Abstract: A digital wide camera is capable of forming, in real time, a wide view still image from a dynamic sequence of images generated during a recording operation by panning the camera to capture a scene. The camera shoots each frame of the sequence with a certain angular field of view at 30 frames per second, for example. The wide view still image has an apparent field of angular view that is greater than that of the image of each frame. The images of the sequence are connected together by determining a shift in position between adjacent images and then overwriting each image to a wide view image buffer after shifting the image by the shift amount. Determining the shift amounts and overwriting the image buffer is accomplished in less time than the interval between shooting consecutive images so that the display of the wide view image can be updated in real time for a user's observation.

Abstract: A vehicle driving support system is provided with an environment detecting means for detecting objects existing around a vehicle and for producing output environment information, a command unit to specify a running mode of the vehicle, information processing means for generating driving operation reference information suitable for the specified running mode of the vehicle by processing the environment information specified in accordance with the running mode and a display unit to display the driving operation reference information. The information processing means monitors the inter-vehicle distance to a vehicle stopping in front of the vehicle and generates driving operation reference information to inform the driver of the starting of the precedent vehicle when the vehicle is in the congestion running mode.

Abstract: In an image processing apparatus for performing image processing of a processed object by displaying the processed object and an operating cursor on an image display device, and by operating the operating cursor according to three-dimensional actions of the hand and the fingers of an operator, a processing function and a shape of the operating cursor are changed by judging the meaning of the three-dimensional actions of the hand and the fingers to support understanding of the processing function.

Abstract: A resource recycling system and a product circulation system, wherein a search is made for information regarding specifications and production methods for a recovered product and an original product is produced with the recovered product used as resources. These systems include a plurality of production factories for producing a predetermined products, and housing a production apparatus and a reclamation factory. A communication network is connected for transmitting therebetween production information necessary for producing products. Also a recycle plate is created for identifying a production apparatus. The plate is used to transmit accounting information on an amount of money required to reproduce the product from the reclaimed resources. The reclamation apparatus also identifies a production apparatus by which a recovered product was produced, extracts production information on the recovered product and generates a disassembly procedure for the recovered product from the extracted production information.

Abstract: A half tone display apparatus using a display apparatus of bilevel representation in white and black is provided. The apparatus includes a unit supplied with a multilevel image such as a color image, a device for detecting edges in characters, patterns and photographic images, a unit for deriving a level difference between pixels adjacent to the edge, and a control unit for forcibly displaying a pixel of the edge portion as a white or black pixel for emphasis provided that the level difference is not larger than a predetermined threshold and for applying dither conversion to other pixels.

Abstract: A data communication apparatus comprises: means for dividing data to be transmitted into a plurality of blocks and extracting the data from each block; a first multi-layered neural network of three or more layers which has weighting coefficients to output the same data as the input data for the data extracted from each block and which can output data from an intermediate layer; the transmission data extracted from each block being inputted to the first neural network and outputted from the intermediate layer; means for encoding the transmission data which is outputted from the intermediate layer of the first neural network and, thereafter, transmitting; means for receiving and decoding the transmitted data; a second multi-layered neural network of three or more layers which has the same weight coefficients as those of the first neural network and can input data from an intermediate layer; the decoded data of each block being inputted to the second neural network and outputted from an output layer; and means f

Abstract: An image understanding system of this invention uses a grammer describing a document image, and represents the structure of an unknown input image by parsing a statement (the structure of the grammar) written in accordance with this grammer. In other words, the grammer describes an image as substructures and the relative relation between them, and when the substructures and their relative relation are identified in parsing, search is then made whether or not the substructures and their relative relation exist in an unknown input image. The structure of the unknown input image is represented on the basis of the result of this search.

Abstract: This invention provides a method and apparatus for automatically producing a standard pattern for local pattern matching. According to the present invention, local patterns equivalent in size to a standard pattern to be obtained are successively removed from the image of an object being examined to prepare standard pattern candidates. Evaluation values representing appropriateness as a standard pattern are obtained from the local patterns successively removed or the local patterns together with the image of the object being examined. The evaluation values are used in an evaluation function expressing the uniqueness of the standard pattern and in an auxiliary evaluation function as an aid to the former. The standard pattern is selected using such evaluation values.

Abstract: An apparatus for detecting the position of an object. The apparatus has an optical device for magnifying or enlarging a plurality of portions on the object, a photoelectric converter adapted for converting the enlarged portion image into electric signals, a plurality of thresholding circuits adapted for changing analogue signals from the respective photoelectric converter into binary signals with a threshold value determined by a signal level given by a first signal holding circuit, a circuit for calculating the threshold value from the analogue signals, a circuit for detecting the approximate position of a specific pattern in the enlarged portion images through a coarse sampling of the binary signals. A circuit for detecting the exact position of the specific pattern through measuring the area of a specific brightness in a plurality of regions in the enlarged portion images, by a fine sampling of the binary signals, and a controller for controlling the operations of respective circuits.

