Abstract: The invention is characterized in certain aspects by data processing architectures and methods of processing a mail piece having a destination address field through outgoing and incoming mail centers. An illustrative method includes receiving a mail piece at an outgoing mail center for transport to an incoming mail center and subsequent sorting and transport from the incoming mail center to an an addressee. The mail piece includes a destination address field that is divided into a first address portion and a second address portion. The first address portion is interpreted at the outgoing mail center and used to sort the mail piece for transport to the incoming mail center. The second address portion is eventually resolved and used by the incoming mail center to sort the mail piece for subsequent delivery to an addressee.

Abstract: An image processing system is arranged to convert data representing a picture element with an original color defined in terms of original brightness and hue values into data representing the picture element with a new color, different than the original color. In the system a new hue value is calculated from the original hue value by way of a transforming circuit 5. The original and new hue values are both processed in look up tables 4, 6 to determine respective inherent brightness values associated therewith. The original brightness value is processed with the inherent brightness values by way of a subtracter 7 and an adder 8 to produce a new brightness value that together with the new hue value defines the new color of the pixel.

Abstract: The invention provides a motion vector searcher which includes an inter-block difference arithmetic operation section for calculating and outputting difference amounts between an original image MB and a plurality of search MBs, an additional amount arithmetic operation section for outputting a correction difference amount obtained by adding an additional amount, which relies upon a horizontal component and a vertical component of each of the motion vectors and a state of coding, to each of the difference amounts and for outputting a motion vector based on the motion vector, and a motion vector determination section for determining an optimum motion vector which exhibits the highest one of correlation degrees between the original image MB and the search MBs. With this arrangement, reduction of the information amount of motion vectors is achieved when the compression ratio is high and the transmission rate is low.

Abstract: A shape entropy, a motion vector entropy, and a texture entropy of a certain area i of an input image are derived by a shape entropy calculation section, a motion vector entropy calculation section, and a texture entropy calculation section, respectively. Among them, the texture entropy is derived by taking an allowed value n of encoding degradation given according to a limit (encoding rate) of an entropy which can transmitted into consideration. Therefore, a generated entropy obtained by adding up the shape entropy, the motion vector entropy, and the texture entropy becomes a value according to the encoding rate. In such optimizing segmentation encoding as to minimize the generated entropy, therefore, it becomes possible to conduct segmentation according to the encoding rate.

Abstract: Out of a plurality of pairs of input pixels that face each other across a pixel to be interpolated, that pair which exhibits the highest correlation is selected. Assume that this pair is composed of a first and a second pixel, that the sign of the difference between the value of the input pixel lying adjacently on the left of the first pixel and the value of the first pixel is a, that the sign of the difference between the value of the input pixel lying adjacently on the left of the second pixel and the value of the second pixel is c, that the sign of the difference between the value of the input pixel lying adjacently on the right of the first pixel and the value of the first pixel is b, and that the sign of the difference between the value of the input pixel lying adjacently on the right of the second pixel and the value of the second pixel is d. If a=c or b=d, the average value of the values of the first and second pixels is determined as the value of the pixel to be interpolated.

Abstract: The disclosed content relates to a three dimensional real-time imaging apparatus of the ocular retina, which is associated with the most frequent ophthalmic diseases. In the present invention, the laser rays are formed into two dimensional ray surface sequentially with the time by using a polygon mirror motor and galvanometer and irradiated on the almost transparent retina through the pupil. The optical system is so arranged that the incident angles, relative to a retina, of the laser beams irradiated on the retina at respective moments may agree with the output angles of imaginary lines of the same laser rays reflected from a retina in both the vertical and horizontal direction. Further, the laser sequential single lines lit on the retina are caused to correspond to the sensors array, so that two dimensional retinal surface elements as many as the sensors of the sensor array are imaged in real time three dimensions.

Abstract: A traffic monitoring apparatus that is used to reliably detect the occurrence of an abnormal situation, such as a traffic accident. An imaging device produces and outputs images of a point to be monitored at predetermined intervals. Image inputting unit of the traffic monitoring apparatus inputs images output from the imaging device. Move vector extracting unit first generates a background image from a plurality of images input, then specifies areas where a moving object exists by calculating the difference between the background image and a newly input image, and then extracts move vectors from the specified areas. Parameter calculating unit calculates the slope and intercept, being parameters, of a move vector by considering the move vector as a segment. Plotting unit plots parameters for each move vector in a two-dimensional coordinate system with slope and intercept as its bases.

Abstract: A region data describing method for describing, over a plurality of frames, region data about the region of an arbitrary object in a video, the method specifying the object region in the video with at least either of an approximate figure approximating the region or characteristic points of the region, approximating a trajectory obtained by arranging position data of the representative points or the characteristic point in a direction in which frames proceed with a predetermined function and describing the parameter of the function as region data. Thus, the region of a predetermined object in the video can be described with a small quantity of data. Moreover, creation and handling of data can easily be performed.

Abstract: An apparatus for scaling an image composed of pixels by a scale factor is described. The apparatus includes a local image analyzer for identifying from among said pixels a target pixel and a set of pixels proximate to said target pixel and determining a type for the target pixel. The apparatus includes a linear interpolation function that is parameterized by a horizontal linear interpolation coefficient and a vertical linear interpolation coefficient. The apparatus includes an interpolation coefficient generator for defining the horizontal and vertical linear interpolation coefficients. The apparatus includes an image scaler for scaling said image in a neighborhood of the target pixel by the scale factor using the linear interpolation function with the horizontal linear interpolation coefficient and the vertical linear interpolation coefficient. A method of scaling a source image.

