Abstract: An infinity homography for an image pair within an image sequence is transferred to other image pairs within the image sequence utilizing point matches for the subject image pairs. An image set including the image pair for which the infinity homography is known and a third image are selected. Then intermediate parameters for homography transfer for one image pair overlapping the known infinity homography image pair is computed from the known infinity homography and epipoles and fundamental matrices of the overlapping image pairs, to derive the infinity homography for the selected overlapping image pair. The process may then be repeated until infinity homographies for all image pairs of interest within the image sequence have been derived.

Abstract: A system and method of searching for composite images in a database system is performed on a code word basis. To enable the search, the database stores facial codes which define a respective plurality of composite images. Each facial code includes element codes which define different facial features and which when combined cause a face having corresponding characteristics to be generated for display. To enable display of the composite images, digital image files corresponding to each facial feature is stored in memory along with a table which relates the files to corresponding element codes. When a facial code is retrieved from the database, the element codes in the facial code are linked to the digital files using the table and the resulting composite image is displayed. By storing facial codes in the database instead of the images themselves, the system and method advantageously reduce the amount of storage required for image searching compared with other systems which have been proposed.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of and a device for forming an image which is composed of a plurality of sub-areas, a read-out unit being associated with each sub-area and image data of adjoining image areas of neighboring sub-areas being evaluated in order to mitigate differences in amplification, which device includes a detector with a plurality of sensor elements for forming image data, read-out units which are associated with the sub-areas of the image, an analysis unit which is arranged to evaluate image data from adjoining image areas of neighboring sub-areas and to generate correction data, a correction unit which is arranged to correct incorrect image data by means of correction data, thus enabling a regular and accurate recalibration or correction of non-linear amplifier behavior to be performed without necessitating an additional X-ray dose or interventions by the user.

Abstract: A system for enabling handwritten note taking and retrieval, the system including at least one form printable on a surface, said form containing information relating to a notebook activity and including coded data indicative of an identity of said form and of at least one reference point of said form; and a computer system for receiving indicating data from a sensing device operated by a user involved in the notebook activity, said indicating data regarding the identity of said form and at least one of a position and a movement of the sensing device relative to said form, said computer system including means for identifying, from the indicating data, at least one parameter relating to the notebook activity.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus of scoring an arterial obstruction. The present invention includes identifying a particular group of pixels corresponding to a calcified region of coronary artery of a patient and based on the satisfaction of a number of thresholds connectivity criteria, determining a calcification score of that calcified region as indicative of the patient's risk of cardiovascular disease including atherosclerosis, heart attack, heart failure, and stroke. The present invention further includes determining the scaling factor unique to a particular imaging slice of data to provide a value of calcium weight and volume that is indicative of the true obstruction and true volume of the calcified region.

Abstract: A visual image system is constructed as including: a three-dimensional visual image reproducer for transmitting a three-dimensional video signal; a parallax quantity detecting section for detecting a parallax quantity in the three-dimensional video signal from the three-dimensional visual image reproducer; a fatigue measure estimating section for estimating the degree of fatigue based on the detected parallax quantity and outputting an image switching signal correspondingly to a fatigue measure estimating quantity; a 3D/2D image switching section for providing an output by switching between three-dimensional and two-dimensional images based on the image switching signal; and an image display section for displaying a three-dimensional image or a two-dimensional image. The visual image system thereby fulfills the capability of suitably controlling the degree of three-dimensionality of stereoscopic images by inferring from the inputted video signal the degree of effects likely to be produced on the observer.

Abstract: Discriminating between documents scanned in a batch scanning process is achieved based on various analyses of the constituent document pages. The data provided by the various analyses are compared with each other to determine whether successive pages belong to the same document. Scanned documents result in a page sequence that is analyzed to extract one or more feature attributes for each page. The feature attributes are provided to a feature comparison process in order to assess the similarity of successive pages. If a sufficient likelihood of similarity is found, the compared pages are deemed to be from the same document; otherwise, they are deemed to be from different documents, indicating the existence of a document break. Based on the document breaks, separate scan files may be established. In this manner, the present invention represents eliminates the requirement of user intervention.

Abstract: A video information processing apparatus includes an input device which inputs video, a memory device which stores identification information corresponding to the blinking pattern of a blinking light source, a blinking light decoder which converts the blinking pattern of the light source blinking in the video information input by the input device into corresponding identification information on the basis of the identification information stored in the memory device, and an output device which outputs together with the input video the identification information converted by the blinking light decoder.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for identifying differences between a stored pattern and a matching image subset, where variations in pattern position, orientation, and size do not give rise to false differences. The invention is also a system for analyzing an object image with respect to a model pattern so as to detect flaws in the object image. The system includes extracting pattern features from the model pattern; generating a vector-valued function using the pattern features to provide a pattern field; extracting image features from the object image; evaluating each image feature, using the pattern field and an n-dimensional transformation that associates image features with pattern features, so as to determine at least one associated feature characteristic; and using at least one feature characteristic to identify at least one flaw in the object image. The invention can find at least two distinct kinds of flaws: missing features, and extra features.

Abstract: A position detector displays a target on a given plane and adds a standard on the given plane in the vicinity of the target with the location of the standard known. An image of the given plane is formed on an image plane of an image sensor with an image of the standard included, a point in the image of the given plane which is formed at a predetermined position of the image plane corresponding to the point to be detected. An image processor identifies the image of the standard on the image plane to calculate the position of the point to be detected. The standard includes asymmetric pattern. The standard includes a first standard and a second standard sequentially added on the given plane, the difference being calculated accompanied with the plus sign or the minus sign. The image on the given plane is formed by means of a scanning, the image sensor reads out the sensed image upon the termination of at least one period of the scanning.

