Abstract: An instrument and method for scanning large microscope specimen on a specimen holder has a scanning optical microscope that is configured to scan the specimen in one of brightfield and fluorescence. The specimen is dynamically tillable about a scan direction during a scan to maintain focus along the length of each scan line as the scan proceeds. A three dimensional image of the specimen can be obtained wherein the specimen tilt and relative focus are maintained from a first image contour to a second image contour through a thickness of a specimen.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for inducing a merge candidate block and a device using same. An image decoding method involves decoding motion estimation region (MER) related information; determining whether or not a predicted target block and a spatial merge candidate block are included in the same MER; and determining the spatial merge candidate block to be an unavailable merge candidate block when the predicted target block and the spatial merge candidate block are included in the same MER. Accordingly, by parallely performing the method for inducing a merge candidate, parallel processing is enabled and the computation amount and implementation complexity are reduced.

Abstract: A solution including a noncontact electronic measurement device is provided. The measurement device includes one or more imaging devices configured to acquire image data of a surface of an object located in a measurement region relative to the measurement device and one or more projected pattern generators configured to generate divergent pattern(s) of structured light, which impact the surface of the object within a field of view of the imaging device when the object is located in the measurement region. Using image data acquired by the imaging device(s), a computer system can measure a set of attributes of the surface of the object and/or automatically determine whether the measurement device is within the measurement region. An embodiment is configured to be held by a human user during operation.

Abstract: The present specification describes an endoscopy display system including an endoscope with a distal tip having at least three image capturing components, and a handle with an actuator that, when activated, generates a video processing command; a controller including a video processing system adapted to transmit commands to the three image capturing components and receive an image feed from each of said three image capturing components; and a display system, including at least one monitor that concurrently receives and concurrently visually displays each of said processed image feeds, where the video processing system is adapted to process each of said image feeds in accordance with the video processing command to cause at least one of changing a position of, zooming into or out of; recording; freezing; highlighting; or superimposing a navigation indicator upon the at least one of the processed image feeds.

Abstract: A device 120 for processing three-dimensional [3D] image data 122 for display on a 3D display 160, the 3D display being arranged for adjacently emitting, in a viewing cone 180, a series of views 100 of the 3D image data, the series of views enabling autostereoscopic viewing of the 3D image data at multiple viewing positions 182, 184 in the viewing cone by a viewer perceiving two different ones of the series of views, and the device comprising an indicator generator 140 arranged for establishing a graphical shape in the 3D image data for, when being displayed on the 3D display, providing to the viewer a position indicator graphically representing a relative position of the two different ones of the series of views within the series of views.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for inducing a merge candidate block and a device using same. An image decoding method involves decoding motion estimation region (MER) related information; determining whether or not a predicted target block and a spatial merge candidate block are included in the same MER; and determining the spatial merge candidate block to be an unavailable merge candidate block when the predicted target block and the spatial merge candidate block are included in the same MER. Accordingly, by parallely performing the method for inducing a merge candidate, parallel processing is enabled and the computation amount and implementation complexity are reduced.

Abstract: A broadcast receiver and a 3D subtitle data processing method thereof are disclosed. A method for processing three dimensional (3D) subtitle data includes receiving, by a receiver, a broadcast signal including 3D subtitle data, extracting, by an extracting unit, subtitle display information for a base view and extended subtitle display information for an extended view from the 3D subtitle data, and controlling, by a controller, a 3D subtitle display using the subtitle display information for the base view and the extended subtitle display information for the extended view.

Abstract: Encoding and decoding a video image having a plurality of frames using a two-step quantization and coding process are disclosed. A block of a frame are encoded by identifying pixels having certain spatial characteristics, forming a second block from the block while replacing the identified pixels with a single pixel value, such as an average of the remaining original pixels. The second block is encoded, such as by transformation and quantization, and placed into a bitstream. The second block is decoded and subtracted from the original block to generate a difference block. The difference block is encoded, such as by quantization, and is placed in the bitstream. At a decoder, both blocks are decoded and combined to reconstruct the original block.

Abstract: A method of automatically tracking and photographing celestial objects which captures a still image of a celestial object(s) where each celestial object appears stationary simply by making an exposure with a camera directed toward an arbitrary-selected celestial object and fixed with respect to the ground and without using an equatorial, and also a camera that employs this method.

Abstract: A display device includes a display portion for displaying a video, a generator for generating a synchronization signal including a command signal synchronized with display of frame images of the video and a transmitter for transmitting the synchronization signal. The command signal including a predetermined member of pulse signals has a leading pulse signal for notifying a start of the command signal, a terminal pulse signal for notifying an end of the command signal and a control pulse signal for notifying a content of synchronization control synchronized with the display of the frame images.

Abstract: Method and system for coordinating between separate image sensors imaging a mutual area of interest at different imaging perspectives. A target point is designated on a first image acquired by a first image sensor. Feature points are defined and characterized on the first image and transmitted over a data communication link to a second image sensor. The target point is identified in a second image acquired by the second image sensor using an iterative convergence operation. The first iteration involves locating feature points in the second image corresponding to the defined first image feature points. Subsequent iterations involve locating feature points in a subregion of the second image corresponding to decreasing subsets of first image feature points, the subregion defined by the feature point cluster located in the previous iteration. When a termination condition is reached, the remaining cluster of located feature points is established to represent the target point.

Abstract: A device includes a projection and camera system to create an augmented reality environment in which images are projected onto a scene and user movement within the scene is captured. The projection and camera system have a camera to image scattered IR light from the scene and compute time of flight values used in depth mapping of objects in the room. The system also has a projector to project the images onto the scene. The projected images and scattered IR light use a common optical path through the same lens. Additionally, an illumination system used to illuminate the scene with the IR light may also use the common optical path through the same lens. In one implementation, the projection and camera system are mounted in a movable head of a table lamp.

