Abstract: The invention discloses methods, devices, systems and kits for repairing, replacing and/or augmenting natural facet joint surfaces and/or facet capsules. An implantable facet joint device of one embodiment comprises a cephalad facet joint element and a caudal facet joint element. The cephalad facet joint element includes a member adapted to engage a first vertebra, and an artificial cephalad bearing member. The caudal facet joint element includes a connector adapted for fixation to a second vertebra at a fixation point and an artificial caudal bearing member adapted to engage the cephalad bearing member. The artificial caudal bearing member is adapted for a location lateral to the fixation point.

Abstract: An image sensor operating in a skip mode and reading out a pixel signal provided by at least one of a plurality of pixels and compensating for fixed pattern noise (FPN) in column-parallel pipelines.

Abstract: An image sensor capable of implementing a global shutter mode and a rolling shutter mode is provided. The image sensor includes a row driver, a pixel array, an analog-to-digital converter, and an output compensating circuit. The row driver performs decoding for a reset operation, a transfer operation and a read operation, and generates control signals. The pixel array, in a rolling shutter mode, performs the transfer operation on a second row group while the read operation for a first row group is performed, and receives an optical signal, converts the optical signal to electrical signal, and outputs the electrical signal as an image signal in response to the control signals.

Abstract: An image sensor including a comparator configured to generate a comparison signal by comparing a ramp signal and a pixel signal with each other, a counter configured to generate a digital pixel value by counting an input clock signal according to the comparison signal, and a divider configured to control a frequency of the input clock signal according to an analog gain of the image sensor.

Abstract: Disclosed are an apparatus and a method for extracting a highlight section of music. The apparatus for extracting a highlight section of music in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention includes a frame divider that divides an audio file into a plurality of frames having a predetermined sample length; an average energy signal calculator that calculates a signal representing the average magnitude of audio energy for a plurality of samples belonging to each frame for each frame of the plurality of frames; and a highlight section selector that extracts a low frequency signal from the signal representing the average audio energy magnitude for each frame and determines the highlight section from frame sections including maximum points of the low frequency signal.

Abstract: An image sensor includes a comparator configured to compare a pixel signal with a ramp signal and generate a comparison signal and a counter configured to be reset by a counter reset value based on an offset of the comparator and to generate a digital pixel signal according to the comparison signal.

Abstract: Disclosed are a method and an apparatus for providing contents about conversation, which collect voice information from conversation between a user and another person, search contents on the basis of the collected voice information, and provide contents about the conversation between the user and the person. The method of providing contents about conversation includes: a voice information collecting step of collecting voice information from conversation between a user and another person; a keyword creating control step of creating search keywords by using the collected voice information; and a contents providing control step of searching contents by using the created search keywords, and providing the searched contents.

Abstract: An image sensor includes a pixel array and a plurality of pairs of column lines. The pixel array includes a plurality of unit pixel areas arranged in a plurality of rows and columns. Each of the unit pixel areas includes a readout circuit connected to a corresponding pair of column lines, and first and second photo-electric conversion devices sharing the readout circuit. Each of the unit pixel areas is configured to output a first pixel signal corresponding to a photoelectron generated by the first photo-electric conversion device through the first column line, and to output a second pixel signal corresponding to a photoelectron generated by the second photo-electric conversion device through the second column line.

Abstract: A method and system for extracting a visual descriptor using a feature selection are provided. The system includes an image input unit configured to receive an image, a candidate feature point group detecting unit configured to detect a point having a local maximum or minimum of local region filtering in scale-space images as being included in a candidate feature point group, a feature point selecting unit configured to calculate an importance for each candidate feature point, depending on its characteristics, select the candidate feature point as a feature point when its importance is greater than the predetermined threshold value, a dominant orientation calculating unit configured to calculate a dominant orientation of the selected feature point and a visual descriptor extracting unit configured to extract a patch for each feature point, according to its scale, location and dominant orientation, and extract a visual descriptor from the patch.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is an apparatus and method for measuring quality of audio. The apparatus includes a distorted signal generation unit, an extraction unit, a distortion level measurement unit, a distortion function generation unit, and a search and measurement unit. The distorted signal generation unit generates a plurality of distorted signals with respect to audio in compliance. The extraction unit extracts a fingerprint and AV information corresponding to the audio and fingerprints and AV information corresponding to the plurality of distorted signals. The distortion level measurement unit measures fingerprint distance differences, and arousal and valence (AV) distance differences. The distortion function generation unit generates a fingerprint distortion function and an AV distortion function.

