Abstract: A voice control method and display apparatus are provided. The voice control method includes converting a voice of a user into text in response to the voice being input during a voice input mode; performing a control operation corresponding to the text; determining whether speech of the user has finished based on a result of the performing the control operation; awaiting input of a subsequent voice of the user during a predetermined standby time in response to determining that the speech of the user has not finished; and releasing the voice input mode in response to determining that the speech of the user has finished.

Abstract: A personal information assistant computing system may include a user computing device having a processor and a non-transitory memory device storing instructions. The personal information assistant may receive a user accessible input as a natural language communication from the user, which may be analyzed by a personal information assistant to determine a task to be performed by the virtual information assistant. The personal information assistant may be personalized to the user using encrypted user information. The personal information assistant communicates with a remote computing system in performance of a computer-assisted task, wherein the first personal information assistant interacts as a proxy for the user in response to at least one response received from the remote computing system. The personal information assistant may communicate the results of the task to the user via a user information screen and/or an audio device.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus that detects a voice command via a microphone in order to activate the device and execute certain applications. The apparatus comprises a digital signal processor (DSP) and a host controller which are responsible for processing the voice commands. The DSP recognizes and processes voice commands intermittently while the host processor is in a sleep state, thereby reducing the overall power consumption of the apparatus. Further, when the DSP is configured to recognize voice commands intended only to activate the device, a memory having a sufficiently lower storage capacity suffices.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for calibration of phase detection auto focus (PDAF) camera systems are disclosed. In one aspect, the method involves capturing a first image of a scene at an initial lens position, the first image including a first left image and a first right image captured using left and right photodiodes. The method may also involve calculating an initial phase difference between the first left image and first right image and estimating an in-focus lens position based on the initial phase difference. The method may further involve moving the lens to a final lens position at which a final phase difference between a second left image and a second right image of a second image captured at the final lens position is substantially zero and calibrating the estimation of the in-focus lens position based on the initial lens position, the final lens position, and the initial phase difference.

Abstract: Provided is an apparatus for compensating an image distortion and an apparatus for compensating an image distortion according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, which compensates distortion of an image including a plurality of image division units includes: a compensation rate setting unit setting a variable distortion compensation rate so that the plurality of respective image division units are compensated at different ratios; and a compensation unit compensating the plurality of image division units according to the variable distortion compensation rate set by the compensation rate setting unit.

Abstract: A system and method for providing breast image data. A transmission request is transmitted from a workstation to an imaging server with identifying characteristics for a mammography image. A pre-determined breast window for the mammography image is identified. An unprocessed image stored on the server that corresponds to the mammography image is identified, and breast image data can be determined for unprocessed image. The breast image data includes a breast window image that can be determined by applying the pre-determined breast window to the unprocessed image. The breast image data is transmitted to the clinician workstation, and the breast window image is displayed at the clinician workstation.

Abstract: A method of generating a wideband signal may include estimating a high-band spectrum parameter from a reconstructed narrowband signal based on a combination of at least two mapping schemes; estimating a high-band excitation signal based on the reconstructed narrowband signal; generating a high-band signal based on the estimated high-band spectrum parameter and the estimated high-band excitation signal; and generating a wideband signal by synthesizing the reconstructed narrowband signal with the high-band signal.

Abstract: A three-dimensional (3D) image recognition system includes a first imaging sensor capable of collecting a first wavelength range of light and a second imaging sensor capable of collecting a second wavelength range of light. The first imaging sensor and the second imaging sensor are placed apart. The 3D image recognition system also includes a processor configured to identify at least one landmark area of a first image of an object collected by the first imaging sensor, and identify at least one matching landmark area in a second image of the object collected by the second imaging sensor. The processor is further configured to extract the 3D information of the object from the at least one landmark area of the images collected.

Abstract: A system and method for haze removal. The method comprises the steps of receiving, at a memory, an input image having pixels. The method further comprises converting, by a processor, each pixel in each channel of the input image to floating-point values in the range of zero to one [0,1], and brightness-correcting, by the processor, the input image to prevent the de-hazed output image from becoming overly dark. The method also includes estimating, by the processor, the airlight for the brightness-corrected image, calculating a transmission map for each color or intensity channel of the image, and refining the transmission map for each said color or intensity. A reduced-haze image is thereby provided.

Abstract: A method for processing change-of-address (COA) forms. The method includes capturing a first image of a first COA form. The method includes assigning a unique identifier to the first COA form and associating the unique identifier with the first image data. The method includes transmitting the first image data and the unique identifier to a cloud computing system. The cloud computing system performs an optical-character-recognition process on the first image data to produce name and address data including both an old address and a new address, validates the name and address data, and stores the name and address data in a change of address database.

