Abstract: An improved computer controlled optical imaging vehicle wheel alignment system configured to obtain one or more color images of optical targets associated with a vehicle, and to process the color images to obtain vehicle wheel alignment measurements.

Abstract: Cells i corresponding to pixels are initialized into a non-excitation state, to calculate coupling weights Wik between the eight cells k adjacent to the cells i, thereby determining leader cells pi=1 based on calculation results. Next, one leader cell yet to be excited is selected as a self-excitable cell. The selected cell is put into the excitation state, the excitable cells are selected based on the coupling weights between the adjacent cells, and the selected cells are put into the excitation state. These operations are repeated until no excitable cell is detected any more and, if there no excitable cell is detected any more, inhibition processing is performed, thereby completing image segmentation of one region. These operations are repeated until there is no non-excited and non-inhibited leader cell any more, thereby pinpointing regions belonging to the same category from an input image and identifying them as an image segmentation regions.

Abstract: A method for encoding a video block using reference blocks comprises assigning the video block to one of first and second prediction groups, and encoding the video block according to a motion compensated prediction encoding mode, using the reference blocks depending on the one of the first and second prediction groups to which the video block is assigned, one of the reference blocks being a decoded block, wherein a first prediction group is obtained by a prediction using the reference blocks belonging to a first prediction group, and a second prediction group is obtained by a prediction using the reference blocks belonging to at least one of the second prediction group and the first prediction group.

Abstract: Method of compressing a digital image signal in which a first quantization step set, which is unique for a given segment, is determined so that the number of bits needed to encode the quantized data corresponding to this segment is greater than a target value. This first quantization step set then being modified, as a priority, for the blocks of the segment for which the gain, in the course of this modification, on the reduction of the number of bits needed to encode the quantized data corresponding to the segment to which it belongs, is the highest. This modification is carried out, on as many blocks as is necessary for the number of bits of this segment to be less than or equal to the target value. Device to implement this method.

Abstract: A method and computer program product are disclosed for refining character segmentation in an optical character recognition system receiving as input a plurality of candidate objects. Each candidate object below a threshold character width is merged with another candidate object at one or more merge lines to form a composite object. The plurality of candidate objects are preclassified to identify a plurality of composite objects and a plurality of character portions. Proposed split lines are determined for each of the composite objects. Regions are defined within each of the composite objects from the position of the merge and split lines. The defined regions are classified to obtain an associated score for each region. Complete region sets are defined for each composite object, each with an associated set ranking determined from the associated score of the regions comprising the set. The set having the highest ranking is selected.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for protecting colors from being clipped during color adjustment. A first set of colors is identified in a source color space, and a first color mapping is specified to associate colors in the source color space with mapped colors. The first set of colors and the first color mapping are used to construct a third color mapping that can be represented as a concatenation of an injective second color mapping with the first color mapping. The third color mapping is constructed such that each color in the first set of colors is associated with a mapped color inside a destination color space.

Abstract: A method of interactively using a computer to select a sensor combination for analyzing images of a scene in order to distinguish between objects or patterns. Two or more images are acquired, each image from a different sensor. One or more regions of interest (ROIs) are then defined in the scene. A parallel axis plot is then used to display pixel traces of pixels from the ROI, with each axis of the plot representing one of the images. One or more axes may then be constrained, by selecting a range of values on an axis. Pixel traces that satisfy the constraint are illustrated graphically. Further analysis is performed by displaying pixel images of the constrained image, and by performing statistical analysis of the constraint(s).

Abstract: In a method for identifying objects in a digital image which is included in a sequence of images, luminance values of a current digital image are compared with at least one threshold value in order to create a current binarized image on the basis of the comparison. A quality measure for the current binarized image is also calculated, whereupon said at least one threshold value is updated on the basis of the quality measure for use in binarization of a subsequent image. The method can be realized in the form of a computer program, a computer program product, a device, and a hand-held apparatus for position determination.

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for correcting the exposure of a digital image. An exposure predictor may be generated based on a set of images for which ground truth data are known. After identifying an optimal set of features, the exposure of the digital image may be corrected by extracting values of the selected optimal features from the image, using the predictor to predict a desired exposure correction for the image, and correcting the exposure of the image by the predicted desired amount. Exposure correction is based on a model that relates intensity of light in the world to the RGB digits of the digital image. The model comprises a gamma function that models the response of a typical monitor and a S-shaped curve that compresses the large dynamic range of the world to the small dynamic range of the RGB digit space.

