Abstract: A position and color detection sensor (for detecting a position of a light spot in a light distribution that can include stray light components, e.g. from other lasers, ambient lighting etc.) includes two discrete response position sensitive detectors (DRPSDs). The first DRPSD is used to calculate a raw estimate of the spot position and the second DRPSD is used to calculate the actual spot position based on information from the first DRPSD. Color is supported by further dividing each pixel of the first DRPSD into elementary photocells, each one covered with an appropriate optical filter. The use of two DRPSDs differing in pixel geometries makes them suitable for integration on the same chip using the same process. This reduces production and alignment costs. Further, analogue microelectronic processes can be used for color filter deposition and simple optics can be used for beam splitting and shaping.

Abstract: The process comprises the operations of:

Abstract: In a method of storing and retrieving images of people, for example, in photographic archives and for the construction of identikit images, each characteristic (or feature) of the images to be stored is associated with a region the size of which corresponds to the average size of the feature in the images stored. If {F.sub.i }.sub.i=1 . . . , N is a set of images of the feature, where F.sub.i is the image associated with each of the N people in the data base, on the basis of these images, a new set of images {.PHI..sub.j }.sub.j=0, 1, . . . N of the type ##EQU1## is generated, of which a subset {.PHI.}.sub.i=0 . . . K can be used to approximate, encode, compare and construct images of the type in question in an interactive manner. The method is particularly applicable to techniques for searching photographic archives and for the construction of identikit images.

Abstract: A system for recognizing continuous speech, for example for automatic dictation applications, uses a bigramme language model organized as a network with finite probability states. The system also uses methods of estimating the probabilities associated with the bigrammes and of representing the model of the language in a tree-like probability network.

Abstract: In a method of compressing electroencephalographic signals, the signals are compressed by the encoding of the differences between values of the signal and values estimated by a predictor with the use of variable-length codes with prefixes.

Abstract: A system for the detection and location of acoustic signals which can be used, for example, for the acquisition of voice messages or the like, in environments in which noises, echoes and reverberations are present. The system employs an array of microphones and is based on the Fourier antitransform calculus of only the information of phases of the normalised cross power spectrum of pairs of signals acquired from the microphones in the array. The system also enables an acoustic message cleared of the undesired components which are due to noises, echoes, etc to be reconstructed.

Abstract: An integrated, multisensory recognition (identification and verification) system is described. Acoustic features and visual features are integrated in order to identify people or to verify their identities. The integration of the speaker-identification and visual-features-identification functions improves both performance and reliability in the applications envisaged. Various architectures are described for the implementation both of the integration function and of the speaker-recognition and visual-features-recognition functions.