Abstract: A system encodes videos acquired of a moving object in a scene by multiple fixed cameras. Camera calibration data of each camera are first determined. The camera calibration data of each camera are associated with the corresponding video. A segmentation mask for each frame of each video is determined. The segmentation mask identifies only foreground pixels in the frame associated with the object. A shape encoder then encodes the segmentation masks, a position encoder encodes a position of each pixel, and a color encoder encodes a color of each pixel. The encoded data can be combined into a single bitstream and transferred to a decoder. At the decoder, the bitstream is decoded to an output video having an arbitrary user selected viewpoint. A dynamic 3D point model defines a geometry of the moving object. Splat sizes and surface normals used during the rendering can be explicitly determined by the encoder, or explicitly by the decoder.

Abstract: A parking brake for a motor vehicle includes an actuating lever supported rotatably about an axis, a catch element, a pawl element connected to a release device and capable of being brought into engagement with the catch element, a pull cable connected to the actuating lever, two support plates, and a bearing device. The catch element is formed on the actuating lever, and the actuating lever and the pawl element are held between the support plates. In addition, the bearing device is placed between the support plates, the actuating lever being mounted by the bearing device in a manner such that it can rotate about the axis. The bearing device includes steps and is secured between the support plates by the steps in a manner such that the bearing device does not overhang on an outside of said support plates.

Abstract: A method provides a virtual reality environment by acquiring multiple videos of an object such as a person at one location with multiple cameras. The videos are reduced to a differential stream of 3D operators and associated operands. These are used to maintain a 3D model of point samples representing the object. The point samples have 3D coordinates and intensity information derived from the videos. The 3D model of the person can then be rendered from any arbitrary point of view at another remote location while acquiring and reducing the video and maintaining the 3D model in real-time.

Abstract: A closing device for doors, hatches, and similar closures of motor vehicles is provided which includes an electric motor as the drive device and a transmission device for transmitting a driving force to a sliding block of the closing device. The transmission device is a compression/tension cable which controls the opening and closing process of the closing device via the linear motion of the sliding block of a lock. The position of the sliding block controls the opening and closing state of the lock relative to a closing lever and a locking lever which are pivotally supported spaced apart from one another.

Abstract: The invention provides low molecular weight or polymeric organic materials in which at least one hydrogen atom is replaced by a group of the formula (A) 1

Abstract: A method and system generates 3D video images from point samples obtained from primary video data in a 3D coordinate system. Each point sample contains 3D coordinates in a 3D coordinate system, as well as colour and/or intensity information. On subsequently rendering, the point samples are modified continuously according to an updating of the 3D primary video data. The point samples are arranged in a hierarchic data structure in a manner such that each point sample is an end point, or leaf node, in a hierarchical tree, wherein the branch points in the hierarchy tree are average values of the nodes lower in the hierarchy of the tree.

Abstract: The present invention, an object display system, provides a system and method for positioning objects on a viewing area. One embodiment can be viewed as providing a method comprising the steps of specifying a plurality of objects, specifying a plurality of object pairs from the plurality of objects, specifying a potential function for each one of the specified object pairs, specifying a similarity value (s) for each one of the specified object pairs, determining an energy (e) for each one of the potential functions and solving for the minimum total energy (E) of the plurality of potential functions such that a distance (r) between each of the specified object pairs is determined.

Abstract: A method and system thereof for computing forces on data objects in a physics-based visualization system are described. First forces exerted on a data object by other data objects in the plurality are determined without considering the similarity between data objects. Second forces exerted on the data object by a portion of the other data objects, each data object in the portion having a degree of similarity to the data object, are determined considering the similarity between data objects. The first forces are adjusted using the second forces to determine a net force on the data object. The net force is thus determined without having to consider similarity between all data objects in the plurality.