Abstract: A method for determining a border of an image includes (a) receiving a composite image including a background image and a foreground image, (b) following one geometric feature (e.g., a line) of the background image, and (c) detecting two or more breakpoints in the first geometric feature where the foreground image superimposes the geometric feature. Actions (b) and (c) are repeated to detect breakpoints for a number of the geometric features. The border of the foreground image is determined by constructing linear edges that each connects three or more breakpoints and extending the linear edges until each intersect with two other linear edges to form the border of the foreground image. An apparatus for determining a border of an image includes a scanner and a document cover. The document cover includes a blue backdrop and geometric features. The geometric features include green vertical and horizontal lines.

Abstract: Intensity of each pixel in a source video frame is compared with intensities of one or more corresponding pixels in a reference video frame to calculate one or more intensity differences for each pixel in the source video frame. Further, a determination is made for each pixel in the source video frame, based on the intensity differences and multiple threshold sets, as to whether each pixel in the source video frame is a foreground pixel or a background pixel.

Abstract: A method and apparatus to reduce the system load of motion estimation for DSP discloses circular buffers, a plurality of absolute difference calculation circuits, a multiple input adder, a full adder, a plurality of accumulators, and a control circuit. The first four bytes from the reference block buffer and the first four bytes from the search window buffer are sent to the four absolute difference calculation circuits. The control circuit determines which of the accumulators requires incrementing the value already in that accumulator by the current output of the multiple input adder. A new set of bytes from the search window buffer is then sent to the absolute difference calculation circuits, a new sum is calculated, and a second accumulator is incremented by the new sum. When all accumulators have been updated, new reference block data used. Each byte of data is loaded from memory only once.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for coding a chrominance component of an intra-image using spatial predictive coding and a method and apparatus for decoding the coded chrominance component are provided.

Abstract: An image compression technique in which patterns identified, the means of separating the image components, the parameterization of the patterns, and the lower level numerical encodings are all designed around a narrow class of images, such as two-dimensional projections of three-dimensional visualizations of data generated by numerical weather simulations. The process analyzes an image in terms of perceptual constructs of the human visual system and searches for patterns among analyzed abstractions of the image. The image is then described in terms of the perceptual constructs and the patterns found among them. The image is re-represented by describing the image as a collection of parameterized versions of the patterns prevalent in that class of image. A resulting description is taken outside of the context of abstract patterns. Redundancies in the description are looked for and the data is re-represented so as to eliminate the redundancies and compress the description.

Abstract: A method for detecting an object in a digital image including the steps of performing color quantization on a model image including the object and on a search image that potentially includes the object, generating a plurality of search windows, computing spatial-color joint probability functions of each model and search image, where the color co-occurrence edge histogram is chosen to be the spatial-color joint probability function, assessing the similarity of each search image to the model, and designating search windows as containing the target object.

Abstract: A method for resizing images using the inverse discrete cosine transform (IDCT). The method enables digital video processing devices such as DVD players, digital broadcast receivers, or HD TVs to enlarge an original image to an arbitrary size without resulting in distortions in the enlarged image, thereby preventing deteriorated image quality.

Abstract: Techniques and tools for spatial extrapolation of pixel values in intraframe video encoding and/or decoding are described. For example, to predict the pixel values for a block of pixels, a video encoder or decoder uses spatial extrapolation from the pixel values of pixels in a causal neighborhood for the block of pixels.

Abstract: Further compression of data allowing economical storage of data for extended periods of time in high-speed access memory is performed in reduced time by performing further compression during transcoding in the transform domain and without restoring image data to its original image data form. The reduction in processing time is achieved by exploiting the large number of zero-valued quantization transform coefficients and not changing quantized transform coefficients at zig-zag scan positions where non-zero coefficients are rare during range reduction of the entropy decoded quantized transformed data. The range can be restored by computation or estimation of an altered quantization table which is stored with the further compressed a quantization values. Further advantages accrue from use of JPEG packed format for the data during transcoding.

Abstract: From inputted multilevel image data it is generated, for each pixel, image area information constituted by an image area component indicating whether the pixel exists in a character•line drawing area or halftone area and an image area component indicating whether the pixel is chromatic or achromatic. The information is encoded by a lossless encoding unit on a block basis and stored, and an amount of code is monitored. When the amount of code exceeds a target amount, the lossless encoding unit performs encoding upon changing image area components, of subsequently input image area components, which coincide with a condition. The codes that have already been stored are temporarily decoded by a lossless code re-encoding unit, and the above image area components are changed. The resultant data is then re-encoded and stored.

Abstract: An image capturing apparatus for capturing an image of a subject; has: an image pick-up unit for acquiring the image; and a noise reduction unit which removes a frequency component of a color difference signal of the image corresponding to a frequency component of a luminance signal based on the frequency component of the luminance signal of the image.