Abstract: A system for processing a thumbnail image from a microscope slide to determine tissue locations on the slide. The system comprises an image cropping component, a tissue finding component, and a scan control component. The image cropping component crops the thumbnail image and removes portions of the image that fall outside of determined slide boundaries. The cropped image from the image cropping component is inputted into the tissue finding component. The tissue finding component identifies tissue regions by applying a sequence of filters that incorporate knowledge of typical appearance and location of tissue and non-tissue slide regions. The tissue finding component outputs a tiling matrix whose values indicate which tiles should be imaged. The scan control component interprets the tiling matrix and transposes positions of the tiling matrix into actual stage coordinate for a microscopic imaging.

Abstract: A method for enrolling biometric images including the steps of: a) capturing (310) a plurality of images for a user into a capture folder; b) selecting (318) one of the plurality of images in the capture folder and removing the selected image from the capture folder to an enroll folder; c) comparing (322) the selected image to each of the remaining images in the capture folder to generate a corresponding similarity score for each of the remaining images; d) determining (326) whether any of the corresponding similarity scores are at least equal to a predetermined score threshold, and removing each image having a corresponding similarity score at least equal to the predetermined score threshold from the capture folder to a delete folder (330); and e) determining (334) whether there is at least one image in the capture folder and if so repeating steps b) through d).

Abstract: Upon scaling input image data and outputting the scaled image data, an address arithmetic processor determines phase information, which indicates the distances between the position of the pixel of interest after scaling and neighboring pixels of an original image, in accordance with the scale of that scaling, a coefficient arithmetic processor calculates filter coefficients in a filter process in accordance with the determined phase information, and a filter processor executes the filter process of the input image data by convolution operations on the basis of the calculated filter coefficients and outputs multi-valued image data. An LUT converts the density of the multi-valued image data in correspondence with the density characteristics of a printer, and a binarization processor binarizes the multi-valued image data and outputs binary image data to an image storage unit.

Abstract: A method and system for employing pixel-based, signal-intensity data contained within areas of a scanned image of a molecular array corresponding to features and feature backgrounds in order to determine whether or not the features or feature backgrounds have non-uniform signal intensities and are thus outlier features and outlier feature backgrounds. A calculated, estimated variance for the signal intensities within a feature or feature background is compared to a maximum allowable variance calculated for the feature or feature background based on a signal intensity variance model. When the experimental variance is less than or equal to the maximum allowable variance, the feature or feature background is considered to have acceptable signal-intensity uniformity. Otherwise, the feature or feature background is flagged as an outlier feature or outlier feature background.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for embedding a digital watermark into a halftone image comprised of clusters of halftone dots, which are referred to as geometric primitives. This method embeds a watermark image signal including an array of multilevel per pixel delta values by increasing or decreasing the size of a corresponding cluster of halftone dots. In particular, each delta value represents a change in luminance in one implementation, but this delta value could correspond to other color planes of a monotone or color halftone image. The watermark embedder subtly changes the halftone primitives by toggling boundary pixels on or off in a manner that grows or shrinks the primitive.

Abstract: A driving support system for enabling a driver to appropriately confirm environmental conditions of a moving body is provided. A plurality of imaging means for taking an image of the rear of the moving body is installed on the moving body. The plurality of imaging means have an area (OL) where their imaging areas overlap with each other, and the overlap area (OL) includes an area in the vicinity of a vanishing point (VP). Detection means obtains a stereo parallax (VD) between one imaging means and another imaging means in the overlap area (OL), and obtains a distance to an object based on the stereo parallax (VD).

Abstract: A traffic density analysis method includes decoding encoded video data corresponding to an analysis region to obtain a decoded video signal and code information, determining a moving object in units of a macroblock on the basis of the decoded video signal, the code information and a previously decoded video signal, analyzing a macroblock determined as the moving object, setting a specific region in a screen using an analysis result of the macroblock, and estimating a traffic density in the analysis region from information related to the moving object passing through the specific region.

Abstract: A logical separation between pages, such as an implicit page break, is introduced to separate text entered during one handwriting session from text entered during another handwriting session. If the user leaves more than a threshold amount of blank space at the bottom of the page immediately preceding the new page, then an implicit page break may be inserted at the beginning of the new page. The amount of blank space left at the end of the preceding page may be combined with other criteria to determine whether to insert an implicit page break. The amount of time elapsed since ink has been captured on the previous page is another factor that may be used by itself or combined with other factors to determine whether to insert an implicit page break into the new page. A change in context, such as a different date or different recognized subject matter labels, is also a factor that may be considered in determining whether to insert an implicit page break.

Abstract: A system for taking a sequence of images and converting them to a single composite image that contains the combined visual information of the defects found in the source images. The source images are aligned and manipulated, if necessary, such that they can be superimposed together. Optional image processing steps are applied to further enhance the defects. Both the number of input images and the algorithm used to combine these images can be adjusted to allow an observer to see a persistent display of the defects found in the images. Status, diagnostic and defect information, consisting of graphics and textual messages, are then applied to the composite image for display.

Abstract: Systems and methods where a lighting configuration of a vision system is determined using a controllable lighting system and at least one image evaluation tool. The lighting configuration is usable to obtain a desired inspection image of at least one feature of a workpiece Base images are obtained using actual illumination settings of the controllable lighting system. Simulated or synthetic sets image results are generated, based on base images and synthetic lighting configurations. The synthetic lighting configurations include at least one illumination setting which is different from the actual illumination settings used to obtain one or more component base images. A best actual or synthetic lighting configuration is chosen based on the best corresponding set of image results.