Abstract: A method for visualizing high density graphical data sets for display is effectuated by determining the graphical density corresponding to an area of the display, where the graphical density is of a non-uniform nature. A non-linear visual space transformation corresponding to the graphical density is processed. Resolution in the area of the display is increased in response to the non-linear visual space transformation and the area is displayed with increased resolution.

Abstract: A method and system thereof for computing forces on data objects in a physics-based visualization system are described. First forces exerted on a data object by other data objects in the plurality are determined without considering the similarity between data objects. Second forces exerted on the data object by a portion of the other data objects, each data object in the portion having a degree of similarity to the data object, are determined considering the similarity between data objects. The first forces are adjusted using the second forces to determine a net force on the data object. The net force is thus determined without having to consider similarity between all data objects in the plurality.

Abstract: A parking brake for a motor vehicle includes an actuating lever supported rotatably about an axis, a catch element, a pawl element connected to a release device and capable of being brought into engagement with the catch element, a pull cable connected to the actuating lever, two support plates, and a bearing device. The catch element is formed on the actuating lever, and the actuating lever and the pawl element are held between the support plates. In addition, the bearing device is placed between the support plates, the actuating lever being mounted by the bearing device in a manner such that it can rotate about the axis. The bearing device includes steps and is secured between the support plates by the steps in a manner such that the bearing device does not overhang on an outside of said support plates.

Abstract: A closing device for doors, hatches, and similar closures of motor vehicles is provided which includes an electric motor as the drive device and a transmission device for transmitting a driving force to a sliding block of the closing device. The transmission device is a compression/tension cable which controls the opening and closing process of the closing device via the linear motion of the sliding block of a lock. The position of the sliding block controls the opening and closing state of the lock relative to a closing lever and a locking lever which are pivotally supported spaced apart from one another.

Abstract: A directed association visualization (DAV) method and system provides a visualization tool for mining large volumes of transaction data to extract marketing and sales information generated by applications, such as real-world electronic commerce (E-commerce) applications. The DAV mechanism visually associates data items, affinities, and relationships for large-volume data (e.g., e-commerce transaction data). Furthermore, the DAV mechanism maps data items and their relationships to vertices, edges, and positions in visual three-dimensional space. The distance between a pair of items represents the frequency of the item set in the transaction data, and the directed edge represents the association confidence levels and association directions between the items in the transaction data. The DAV mechanism also encapsulates a physics-based system to position data items in a three dimensional space. Items that have a high correlation are positioned close to each other.

Abstract: The invention relates to a locking device, comprising a drive gear (8) that can be rotated around its drive axis (9); a driven gear (10) that can be rotated around its driven axis (11), whereby the perimeter of the driven gear (10) can be drive-connected to the perimeter of the drive gear (8); a drive surface (17) that is drive-connected in a fixed manner to the drive gear (8) and whose displacement path relative to the drive gear (8) can be translated into a rotation thereof (8). The invention aims at providing a simply constructed locking device enabling reliable, low-noise locking. This is achieved in that a lifting device (12, 20) is provided for the driven gear (10) by means of which the driven gear (10) and the drive surface (17) can be disengaged.

Abstract: In a serial communication systems embodied as mono-master system in line topology, the invention achieves tolerance with respect to an arbitrary fault by using an additional return line to the master. This connection serves only for monitoring purposes during normal operation and it is only activated in the event of a line interruption, in order to undertake the communication to the “isolated” subscribers. In this case, two independent lines exist from the master to the slaves.

Abstract: For real-time communication between a number of network subscribers in a communication system using Ethernet physics, the slave units are synchronized to the master unit in that each slave unit is clocked via a respective timer with a predetermined overall cycle time, which timer is set cyclically by the reception of respective slave-specific synchronization information which is determined by the master unit. In this case, each timer in a slave unit automatically starts a new cycle once the predetermined overall cycle time has elapsed, even in the absence of the respective synchronization information. Access control for the transmission mode and reception mode between the network subscribers is provided using a timeslot access method.