Abstract: A reliable method of illuminating and imaging an eye through eyeglasses uses a carefully selected subset of multiple monochromatic light sources, a camera with an imager that exhibits minimal blooming, and a narrow-bandwidth optical bandpass filter to filter out most of the ambient illumination while passing most of the light from the system's own illuminator.

Abstract: Controlling the stepping of an x-ray angiography imaging device (and/or table), and/or providing a visualization aid for stepping an x-ray angiography imaging device (and/or table), to maximize the diagnostic usefulness of images acquired by the x-ray angiography imaging device. The stepping and visualization aid use features, extracted from captured images, of the state of contrast media injected into a patient.

Abstract: An image data compression/expansion system capable of compressing/expanding image data at a high speed and less costs is provided. The system includes an image data compression device provided with an extraction circuit for extracting, from pixel information of an image composed of pixels, characteristic data each representing a characteristic value, such as a luminance and a color difference of a pixel, which is of significance for the image, and a position data of such a significant pixel, and includes an image data expansion device which interpolatingly forms characteristic data of all the pixels of the image from the characteristic and position data of the significant pixels.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for detecting moving objects in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional scenes. The method repetitively applies a two-dimensional transformation to a plurality of images representing a scene to identify misaligned regions within the images. Any residual motion represented by the misaligned regions that may be classified as a moving object within the scene is further processed by a three-dimensional technique that removes parallax motion from the residual motion. The result is motion contained in an epipolar flow field which is only due to a moving object within the scene.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for identifying the color image of an object. The object's image is digitized and a cut-off portion of the image containing the object is determined. The cut-off portion image data is normalized. Selected pixels of the normalized image are subjected to an averaging process to provide an averaged image containing R, G, and B color components. H, V, and C components of the averaged image data are computed, and their V, c, and d components are computed from the H, V, and C components. A color feature extractor computes from the c and d component data a parameter representative of the object to be identified. This parameter is provided to a memory controller to retrieve from a memory that stores target images one or more images categorized according to the computed parameter. A matching section matches each retrieved target image with the Vcd component data and determines which target image is most similar.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for pattern inspection forming an image of a specimen and inspecting a pattern formed on the specimen. This method includes the steps of storing a reference image corresponding to an image of the specimen into a memory, comparing the read out reference image from the memory with the image of the specimen, detecting differing portions between the reference image and image of the specimen as defects, and determining a probability of defects being or becoming a killer defect (i.e., a defect causing failure) of the specimen from other defects based on the detected differing portions.

Abstract: A method to reduce the distortion introduced by lossy compression of interpolated images. The interpolation represents a constraint. If the output of the compression algorithm does not satisfy the constraint then the estimate of the output can be improved by re-imposing the constraint. An alternating projection algorithm is used to impose both the interpolation constraint, and the requirement that the image compress to the observed compressed output. This involves finding the orthogonal projection alternately on the space of interpolated images, and on the set of images that quantize to the appropriate image produced by the compression algorithm. Although this algorithm is not restricted to the correction of errors in block coding schemes, the explicit introduction of the interpolation constraint allows this algorithm to outperform all other iterative algorithms that attempt only to remove blocking artifacts introduced by transform coders.

Abstract: A method for encoding handwritten symbols operates upon penstroke data received from a device capable of sampling a stylus position at discrete intervals. Each handwritten symbol is segmented into an ordered sequence of discrete strokes. An arc length and initial and final tangent angles are evaluated for each of these strokes. Each stroke is encoded in the form of a parameter set comprising position coordinates of the initial and final endpoints of the stroke, the arc length, and the initial and final tangent angles. In specific embodiments of the invention, the segmentation is based, in part, on properties of the handwritten symbol when it is expressed as a curve .phi.(s), wherein s represents arc length and .phi. represents the net turning angle.

Abstract: A method of performing an inverse discrete cosine transform (IDCT) capable of reducing the amount of calculation while satisfying bit accuracy required by international standards. The IDCT method comprises the steps of defining each column of scalars X.sub.ij (where, i,j=0,1,2, . . . , N-1) and Y.sub.ij as a vector X.sub.i ={X.sub.i0, X.sub.i1, . . . , X.sub.i(N-1) } and a vector Y.sub.i ={Y.sub.i0, Y.sub.i1, . . . , Y.sub.i(N-1) }, respectively, storing values of ##EQU1## in a scalar register, storing values of X.sub.i ={X.sub.i0, X.sub.i1, . . . , X.sub.i(N-1) } in a vector register, obtaining Y.sub.i ={Y.sub.i0, Y.sub.i1, . . . , Y.sub.

