Abstract: A digital image management system is described that includes a content analyzer that analyzes an image to extract content data from the image. The content data of an image include face feature data. The digital image management system also includes an image database that is coupled to the content analyzer to store pixel data of each of a number of images and the content data of each of the images. A search engine is also provided in the digital image management system. The search engine is coupled to the image database and the content analyzer to compare the content data of the images with that of an input image such that any image similar to the input image can be identified from the image database without retrieving the pixel data of the image from the image database. A method of extracting feature data of a face in an image is also described.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses are disclosed for determining one or more characteristics of a sub-image within an electronic image.In one embodiment, the present invention includes an alpha image generator and a characterizer. The alpha image generator provides an alpha image of the subject being characterized, separated from a background of the input image. In another embodiment, the alpha image generator also may provide a summed area table. The characterizer determines a characteristic of the subject from the alpha image.In another embodiment, a first characteristic of the subject is derived from the alpha image. The characterizer determines a second characteristic based upon the first characteristic. In yet another embodiment, the determination of the second characteristic is simplified by eliminating all the unlikely estimates of the second characteristic in the overall potential estimates of the second characteristic.

Abstract: An improved non-stop, constant velocity laser printer is provided which operates in parallel to both begin printing a particular page of print media while virtually simultaneously receiving further data for that same page from a host computer. Since the communications link between the host computer and the printer is slower than the rate of consumption by the printhead provided with this printer, a certain amount of data for each page is first buffered in the printer before the print media begins to move via the printer's print engine. Since it is important for the printer to receive all of the required data for the entire page before the printhead requires that data for consumption, the printer must decide how much data of that particular page should be buffered within the printer before commanding the print engine to start moving the print media.

Abstract: A pixel which is one pixel prior to a pixel to be coded x in image data is defined as a specific pixel a, and differences (b-a) and (c-a) between each of pixel data of neighboring pixels b and c and pixel data of the specific pixel a are calculated. The differences (b-a) and (c-a) are compared to a predetermined value Th1, and if both of the differences (b-a) and (c-a) are less than the predetermined value Th1, a difference (x-a) between pixel data of the pixel to be coded and the pixel data of the specific pixel is encoded by Markov model coding on the basis of the difference (x-a) and the differences (b-a) and (c-a). Whereas, if at least one of the differences (b-a) and (c-a) is not less than the predetermined value Th1, then the pixel to be coded is encoded by predictive coding on the basis of an average of the pixel data of the specific pixel a and the neighboring pixel b, {(a+b)/2} and an error of the average with respect to the actual pixel data of the pixel to be coded x.

Abstract: A method (30) is provided for the detection and analysis of anomalies (32) in a road surface (36). An image (34) of the road surface (36) is obtained (82) wherein traffic control markings (76) are masked (88). The image (34) is filtered (90) and a pixel map (92) is produced (98). The pixel map (92) is partitioned (112) into a multiplicity of subimages (108). For each subimage (108), anomaly parameters are identified (120) and a status characteristic is determined (124) and assigned (136). A subimage map (138) is produced (142) depicting the subimages (108) and their status characteristics. A determination (156) is made as to which subimages (108) contain anomalies (32). Anomaly-containing subimages (108) are grouped (158) into anomalous objects (152). For each anomalous object (152), an object type (162) is determined (160) and assigned (164). An object map (154) is then produced (166) depicting the anomalous objects (152).

Abstract: A method and apparatus for enhancing optical character recognition comprises a data processor and memory for maintaining an error detection and correction log. The data processor maintains a memory table of a plurality of rules for generating a rule base determined by recognition of a particular context type of an electronic bit-map portion. The appropriate rule base comprises rules and combinations of rules for application to bit-map portion data. A rule, a rule base or data may be selected and obtained from an internal or external memory. Upon application of the rule base, the error detection and correction log maintains a record of clear errors, corrected data, failed rules of the rule base and the original bit map. Possible errors are flagged and clear errors are automatically corrected provided a confidence level in the correction is reached or exceeded.

Abstract: The invention is a system and method for non-invasive tomographic spectroscopy of tissue using a plurality of microwave emitter-receivers spatially oriented to the tissue, an interface medium placed between the emitter-receivers, and a control subsystem operably coupled to the plurality of emitter-receivers for selectively controlling power to the plurality of emitter-receivers and for receiving signals from the plurality of emitter-receivers so that multiple frequency radiation is emitted from a selected plurality of emitter-receivers and received by a selected plurality of emitter-receivers after interacting with and passing through the tissue, and a computational subsystem operably connected to the control subsystem for computing a tomographic spectroscopic image of the tissue from the microwave signals received from the selected plurality of emitter-receivers.

Abstract: An image restoring apparatus is provided that can restore an image disturbed by transmission error to a natural image in real time even if the transmission error occurs frequently. The image restoring apparatus has refresh control means for updating all the image data of a frame, inframe correcting means for effecting correction processing in the frame, and selecting means for selecting either of the refresh control means or the in-frame correcting means by detecting of number or positions of blocks having an error in the pixel data of the frame.

