Abstract: An image processing method includes the steps of extracting edges from each of a plurality of original images, thereby obtaining edge images; extracting straight lines from the edge images, thereby obtaining line images; assuming extensions of the straight lines constituting the line images and setting vanishing points on the basis of the extensions; and trimming the plurality of original images so that positions of the vanishing points in the respective original images mutually match, thereby obtaining final images.

Abstract: There is provided an information processing device capable of communicating with a purchase history storage device for storing purchase history data and a display device, the information processing device including a storage unit for storing user image data and property data; a communication unit; a purchase history data acquiring unit for acquiring the purchase history data; a property data recording unit for generating and recording the property data based on the purchase history data; a property data updating unit for updating the property data to property data including a second property image represented with a time interval from when the user purchased the property until present based on the property data and time information; and a display data generating unit for generating display data shown with the user image and an image of the property according to the display request.

Abstract: A guide information providing system including terminal and server devices, comprising: a specified location acceptance unit in the terminal device, to accept input of a specified location; a display unit in the terminal device, to display information; a storing unit, in the server device, to store guide information classified by position wherein guide information including time-of-day information, and position information, of an object of guiding, are correlated; an information selecting unit to select guide information correlated with position information indicating the position corresponding to the specified location based on the content of specified location information accepted by the specified location acceptance unit, and the guide information classified by position, and satisfies a time-of-day condition with at least the current time-of-day and thereafter as reference; and a display control unit in the terminal device, configured to control the display unit to provide the guide information selected by

Abstract: An interpersonal relationship evaluation method includes the steps of: obtaining position information obtained at each of the two or more terminal devices over a plurality of points in time; and calculating a mean value of distance between the respective terminal devices with a point in time as a target wherein a predetermined condition holds to obtain the mean value as an interpersonal relationship evaluation value regarding each terminal device user.

Abstract: An information provision system includes a terminal device, and an information provision device that can communicate with the terminal device. The information provision device includes a communicating section configured to communicate with the terminal device, a head count information managing section configured to manage current head count information for each position, and a crowd information generating section configured to determine a position for making a notification display based on the managed head count information, and generate crowd information containing information of the determined position, and a transmission control section configured to transmit the generated crowd information from the communicating section to the terminal device.

Abstract: An automatic image-capturing apparatus including an image-capturing unit configured to capture an image of a subject so as to obtain captured image data; an automatic captured-image obtaining unit configured to automatically obtain the captured image data obtained by the image-capturing unit without being based on an operation of a user; an inclination detection unit configured to detect an inclination in at least one of a pan direction and a tilt direction; and a control unit configured to control the obtaining operation performed by the automatic captured-image obtaining unit on the basis of information on the inclination in the pan direction or in the tilt direction, the inclination being detected by the inclination detection unit.

Abstract: A photographic apparatus infers a user's photographic intent and accordingly switches between a manual shoot mode and an automatic shoot mode. In the manual shoot mode, processing to save photographic image data is timed in accordance with the user operating a user-operable shutter element, while in the automatic shoot mode, such processing is conducted independently of shutter element operations. A photographic unit photographs a scene, acquires photographic image data of a subject, and then executes processing for saving the photographic image data. An intention judgment information detector detects intention judgment information used to judge the photographic intent of the user. A controller makes an intention judgment using the intention judgment information from the intention judgment information detector, and according to the intention judgment result, causes the photographic unit to selectively execute the operations for one of the modes.

Abstract: To reduce the affections of noises having greater instantaneous powers than received signals. A receiver of block transmission scheme, in which signal blocks from a transmitting end are received and equalization is performed for each of the received signal blocks, comprises a local noise detecting unit detecting a local noise locally existing in a received signal block and having a greater amplitude than the signals; a local noise eliminating unit generating a local-noise-eliminated received signal block in which the signals in the range where the local noise is existent within the received signal block have been eliminated together with the local noise; and an equalizer that performs an equalization based on the local-noise-eliminated received signal block.

Abstract: A mirror sub-carrier demodulation circuit includes a waveform generation unit 104 which generates a composite waveform of received I and Q signals, a peak detection unit 105 which detects peak values of the composite waveform generated by the waveform generation unit 104, a peak interval detection unit 106 which detects an interval of the peak values detected by the peak detection unit 105 and generates timing at which the received data is input, a temporary storage unit 108 which stores I data and Q data at the timing generated by the peak interval detection unit 106, a calculation unit 109 which performs a correlation calculation using the I data and the Q data of the temporary storage unit acquired during a 1-bit period on the basis of a setting value M of a mirror sub-carrier, and a data determination unit 110 which determines data of 0 or 1 from the result calculated by the calculation unit 109.

Abstract: There is provided an information delivery apparatus including an event information storage portion to store event information including a place, date and time of an event held in a predetermined place on predetermined date and time, a location information receiving portion to receive location information indicating a current location of a mobile communication terminal, a travel time calculating portion to calculate a necessary travel time from the current location of the terminal to the event place based on the location information, a delivery time determining portion to determine a delivery time of the event information to the terminal based on the necessary travel time, and an event information delivery portion to deliver the event information to the terminal at the delivery time. The delivery time determining portion determines the delivery time so that the interval between the delivery time and the event time is longer than the necessary travel time.

