Abstract: A recognition system which obtains and analyzes images of at least one object in a scene comprising a wide field of view (WFOV) imager which is used to capture an image of the scene and to locate the object and a narrow field of view (NFOV) imager which is responsive to the location information provided by the WFOV imager and which is used to capture an image of the object, the image of the object having a higher resolution than the image captured by the WFOV imager is disclosed. In one embodiment, a system that obtains and analyzes images of the irises of eyes of a human or animal in an image with little or no active involvement by the human or animal is disclosed.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for generating automated multi-view three dimensional pose and geometry estimation for the insertion of realistic and authentic views of synthetic objects into a real scene. A multi-view three dimensional estimation routine comprising the steps of feature tracking, pairwise camera pose estimation, computing camera pose for overlapping sequences and performing a global block adjustment to provide camera pose and scene geometric information for each frame of a scene. A match move routine may be used to insert a synthetic object into one frame of a video sequence based on the pose and geometric information of the frame, and calculate all other required object views of the synthetic object for the remaining frames using the pose and geometric information acquired as a result of the multi-view three dimensional estimation routine.

Abstract: An image processing system for imaging a scene to mosaic, selecting a new viewpoint of the scene, and rendering a synthetic image from the mosaic of the scene from that new viewpoint. The synthesized image is then combined with a second image. The combination of the second image and the synthetic image generates a composite image containing a realistic combination of objects in the second image and the scene. Using this system, a production set or other scene need only be created once, then imaged by the system. Thereafter, through image processing, any view of the scene can be synthesized and combined with separately imaged performers or other objects to generate the composite image. As such, a production set or other scene can be repetitively reused without recreating the physical scene.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for accurately computing parallax information as captured by imagery of a scene. The method computes the parallax information of each point in an image by computing the parallax within windows that are offset with respect to the point for which the parallax is being computed. Additionally, parallax computations are performed over multiple frames of imagery to ensure accuracy of the parallax computation and to facilitate correction of occluded imagery.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for accurately computing parallax information as captured by imagery of a scene. The method computes the parallax information of each point in an image by computing the parallax within windows that are offset with respect to the point for which the parallax is being computed. Additionally, parallax computations are performed over multiple frames of imagery to ensure accuracy of the parallax computation and to facilitate correction of occluded imagery.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for accurately computing parallax information as captured by imagery of a scene. The method computes the parallax information of each point in an image by computing the parallax within windows that are offset with respect to the point for which the parallax is being computed. Additionally, parallax computations are performed over multiple frames of imagery to ensure accuracy of the parallax computation and to facilitate correction of occluded imagery.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for accurately computing parallax information as captured by imagery of a scene. The method computes the parallax information of each point in an image by computing the parallax within windows that are offset with respect to the point for which the parallax is being computed. Additionally, parallax computations are performed over multiple frames of imagery to ensure accuracy of the parallax computation and to facilitate correction of occluded imagery.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for accurately computing parallax information as captured by imagery of a scene. The method computes the parallax information of each point in an image by computing the parallax within windows that are offset with respect to the point for which the parallax is being computed. Additionally, parallax computations are performed over multiple frames of imagery to ensure accuracy of the parallax computation and to facilitate correction of occluded imagery.

Abstract: A reliable method of illuminating and imaging an eye through eyeglasses uses a carefully selected subset of multiple monochromatic light sources, a camera with an imager that exhibits minimal blooming, and a narrow-bandwidth optical bandpass filter to filter out most of the ambient illumination while passing most of the light from the system's own illuminator.

Abstract: A reliable method and apparatus for illuminating and imaging eyes uses multiple light sources producing multiple images of a subject each created under illumination by different illuminators. A composite image of the subject is formed by selecting pixels based upon their gray scale values or using pyramid image processing. A composite image can be created which is free of bright spots commonly caused by reflection of illumination from eyeglasses that may be worn by a subject or for which is free of dark shadows or which is free of both bright spots and dark shadows.

Abstract: A reliable method of illuminating and imaging an eye through eyeglasses uses a carefully selected subset of multiple monochromatic light sources, a camera with an imager that exhibits minimal blooming, and a narrow-bandwidth optical bandpass filter to filter out most of the ambient illumination while passing most of the light from the system's own illuminator.

Abstract: A system for generating three-dimensional mosaics from a plurality of input images representing an imaged scene. The plurality input images contain at least two images of a single scene, where at least two of the images have overlapping regions. The system combines the images using a parallax-based approach that generates a three-dimensional mosaic comprising an image mosaic representing a panoramic view of the scene and a shape mosaic representing the three dimensional geometry of the scene. Specifically, in one embodiment, the system registers the input images along a parametric surface within the imaged scene and derives translation vectors useful in aligning the images into a two-dimensional image mosaic. Once registered, the system generates a shape mosaic representing objects within the scene.

Abstract: Disclosed is a technique for deriving a composite video image by merging foreground and background video image data supplied from a plurality of separate video signal sources employing pattern-key insertion, rather than prior-art color-key insertion, for this purpose. Pattern-key insertion involves replacing a first pattern in a video scene with a second pattern. This is accomplished by first detecting the first pattern in the video scene and estimating the pose of this detected first pattern with respect to a reference object in the video scene. The second pattern is then geometrically transformed using the pose estimate of the detected first pattern. Finally, the detected first pattern is replaced with the geometrically-transformed second pattern.

Abstract: Iris recognition is achieved by (1) iris acquisition that permits a user to self-position his or her eye into an imager's field of view without the need for any physical contact, (2) spatially locating the data defining that portion of a digitized video image of the user's eye that defines solely the iris thereof without any initial spatial condition of the iris being provided, and (3) pattern matching the spatially located data defining the iris of the user's eye with stored data defining a model iris by employing normalized spatial correlation for first comparing, at each of a plurality of spatial scales, each of distinctive spatial characteristics of the respective irises that are spatially registered with one another to quantitatively determine, at each of the plurality of spatial scales, a goodness value of match at that spatial scale, and then judging whether or not the pattern which manifests solely the iris of the user's eye matches the digital data which manifests solely the model iris in accordance