Abstract: Where an arbitrary point on an image is designated in the field of a medical image, it is generally designated on a sectional image, and an arbitrary point on a three-dimensional image cannot be designated. According to the invention the orientation of the three-dimensional image is controlled in a first direction corresponding to the operation of the user. When an arbitrary point of the three-dimensional image is designated by the user, a plane passing through that point and normal to a display screen is created and stored. Next, the three-dimensional image is oriented in a second direction, and an arbitrary point is designated in the second direction by the user. Then, there is created a straight line which passes through that point and which is normal to the display screen. Then, the coordinates of the intersection the stored screen and the straight line are determined, and the point having the coordinates of the intersection point is displayed on the three-dimensional image.

Abstract: According to one aspect of the invention, a movable cursor control device is provided for controlling a cursor on a display screen of a digital processing system. One exemplary cursor control device comprises a housing, an electromagnetic emitting device coupled to the housing, and an electromagnetic detector coupled to the housing. The electromagnetic detector detects reflections of signals emitted from the electromagnetic emitting device and determines when the housing has been lifted from a surface. In another aspect of the invention, an exemplary method is provided for controlling a cursor on a display screen of a digital processing system. The exemplary method includes holding the cursor relative to an object on the display screen using a cursor control device activated by a user, detecting that the user no longer activates the cursor control device, and detecting that the user has lifted the cursor control device from a surface when the cursor control device is no longer activated by the user.

Abstract: A distributed color selection and coordination system including a remote computer communicatively coupled to a server. The remote computer is configured to select a starting color and access a database in the server to find one or more complementary colors. The colors in the database are arranged in a predetermined relationship with other colors in the database, the relationship between colors based on color theory. The remote computer is capable of storing personal information and color selections on the server. An in-store kiosk is communicatively coupled to the server and configured to execute color selection and coordination software. The in-store kiosk is capable of retrieving stored personal information and color selections from the server which were previously stored from the remote computer.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods for dynamically rendering digital ink strokes of arbitrary stroke width while a user is drawing the ink strokes. An ink rendering system may receive sampled pen tip positions associated with a stylus or pen on a digitizer. The ink rendering system may further determine pen tip instances having particular shapes, sizes, and/or rotations, and may determine connecting shapes, preferably quadrangles, that connect between the pen tip instances. Smoothing techniques may also be used for existing digital ink.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus comprises: a boundary line designating unit which designates a boundary line for dividing a screen into a plurality of regions; and a region selecting unit which selects either one of the inside and the outside of the boundary line designated by the boundary line designator as a region to be processed in which an image is to be processed. The boundary line designating unit designates a region surrounded by a freehand line input via an inputting unit. As a result, it is possible to easily and accurately designate a region which a user desires to subject to an image processing, so as to readily subject the desired region to the image processing.

Abstract: A method for visualizing data includes receiving code representing content for display on the screen of a computer, the content including at least one hyperlink to other content and at least one attribute associated with the hyperlink. User preferences are set for each attribute. The content is displayed on the screen, and at least one of the hyperlinks is hidden in response to the combination of user preference for that attribute.

Abstract: A displaying apparatus including a signal generator part generating a video signal, and a display part displaying thereon a picture based on the video signal generated by the signal generator part, further comprising including a setting part including a portion set part for setting whether to indicate an arbitrary portion within a screen of the display part, and a size adjuster part adjusting the size of the set portion based on movement from an arbitrary position within the portion set by the portion set part to another position; and a controller part for storing a position value of the set portion set by the setting part, generating a setting signal corresponding to the set portion based on the position value, and processing the video signal according to the setting signal. With this configuration, the user can make a selection allowing an emphasized portion to be shown within a screen of the display part, and can select the size, the position, and the brightness of the emphasized portion.

Abstract: A method of rendering a glyph of a vector-based font comprises the steps of: generating a MIP map for a glyph, where the MIP map comprises at least one level having a plurality of pixels and where each level is generated from original vector data for the glyph; and storing the MIP map on a computer readable medium. The method further comprises placing the glyph in an image to be rendered; retrieving the stored MIP map for the glyph; rendering a level of the MIP map, where the level is associated with a resolution of the glyph; and displaying the glyph as the rendered level.

Abstract: A networking conferencing and collaboration tool utilizing an enhanced T.128 application sharing protocol. This enhanced protocol is based on a per-host model command, control, and communication structure. This per-host model reduces network traffic, allows greater scalability through dynamic system resource allocation, allows a single host to establish and maintain a share session with no other members present. The per-host model allows private communication between the host and a remote with periodic broadcasts of updates by the host to the entire share group. This per-host model also allows the host to allow, revoke, pause, and invite control of the shared applications. Subsequent passing of control is provided, also with the hosts acceptance. The model contains no fixed limit on the number of participants, and dynamically allocates resources when needed to share or control a shared application. These resources are then freed when no longer needed.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is provided for electronically providing vehicle identification and registration information to a vehicle. The system includes a remote control unit, which receives and stores vehicle identification and registration information. At least one computer on the vehicle is configured to receive the vehicle identification and registration information and to store such information. An electric license plate coupled to this computer for electronically displaying at least a portion of the identification and registration information stored in the computer.

Abstract: Electronically programmed signs consist of any array of picture elements (pixels) that can be controlled independently to create an image. Varying the intensity of each pixel and adding multiple colors per pixel will enhance the image quality. It is currently common to have displays that use one, two or three separate colors in a pixel (monochrome, red-green, and red, green and blue) with intensity levels of two, four, eight up to 256 and beyond. Multiple colored pixels can combine colors at various intensity levels to expand the displayable color palette.

