Abstract: An image-processing device including a pulverization-core unit configured to divide input-image data into blocks, generate basic blocks by reducing each of the blocks in size, and arrange the basic blocks into the blocks so that processed-image data including at least one noise particle of the input-image data is generated, where the noise particle included in the processed-image data is reduced in size, an edge-detection unit configured to detect an edge degree from the input-image data, and an edge-blend unit configured to subject a pixel value of the input-image data and a pixel value of the processed-image data to load addition and output output-image data based on the detection result so that a weight to the pixel value of the input-image data increases as the edge degree increases is provided.

Abstract: A data input device and a display layout method for the same, which permit quickly laying out plural display keys for inputting data by touching these keys. The location of a base key, the spaces between adjacent keys other than the base key and a key alignment parameter for the set/release of the base key are appropriately changeably set, and plural keys are displayed on the display screen. From these keys a base key is selected by the touch, the location of the base key is determined, and other keys in groups related to the base key are laid out at predetermined distances by touching them.

Abstract: An imaging module for biometrics authentication comprises: a light source irradiating a living body with light capable of passing through the living body; a prism having an incidence surface including an incidence area for taking in light emerging from the living body, two or more reflecting surfaces for reflecting the light taken in through the incidence area, and an outlet surface for outputting the light reflected by the reflecting surfaces; and a camera module including a lens for focusing the light emerging from the outlet surface of the prism and an image pickup device for converting the light focused thereon by the lens into an electric signal and outputting the electric signal.

Abstract: The invention illustrates a system and method of displaying a base image and an overlay image comprising: capturing a base image of a real event; receiving an instrumentation data based on the real event; identifying a visual segment within the base image based on the instrumentation data; and rendering an overlay image within the visual segment.

Abstract: A robot capable of performing appropriate movement control while reducing arithmetic processing for recognizing the shape of a floor. The robot sets a predetermined landing position of steps of the legs on a present assumed floor, which is a floor represented by floor shape information used for a current motion control of the robot, during movement of the robot. An image projection area is set, and is projected on each image captured by cameras mounted on the robot for each predetermined landing position in the vicinity of each of the predetermined landing positions. Shape parameters representing the shape of an actual floor partial area are estimated, forming an actual floor whose image is captured in each partial image area, based on the image of the partial image area generated by projecting the set image projection area on the images captured by the cameras for each partial image area.

Abstract: The face detection device detects a human face image in an image. The face detection device includes a face determining unit, a control unit, a display unit, and a receiving unit. The face determining unit performs a face determination process in which the face determining unit determines whether the image includes a human face image indicative of at least a part of a human face. The control unit performs a base process by controlling the face determining unit to perform the face determination process at least one time. The display unit displays a result of the base process. When the receiving unit receives an instruction, the control unit performs an additional process by controlling the face determining unit to perform the face determination process at least one time on the same image with a higher accuracy than the face determination process in the base process.

Abstract: To better realize the great potential of amateur digital photography, the present invention introduces an integrated system for the acquisition, organization, manipulation, and publication of digital images by amateur digital photography enthusiasts. The system of the present invention first acquires images from a number of different image sources. Images acquired in the same image importing session are marked as coming from the same conceptual film roll. Next, a user is empowered to organize and manipulate the acquired images. The images may be organized by tagging the images with informative keywords and grouping images together into conceptual photo albums. Furthermore, the images may be manipulated by rotating, cropping, and removing red-eye. Finally, the system of the present invention provides simple intuitive image publish systems.

Abstract: A manufacturing method of a plugged honeycomb structure including attaching a transparent sheet to an end face of a honeycomb structure; picking up an image of the end face; with respect to cells positioned at other than outermost peripheral portion of a honeycomb structure (usual cells), subjecting the picked-up image to image processing, recognizing positions to be plugged on said sheet, and with respect to cells positioned at outermost peripheral portion (outermost peripheral cells), positions of the cells are recognized based on an average cell pitch calculated from the positions of the cells, subjecting to a perforation treatment based on the recognized positions of the sheet, submerging an end portion into a plugging slurry in which a material of the plugging portions is slurried, filling holes made at the respective sheet with the slurry to form the plugging portions.

Abstract: A digital image processing apparatus for easily obtaining information regarding a face, a method of controlling the same, and a recording medium for storing a program for executing the method. The digital image processing apparatus includes a face recognition unit recognizing a face from an image, a face index assignment unit assigning a face index to the recognized face if the face recognized from the image is not a previously recognized face, and a relation index update unit that, if the image includes a second face, updates a relation index corresponding to the number of times the first face and second face appear together in a plurality of images.

Abstract: This disclosure describes techniques for determining a shape of a signal. In particular, a kernel is applied to a portion of a signal to compute at least a first, first order derivative of the portion of the signal and a second, first order derivative of the portion of the signal in a single pass of the kernel. The shape of the portion of the signal is determined based on the first and second first order derivatives. In one example, the shape of the portion of the signal is determined based on the ratio of the first, first order derivative and the second, first order derivative. These techniques may be particularly effective for detecting edges within image signals. However, the techniques may be used to detect the shape of significant changes within any signal that represents a variable that is changing over time, space or other dimension.