Abstract: A compressed image producing system is disclosed which comprises a buffer memory unit including a plurality of cascade-connected shift register stages to which image signals time-sequentially produced by the conversion of the respective picture elements of an image into the corresponding binary signals through the scanning of the image are successively applied, a partial image extracting unit including a plurality of registers which take in the image signals from the shift register stages respectively and parallely delivers the image signals bit by bit, and a sampling pulse generating circuit which generates sampling pulses at predetermined intervals.

Abstract: A coded label comprising a code pattern in which first and second segments respectively being substantially square and having reflection factors different from each other are arranged in at least four rows and two columns, and in which at least two of either of the first and second segments are arranged in each column and at least one is arranged in each of the uppermost and lowermost rows.

Abstract: A pattern display system is disclosed which includes a keyboard for the manual entry of data representative of the patterns to be displayed, a microcomputer for accepting the entry data and for controlling the display system, a random access memory for storage of the entered data, audio circuitry controlled by the microcomputer for accepting data to provide audio signals representative of stored data, coding/decoding circuitry for the transfer of stored digital data to or from a tape recorder, and video circuitry utilized under the control of the microcomputer for the visual display on a cathode ray tube (CRT) of the patterns represented by the stored data. Specifically, the video circuitry includes read-only memories which are controlled to provide video pattern information in response to the stored data which represented desired patterns and timing information for the CRT.

Abstract: A recognition device for recognizing the shape and the position of an object includes means for applying a bundle of parallel light beams having a specific cross-section to a space containing the object, means for transducing the light informations from the space into image signals, means for extracting from said image signals a specific pattern corresponding to the portion to which the bundle of light beams is applied and means for determining the position of the pattern on the image surface, whereby the existence, shape and the position of the object are recognized from the information on the image surface.

Abstract: This method for recognizing a specific pattern is characterized in a process of extracting feature parts wherein one or more certain feature parts of specific shape are extracted from an input pattern; the next feature part is then extracted from an extracting area which is determined from the position on the input pattern where a previous feature part was extracted; and in case that the next feature part fails to be extracted from the extracting area so determined, the initial condition is restored thereby extracting the feature part by successively limiting extracting areas.

Abstract: A variable thresholding circuit for converting an analog signal to a binary signal comprises a comparator to which signals to be converted are applied and a threshold circuit coupled with the comparator in order to provide the threshold level of the comparator, so that the signals applied to the comparator are converted into binary signals in accordance with the threshold level. The threshold level corresponding to the output of the threshold circuit is compensated in accordance with the variations of the levels of the signals applied to the comparator.

Abstract: A pattern position detecting system comprising first means to sequentially fetch local images in a two-dimensionally arrayed form from a video signal in accordance with the scanning of an image and at sampling intervals which are variably instructed independently in the vertical and horizontal directions, second means to hold two-dimensional patterns having the same array as the local images, third means to evaluate the degree of non-coincidence between the image of the first means and the pattern of the second means, fourth means to store the position of an image scanning point at the time when the degree of non-coincidence becomes the minimum in a predetermined range within a picture frame, fifth means to calculate the position of an object from the position obtained by the fourth means, and sixth means to store the vertical and horizontal sampling intervals necessary for the operation of the first means, the two-dimensional patterns for use in the second means and numerical values necessary for the positio

Abstract: A group control system comprises multi-combinations of image pick-up devices and an automatic assembly apparatus controlled by information from the image pick-up devices. A computer responds to demands from the image pick-up devices and the automatic assembly apparatus which independently operate with the computer. A plurality of visual information processing apparatus are provided between the interface of the computer and the image pick-up devices, for processing information therefrom, and a pulse generator is coupled to the image pick-up devices and the visual information processing apparatus, for controlling the operations thereof. The image pick-up devices are grouped into a plurality of groups each of which is coupled to each visual information processing apparatus.

Abstract: A feature extraction system comprises first and second memory circuits and a control circuit for controlling a storing period of time when signals are stored in the first memory circuit. The first and the second memory circuits comprise capacitor memory circuits, the time constant of the second memory circuit being larger than that of the first memory circuit. First and second comparators are coupled to the first and the second memory circuit, respectively. Signals supplied to the first memory circuit are compared with the contents thereof by the first comparator, so that the maximum signal thereof within a predetermined period of time controlled by the control circuit is stored in the first memory circuit. After the predetermined period of time, the contents of the first memory circuit are supplied to the second memory circuit and then the first memory circuit operates to store the maximum signal of the signals supplied to the first memory circuit within a next predetermined period of time.

Abstract: A pattern recognition apparatus for discriminating a body having a specified shape from a number of bodies, in which an image area, at which the image signal has a value within a specified range, within a specified region of the image of a body is measured and whether or not the image area is within the range predetermined by the body to be recognized is decided.

Abstract: A pattern recognition system in which an image plane is divided into a large number of micro-regions, the image of the background has been stored in advance by a unit of the micro-region as invariable information independent of the brightness of the image plane, inputted images and the stored information are successively compared, and the proportion of occupation of the image plane by an object getting in the field of vision is detected.