Abstract: A method for generating a block-based image histogram from data compressed by JPEG, MPEG-1, and MPEG-2, or uncompressed image data employing block-based linear quantization to generate histograms that include color, brightness, and edge components. The edge histogram, in particular, includes the global edge features, semi-global edge features, and local edge features. The global edge histogram is based on image blocks of the entire image space. The local edge histogram is based on a group of edge blocks. The semi-global edge histogram is based on the horizontally and the vertically grouped image blocks. A method for generating block-based image histogram with color information and brightness information of image data in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention extracts feature information of an image in terms of the block and updates global histogram bins on the basis of the feature information.

Abstract: A method of local contrast mapping that changes the dynamic range of an original image to more closely match the dynamic range of the medium used for the reproduction. The method variably compresses large contrast differences between different areas of an image while variably modifing small contrast differences between different areas of an image.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for retrieving multimedia data using shape information. The multimedia data retrieval apparatus comprises a shape information feature extractor for receiving shape information of a query image and extracting a feature of the received shape information using a shape information descriptor based on eigen vectors of a multilayer covariance matrix, an image feature extractor for extracting a feature of each image data in the same manner as the shape information feature extractor, a multimedia database creator for creating a multimedia database on the basis of the features extracted by the image feature extractor, a similarity comparator for comparing the feature of the query image extracted by the shape information feature extractor with the features of the image data in the multimedia database to calculate similarities therebetween, and a compared result output unit for outputting the results calculated by the similarity comparator.

Abstract: Described herein is a technique for creating a 3D face model using images obtained from an inexpensive camera associated with a general-purpose computer. Two still images of the user are captured, and two video sequences. The user is asked to identify five facial features, which are used to calculate a mask and to perform fitting operations. Based on a comparison of the still images, deformation vectors are applied to a neutral face model to create the 3D model. The video sequences are used to create a texture map. The process of creating the texture map references the previously obtained 3D model to determine poses of the sequential video images.

Abstract: A digital image processing method for reducing the noise of a color digital image having pixel values, includes the steps of: identifying one or more color regions in color space; identifying a pixel of interest in the color digital image; calculating a color weighting factor for the pixel of interest; using the color weighting factor and the values of pixels sampled from a local neighborhood of pixels about the pixel of interest to calculate a noise reduced pixel value; replacing the original value of the pixel of interest with the noise reduced pixel value; and repeating the steps for other pixels in the digital image.

Abstract: A digital image processing method for generating a low resolution, low bit depth digital image from a higher resolution, higher bit depth input color digital image, includes the steps of: generating a gray scale image from the input color digital image; generating a low resolution sketch image from the grayscale image; generating a low resolution halftone image from the gray scale image; and combining the low resolution sketch image and the low resolution halftone image to form the low resolution, low bit depth digital image.

Abstract: An image processing device includes: a CCD to input a plurality of images obtained from a separate-pickup of an object performed such that parts of the images are overlapped; and an image combining section to combine two images adjacent to each other in one of a first manner and a second manner; wherein in the first manner, two images adjacent to each other in a first direction are combined based on overlapping regions of two images adjacent to each other in the first direction, and in the second manner, two images adjacent to each other in a second direction are combined based on overlapping regions of two images adjacent to each other in the second direction; and the image processing device further includes a CPU to control the image combining section according to a predetermined condition such that the image combining section performs the combining in one of the first manner and the second manner.

Abstract: A region data describing method for describing, over a plurality of frames, region data about the region of an arbitrary object in a video, the method specifying the object region in the video with at least either of an approximate figure approximating the region or characteristic points of the region, approximating a trajectory obtained by arranging position data of the representative points or the characteristic point in a direction in which frames proceed with a predetermined function and describing the parameter of the function as region data. Thus, the region of a predetermined object in the video can be described with a small quantity of data. Moreover, creation and handling of data can easily be performed.

Abstract: An optical member inspection apparatus includes an inspection optical system having a light source, and a diffusing means for diffusing the light emitted from the light source. The diffusing means has a central portion and a peripheral portion. The diffusion transmittance of the peripheral portion is higher than the diffusion transmittance of the central portion. The inspection optical system is also provided with an image pick-up means to pick-up an image of the optical member to be inspected, and is positioned so as to receive that light emitted from the light source and transmitted through the diffusing means and the optical member. A judging means is also provided, for judging whether or not the optical member has a defect, in accordance with image signals output from the image pick-up means.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for providing an image to be displayed on a screen 10 such that a viewer in any current spatial position O in front of the screen 10 can watch the image with only a minimal perspective deformation. According to the invention this is achieved by estimating the current spatial position O of a viewer in relation to a fixed predetermined position Q representing a viewing point in front of the screen 10 from which the image could be watched without any perspective deformation and by providing the image by applying a variable perspective transformation to an originally generated image in response to said estimated current position O of the viewer, such that the viewer in said position O is enabled to watch the image without a perspective deformation.

Abstract: There is disclosed a method for obtaining one high-resolution image from a plurality of low-resolution images having predetermined resolutions, comprising steps of detecting relative positions among the plurality of low-resolution images with a resolution less than a pixel pitch in the predetermined resolutions, and forming a new image having a high resolution as compared with the predetermined resolutions using the plurality of images in accordance with information indicating the relative positions, so that the high-resolution image is obtained without any disorder. Moreover, there is disclosed a method for detecting motion vectors among a plurality of frames with a higher resolution, comprising steps of using orthogonal transform coefficients of images in the plurality of frames in motion images to detect the motion vectors among the plurality of frames with the resolution less than the pixel pitch in the predetermined resolutions.