Abstract: Methods of encoding and decoding sign information for non-zero coefficients in a block of video with transform skipped. The methods include context-based coding of a flag that signals if all signs are the same in the block; using a finite state machine to determine contexts for coding of sign information, some of which may be context-based coded and some of which may be non-context-based coded; context-based coding of sign information wherein the context is based upon the signs of neighbouring coefficients; context-based coding of sign information, where the sign information is a prediction of the sign; and using a dedicated context to code signs with a sign flag indicating whether signs in a transform skipping block have been inverted to preserve a dominant sign bias.

Abstract: To allow improved high dynamic range image encoding, we describe an image encoding unit (551) arranged to encode a high dynamic range image (IM_HDR-in) comprising: a first receiver (901) for receiving a lower dynamic range (SELR); a first code mapping unit (904) arranged to encode in a first image (Im_1) all pixels of the high dynamic range image (IM_HDR-in) with luminances within the lower dynamic range (SELR); a second receiver (902) for receiving a maximal redundancy (MAXRED), which specifies to which amount luminances already encoded in the first image (Im_1) need to be redundantly encoded again; an image processing unit (903) arranged to determine, based upon the maximal redundancy (MAXRED), which pixels of the high dynamic range image (IM_HDR-in) need to be encoded in a second image (Im_2); a second code mapping unit (905) arranged to encode in the second image (Im_2) luminances of the pixels of the high dynamic range image (IM_HDR-in) which need to be encoded in the second image (Im_2); and a formatter

Abstract: The present disclosure provides a method and apparatus for intra prediction encoding/decoding. The method includes: selecting an intra prediction mode of each block to be encoded; encoding a residual block generated through an intra prediction of the block according to the selected intra prediction mode to generate a coefficient bit; encoding a mode identifier for indicating the intra prediction mode according to the predetermined mode determination method to generate a mode bit; generating a bitstream including a mode bit field including a mode bit for one or more blocks and a coefficient bit field including a coefficient bit for the block; and including a mode bit field pointer for identifying the mode bit field in the bitstream. The present disclosure simplifies the process of selecting a prediction mode in a video compression to improve a compression speed and decreases a size of compressed data to improve the compression efficiency.

Abstract: Encoding video data that includes a frame includes: generating a reconstructed frame from compressed data for the frame, partitioning at least some pixels of the reconstructed frame into a plurality of segments of one or more pixels, based at least in part on pattern information for individual pixels, and generating respective filter information for each of one or more of the plurality of segments. Encoded video data is generated that includes the compressed data for the frame and the generated filter information.

Abstract: A wavelet transform (WT) is applied to a data stream of high definition video frames, each comprising one or more data channels digitally representing the same image. A WT is applied to each channel. Visual-quality preserving data filters and data substitution techniques are selectively applied that typically lead to at least 90-to-1 compression of the final encoded video frame. Image edge data is extracted and preserved and image noise is reduced to enhance compressibility. After the first WT, primarily low frequency (LL) image data is retained. With each later WT, more non-LL data is retained. Temporal sequences of LL images that result from the final iteration of the wavelet transform are compressed by means of a chain of invertible differenced images. Any color space can be used. Cross-channel conditional substitution is applicable. Complete multi-resolution scalability is incorporated into the encoded product. Extra-high definition video encoding is also achievable.

Abstract: In general, techniques are described for determining a vision-based quality metric for three-dimensional (3D) video. A device (12, 14) comprising a 3D analysis unit (24, 48) may implement these techniques to compute a 3D objective metric (36, 60). The 3D analysis unit (24, 48) estimates an ideal depth map (62, 70) that would generate a distortion limited image view using DIBR-based 3D video data (34) and then derives one or more distortion metrics (64, 72) based on quantitative comparison of the ideal depth map (62, 70) and a depth map (28, 58) used in the generation of the DIBR-based 3D video data (34). Based on the derived one or more distortion metrics (64, 72), the 3D analysis unit (24, 48) computes the objective metric (36, 60) to quantify visual quality of DIBR-based video data (34). The 3D objective metric (36, 60) may be used to alter or otherwise adjust depth estimation and encoding/decoding parameters to correct for expected visual discomfort.

Abstract: A merchandising system that improves the merchandising of product by limiting the number and the frequency with which product can be removed from, for example, a merchandising shelf. The merchandising system may include a base configured to support product and a housing configured to engage the base. The housing may comprise a top wall, a first side wall, a second side wall, and a front retaining wall. The merchandise system may be configured to hold a number of products, such as cans (for example, baby formula cans) in the merchandise system that would be accessible to the customer one at a time out of the front of the merchandise system. The front of each merchandise system may include its own individual security window attached to the merchandise system that allows the customer to remove one can at a time.

Abstract: A wide-angle image capturing lens assembly includes, in order from an object side to an image side, a first lens element, a second lens element, a third lens element and a fourth lens element. The first lens element with negative refractive power has an image-side surface being concave in a paraxial region thereof. The second lens element with refractive power has an image-side surface being convex in a paraxial region thereof. The third lens element has positive refractive power. The fourth lens element with refractive power has an object-side surface being concave in a paraxial region thereof and an image-side surface being convex in a paraxial region thereof. The object-side surface and the image-side surface of the fourth lens element are aspheric. At least one of the object-side surface and the image-side surface of the fourth lens element has at least one inflection point in an off-axis region thereof.