Abstract: A color correlogram is a three-dimensional table indexed by color and distance between pixels which expresses how the spatial correlation of color changes with distance in a stored image. The color correlogram may be used to distinguish an image from other images in a database. To create a color correlogram, the colors in the image are quantized into m color values, ci . . . cm. Also, the distance values k&egr;[d] to be used in the correlogram are determined where [d] is the set of distances between pixels in the image, and where dmax is the maximum distance measurement between pixels in the image. Each entry (i, j, k) in the table is the probability of finding a pixel of color ci at a selected distance k from a pixel of color ci. A color autocorrelogram, which is a restricted version of the color correlogram that considers color pairs of the form (i,i) only, may also be used to identify an image.

Abstract: The key character selection means selects a character candidate as a standard when evaluating the size information of the extracted area of other character candidates. The doubtful character selection means evaluates size information of the extracted areas of other character candidates making the size information of the extracted area of the key character the standard, and selects the character candidate having deviated size information as a doubtful character.

Abstract: The image reading device has a pixel data reading processor, in which pixel data forming an image is read, and a histogram generating processor, in which a histogram representing a distribution of the pixel data is generated. The histogram is utilized when determining an optimum exposure time, for example. In the generation of the histogram by the histogram generating processor, not all of the pixel data are used. Namely, pixel data, from the maximum value through a first boundary value, and pixel data, from a second boundary value through the minimum value, are used. Since the pixel data, from the first boundary value through the second boundary value, are not utilized in generating the histogram, the capacity of the memory, in which the histogram is stored, can be reduced.

Abstract: A method is provided for encoding video pictures. A sequence of video pictures is obtained. The luminance pixel data of a current ith macroblock is motion estimated to produce a motion vector and the luminance mean absolute difference between the luminance pixel data of the current ith macroblock and the luminance data of the prediction macroblock. If the motion vector is zero and the luminance mean absolute difference is below a first threshold then the chrominance mean absolute difference is generated for the current ith macroblock and the prediction macroblock. If the chrominance mean absolute difference is less than a second threshold, then the macroblock is skipped. Otherwise, the prediction error macroblock is formed and then spatially encoded. By determining whether or not to skip the macroblock prior to spatial encoding, processing resources are conserved in a processor encoder implementation.

Abstract: A recursive dilation method and apparatus reduces the boundary artifacts occurring in hybrid compression. Documents containing both pictures and text are most efficiently compressed using a first compression standard for the picture region and a second compression standard for the text region, and thus inherently produce boundary blocks of both types, but such boundary blocks are most efficiently compressed when they contain only picture data and completely contain picture data, or only text data and completely contain text data. The non-picture data or non-text data in such boundary blocks can be considered “missing” data. The recursive dilation method and apparatus assigns the values of the boundary pixels to the neighboring pixels which have missing data.

Abstract: The invention provides a method and device for tokenless authorization of a stored value transaction between a payor and a payee using an electronic identicator and at least one payor bid biometric sample, said method comprising the steps of registering with the electronic identicator at least one payor registration biometric sample, and at least one payor stored value account. During a payee registration step, the payee registers a payee identification data with the electronic identicator. In a transaction formation step, an electronic financial transaction is formed between the payor and the payee, which includes payee bid identification data, a transaction amount, and at least one payor bid biometric sample. The bid biometric sample is obtained from the payor's person. In at least one transmission step, the payee bid identification data, the transaction amount, and payor bid biometric sample are electronically forwarded to the electronic identicator.

Abstract: A method for automatic color gain control utilizes a plurality of process blocks which compare the measured burst amplitude with an ideal burst amplitude, and then generate necessary scaling factors to automatically control the gain. Each of the process blocks utilizes recursive relationships for accumulating values, which recursive relationships require no multiplications but, rather, require only additions and/or subtractions, which additions and/or subtractions require merely an adder with a change of sign. A scale value is generated which represents the ratio of the measure to ideal burst amplitude value, which is then utilized to generate Cr and Cb in a YCrCb digitized format. This is utilized to scale the U and the V values in a YUV digitized format.

Abstract: A two-dimensional code reader for accurate and fast reading of a two-dimensional code image containing luminance unevenness caused by variations in illumination. To binarize cells, first the gray levels of the pixels at the center points of the cells are extracted, a local threshold value is found only from the extracted gray levels, and the gray levels are compared with the local threshold value, thereby binarizing the cells.

Abstract: The system and method of the present invention provides an innovative technique for recovering lost or damaged (lost/damaged) compression constants in the encoded domain. In one embodiment, a lost/damaged compression constant is recovered by determining at least one candidate compression constant, adjusting encoded data to a common scale, scoring the candidate compression constant using the adjusted encoded data and selecting the candidate compression constant with the best score as the recovered compression constant.

