts deallocated directory entries from a directory, creating a partial ordering of the entries. A signature checking mechanism computes the signature of a file and compares it to previously computed signatures. A buffer overflow attack detector compares access times of commands and their associated files.

Abstract: In a music synthesis system, a scanning apparatus repeatedly scans a physical attribute of a vibrating object at a sequence of points of the vibrating object so as to repeatedly generate corresponding sequences of values. The music synthesis system generates an audio frequency waveform whose shape corresponds to the sequences of values. The vibrating object may be a physical object or a simulated object. The system may include a sensor for receiving user input, and means for mapping the user input into a stimulus signal that is applied to the vibrating object. In a preferred embodiment, the object vibrates and is manipulated by the user at haptic frequencies (0 to 15 hertz), while the sequences of scanned values are cyclically read at an audio frequencies so as to generate an audio frequency waveform whose timbre varies at the haptic frequencies associated with the object's vibration.

Abstract: DC offset canceling is disclosed. A DC level fixing signal generator receives feedback input of two output signals from a mixer and generates a level fixing control signal to fix the DC level of the two output signals according to the input values. A DC offset canceling signal generator receives feedback input of two output signals from the mixer and generates offset canceling control signals to cancel the relative difference between the DC levels of the two output signals according to the input values. A DC level fixing and offset canceling circuit fixes the DC level of each of the two output signals from the mixer and cancels the relative difference between the DC levels of the two output signals according to the level fixing control signal and the offset canceling control signals.

Abstract: The identification of hidden data, such as feature-based control points in an image, from a set of observable data, such as the image, is achieved through a two-stage approach. The first stage involves a learning process, in which a number of sample data sets, e.g. images, are analyzed to identify the correspondence between observable data, such as visual aspects of the image, and the desired hidden data, such as the control points. Two models are created. A feature appearance-only model is created from aligned examples of the feature in the observed data. In addition, each labeled data set is processed to generate a coupled model of the aligned observed data and the associated hidden data. In the second stage of the process, the modeled feature is located in an unmarked, unaligned data set, using the feature appearance-only model. This location is used as an alignment point and the coupled model is then applied to the aligned data, giving an estimate of the hidden data values for that data set.

Abstract: An improved visual user interface enables control of the interaction of a device with a spatial region. The visual user interface includes a display of a control space and a display of a target space. The content of the displayed target space can be a representation of some or all of the spatial region. The content of the displayed control space and displayed target space can also be established such that the displayed target space provides context for the displayed control space. The device is operated in accordance with the state of the displayed control space. The visual user interface enables a user to change the display of the control space, thereby controlling the operation of the device.

Abstract: Provided are telecommunications devices and systems which incorporate and use radio frequency (RF) tag technology. Telecommunications devices in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention incorporate RF transceivers (readers) which are configured to read associated RF transponders (tags) in order to automatically dial desired telephone numbers without the need for a manual user interface. Tags in systems in accordance with this embodiment of the present invention may be attached to or incorporated with a myriad of items, including picture frames, consumer products and packaging, advertising and promotional material, electronic business cards, record-keeping systems, etc. Devices and systems in accordance with the present invention have a variety of telephony and non-telephony applications.

Abstract: The deferred scanline converter system in accordance with the present invention receives. triangle data from a front end processor, identifies the triangles that are in competition for a given pixel location, and determines the winning triangle from among the competing triangles to generate the pixel for that pixel location. The system includes a triangle buffer write logic and a scan-out logic. The triangle buffer write logic initially receives triangle data, re-orients the triangle data to top, middle, and bottom vertices, and writes the triangle data to the triangle buffer in accordance with a triangle buffer writing scheme. The writing scheme uses a coverage mask to limit the number of triangles in competition for a given pixel location (i.e., if a triangle cannot be written to the triangle buffer within the confines of the coverage mask, it will be discarded).

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for generating a calibration sequence of multilevel symbols includes generating subsequences of digital values selected from a range of digital values using a maximal length shift register. The subsequences have a given subsequence length. The range of digital values is mapped onto a set of multilevel symbols and the multilevel symbols corresponding to the generated digital values are output to a write strategy processor.