Abstract: Apparatus and methods for contrast enhancement and feature identification. In one implementation, an image processing apparatus utilizes latency coding and a spiking neuron network to encode image brightness into spike latency. The spike latency is compared to a saliency window in order to detect early responding neurons. Salient features of the image are associated with the early responding neurons. A inhibitory neuron receives salient feature indication and provides inhibitory signal to the other neurons within an area of influence of the inhibitory neuron. The inhibition signal reduces probability of responses by the other neurons to stimulus that is proximate to the feature thereby increasing contrast within the encoded data. The contrast enhancement may facilitate feature identification within the image. Feature detection may be used for example for image compression, background removal and content distribution.

Abstract: The disclosure generally describes computer-implemented methods, software, and systems for providing a camera-based portal content security mechanism for client devices. One computer-implemented method includes receiving a request for portal content from a client device, determining that the requested portal content requires a camera security operation, notifying the client device that a camera image is needed as a prerequisite to display at least part of the requested portal content, receiving the camera image from the client device, and analyzing, by operation of a computer, the received camera image for more than one viewer.

Abstract: An image selection method includes receiving a collection of images and optionally, filtering the collection of images. The filtering may include removing images that are near-duplicates of other images in the collection. A plurality of features is extracted from each of the images in the optionally-filtered collection. The optionally-filtered collection of images is considered as a time-ordered sequence of images and is segmented to form a sequence of segments. Each segment includes at least one of the images. The segmenting of the sequence of images is based on the extracted features and positions of the images in the sequence of images. Images from the segments are selected to form a sub-collection of the images.

Abstract: A hardness tester has an indentation former forming an indentation by pressing an indenter against a surface of a sample; an image capture controller controlling a CCD camera to capture an image of the surface of the sample and obtain image data; an indentation area extractor extracting an indentation area based on the obtained image data; and a hardness calculator calculating hardness of the sample based on the extracted indentation area. The indentation area extractor has a reduced image generator reducing the image obtained from the image data of the surface of the sample at a scale ratio selected from a plurality of predetermined scale ratios and generating a reduced image; and a pattern matcher performing pattern matching with respect to the generated reduced image and extracting the indentation area.

Abstract: This invention, which relates to retrieving an object from a video or a photo where the object matches a hand-drawn sketch, discloses a method for automatically estimating a perceptual bias level with respect to a feature of the sketch. The method allows estimation based on the sketch alone without involving an extra database. In one embodiment, the method comprises using an expectation-maximization tensor voting (EMTV) method to analyze a statistical distribution of the feature. The statistical distribution is analyzed by forming an objective function having the statistical distribution's information parameterized by the perceptual bias level, and then maximizing the objective function according to a set of iterative update rules. In another embodiment, the method for automatically estimating a perceptual bias level is incorporated into a method for retrieving one or more objects from an image or video database where the one or more objects match a hand-drawn sketch.

Abstract: A detection method for a spot image based thin line detection is disclosed. The method includes a step for constructing a band limited spot image from a transmitted and reflected optical image of the mask. The spot image is calibrated to reduce noise introduced by the one or more inspection systems. Based on the band limited spot image, a non-printable feature map is generated for the non-printable features and a printable feature map is generated for the printable features. One or more test images of the mask are analyzed to detect defects on such mask.

Abstract: A server system receives a visual query from a client system, performs optical character recognition (OCR) on the visual query to produce text recognition data representing textual characters, including a plurality of textual characters in a contiguous region of the visual query. The server system also produces structural information associated with the textual characters in the visual query. Textual characters in the plurality of textual characters are scored. The method further includes identifying, in accordance with the scoring, one or more high quality textual strings, each comprising a plurality of high quality textual characters from among the plurality of textual characters in the contiguous region of the visual query. A canonical document that includes the one or more high quality textual strings and that is consistent with the structural information is retrieved. At least a portion of the canonical document is sent to the client system.

Abstract: It is provided an authentication system comprising: an input device; an image pickup device for picking up an image of the living body; an image processing unit for processing the image picked up by the image pickup device; a storage device for storing a plurality of pieces of first feature data and a plurality of pieces of second feature data; and a matching processing unit for checking input data, which indicates features of a living body picked up by the image pickup device, against each of the plurality of pieces of first feature data and each of the plurality of pieces of second feature data. Each of the plurality of pieces of second feature data is data that is smaller in size than each of the plurality of pieces of first feature data and that includes at least a part of the features of the living body.

Abstract: The present disclosure concerns a method of verifying the presence of a living face in front of a camera (112), the method including: capturing by said camera a sequence of images of a face; detecting a plurality of features of said face in each of said images; measuring parameters associated with said detected features to determine whether each of a plurality of liveness indicators is present in said images; determining whether or not said face is a living face based on the presence in said images of a combination of at least two of said liveness indicators.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for computerized travel services. One of the methods includes identifying points of interest associated with a destination by querying a geographic data store; for each of the points of interest: identifying photographs using an index of photographs, the photographs being identified from the index as photographs geographically related to the point of interest, determining for each of the photographs a relevancy score based at least in part on selection success data of the photograph for image queries referring to the point of interest and references to the point of interest in documents associated with the photograph, and selecting a selected point of interest photograph from the photographs based at least in part on a respective visual quality score and the respective relevancy scores; and selecting a selected destination photograph from the selected point of interest photographs.