Abstract: A computer method and system for converting a pixmap representing a drawing into a set of points or vectors representing the drawing. Closed loops of points or vectors are traced around boundaries between edge and non-edge pixels in the pixmap; each loop is identified as defining an outer perimeter or as defining a hole associated with some particular outer perimeter; and, for each outer perimeter, an ink art region is defined by an outer perimeter minus any areas defined by any associated holes. Color art vectorization may be created interior to ink art regions. Interior ink art regions may be formed at branches in the drawing. Boundaries may be smoothed and filtered. Drawings may be sized, scaled, or rotated. Vectorization may be extended to color and gray scale drawings.

Abstract: A transmission system transmits a series of coded frames from a transmitting device to a receiving device, using both intra-frame coding and inter-frame coding. The receiving device decodes the frames and sends acknowledgment signals to the transmitting device. The transmitting device selects the reference frame employed in inter-frame coding according to these acknowledgment signals. The method of reference frame selection can be varied according to an assessment of transmission channel quality. The assessment criteria, or the reference frame selection method itself, can be varied in response to input from a human user.

Abstract: Coding efficiency is improved by adopting dynamic probability estimation, and the adaptation rate is adjusted by a minimum number of times by adding means for detecting a change in predicted state of encoding, thereby shortening encoding/decoding time.In an arithmetic encoding/decoding method for updating a cumulative probability when the generation frequency of a symbol to be encoded/decoded exceeds an allowable maximum value, an entropy associated with the generation state of the symbol to be encoded/decoded is calculated when the generation frequency has exceeded the allowable maximum value (S103), it is determined if the currently calculated entropy and previously calculated entropy have a significant difference (S104), and the cumulative probability is updated when it is determined that the two entropy values have the significant difference (S105).

Abstract: It is an object of the invention to provide an address generating circuit for data compression capable of generating addresses in accordance with address compression blocks from any address in a failure analysis memory by executing an operation of the compression rate to an address compression block end by a CPU based on a start address position and an address compression rate. At an address generation starting time, a start address data b is held by a flip flop 3B and it is loaded at the same time into an up counter 5B as an output of a selector 4B, so that address generating operation is performed by a single clock.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for processing images of a document containing characters, tables and figures. After the documents are scanned, the various areas including the character images, table images, and figure images are grouped in accordance with the type of image. Different file names are assigned to each of the character section, table section, and figures. A portion of the file names for each of the character images, table images, and figures may be the same in order to indicate that the characters, tables, and images belong to the same document. Extensions may be assigned to the file names indicating whether the file contains characters, tables, or figures. Further, a number may be stored to indicate the table number, figure number or character image number. If newspaper or magazine articles are scanned, the various sections of the articles may be arranged automatically in order to make the information easier to utilize and to have an efficient use of the paper.

Abstract: An image processing device includes a difference image generating unit for selecting two images at different times from among a plurality of images stored in an image storage unit. The image generating unit computes a difference between the selected two images and generates and stores a difference image. A direction estimating unit estimates a direction or bearing of motion of the moving object along each of several axes for each of the pixels based on the difference image held by the difference image generating unit. The direction estimating unit generates one or more vectors representing the directions of motion of the moving object along the axes for each of the pixels. An initially-estimated motion vector unit computes the sum of the vectors estimated by the direction estimating unit and generates an initially-estimated motion vector for each of the pixels.

Abstract: A watermarking procedure that is applicable to images, audio, video and multimedia data to be watermarked divides the data to be watermarked into a set of n.times.n blocks, such as the 8.times.8 blocks of MPEG. The same watermark signal can be distributed throughout the set of blocks in a large variety of ways. This allows the insertion algorithm to be changed without affecting the decoders. The decoding procedure first sums together the DCT coefficients of N sets of 8.times.8 blocks to form a set of N summed 8.times.8 blocks and then extracts the watermark from the summed block. Since the sum of the DCT blocks is equal to the DCT of the sum of the intensity blocks, efficient decoding can occur in both the spatial and frequency domains. The symmetric nature of the decoding process allows geometric distortions to be handled in the spatial domain and other signal distortions to be handled in the frequency domain.

Abstract: Systems and methods for frequency acquisition and channel tracking in a direct sequence code division multiple access system are described. Frequency estimates are prepared and refined, which estimates are also used in the channel tracking process.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for the calculation of a pattern similarity metric that is locally normalized with respect to illumination intensity, and is invariant with respect to rigid body preserving gray scale variations, such as scale, rotation, translation, and non-linear intensity transformations. In one aspect, the invention provides a method for comparing a model image with a run-time image so as to provide a quantitative measure of image similarity. In another general aspect of the invention, a method is provided for searching a run-time image with a model image so as to provide at least one location of the model image within the run-time image.

Abstract: Signal processing and pattern recognition is efficiently accomplished by using a plurality of low degree polynomials to approximate the images. The polynomials are then differentiated to obtain impulse functions. The impulse functions may be easily and efficiently convolved and the convolution subsequently integrated to extract the desired signal information.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for the elimination of color from a multi-color image document is described. All color information for every picture element of the image of the document is provided concurrently and for every picture element PEL the image signal of all provided colors are analyzed and for every picture element that image signal of that color is selected which has the minimum contrast relative to the background of the image document.