Abstract: A method of digitally processing a sequence of video frames wherein in object which appears in the frames and undergoes relative motion or transformation is selected in a first frame by an operator; the pixels relating to the object are tagged in that frame by means of information including at least one color or appearance attribute; corresponding pixels relating to the object are located automatically in subsequent frames, by means of said information including at least one color or appearance attribute and by means of information indicating the expected position or shape of the object in the subsequent frames; and the pixels relating to the object in each of the frames are procesed.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for detecting objects in computed tomography (CT) data are shown. Specifically, the system can identify objects that contain liquids, if desired. A subregion that encloses an object is defined, and a top surface of the subregion is identified. Volume elements at the surfaces of the object are identified. If a ratio of top surface volume elements to the total number of surface volume elements is determined. If that ratio exceeds a predetermined threshold, then the object can be identified as including a liquid.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a combined approach of image and template correlation, and vector correlation wherein edge detection and pattern searching are joined in a single operation to provide great flexibility without requiring extensive computational facilities. A template is devised from a sparse set of coordinate points that model only the important edges of an object to be located within an image. Different templates are dynamically reconstructed as an estimation of the object location within the image becomes more precise.

Abstract: A character string correction system corrects a spelling error in a character string input through the keyboard, OCT, etc. An error pattern representing frequent occurrences of errors is preliminarily set and stored in the memory, etc. A processor reads an input character string character by character, and compares the read character with the error pattern. If the input character string matches an error pattern, it is assumed that an error exists. The input character is replaced with one of the alternative characters. Using the input character string or the character string corrected with an alternative character, a dictionary (TRIE table) is searched. If a corresponding word is detected in the dictionary, the word is output as one of the recognition results.

Abstract: There is provided a method in which a human image including a face of a person is extracted from a color original image at a high probability and an amount of exposure is determined so that the human image is reproduced at the most suitable density. Photographing information is read from a negative film, a color original image is divided, on the basis of the photometric data of the three colors of red, green and blue, into small regions in which color and density are the same for each of pixels on the original image, and characteristic values which indicates characteristics of the small regions are calculated. Subsequently, a small region which is estimated, on the basis of photographing information, to be a background whose size is largely different from the size of a main image, and a small region which is determined to have a low probability of being the main image on the basis of positional information are obtained, and these small regions are eliminated as non-main regions.

Abstract: In a distance detection method, a pair of image data representing a pattern of images is obtained by using a pair of image sensors for receiving optical images. Then, a detection target extracted from each of the image data is captured while sequentially shifting positions of divisions in respective groups of divisions from window part data corresponding to a visual field to provide combinations, each having a pair of divisions, and a correlation value is calculated between each pair of the divisions. Also, a precision at a best correlation point as an indicator of reliability of the best correlation is obtained based on a changing condition of the correlation value near a shift value where the best correlation value has been calculated. Finally, a distance to the detection target is obtained by determining that the detection target is present in the visual field seen through the window corresponding to the window part data only when the precision exceeds a predetermined level.

Abstract: A skin pattern image is filtered by convolution calculation on a real plane or product calculation on a Fourier transformed plane with each of two-dimensional filters prepared according to kinds of features to be extracted of the skin pattern image. Image intensity of each subregion of each filtered data is calculated. Feature of each subregion is represented by a feature parameter corresponding to a filter that gives a highest value of the image intensity of the subregion. An initial pattern of features thus obtained is smoothed to minimize an evaluation function. A filtered skin pattern image having pixel values of each subregion smoothed by a set of filters prepared for extracting a kind of features is further filtered by another set of filters for extracting another kind of features.

Abstract: In a digital copier in which the copies are made with a reciprocating ink-jet printhead, the original image to be copied is pre-scanned at high speed and low resolution, to identify an area in the original image having white space. If the white-space area in the original image is sufficiently large, the action of the printhead can be adapted to skip the corresponding area in the copy sheet in the printing process, thus increasing the overall throughput of the digital copier. An analogous technique can be used to identify non-halftone or non-color portions of an original image, which can be printed with fewer than a maximum number of passes of the printhead over a specific area of the copy sheet.

Abstract: A method for determining the position of a die on a wafer table after a wafer (20) has been cut includes stepping the wafer table (22) a series of one die lengths diagonally and after each step compare the die pattern to a reference die to determine street widths between dies. The widths are then averaged. This averaged street width is added to the die length to at the computer (26) to determine the jump distance between good dies. The distance from the reference die is continuously updated and this is used with the average street width to compute the next die position to jump. If the jump to the next die is unsuccessful, jump back to mid-point and if that is unsuccessful, reiterate mid-point jumps until successful.

Abstract: A color image converting apparatus and color image converting method thereof according to the present invention decides, when it is determined that a signal for a homogeneous color space is present outside a reproducible color space, the necessity of color space compression and the compressing direction for each unit region according to a frequency of occurrence of the signal for each unit region for unit regions present on a plane within an area having constant brightness including the corresponding region, and outputs colors as closest to the original colors as possible preserving color balance and impression of the input color image signal by mapping a unit region decided to be subjected to color space compression onto another region in the compressing direction.

Abstract: A computer-implemented system and method is provided for analyzing the rigidity of substructures within a molecule represented as atomic coordinate and bond data. The system includes a preprocessor for selectively eliminating from the data those bonds below a predetermined strength to thereby generate filtered data. The system also has a data structure for representing the filtered data as a network of vertices and constraints from which rigidity information is inferred. A topography processor is provided for extracting the rigidity information from the network and constructing an index data structure to represent the extracted rigidity information. The system also includes an analyzer coupled to the index data structure for identifying rigid and floppy substructures within the molecule based on the indices.

Abstract: The character reader device of the present invention is capable of reading as read data characters written in a portion corresponding to a given read field on a manuscript; detecting a reject character in the read data; generating a pattern image corresponding to the reject character; displaying the read data, the reject character, and the pattern image; computing the position of a display area for the read data; deciding whether or not the computed display area is overlapped with the display area for the pattern image; shifting the pattern image to the area which is the outside of the display area for the read data if overlapped; and displaying it on the latter area.