Abstract: A method and apparatus for characterizing pixels in an image of an object surface by providing at least two images of the surface wherein each pixel has a unique location common to all of the images; comparing each pixel value at each location to an identification matrix; and identifying the region in which each pixel is located based on the comparison. The matrix can comprise a plurality of non-pixel values representing one or more regions, each of the regions defining at least one surface attribute. One embodiment provides at least two references images of a template using the same technique used to obtain each image of the surface, and creating the matrix using the reference images. Providing at least two images comprises providing a first and second image, wherein the surface is illuminated using a first and second source of illumination, or providing the first using a source of illumination and providing the second from the first.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for remote monitoring of an analog meter is set out which employs a Hough Transform on the edge points of the meter scale to obtain the center of the scale. The graduation marks and the needle are detected from the intensity profile along various radii. Thereby, the meter reading can be flexibly adopted to different meter scales during an easy training process. The method can be modified for oblique reading of the scale.

Abstract: A system and method are provided which are capable of reliably and effectively detecting a white line in an upper region of a road image by dividing the road image into, at least, two regions positioned up and down and using a result from a detection of the white line in a lowest region where the road image is less affected by noise. When a road surface is planar, both intersections of straight lines, by which left and right white lines are approximated, in a lowest region out of regions, positioned up and down, obtained by dividing a road image containing left and right white lines drawn in parallel on the road surface and intersections of straight lines, by which left and right white lines are approximated in an upper region of out of the two regions existing on one horizontal line.

Abstract: A technology of the present invention is capable of objectively judging an ability of a proofreader who proofreads a digitized document by use OCR programs. A method of managing an ability of a proofreader who proofreads an electronic document generated from a recognition target document by executing a character auto recognition program, comprises a step of estimating a character count of potential mis-recognized characters contained in the electronic document, a step of detecting a mis-recognized character discover count as a mis-recognized character count with which the proofreader discovers the mis-recognized characters in the electronic document, a step of detecting a processing time spent for proofreading the electronic document, and a step of calculating a score relative to a proofreader ability based on a ratio of the potential mis-recognized character count to the mis-recognized character discover count per unit time.

Abstract: A buffer control device for controlling a buffer memory includes a comparing unit which compares input data with one or more data patterns, a control unit which stores a code which indicates a data pattern among data patterns into said buffer memory if the input data matches with the data pattern, and a recovering unit which recovers the input data from the code.

Abstract: In the attribute detection apparatus in the system of the present invention, an inputted image is transformed by DCT means to extract an estimation value of the embedded electronic watermark data in frequency space. Then, the statistical similarity between known electronic watermarks and the extracted electronic watermark data are calculated. The attribute change apparatus in a system of the present invention comprises a selector, an insert data register for storing the output of the selector, a brightness register for storing the brightness signal of the inputted image, a color difference register for storing the color difference signal of the inputted image, and adder for adding the output of the color difference register and the output of the insert data register. Here, the selector selects one of the insert data stored in a plurality of memory areas on the basis of the attribute inputted from attribute detection apparatus.

Abstract: A communication device is provided wherein a message stored in a message box for a specific individual and a message stored in a general mail box and not addressed to a specific individual can be retrieved sequentially without releasing a line. The communication device includes a personal information output control device that reads personal information stored in a personal information storing device and outputs the personal information via a telecommunication line and a general information output device that reads general information stored in a general information storing device and not addressed to the specific individual and outputs the information via the telecommunication line. The information is output by operating the personal information output control device and the general information output control device according to a request, which is input via the telecommunication line.

Abstract: In the document identification apparatus, a ruled line feature extraction section determines a black pixel ratio of a document to be identified, and adds the black pixel ratio for each block to extract a ruled line feature. A ruled line feature verification section verifies the ruled line feature with a ruled line feature already registered in a ruled line feature dictionary to thereby identify the document. If identification is not possible with this procedure, a details judgment section verifies the image data in a specific area with the image data (characters or the like) registered in a specific area dictionary.

Abstract: A recognition apparatus of this invention for recognizing sorting information as a character string written within a cellophane region of a paper-like material extracts edge components according to a differential image based on an image of light and shade of the paper-like material, determines a cellophane frame based on the edge components and recognizes the character string within the thus determined cellophane frame as an address. Thus, the cellophane region in which the address used as the sorting information is written can be correctly extracted and occurrence of erroneous recognition of the sorting information and erroneous sorting of the paper-like material can be prevented.

Abstract: An economical surveillance apparatus robust to an environmental change includes an input unit for inputting images in a time series, a background image memory unit for storing a plurality of input images, a difference image memory unit for calculating and storing difference degree between a plurality of background images of the background image memory unit and an image inputted afresh, and a judging unit for judging an existence/absence of an invading object by utilizing the value of the difference degree of the difference image memory unit. This surveillance apparatus can automatically register a plurality of background images from a camera image. Since the background images that are no longer used are automatically erased, the drop of detection speed and detection sensitivity can be prevented.