Abstract: In one embodiment, an image sensor includes a pixel array including a plurality of pixels, an analog-to-digital converter configured to convert analog pixel signals output from the pixels into digital signals, a first cluster configured to store a first group of digital signals among the digital signals and to output first image data, a second cluster configured to store a second group of digital signals among the digital signals and to output second image data, and at least one cluster switch connected to the first cluster and the second cluster, a first channel, and a second channel. The image sensor is configured to transmit at least one among the first image data and the second image data to at least one among the first channel and the second channel based on an operation mode.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for managing a representative video image, which selects representative images based on human visual aesthetic criteria and creates an album by arranging the selected representative images in an album template with various layouts, based on the region of interest (ROI).

Abstract: A method for extracting features from an image for use in a computing device, the method comprising: producing Gaussian Scale Space (GSS) images in the type of a pyramid from the image inputted to the computing device; performing a Scale Normalized Laplacian Filtering on the GSS images; detecting interest points from the images that are subject to the Scale Normalized Laplacian Filtering; and extracting features of the image using the detected interest points.

Abstract: A cleaning robot capable of cleaning a water tank in an unmanned manner and an underwater sediment cleaning apparatus and method are provided. The cleaning robot includes a body put into a water tank, a driver supporting the body and moving the body, a suction part arranged in front of the body and sucking contaminated water containing sediment in the water tank, and a tilting part supported by the body to support the suction part and rotating the suction part on an axis corresponding to the direction across the moving direction of the body.

Abstract: An image sensor includes a pixel array, a plurality of comparators, a plurality of counters and a plurality of synchronization circuits. The pixel array includes a plurality of pixels configured to generate analog signals by sensing incident light. The comparators generate comparison signals by comparing the analog signals with a reference signal. The counters are grouped into a plurality of counter groups. Each of the counters generates digital signals corresponding to the analog signals by counting, the counting terminated by the comparison signals. Each of the synchronization circuits synchronizes input clock signals to a source clock signal to provide synchronized input clock signals to each of the counter groups.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a context reasoning method and apparatus. A context reasoning apparatus include a model constructing unit configured to construct a context representation model using spatio-temporal attribute information for a plurality of objects existing in observational space; and a context reasoning unit configured to recognize current context by performing context reasoning based on the context representation model and generating events related to the current context, wherein the context representation model is composed with an observation layer in which temporal attribute and spatial attribute information for the objects is represented, a syntactic layer in which complex information, provided from the information represented in the observation layer, is represented, and a semantic layer in which semantic information, provided through combination and analysis of the information represented in the observation layer and the syntactic layer is represented.

Abstract: Provided is an advertisement service system for providing additional information regarding an item as an advertisement target. The system for providing additional information of an advertisement includes an original advertisement server configured to provide original advertisement content and identification information regarding the original advertisement content, and a processing server configured to generate processed advertisement content by inserting the identification information into the original advertisement content, extract feature information with respect to the original advertisement content, and store at least one of the identification information and the feature information, together with additional information with respect to the original advertisement content.

Abstract: Provided are a shoe image retrieval apparatus and method using a matching pair, which can accurately retrieve image information corresponding to an inputted image from the database and provide the retrieved image information, by normalizing a correspondence relation in consideration of geometric image transformation about the matching pair and allowing a similar image to be retrieved by applying the normalized correspondence relation. It is possible to detect optimum geometric image transformation from a matching pair between the inputted shoe image and the image stored in the database and simultaneously retrieve a plurality of objects in the inputted shoe image based on the detected geometric image transformation, thereby providing an efficient shoe retrieval service.

Abstract: A method and system for extracting a visual descriptor using a feature selection are provided. The system includes an image input unit configured to receive an image, a candidate feature point group detecting unit configured to detect a point having a local maximum or minimum of local region filtering in scale-space images as being included in a candidate feature point group, a feature point selecting unit configured to calculate an importance for each candidate feature point, depending on its characteristics, select the candidate feature point as a feature point when its importance is greater than the predetermined threshold value, a dominant orientation calculating unit configured to calculate a dominant orientation of the selected feature point and a visual descriptor extracting unit configured to extract a patch for each feature point, according to its scale, location and dominant orientation, and extract a visual descriptor from the patch.

Abstract: A pixel array includes pixels arranged in a grid, with separate readout paths configured to readout image data from different subsets of the pixels in the array. An image sensor may employ image data from one subset of pixels, which may include fewer pixels than another subset of pixels in the array, to quickly form an image.