Abstract: An image reading device includes an image sensor, a color reference portion, a test control portion, a standard distribution information storage portion, a type determination portion, and an abnormality notification portion. The image sensor is capable of outputting detection data of an amount of received light from each of a plurality of partial scanning areas, each at an individual channel. The test control portion is configured to cause the image sensor to operate under a plurality of test operation conditions different in resolution, when a document is not present. If a distribution state of the detection data at each channel acquired under each test operation condition does not match any of standard distribution information, the abnormality notification portion notifies an abnormality of another device related to the image sensor. The standard distribution information represents a standard distribution state of data at each channel under each test operation condition.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a control unit with a reduction mode using a reduced consumption of the color material. The reduction rule includes a rule of conversion configured to, in a constant hue plane of the input color value, move all color values on a straight line passing through a lowest brightness color value and the input color value in a direction from a highest saturation color value to a highest brightness color value, so as to convert into color values on a straight line passing through the lowest brightness color value and a converted input color value where the input color value is converted, the lowest brightness color value being indicative of a color value of lowest brightness, the highest saturation color value being indicative of a color value of highest saturation, the highest brightness color value being indicative of a color value of highest brightness.

Abstract: Mechanisms are provided for processing logical relationships in natural language content. Natural language content is received, upon which a reasoning operation is to be performed. A first parse representation of the natural language content is generated, by a parser, by performing natural language processing on the natural language content. A logical parse of the first parse is generated by identifying latent logical operators within the first parse indicative of logical relationships between elements of the natural language content. A reasoning operation on the logical parse is executed to generate a knowledge output indicative of knowledge associated with one or more of the logical relationships between elements of the natural language content.

Abstract: An embodiment of the present invention relates to a speech recognition system and method using incremental device-based acoustic model adaptation. The speech recognition system comprises a model selection module selecting an acoustic model of multi-model tree by verifying and categorizing a device key transmitted from a user device; a model management module generating and incrementally adapting multi-model tree by categorizing voice data based on a user device; and a speech recognition module performing speech recognition by receiving the acoustic model selected from the model selection module and transmitting data of which reliability exceeds a predetermined threshold value to the model management module.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a protection system for printed documents using steganographic and computer vision, materialized by the use of portable devices, where ETCODE encoded images are generated for this purpose. This method was created in order to ensure the document's authenticity, integrity of information, store information about authorship and copyright protection of printed documents. The protection method described in this patent is to generate an encoded image ETCODE using steganographic techniques, to be printed with the document, using conventional printers, and also that the decoding is performed by a digital camera portable device, obtaining therefore the information hidden in ETCODE, and then confronted with the information about the document in its digital version present in a database, thus fulfilling the proposal document protection.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a processor, and memory storing computer readable instructions, when executed by the processor, causing the apparatus to function as a storage destination specifying unit configured analyze original image data generated by optically reading a document, the document including a body area having information written therein, and also including a storage destination specifying area representing information for specifying a storage destination to store target image data representing a target including the body area, so as to specify the storage destination to store the target image data, and a target image data providing unit configured to provide the target image data to the specified storage destination.

Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure provide a communication apparatus that can use preferable settings regardless of which of communication in a near-field wireless communication method and communication in a wireless communication method different from the near-field wireless communication method is used as a trigger to start a function. The communication apparatus may include a controller. The controller may, if communication carried out in a near-field wireless communication method, transmit at least one of first setting table and data created based on the first setting table to an external device, and, if communication is carried out in the wireless communication method, transmit at least one of second setting table and data created based on the second setting table to the external device.

Abstract: When performing authenticated printing, an administrator must minutely grasp the consistency between account registered information held by a printer and account information input by each user, and this complicates an updating work. In addition, the user cannot perform printing if this updating work is not performed. In an embodiment of the present invention, therefore, the administrator sets a secondary identifier group updatable by a user, and the account registered information is automatically updated based on the account information input by the user.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus communicably connected to another image forming apparatus through a network includes a printer unit, a communication unit enabling a connection with another image forming apparatus, and a control unit that executes a first operating system (OS) operating on the first image forming apparatus and a control program operating on the first OS and performing a process relating to image formation, and enables a second OS performing other processes in parallel with the operation of the first OS to be operable. The control unit selects and determines another image forming apparatus in which the second OS is operable based on a process state relating to the image formation of the image forming apparatus operating the second OS, transmits an operating state of the second OS at that time point to the other image forming apparatus, and executes the second OS on the other apparatus.

Abstract: A control system that monitors a calibration status of a printer includes the following components. An obtaining unit obtains information that identifies a common media type to be used in calibration by a monitoring-target printer. A first determining unit determines whether a calibration status of the printer satisfies a first condition in accordance with a printing amount of the printer. A second determining unit determines whether a recording medium corresponding to the common media type is held in the printer by using the obtained information. A control unit causes the printer to perform calibration by causing the printer to perform printing on the recording medium corresponding to the common media type in a case where it is determined that the calibration status of the printer satisfies the first condition and that the recording medium corresponding to the common media type is held in the printer.