Abstract: A video image indexing system includes a method for identifying categories in compressed digital data for improved retrieval of video images. An encoder receives a frame and digitizes the image data while a sub-band coder codes each digitized frame at a plurality of transform levels to derive categorized data segments. Data segments are stored and then retrieved according to minimum entropy of Eigenvalues in a first transform level. Preferably, the compression is improved by creating a residual image of each frame by subtracting a predicted frame image from the actual frame image. This compression of data enhances the recreation of lossless video images at the receiver.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus for improving the performance of reproducing an image edge and obtaining a preferable image output including an edge judging unit for judging the presence or absence of both left and right edge pixels of an input image. The apparatus further includes plural halftone processing units and a selection unit for selecting one of the plural halftone processing units based on a result of the judgment result of the presence or absence of either of the left or right edge pixel.

Abstract: A hardware accelerator board utilizes field programmable gate arrays which can be reprogrammed on the fly during program execution to achieve dedicated hardware processing speeds and greater flexibility than provided by compiled or interpreted software. The accelerator board is used to permit the user to interact with the computer system in which the board is installed to interactively produce a correlation of two images of the same scene. Correlated images are used to determine depth of objects in the scene shown in the correlated images.

Abstract: A communication apparatus performs a maintenance operation in a short period of time, without using a communication apparatus which includes a special communication protocol on a maintenance side. In a facsimile machine 24, upon receipt of a DTMF signal on a communication line 1, the DTMF signal is supplied to a modem 8 through a relay 3 and a transformer T1. This is done such that the modem 8 converts the received DTMF signal into a code signal such as 1 to 0, * and # and supplies the code signal to a CPU 16 through a data bus, formed by a gate array 11 and a main gate array 23. The CPU 16 stores the code in a temporary storage RAM 19, digit by digit. In the meantime, when it is determined that the code signal is "96#," from a RAM 17, the CPU 16 reads a functional parameter associated with the number of a soft switch which is temporarily stored in the RAM 19.

Abstract: An image reader for reading book-like documents placed on a document platen in a face upward condition, said image reader comprises a shading reference panel provided beside the document platen which is white in color and of uniform density, an image reading device which reads the document platen on which the book-like document is placed and the shading reference panel, and outputs image data, a height detector which detects a height distribution of the book-like document, an illuminance detector which detects an illuminance irregularity in accordance with the image data corresponding to the shading reference panel, calculator which calculates shading correction data in accordance with the height distribution and the illuminance irregularity on the shading reference panel and, shading corrector which corrects the illuminance irregularity of the image data corresponding to the book-like document in accordance with the shading correction data.

Abstract: A data extraction processor receives data, such as image data, at a high rate of speed and generates processed results, generally at a much lower overall data rate. This sort of processing is particularly useful for machine vision image data, because it can reduce a large image data set to a much smaller data set that is more immediately useful for the currently running application. The data extraction processor may include a segmentation processor, a gradient processor, or other similar types of data extraction processors. The disclosed data extraction processor includes a data flow controller which provides image data to the processors and receives the results from the processors. The data flow controller includes at least one FIFO (first-in, first-out) memory, which allows for the provision of data to the data extraction processor and the receipt of result data therefrom to occur at different rates.

Abstract: In the past, user authorization based on biometric information was conducted by correlating a single instance of biometric information against a template. By using this method, a percentage of the population is difficult to authenticate. Further, due to skin damage and injuries, sometimes biometric information is not suited to identification. A sore throat affecting voice information and scraped finger tips affecting fingerprint information are two examples of common problems with authorization in dependence upon biometric information. A method of authenticating a user in dependence upon biometric input information is disclosed. The method allows a user to select biometric information sources and a number of repetitions for each source in order to customize the process of biometric user authentication.

Abstract: The present invention provides a novel system and method that permits a "mask" to be directly incorporated into an image during image processing. This is accomplished by processing binary images or image data which are encoded using two bits rather than the usual one. The second bit is defined to be a "mask enable", which directs a processor to pass the original data through to the output image regardless of the processing result for that pixel. The present invention also provides a means of automatically providing background data to the processor for pixels outside the original image so that the result image is always the same size as the original image. For binary images, the background may be defined to have a value of "0" or "1", and this value is provided to the processing engine in place of all of the pixels which lie outside the original image.

Abstract: A system and a method for recognizing patterns comprises a first stage for xtracting features from inputted patterns and for providing topological representations of the characteristics of the inputted patterns and a second stage for classifying and recognizing the inputted patterns. The first stage comprises two one-layer neural networks and the second stage comprises a feedforward two-layer neural network. Supplying signals representative of a set of inputted patterns to the input layers of the first and second neural networks, training the first and second neural networks using a competitive learning algorithm, and generating topological representations of the input patterns using the first and second neural networks The method further comprises providing a third neural network for classifying and recognizing the inputted patterns and training the third neural network with a back-propagation algorithm so that the third neural network recognizes at least one interested pattern.

Abstract: A system for detecting image black and white points for a digital image.

Abstract: An image processing coefficient determination method of an image processing system comprising the steps of:outputting test pattern image data having one or more image areas each containing a specific spatial frequency component by an image output device for preparing an output image,measuring a spatial frequency characteristic of the output image, anddetermining spatial frequency processing coefficients from a relationship between a spatial frequency characteristic of the test pattern image data and the measurement result of the spatial frequency characteristic of the output image.