Abstract: An image is acquired including a red eye defect and non red eye defect regions having a red color. An initial segmentation of candidate redeye regions is performed. A location and orientation of one or more faces within the image are determined. The candidate redeye regions are analyzed based on the determined location and orientation of the one or more faces to determine a probability that each redeye region appears at a position of an eye. Any confirmed redeye regions having at least a certain threshold probability of being a false positive are removed as candidate redeye defect regions. The remaining redeye defect regions are corrected and a red eye corrected image is generated.

Abstract: The disclosed terrain model is a generative, probabilistic approach to modeling terrain that exploits the 3D spatial structure inherent in outdoor domains and an array of noisy but abundant sensor data to simultaneously estimate ground height, vegetation height and classify obstacles and other areas of interest, even in dense non-penetrable vegetation. Joint inference of ground height, class height and class identity over the whole model results in more accurate estimation of each quantity. Vertical spatial constraints are imposed on voxels within a column via a hidden semi-Markov model. Horizontal spatial constraints are enforced on neighboring columns of voxels via two interacting Markov random fields and a latent variable. Because of the rules governing abstracts, this abstract should not be used to construe the claims.

Abstract: Certain embodiments of the present invention provide for a system and method for modeling S-distortion in an image intensifier. In an embodiment, the method may include identifying a reference coordinate on an input screen of the image intensifier. The method also includes computing a set of charged particle velocity vectors. The method also includes computing a set of magnetic field vectors. The method also includes computing the force exerted on the charged particle in an image intensifier. Certain embodiments of the present invention include an iterative method for calibrating an image acquisition system with an analytic S-distortion model. In an embodiment, the method may include comparing the difference between the measured fiducial shadow positions and the model fiducial positions with a threshold value. If the difference is less than the threshold value, the optical distortion parameters are used for linearizing the set of acquired images.

Abstract: Systems and methods for determining an inconsistency characteristic of a composite structure, such as inconsistency density-per-unit area. In one implementation, a method is disclosed for determining an inconsistency characteristic of a composite structure. The method involves determining a first distance from a first reference point of the composite structure to an inconsistency; determining a second distance from a second reference point of the composite structure to the inconsistency; using the first and second distances to establish a reference area of the composite structure; and considering each inconsistency detected within the reference area and producing therefrom an inconsistency characteristic representative of the composite structure.

Abstract: A digital image acquisition device is for acquiring digital images including one or more preview images. A face detector analyzes the one or more preview images to ascertain information relating to candidate face regions therein. A speed-optimized filter produces a first set of candidate red-eye regions based on the candidate face region information provided by the face detector.

Abstract: The detection of red-eye defects is enhanced in digital images for embedded image acquisition and processing systems. A two-stage redeye filtering system includes a speed optimized filter that performs initial segmentation of candidate redeye regions and optionally applies a speed-optimized set of falsing/verification filters to determine a first set of confirmed redeye regions for correction. Some of the candidate regions which are rejected during the first stage are recorded and re-analyzed during a second stage by an alternative set of analysis-optimized filters to determine a second set of confirmed redeye regions.

Abstract: A digital image acquisition device is for acquiring digital images including one or more preview images. A face detector analyzes the one or more preview images to ascertain information relating to candidate face regions therein. A speed-optimized filter produces a first set of candidate red-eye regions based on the candidate face region information provided by the face detector.

Abstract: Aspects of a method and system for change detection in localization and tracking of objects in a smart video camera are provided. A programmable surveillance video camera comprises processors for detecting objects in a video signal based on an object mask. The processors may generate a textual representation of the video signal by utilizing a description language to indicate characteristics of the detected objects, such as shape, texture, color, and/or motion, for example. The object mask may be based on a detection field value generated for each pixel in the video signal by comparing a first observation field and a second observation field associated with each of the pixels. The first observation field may be based on a difference between an input video signal value and an estimated background value while the second observation field may be based on a temporal difference between first observation fields.

Abstract: Improved correlation techniques employ data from forward (template-to-reference) and reverse (reference-to-template) correlation to identify valid correlation peaks, enforce symmetry in correlation peaks, and/or combine forward and reverse correlation data. In embodiments, these techniques eliminate or reduce rms noise in a recovered signal peak location by enforcing correlation peak symmetry. The forward and reverse correlation methods described herein may be used for validation of correlation peaks, detection of outlier data points and improved interpolation, such as for higher accuracy localization of a peak center with sub-pixel resolution.

Abstract: An isolated point detection portion detects an isolated point in image data input from an image data adjustment portion. An isolated point removal portion makes a replacement of image data at a point of an isolated point detected by the isolated point detection portion. An edge identification portion performs edge identification for identifying a character region for the image data from which the isolated point has been removed by the isolated point removal portion. In this technique, edge identification is performed after the isolated point is erased by performing isolated point identification as a preliminary step of edge identification, so that isolated point noise can be removed with high accuracy.