Abstract: A method of modifying a digital representation of an image in which digital data defines the content of pixels of the image. The method comprisesa) determining whether a predetermined degree of compression can be achieved if data defining a block of pixels is compressed by applying a predetermined compression algorithm; and, if not,b) discarding a portion of the data in the block, andrepeating steps a and b on the most recently modified block until the predetermined degree of compression is achieved, and generating a compressed version of the image.

Abstract: A known hand drawn stroke is serially sampled at different scales by n angle filters to provide n filtered known strokes at n different scales. An unknown hand drawn stroke is sampled in a like manner to provide n filtered unknown strokes at n different scales. Filtered unknown strokes are compared with filtered known strokes. If there is a comparison within predetermined limits at any scale, the unknown hand drawn stroke is recognized as being the same as the known hand drawn stroke.

Abstract: The invention is characterized as a data processing architecture and method for multi-stage processing of mail, using knowledge based techniques. The system includes OCR-scanning a multipart address field of a mail piece at a sending location, the address field including at least two portions, a first stage routing portion (destination city, state, country, zip code) and a second stage routing portion (destination street address, building floor, corporate addressee internal routing). At the sending location, the image of the entire address field is captured by an OCR head and stored in memory. A serial number is printed on the mail piece. The first routing portion is then converted into sorting signals to sort the mail piece to a truck at the sending location which is to be dispatched to the city, state and country indicated in the first stage routing portion.

Abstract: A method of and apparatus for processing a picture signal for transmission in which the picture signal (Y) is applied to a segmentation device (2) where it is subjected to a segmentation algorithm to identify regions of similar intensity. The resulting region signal is applied to a modal filter (9) in which region edges are straightened and then to an adaptive contour smoothing circuit (10) in which contour sections identified as representing false edges are filtered. The filtered signal is subtracted from the original luminance signal in a subtractor (12) to produce a luminance texture signal which is encoded by a texture encoder (17). The region signal is encoded in a region encoder (24) together with flags indicating which of the contours in the region signal represent false edges.

Abstract: A method of inspecting solder joints that connect surface-mount electronic components to printed circuit boards is provided. Preferably, the method includes the steps of obtaining an image of a plurality of the leads of the electronic component, for each obtained image, representing segments of the image that correspond to each of the leads by polygons, projecting pixel intensity values within each polygon each onto an axial dimension to provide a measured waveform, comparing the measured waveform for each lead with a corresponding model waveform, and, classifying each lead as being either satisfactory or unsatisfactory on the basis of said comparisons.

Abstract: An improved method for constructing the medial axis transform of an image is disclosed. The method requires only that one line of the image be held in memory at any given time. The method runs in a time of order N, where N is the number of pixels in the image.

Abstract: A method of automatically identifying bitmapped image objects. Each of a set of templates in an object template library is compared with all areas of like size of a bitmapped image. A set of signals is generated for each such comparison that satisfies a defined matching criteria between the template and the image area being compared. The set of signals identifies the object based on the matching template, the location of the object in the image and an indication of the goodness of the match between the object and the template. A series of possible parse trees are formed that describe the image with a probability of occurrence for each tree. Each parent node and its child nodes of each parse tree satisfies a grammatical production rule in which some of the production rules define spatial relationships between objects in the image. The one of the possible parse trees which has the largest probability of occurence is selected for further utilization.

Abstract: Methods to reduce the quantization error in the higher spatial resolution digital image signals of a hierarchical decomposition and reconstruction scheme are disclosed. The quantization errors in the high spatial resolution digital image signals are reduced by modifying the low spatial resolution digital image signals in a way that can produce only small errors in the low spatial resolution digital image signal. The small errors in the low spatial resolution digital image signal are reduced by utilizing an improved reconstruction method.

Abstract: Finger pressure exerted by a writer's fingers on the barrel of a hand-held instrument is employed to dynamically verify a signature.

Abstract: Adaptive anisotropic digital filtering is automatically applied to the gray cale values of substantially of all the pixels in at least a portion of a digital image by, for each such pixel, selecting and angularly orienting the matrix of coefficients of an anisotropic filter kernel as a weighting function of the gray scale values of pixels in eight, 45 degree sectors under the kernel, and then performing a convolution of the gray scale values of pixels under the kernel with the rotated kernel to generate a filtered value for the center pixel. Local brightness of the image is adjusted either in conjunction with anisotropic filtering or separately by comparing for each pixel the average gray scale value of the pixels under the kernel with a reference value and applying a bias function to the center pixel grey scale value to brighten or darken the image dependent upon the results of the comparison.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for identifying marking holes in an object moving along a conveyor or the like, in which television image signals of the identifying marking holes are classified into signals above and below a threshold level voltage and then made into a monochrome image of the identifying marking holes which is then compared with a pre-memorized image of the marking hole. The invention involves a particular way of selecting the threshold level voltages by using a threshold level voltage from among threshold level voltages used to identify the marking holes in preceding objects according to the frequency of occurrence of the threshold level voltages, and for the threshold level voltage of the second identifying marking hole, initially calculating a target threshold level voltage, and then modifying it if necessary by reference to threshold level voltages used to identify the second marking hole in preceding objects, so as to make the identification of the second hole quicker.

Abstract: A bill discriminating apparatus including a detected data memory for temporarily storing data corresponding to at least one line of a bill photoelectrically detected by at least one scan of a photoelectrical detector, a control device for detecting the number of the detected data for each line of the bill to be stored in the detected data memory and detecting a condition of feeding based on the detected data of the first line of the bill to be stored in the detected data memory, a data count memory for storing the number of the detected data corresponding to each line of the bill detected by the control device, a bill feed condition memory for storing information detected by the control device and a detected pattern memory for storing the pattern of the bill based on the detected data stored in the detected data memory.

Abstract: A method for recognizing the layout pattern of radiation images comprises the steps of preparing two-valued masks, each composed of a two-valued signal representing a layout pattern for radiation images which are to be stored on a stimulable phosphor sheet, and obtaining a preliminary read-out image signal by carrying out preliminary read out on a stimulable phosphor sheet on which radiation images have been stored. The layout pattern of the radiation images is recognized by converting the preliminary read-out image signal into a two-valued image signal, calculating rating values, which represent the degree of pattern matching between the two-valued image signal and the two-valued masks, finding the highest rating value that represents the highest degree of pattern matching among the rating values, and comparing the highest rating value with a predetermined value representing a predetermined degree of pattern matching.

Abstract: Methods and compositions are provided to improve the quantity of embryos obtained by induction of somatic plant tissue. These involve the addition of effective amounts of selected amino acids, their derivatives or combinations of these as a source of reduced nitrogen, together with an optimum auxin dosage to the nutritive media used to regenerate or maintain the embryonic tissue. A synergistic effect is found by adding these amino acids either in combination or in combination with ammonium ion together with the selected auxin dosage.

Abstract: Woody species, particularly poplar, are produced by transformation of shoot cultures with the foreign DNA and regeneration of plants from transformed cells, where the plants are capable of expression of the foreign gene. Particularly, poplar shoot cultures are employed and are transformed employing a manipulated Agrobacterium transformation system, followed by regeneration of the plant tissue into plants.

Abstract: Tobacco varieties exhibiting agronomically useful resistance to N-(heterocyclicaminocarbonyl)arylsulfonamide herbicides are produced by tissue culture selection techniques.