Abstract: An image evaluation apparatus including a face detection unit for detecting, from an image including at least one face, each of the at least one face; a characteristic information obtaining unit for obtaining a plurality of characteristic information representing characteristics of each face; an expression level calculation unit for calculating an expression level representing the level of a specific expression of each face; and an evaluation value calculation unit for calculating an expression-based evaluation value for the image based on the characteristic information and the expression level of each face.

Abstract: Image data from a client terminal is sent to a server along with its tags. In the server, hop number between the input tags or between the input tag and an accumulated tag that is added to image data accumulated in an image database is counted. Moreover, appearance frequency of the input tag is counted. Furthermore, entry sequence of the input tag is counted. When the hop number, appearance frequency and entry sequence are counted, evaluation values corresponding to the counted values and a reference value are integrated to calculate a score. The score is registered in the image database along with the combination of the tags.

Abstract: An area dividing section divides a display area into two areas having random dimensions. One of the divided display areas is further divided into two with random dimensions. This division is continued until the number of divided display areas reaches the number of content information to be displayed.

Abstract: A keyword determining section determines a keyword among a search query input by a user. A related word searching section searches a thesaurus database and retrieves words related to the determined keyword and information on relevancy of each related word to the keyword. Based on the keyword and its related words, an image searching section retrieves images from an image database. The search result by the image searching section is displayed on a monitor in a manner to reflect mutual relations between the retrieved images, such that images corresponding to the keyword are displayed in a center section, whereas images corresponding to broader or super-ordinate words to the keyword are arranged in an upper section, and images corresponding to narrower or subordinate words to the keyword are arranged in a lower section. Other images hit with synonyms and other related words to the keyword are arranged in side sections.

Abstract: A tag production section analyzes an image file input from an image input section and extracts characteristics such as characteristic colors, time information, and location information. A word table stores various characteristics and keywords representing these characteristics in association with each other. A keyword selecting section searches the word table based on the extracted characteristics and selects corresponding keywords. An associated word acquiring section searches a thesaurus for associated words of the keywords. A score acquiring section acquires a score representing the degree of association between the associated word and the keyword. In an image database, the image file having a tag on which the keywords are described, the associated words, and the score added are registered.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for generating a scenario for a music-and-image-synchronized motion picture comprising the steps of: extracting characteristics of music; extracting structure of the music on the basis of the extracted characteristics of the music and dividing the music into multiple components on the basis of the result of the extraction; analyzing characteristics of images; associating the music and the images with each other according to the characteristics corresponding to the components of the music and the characteristics of the images; and generating a motion picture scenario that enables the associated music and images to be synchronously reproduced. According to the invention, since a component of music and images are associated with each other according to the characteristics of the images, it is possible to synchronously reproduce images that match the contents of music being reproduced, in comparison with the conventional synchronous reproduction.

Abstract: In an image viewer, a lot of image data files are registered in a database. In each image data file, positional data is attached to image data, indicating a camera location at which the image data is captured. An image arrangement decider gets the positional data from the image data files, and decides a lattice arrangement of registered images based on the positional data, so that the relative positions of the images in the lattice correspond to the correlations between the camera locations of these images. A control device controls a display device to display the images tightly in the decided arrangement on a screen. Information relating to the camera locations of the images, e.g. borders, place names or a map, may be retrieved based on the attached positional data from another database, and displayed in addition to the images.

Abstract: In a printing system, a ROM stores map data that includes place data indicating names and locations of a variety of landmarks. Image data of each image includes position data indicating a camera location, at which the image is captured. When an image is chosen from thumbnail images on a display screen, a CPU searches the map data based on the position data of the chosen image. When a plural number of landmarks are retrieved for the chosen image, the CPU checks their relation of inclusion, and displays the names of the retrieved landmarks in such a sequence that one including a greater number of landmarks comes before. A printer section prints the chosen image and the names of the retrieved landmarks on a printing sheet, wherein the landmark names are printed in the displayed sequence at a designated position on a designated side of the printing sheet.

Abstract: An image editor is provided with a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an LCD panel, an operating section, a memory card reader and an HDD. The HDD stores a landmark database and a contents database. Before writing data of an image in a memory card, position data indicating a camera location, at which the image is captured, is attached to the image data. When the image data and the attached position data are read through the memory card reader, the CPU searches the landmark database based on the position data, and sorts the image data into groups according to the retrieved landmark data. Then the CPU retrieves such contents data that relate to the landmark data from the contents database. Using the grouped image data and the retrieved contents data, the image editor produces a digital photo-album or a digital photo-movie.

Abstract: According to the electronic mail sending and receiving apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to intelligently implement personal representation that is suited to individual users of electronic mail by converting a character string representing a person that is included in the body of an electronic mail into a predetermined image for sending, and converting a character string representing a person that is included in the body of an electronic mail that was received into a predetermined image.