Abstract: In a personal authentication apparatus that compares input feature information with feature information stored in advance as dictionary data, thereby calculating a similarity and recognition a person, when additionally storing feature information in the dictionary data, the feature information is compared with the feature information of the same person already stored in the dictionary data. Pieces of feature information are put into groups for the same person based on the similarities and stored in the dictionary data.

Abstract: Techniques for ability enhancement are described. Some embodiments provide an ability enhancement facilitator system (“AEFS”) configured to enhance a user's ability to operate or function in a transportation-related context as a pedestrian or a vehicle operator. In one embodiment, the AEFS is configured perform vehicular threat detection based at least in part on analyzing image data. An example AEFS receives data that represents an image of a vehicle. The AEFS analyzes the received data to determine vehicular threat information, such as that the vehicle may collide with the user. The AEFS then informs the user of the determined vehicular threat information, such as by transmitting a warning to a wearable device configured to present the warning to the user.

Abstract: Each second selection circuit selects, out of a plurality of evaluation values, an evaluation value being in a predetermined relative positional relation with a first evaluation value as an evaluation value outputted from a first selection circuit, and outputs the selected value. The predetermined relative positional relations are different from one another among a plurality of second selection circuits. Every time a second evaluation value is outputted from the second selection circuit corresponding to the integration circuit, the integration circuit reads a weigh value corresponding to a combination of the second evaluation value and the first evaluation, which makes a pair with the second evaluation and is outputted from the first selection circuit, from a storage circuit corresponding to the second selection circuit and integrates the read values.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for determining the identity of an object in an image where the object in the image is in a disassembled state. In one aspect, a method includes accessing previous interactive sessions, each of the interactive sessions including images of a reference object in one or more disassembled states and each of the interactive sessions specifying an identity of the reference object in an assembled state; processing an image of a first object to identify characteristics of the first object, the first object being in a disassembled state in the image; comparing the image of the first object in the disassembled state to images of reference objects in disassembled states; and determining an identity of the first object based on the comparison and the identities of the reference objects in assembled states specified in the interactive sessions.

Abstract: An object detection device includes: a binary difference image generation unit for generating a binary difference image C by binarizing a difference value between a background image B, which is an image as a reference for the absence of a detection target object in the detection area, and a detection target image F which is an image as a detection target to detect a detection target object in the detection area; a binary second derivative image generation unit for generating a binary second derivative image D by binarizing second derivatives of the detection target image F or of a smoothed image F?, obtained by smoothing the detection target image F; and an object detection unit for detecting the detection target object based on a logical product of the binary difference image C and the binary second derivative image D.

Abstract: Apparatus, systems and methods for facilitating iris-scanning contact lenses and/or biometric identification employing iris scanning contact lenses are provided. In one implementation, the contact lens can include: a transparent substrate formed to cover at least a portion of an iris of an eye; and a circuit. The circuit can include: one or more light sensors disposed on or within the transparent substrate and that detects light filtered through the iris and incident on the one or more light sensors; readout circuitry, operably coupled to the one or more light sensors, that outputs information indicative of the light filtered through the iris and incident on the one or more light sensors; and a power component that supplies power to the readout circuitry. In various implementations, the contact lens can be employed in systems and/or methods associated with authentication and identification.

Abstract: A method and system for extending characters. The method automatically identifies sections of a character to elongate and sections of the character to not elongate. The method moves the sections of the character that are not to be elongated and elongates the sections that are to be elongated. The sections to be elongated are those sections of the character that are parallel to an axis for extending the character.

Abstract: Noncontact coordinate measurement. With a 3D image recording unit, a first three-dimensional image of a first area section of the object surface is electronically recorded in a first position and first orientation, the first three-dimensional image being composed of a multiplicity of first pixels, with which in each case a piece of depth information is coordinated. First 3D image coordinates in an image coordinate system are coordinated with the first pixels. The first position and first orientation of the 3D image recording unit in the object coordinate system are determined by a measuring apparatus coupled to the object coordinate system by means of an optical reference stereocamera measuring system. First 3D object coordinates in the object coordinate system are coordinated with the first pixels from the knowledge of the first 3D image coordinates and of the first position and first orientation of the 3D image recording unit.

Abstract: A fingerprint sensor with programmable sensing patterns is disclosed in one embodiment of the invention as including a fingerprint sensing circuit having multiple I/O interconnects. The I/O interconnects are configured to sequentially drive a plurality of fingerprint sensing elements. A memory device may be operably coupled to the fingerprint sensing circuit. A programmable data structure, such as a table, file, character string, numeric value, array, or the like may be stored in the memory device to designate a pattern for driving the fingerprint sensing elements. The fingerprint sensing circuit is configured to drive the fingerprint sensing elements according to the designated pattern. In selected embodiments, the fingerprint sensing elements may include transmitting elements, receiving elements, or a combination thereof.

Abstract: A fingerprint sensing circuit for reducing noise and parasitic capacitive coupling is disclosed in one embodiment of the invention as including a plurality of transmitting elements to sequentially emit a probing signal. A digital ground is provided to ground digital components in the fingerprint sensing circuit. A quiet ground, separate from and quieter than the digital ground, is provided to ground transmitting elements that are not transmitting the probing signal. Similarly, control logic is provided to connect, to the quiet ground, transmitting elements that are not transmitting the probing signal, while disconnecting, from the quiet ground, transmitting elements that are emitting the probing signal. The quiet ground helps to reduce the adverse effects of parasitic capacitive coupling and noise on the inactive transmitting elements.