Abstract: The invention relates to the color correction of images. The method is based on the assumption that the red, green and blue standard deviations, particularly of high frequency spatial information, as calculated in a particular space e.g. a power law space, should be equal.

Abstract: Rapid development of silver bromoiodide color negative photographic films and formation of high quality negative images suitable for scanning to produce display images of excellent quality is made possible by a novel developer solution composition and method of development. The solution is characterized by containing, in addition to the color developer compound and conventional photographic developer solution components, a water soluble pyrrolidone polymer, a high concentration of sulfite ion and a low concentration, or the absence of, bromide ion. In the novel method the developer composition contacts the exposed film at elevated temperature, e.g., 40 to 66° C., for a short development time, e.g., 20 to 90 seconds. The developed image has image quality suitable for scanning and digital manipulation to produce a digital record for forming a color display image of high quality.

Abstract: A color film comprises a support layer, a layer formed of a color filter array having at least three spectrally distinguishable types of color element and an emulsion layer unit. The film further includes means for emitting or reflecting light which has been modulated by the filter array but not by the image pattern formed in the emulsion layer.

Abstract: A method for deriving a color negative film developer composition and processing conditions for developing a photographic film image which is optimized for subsequent digital scanning and digital image file manipulation, which allows for optimum rapid development processing of the film is disclosed.

Abstract: A method for deriving a color negative film developer composition and processing conditions for developing a photographic film image which is optimized for subsequent digital scanning and digital image file manipulation, which allows for optimum rapid development processing of the film is disclosed.

Abstract: A method of image processing in which a plurality of channel input signals are a function of unknown recorded signal levels and unknown signal sensitivities, the method involving the sampling and measuring of the recorded signals and sensitivities at each channel to determine weighting values that eliminate the contribution of the unknown signal sensitivities, the weighting values being used to further process the input signals to form output signals representing the unknown recorded level signals.

Abstract: A method of making a stereo image of a scene. The method includes capturing and digitizing a first image of the scene in a first image capture medium and capturing and digitizing a second image of the same scene but from a displaced position from which the first and second image was captured on a second different image capture medium. The method further includes producing visual images of the first and second captured digital images which, to a viewer, provides a stereo image of the scene.

Abstract: A time-temperature indicator device comprises a polymeric layer having a first and second surface and a dye composition adhered to said first surface comprising a dye which diffuses into the polymeric layer as a result of a cumulative time-temperature exposure wherein the dye is invisible when viewed in visible radiation and is detectable as a result of absorption of non-visible radiation. The device may be attached to a product for monitoring cumulative time-temperature exposure.

Abstract: A method of processing a sampled input image having pixels which can have missing information at pixel locations to reconstruct an output image therefrom, including providing a mask for the sampled image to identify valid pixel locations; interpolating by convolution with at least one finite impulse response (FIR) filter(s) applied to the information at valid pixel locations to produce reconstructed information for non-valid pixel locations; and adaptively normalizing the reconstructed information for the non-valid pixel locations produced by applying the FIR filter(s) to the mask so that the valid pixels and the reconstructed information at non-valid pixel locations provide a reconstructed image.

Abstract: A technique for achieving essentially perfect reconstruction of an M level image by forming at least two non-dependent digital images from an original digital image and by determining the quantization levels M of the original digital image and then forming the two non-dependent images by quantizing the original M level image to two M/2 level images, one being rounded down and the other being rounded up in value. A reconstructed image, having a higher resolution than any of the non-dependent M/2 digital images is formed by combining and averaging at least two of the non-dependent images.

Abstract: A digital image with improved performance characteristics is formed by producing a photographic image of a scene; producing a digitized electronic image of the same scene; scanning the photographic image to produce a digitized photographic image of a scene; and combining and processing the digitized electronic image and the digitized photographic image to produce another digitized image with improved performance characteristics.

Abstract: A method of producing a digital image with improved performance characteristics including capturing at least two photographic film images of a scene and digitizing the at least two photographic film images of a scene. The method further includes combining and processing the at least two digitized photographic film images to produce another digital image with improved performance characteristics.

Abstract: Described herein is a method of scanning an image formed on a color filter array film using a monochrome scanner. The image forming layer of the film is chosen so as to have a maximum density which occupies a small portion of the dynamic density range of the scanner, the excess density range of the scanner being used to decode the colors of the color filter array.

Abstract: A mechanism for facilitating metric conversion of digitized images intended for use with a multi-resolution, multi-application environment is integrated into the encoding and decoding mechanisms of the hierarchical data base, such that stored residual image files contain metric change information. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the metric conversion operator is executed upon a relatively low spatial resolution file, thereby resulting in a substantial reduction in processing overhead, as advantage is taken of the availability of the reduced size of the lower spatial resolution base file within the hierarchical database, so that a metric conversion may be performed on the relatively small number of pixels within the base file, prior to up-converting the image to a relatively high spatial resolution image, such as a 2048.times.3072 pixel image for driving a high resolution digital thermal color printer.

Abstract: An improved method and associated mechanism for facilitating the transformation of digitized images intended for use in a multi-resolution, multi-application environment by performing complex transformations on low resolution image components and approximate transformations on the high level image components so as to reduce computational complexity. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the transformation operator is executed upon a relatively low spatial resolution file, thereby resulting in a substantial reduction in processing overhead. Advantage is thus taken of the availability of the reduced size of the lower spatial resolution base file within the hierarchical database, so that a relatively complex conversion may be performed on a small number of pixels within the base file, prior to up-converting the image to a relatively high spatial resolution image, such as a 2048.times.3072 pixel image for driving a high resolution digital thermal color printer.

Abstract: The K most frequently occurring symbols in an image represented by an alphabet of N symbols are mapped to a set of K codewords. The length of each codeword is an inverse function of the frequency of occurrence of the corresponding symbol in the image and the longest codeword is of length d bits. The remaining N-K symbols are mapped in order of their magnitude to a set of supplementary codewords of a uniform maximum length D bits. The d most significant bits of each supplementary codeword form a prefix which is uniform within each set and specifies whether the corresponding symbol is positive or negative. The remaining or least significant D-d bits of each supplementary codeword comprise a suffix and are mapped in order of bit position to progressively more narrow ranges of symbol values of the remaining N-K symbols.

Abstract: The method and apparatus of the present invention performs the quantization, sampling, and final digital image signal reconstruction in a way that reduces quantization artifacts such as contouring while retaining desired spatial (temporal) frequency response and resolution. The technique of the present invention features a spatially varying quantization step, a low pass filtering step, a second spatially varying quantization step, and a comparison step to determine the reconstructed signal.

Abstract: Methods to reduce the quantization error in the higher spatial resolution digital image signals of a hierarchical decomposition and reconstruction scheme are disclosed. The quantization errors in the high spatial resolution digital image signals are reduced by modifying the low spatial resolution digital image signals in a way that can produce only small errors in the low spatial resolution digital image signal. The small errors in the low spatial resolution digital image signal are reduced by utilizing an improved reconstruction method.

Abstract: A single sensor video camera includes an optical blurring filter having a known spatial (or frequency) function and a color filter interposed between the blurring filter and an image sensor. The color filter has red and blue filter elements intermingled among a majority of green elements. An accurate estimate of the blurred green light blocked by the non-green elements is recovered by applying the image signal from the sensor to a digital filter and substituting the resultant signal for the missing green portions. The coefficients of the filter are selected in an optimization process that seeks to match the known function of the blurring filter to a like function of the digital filter (as represented by the coefficients). To do this the color filter must be configured to provide at least two green samples on either side of a non-green element.