Abstract: There is provided an information delivery apparatus including a receiving portion to receive location information of a mobile communication terminal at a given time and acquired date and time of the location information from the terminal, an event information storage portion to store event information including an event place, date and time, a delivery terminal selecting portion to select the mobile communication terminal to which the event information is to be delivered based on the location information and the acquired date and time of the location information and on the event place, date and time, and an event information delivery portion to deliver the event information to the selected mobile communication terminal. The delivery terminal selecting portion selects the mobile communication terminal whose location indicated by location information is within a predetermined range and whose acquired date and time of the location information are before the event date and time.

Abstract: An image-capturing apparatus includes an image-capturing unit configured to capture image data of a subject and to store the captured image data in an image-capturing operation; a speed detector configured to detect speed information; and a controller configured to control the image-capturing unit so that, in an automatic image-capturing process that is not based on a shutter operation of a user, a distance moved by the image-capturing apparatus is computed on the basis of information from the speed detector, and the image-capturing operation is performed in response to the fact that a computation result indicating that the image-capturing apparatus has moved a predetermined distance is obtained.

Abstract: A stain remover which comprises a copolymer made from as essential ingredients (a) a polymerizable monomer having a polyfluoroalkyl group with less than 8 carbon atoms and represented by the general formula H2C?CXCOO—Y-Rf and (b) a fluorine-free polymerizable monomer represented by the following general formula: H2C?CXCOO—(RO)n—X. The stain remover is effective in minimizing the amount of an organic solvent to be used. It imparts to a substrate the excellent property of removing stains therefrom and a satisfactory texture.

Abstract: A private branch exchange changes the load distribution according to the use condition by a main control unit and a sub-control unit. A line card comprises a first module group normally carrying out various operations in response to an instruction of the sub-control unit, a second module group carrying out various operations in response to the sub-control unit or the main control unit, a bus arbitration circuit, and an internal module bus selecting unit having a bypass selector for bypassing the bus arbitration circuit. The main control unit predicts the load on a system at the start of the system from the information stored in the incorporated line card, and determines, considering the prediction result, whether the control is made by the sub-control unit or the main control unit, for each module of each line card.

Abstract: There is disclosed a textile which has a main surface consisting of a surface having an exposed water- and oil-repellent agent and a surface having an exposed soil release agent, by applying both the water- and oil-repellent agent and the soil release agent to the main surface, and which is characterized in that, in any of the square surface regions having a side length of 3,000 ?m, of the main surface of the textile, the ratio A of the area of the surface having the exposed water- and oil-repellent agent is from 10 to 90%, and the ratio B of the area of the surface having the exposed soil release agent is from 90 to 10%, provided that the total of the ratios A and B is 100%.

Abstract: A graft polymer, which is obtained by grafting a branch polymer having a fluoroalkyl group onto a trunk polymer through a linkage having a —C(═O)NH— group, gives a solvent-based water- and oil-repellent composition having high water- and oil-repellency, high product stability and high dilution stability.

Abstract: A private branch exchange changes the load distribution according to the use condition by a main control unit and a sub-control unit. A line card comprises a first module group normally carrying out various operations in response to an instruction of the sub-control unit, a second module group carrying out various operations in response to the sub-control unit or the main control unit, a bus arbitration circuit, and an internal module bus selecting unit having a bypass selector for bypassing the bus arbitration circuit. The main control unit predicts the load on a system at the start of the system from the information stored in the incorporated line card, and determines, considering the prediction result, whether the control is made by the sub-control unit or the main control unit, for each module of each line card.

Abstract: A solvent-based water- and oil-repellent agent composition, which contains a graft copolymer having a repeating unit derived from a vinyl monomer having a perfluoroalkyl group and a repeating unit derived from a polymerizable cyclic acid anhydride and an organic solvent, has high product stalibity and high dilution stability and can give high water- and oil-repellency.

Abstract: A system comprising: a copyright owner registration section for registering a copyright owner of phonemes; a phoneme combination section for combining phonemes using a database constructed of phonemes supplied from a phoneme capture section; a royalty calculation section for calculating the royalty for the copyright of the phonemes according to the information on the amount of phonemes used, for each of copyright owners; and a monetary payment section for providing payment of the royalty to the copyright owner based on the information on the charges. This system protects the copyright of the phonemes the speaker has and allows users to readily purchase products or services utilizing phonemes.

Abstract: There is provided an information terminal and a reading system that output phonetic sound in natural voice desired by users. The information terminal has a voice synthesizer for synthesizing phonetic sound with phonemic database constructed of human voice taken from a real character. A user can listen to voice of synthesized sound by inserting into the information terminal a memory device provided with voice synthesizer, the phonemic database and synthesis subject data, and replaying it, which activates voice synthesis processing in the terminal device. Or, the user is able put the information terminal in communication with a server device on the network, and select phonemic database and synthesis subject data of his/her choice, so as to listen to reading of the synthesis subject data, e.g., a novel, news release and the like, in voice of his/her favorite character.