Abstract: A computer program product is provided that includes a storage medium having instructions executable by a computer to perform a method. The method calculates, using a parse tree obtained by parsing text, a dependency graph across contextual tokens created from the text. The method generates concept instance candidates and parent-child relationships based on pattern matching and transformation of the parse tree. The method groups concept instance candidates into concept candidates and arranges the concept candidates into a tree having tree nodes. The method provides an ontology based on the tree and text and formed as an output graph of nodes. The method provides a user interface for editing the ontology by selectively adding a new node to the output graph, removing an existing node, moving a node or sub-graph across a parent-child hierarchy in the output graph, creating a new relation across the nodes, and removing an existing relation edge.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method is provided for automated ontology building. The method calculates, using a parse tree obtained by parsing text, a dependency graph across contextual tokens created from the text. The method generates concept instance candidates and parent-child relationships based on pattern matching and transformation of the parse tree. The method groups concept instance candidates into concept candidates and arranges the concept candidates into a tree having tree nodes. The method provides an ontology based on the tree and text and formed as an output graph of nodes. The method provides a user interface for editing the ontology by selectively adding a new node to the output graph, removing an existing node, moving a node or sub-graph across a parent-child hierarchy in the output graph, creating a new relation across the nodes, and removing an existing relation edge.

Abstract: An imaging system comprising: a pair of cameras (2, 3) adapted to capture images in the near infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum; a camera (4) adapted to capture images in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum; a near-infrared light source (5); and a controller (6). The system configured to obtain a plurality images of the face of an individual and, from a local binary pattern distribution of image pixels, determine the age of the individual in each of the images by applying a linear regression technique and computing an average.

Abstract: Methods of detecting an object in an image using a convolutional neural-network-based architecture that processes multiple feature maps of differing scales from differing convolution layers within a convolutional network to create a regional-proposal bounding box. The bounding box is projected back to the feature maps of the individual convolution layers to obtain a set of regions of interest (ROIs) and a corresponding set of context regions that provide additional context for the ROIs. These ROIs and context regions are processed to create a confidence score representing a confidence that the object detected in the bounding box is the desired object. These processes allow the method to utilize deep features encoded in both the global and the local representation for object regions, allowing the method to robustly deal with challenges in the problem of object detection. Software for executing the disclosed methods within an object-detection system is also disclosed.

Abstract: A method and system for authenticating users accessing financial accounts from user terminals via multi-factor image authentication. The system includes an authentication server and a user terminal. The method captures a first facial image of a user and compares this image with stored facial recognition credentials. The method prompts the user via a facial gesture cue to make a facial gesture, captures a second facial image of the user, and compares the second image with stored facial gesture credentials. The user is authorized to perform a transaction in the event the first facial image matches a facial recognition credential for an authorized account, and the second facial image matches a facial gesture credential associated with the authorized account. Facial gesture credentials may be based upon static gestures or dynamic gestures, and may be overt or secret. An additional authentication factor may employ a secondary biometric sensor.

Abstract: A method to characterize shape variations in brain ventricles during embryonic growth in mammals, the method including extracting a brain ventricle skeleton from one or more images, calculating a volume profile for the skeleton using the extracted images, partitioning the brain ventricle based on the volume profile along the skeleton, the brain ventricle being partitioned into two lateral ventricles and a main ventricle, the main ventricle being further partitioned into three sub regions, determining volume vectors of the two lateral ventricles and the three sub regions, computing a means square error between the determined computed volume vectors and a pretrained mean volume vector of embryos during different gestational stages, and classifying the embryo to the gestational stage having the lowest mean square error.

Abstract: A method and system for authenticating users accessing financial accounts from user terminals via multi-factor image authentication. The system includes an authentication server and a user terminal. The method captures a first facial image of a user and compares this image with stored facial recognition credentials. The method prompts the user via a facial gesture cue to make a facial gesture, captures a second facial image of the user, and compares the second image with stored facial gesture credentials. The user is authorized to perform a transaction in the event the first facial image matches a facial recognition credential for an authorized account, and the second facial image matches a facial gesture credential associated with the authorized account. Facial gesture credentials may be based upon static gestures or dynamic gestures, and may be overt or secret. An additional authentication factor may employ a secondary biometric sensor.

Abstract: A computer-implementable method for determining a score for matching images includes extracting and determining. Features are extracted from each of a query image acquired in a first modality and a database image acquired in a second modality. A vector distance distribution is determined based on a codebook for the first modality for each of the query image and the database image represented by the extracted features. The method determines a set of distances between the vector distance distribution determined for the query image and the vector distance distribution determined for the database image. The score for matching the query image and the database image is determined based on the determined set of distances.

Abstract: Techniques (300, 400, 500) and apparatuses (100, 200, 700) for recognizing accented speech are described. In some embodiments, an accent module recognizes accented speech using an accent library based on device data, uses different speech recognition correction levels based on an application field into which recognized words are set to be provided, or updates an accent library based on corrections made to incorrectly recognized speech.

Abstract: A traffic light recognition device includes: an imaging attitude setting unit configured to set an imaging direction of the camera on the basis of a position on the image of the traffic light and of a moving direction in the future on the image of the traffic light; a camera attitude controller configured to change the imaging direction of the camera to an imaging direction set by an imaging direction setting unit; and a traffic light recognition unit configured to recognize the traffic light from an image captured in the imaging direction by the camera. The traffic light recognition device is capable of accurately detecting the lighting state of a traffic light without being affected by the attitude of a camera.