Abstract: An economical surveillance apparatus robust to an environmental change includes an input unit for inputting images in a time series, a background image memory unit for storing a plurality of input images, a difference image memory unit for calculating and storing difference degree between a plurality of background images of the background image memory unit and an image inputted afresh, and a judging unit for judging an existence/absence of an invading object by utilizing the value of the difference degree of the difference image memory unit. This surveillance apparatus can automatically register a plurality of background images from a camera image. Since the background images that are no longer used are automatically erased, the drop of detection speed and detection sensitivity can be prevented.

Abstract: A picture quality measurement technique using blockiness provides realtime analysis without the use of a reference signal. A field/frame of an image represented by a processed video signal is captured in a bit-map for analysis. The image is filtered to enhance edges and then correlated with a kernel having a size corresponding to the block size of the compression algorithm used in compressing and decompressing the video signal to produce the processed video signal. The correlation results are processed by comparing an average value with the maximum value to produce a picture quality rating for the processed video signal.

Abstract: A method for recognizing handwritten Chinese characters based on stroke recognition comprises steps of: recognizing handwritten strokes, updating stroke code sequences; retrieving in dictionaries/lexicons at least one corresponding character/phrase entry so as to obtain at least one candidate Chinese character/phrase; dynamically displaying the at least one candidate Chinese character/phrase; jumping to the step of recognizing strokes if it is judged that a next stroke is being written; inputting a displayed Chinese character/phrase into computers as the result of recognition if this character/phase is selected by the user.

Abstract: A method or apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention allows for entry of multi-stroke characters via a natural drawing interface and without requiring an expensive stylus-drawing surface combination.

Abstract: The present invention comprises a digital image processing method for detecting human eyes in a digital image. This method comprises the steps of: detecting iris pixels in the image; clustering the iris pixels, and selecting at least one of the following methods to identify eye positions: applying geometric reasoning to detect eye positions using the iris pixel clusters; applying a summation of squared difference method using the iris pixel clusters to detect eye positions; and applying a summation of squared difference method to detect eye positions from the pixels in the image. The method applied is selected on the basis of the number of iris pixel clusters. In another embodiment, the present invention also comprises a computer program product.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for measuring three dimensional information of a target placed in an interior space of a rotator type mirror by using the rotator type mirror in combination with an imaging apparatus disposed with its light receiving axis aligned with a center axis of the rotator type mirror. The invention includes projecting reference light toward the rotator type mirror from a position on the center axis, and scanning the target with mirror reflected reference light that is produced by reflecting the reference light on the rotator type mirror. The invention further includes obtaining the three dimensional information of the target, based on a physical quantity corresponding to the projection angle of the reference light and on a physical quantity corresponding to the position of a projected image obtained when the mirror reflected reference light that scanned the target is captured by the imaging apparatus via the rotator type mirror.

Abstract: An image identification apparatus for identifying an image from a hand drawn representation of at least part of the image, the image identification apparatus comprising an image processor arranged in operation to generate a reference identification in response to spatial samples produced from at least part of the hand drawn representation, the reference identification being indicative of a first estimate of which of a plurality of pre-stored images corresponds to the hand drawn representation. and a controller which is arranged in operation to cause the image processor to produce a refined reference identification from the spatial samples and further spatial samples produced from a further part of the hand drawn representation, the refined reference identification being indicative of a refined estimate of which of the plurality of the prestored images corresponds to the hand drawn representation.

Abstract: A method of analyzing one or more images of a user to determine the likelihood of user interest in materials that can be sent for display to the user includes selecting one or more images by a user; automatically analyzing the one or more user images to determine the likelihood that materials in a set will be of interest to the user; and selecting one or more items of materials based on their likelihood of interest to the user.

Abstract: A system and method to facilitate pattern recognition or matching between patterns are disclosed that is substantially invariant to small transformations. A substantially smooth deformation field is applied to a derivative of a first pattern and a resulting deformation component is added to the first pattern to derive a first deformed pattern. An indication of similarity between the first pattern and a second pattern may be determined by minimizing the distance between the first deformed pattern and the second pattern with respect to deformation coefficients associated with each deformed pattern. The foregoing minimization provides a system (e.g., linear) that may be solved with standard methods.

Abstract: The character recognition apparatus incorporates a table recognition section. This table recognition section extracts circumscribing rectangles from connected components of black pixels on a whole surface of the image as an area where read image data are desired to be processed, sorts rectangles of character candidates and rectangles of frame candidates from the extracted circumscribing rectangles, fills the rectangles sorted as the character candidates with white pixels, recognizes and extracts frames as ruled lines from the rectangles which remain as the frame candidates.