Abstract: An image scanner includes a transparent plate, a scanning device, a driving device, a positioning member, a light absorbing portion and a white reference portion. The transparent plate has an original placing surface. The scanning device irradiates an original with light by means of a light source and scans reflected light from the original. The driving device reciprocates the scanning device along the transparent plate. The positioning member positions the original placed on the original placing surface of the transparent plate. The light absorbing portion, which is disposed on the original placing surface side of the positioning member and at substantially a central portion of the positioning member in moving directions of the scanning device, absorbs ambient light entering to the original placing surface side of the positioning member through the transparent plate. The white reference portion is provided to the original placing surface side of the positioning member.

Abstract: Example embodiments are directed to systems, methods, and computer-readable media for providing a cloud print service, wherein when a user of a terminal device chooses a pay-to-print option, a print service provider is configured to send an uploaded print job to a print apparatus via a public network after receiving monetary payment from the user, and when the user chooses a free-print-with-advertisement option, the print service provider is configured to select a user-targeted advertisement, modify the uploaded print job with the selected user-targeted advertisement, and send the modified print job to the print apparatus via the public network.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for discriminating voiced and unvoiced sounds in speech. The method detects characteristic waveform features of voiced and unvoiced sounds, by applying integral and differential functions to the digitized sound signal in the time domain. Laboratory tests demonstrate extremely high reliability in separating voiced and unvoiced sounds. The method is very fast and computationally efficient. The method enables voice activation in resource-limited and battery-limited devices, including mobile devices, wearable devices, and embedded controllers. The method also enables reliable command identification in applications that recognize only predetermined commands. The method is suitable as a pre-processor for natural language speech interpretation, improving recognition and responsiveness. The method enables realtime coding or compression of speech according to the sound type, improving transmission efficiency.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an operation panel to preview an image page by page. The image forming apparatus stores a feature of an image of a page previewed on the operation panel and extracts a regularity from the stored feature of the image. When a feature of an image of a page previewed on the operation panel does not agree with the extracted regularity, the image forming apparatus displays a menu for correcting the feature that does not agree.

Abstract: A low power sound recognition sensor is configured to receive an analog signal that may contain a signature sound. Sparse sound parameter information is extracted from the analog signal. The extracted sparse sound parameter information is processed using a speaker dependent sound signature database stored in the sound recognition sensor to identify sounds or speech contained in the analog signal. The sound signature database may include several user enrollments for a sound command each representing an entire word or multiword phrase. The extracted sparse sound parameter information may be compared to the multiple user enrolled signatures using cosine distance, Euclidean distance, correlation distance, etc., for example.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including a main control unit and a communication unit includes a receiving unit configured to receive a packet via a network when the main control unit and the communication unit are in a power saving state, a first canceling unit configured to cancel the power saving state of the communication unit in response to receiving of the packet by the receiving unit, a first determination unit configured to determine whether to cancel the power saving state of the main control unit based on the packet received by the receiving unit when the first canceling unit has canceled the power saving state of the communication unit, and a second canceling unit configured to cancel the power saving state of the main control unit when the first determination unit has determined to cancel the power saving state of the main control unit.

Abstract: A system and method and system for receiving communications signals coded at transmission in a frequency hopping waveform includes a sensor that receives acoustic data. A detector joined to the sensor receives the data and separates signals from background noise. Logic determines when the signal ends. Clusters of signals are processed and grouped into combinations of symbols. A computer translates these symbols into messages using a codebook. When multiple possibilities exist, the message is selected from the codebook that maximizes a similarity score. Additional logic is provided to handle situations where unwanted signals are mixed into an otherwise valid symbol sequence, to find the best subset of signals forming a valid message. Selected messages are provided as output to users. In further details, the detector filters the acoustic data and transforms it to the frequency domain. A power spectrum is calculated for detecting signals in specific frequency bands.

Abstract: An image processing device is provided that includes an establishment unit configured to establish a first connection with a first information processing device, a detector configured to detect a connection request that requests the image processing device to terminate the first connection with the first information processing device and thereafter establish a second connection with a second information processing device, the second connection being an exclusive connection configured to forbid establishment of connections other than the second connection while being established, and a restriction unit configured to restrict the second connection with the second information processing device from being established when the detector detects the connection request in a state where the first connection is established between the image processing device and the first information processing device.

Abstract: For enabling unified color processing to be performed even in the case of performing different color processing on a specific color, an image processing apparatus having a color conversion unit configured to perform color conversion using a LUT for defining conversion from an input color to an output color, comprises: an input unit configured to input an image that is to be a target of color conversion; an accepting unit configured to accept designation of a specific color; and a generation unit configured to register an output value corresponding to the specific color at an unused grid point in the LUT, and generate a specific color-associated LUT, wherein, if the specific color is used in an image input by the input unit, the color conversion unit performs color conversion using the generated specific color-associated LUT.

Abstract: An information processing system which executes a job is disclosed, including a user specifying unit; a user information obtaining unit; an applied rule determining unit which refers to rule information in which is recorded a rule to be applied for executing the job in accordance with a relationship between an upper limit value and a consumed amount to determine the rule to be applied to the user; an applying unit which applies the rule determined by the applied rule determining unit to setting information of the job to be executed; and a log recording unit which records, with respect to the job to be executed, log information which includes at least one of the setting information before application of the rule and the setting information after application of the rule; and information indicating the rule applied.