Abstract: A description is given of a method for applying colored information to an object (4), the object having at least two different chromophoric particles, at least in a layer (4A) close to the surface, which change the color of this layer (4A) under the influence of laser radiation, laser radiation (1, 2, 3) having at least two different wavelengths (?1, ?2, ?3) being used in order to change the color of this layer (4A), the object (4) being acted on by laser radiation in the vector and/or raster method by means of a two-coordinate beam deflection device (6) and a focusing device (7) for focusing the laser radiation onto the layer (4A) of the object (4).

Abstract: A system, method and computer program product are provided for texture shading in a hardware graphics processor. Initially, a plurality of texture coordinates is identified. Further, it is determined whether a hardware graphics processor is operating in a texture shader mode. If the hardware graphics processor is operating in the texture shader mode, the texture coordinates are mapped to colors utilizing a plurality of texture shader stages in the hardware graphics processor. If, however, the hardware graphics processor is not operating in the texture shader mode, the texture coordinates are mapped to colors utilizing a conventional graphics application program interface (API) in conjunction with the hardware graphics processor.

Abstract: When a sub-pixel of B having a small contribution to luminance emits light in isolation, a sub-pixel of R is caused to emit light or sub-pixels of B and R are caused to emit light. As a result, a sub-pixel of R having, a larger contribution to luminance than the sub-pixel of B, is caused to emit light. When an adjacent set of sub-pixels B and R having a small contribution to luminance emits light in isolation, a set of sub-pixels R and G is caused to emit light. As a result, a set of sub-pixels R and G having a higher degree of contribution to luminance than the set of sub-pixels B and R is caused to emit light. Therefore, contrast degradation from any allocation of light-emitting patterns to sub-pixels having poor luminance is eliminated and a high quality display is achieved.

Abstract: A networking conferencing and collaboration tool utilizing an enhanced T.128 application sharing protocol. This enhanced protocol is based on a per-host model command, control, and communication structure. This per-host model reduces network traffic, allows greater scalability through dynamic system resource allocation, allows a single host to establish and maintain a share session with no other members present, and supports true color graphics. The per-host model allows private communication between the host and a remote with periodic broadcasts of updates by the host to the entire share group. This per-host model also allows the host to allow, revoke, pause, and invite control of the shared applications. Subsequent passing of control is provided, also with the hosts acceptance. The model contains no fixed limit on the number of participants, and dynamically allocates resources when needed to share or control a shared application. These resources are then freed when no longer needed.

Abstract: A computer system, method, and article of manufacture for shading graphical objects and/or displays is disclosed. A graphical geometric data structure has a plurality of vertex positions defining one or more polygons, typically triangles. In a preferred embodiment, the polygons define a wireframe representation of a geometric object. Each of the vertex positions is associated with one or more sets of vertex color information. A color table has one or more fill colors to be rendered (shaded) between two or more of the vertex positions on a rendering of the geometric object. These colors can uniformly vary between the vertices of the triangle over the entire surface. A substitute color is associated with each of the fill colors so that at least two of the fill colors are associated with the same substitute color.

Abstract: A system and method for automatically reading all images from all sequences of images from a specified location, automatically cropping each of the images to produce active region data for the current image, and automatically designating key frames in the sequences of images. In one embodiment, a stand-alone program that achieves these tasks produces an output file comprised of active region data for key frames of all sequences of images. In such an embodiment, the output file serves as a script or control file which a compositing program runs to initially process sequences of images. In another embodiment, these automatic tasks are achieved via a plug-in module to a compositing program such that the plug-in module is run before performing other tasks. The automation of these three formerly manual tasks increases the efficiency of compositing programs by providing automatically pre-processed sequences of images from which to start the compositing process.

Abstract: A color signal processing device and method thereof include a conversion unit converting an input image signal into an RGB color signal, a change rate calculation unit calculating change rates of the RGB color signal when the RGB color signal changes with respect to change rates of a color difference signal on boundaries of a color space of the RGB color signal, and a color gamut decision unit determining a displayable scope of color chroma based on the change rates of the RGB color signal with respect to the change rates of the color difference signal and when the detected RGB color signal exists on the boundaries of the color space of the RGB color signal.

Abstract: A method for adding coloring information to a solid model of an actual object includes the steps of acquiring a solid model for forming a surface shape of the object from a set of multiple planes, and estimating coloring information at the plane, wherein the estimating step comprises the steps of regularly arranging multiple coloring points on the plane, and calculating coloring information of the coloring point as a constant in a predetermined function based on photo-image data photographed of the object illuminated by a light source and photography information of the photo-image data, and storing the calculated constants as a two-dimensional array corresponding to an arrangement of the coloring point.

Abstract: Systems and methods for providing multi-pass rendering of three-dimensional objects. A rendering pipeline that includes (N) physical texture units and one or more associated buffers emulates a rendering pipeline containing more texture units (M) than are physically present (N). Multiple rendering passes are performed for each pixel. During each texture pass only N sets of texture coordinates are passed to the texture units. The number of passes required through the pipeline to emulate M texture units is M/N, rounded up to the next integer. The N texture units of the rendering pipeline perform look-ups on a given pass for the corresponding N texture maps. The texture values obtained during the texture passes are blended by texture blenders to provide composite texture values. In successive passes, the buffers are used for temporary data and the most current composite texture values. The process is repeated until all desired texture maps are applied.