Abstract: There is described a power splitter for directing electromagnetic power comprising: an input port for receiving the electromagnetic power; at least one dielectric element placed inside the power splitter; at least two output ports for outputting the power according to a splitting ratio, the at least two output ports placed on a surface opposite to the input port; and at least one dielectric moving device for positioning the at least one dielectric element between the at least two output ports to dynamically direct the power into the at least two output ports according to the power splitting ratio.

Abstract: An apparatus suitable for screening a receptacle. The apparatus comprises an input for receiving an image signal, the image signal conveying an input image related to contents of the receptacle, the image signal having been produced by a device that is characterized by introducing distortion into the input image. The apparatus also comprises a processing unit operative for: applying a distortion correction process to the image signal to remove at least part of the distortion from the input image, thereby to generate a corrected image signal conveying at least one corrected image; processing the corrected image signal in combination with a plurality of data elements associated with a plurality of target objects in an attempt to detect a presence of at least one of said target objects in the receptacle; and generating a detection signal in response to detection of the presence of at least one of said target objects in the receptacle.

Abstract: The present invention is a system and method for three dimensional machine vision including a projector and camera. The projector casts a structured light Quadratic Residue Bar Code on the surface to be mapped. The camera then images the surface. The projected image is shifted, and the process is repeated a number of times, according to the particular arrangement selected for the structured light Quadratic Residue Bar Code. The image data collected from this series of images is then processed by relatively simple matrix operations to determine the location of each camera pixel in three dimensional space.

Abstract: A method for matching a two dimensional image to one of a plurality of three dimensional candidate models.

Abstract: In the method and system for displaying an undistorted, target image on a surface of unknown geometry, an image of the surface is captured from the point of view of an observer, a mapping is established between pixels of the captured image and pixels of the target image, taking into consideration respective positions of the observer and surface, and the target image is displayed on the surface. The display of the target image comprises a correction of the target image in relation to the established mapping to display on the surface a target image undistorted from the point of view of the observer.

Abstract: The present invention is a system and method for three dimensional machine vision including a projector and camera. The projector casts a structured light Quadratic Residue Bar Code on the surface to be mapped. The camera then images the surface. The projected image is shifted, and the process is repeated a number of times, according to the particular arrangement selected for the structured light Quadratic Residue Bar Code. The image data collected from this series of images is then processed by relatively simple matrix operations to determine the location of each camera pixel in three dimensional space.

Abstract: The present invention is a system and method for three dimensional machine vision including a projector and camera. The projector casts a structured light Quadratic Residue Bar Code on the surface to be mapped. The camera then images the surface. The projected image is shifted, and the process is repeated a number of times, according to the particular arrangement selected for the structured light Quadratic Residue Bar Code. The image data collected from this series of images is then processed by relatively simple matrix operations to determine the location of each camera pixel in three dimensional space.

Abstract: A method for computing the location and orientation of an object in three-dimensional space.

Abstract: The present invention is a system and method for three dimensional machine vision including a projector and camera. The projector casts a structured light Quadratic Residue Bar Code on the surface to be mapped. The camera then images the surface. The projected image is shifted, and the process is repeated a number of times, according to the particular arrangement selected for the structured light Quadratic Residue Bar Code. The image data collected from this series of images is then processed by relatively simple matrix operations to determine the location of each camera pixel in three dimensional space.

Abstract: A method for estimating the optical flow between a plurality of images is provided. The method includes obtaining a motion orientation component and a motion magnitude component. Determining the motion orientation component includes creating, a first graph using spatio-temporal derivatives of the plurality of images, solving for a first maximum-flow in the first graph to thereby obtain a first minimum-cut therefrom, and computing the motion orientation component from the first minimum-cut. Determining the motion magnitude component includes creating a second graph using spatio-temporal derivatives of the plurality of images and the motion orientation component, solving for a second maximum-flow in the second graph to thereby obtain a second minimum-cut therefrom, and computing the motion magnitude component from the second minimum-cut. The motion orientation component and the motion magnitude component together comprise the estimate of the optical flow between the plurality of images.

Abstract: A method for solving the stereo correspondence problem transforms the problem into a maximum-flow problem. Once solved, the minimum-cut associated to the maximum-flow results in a disparity surface for the entire image at once. This global approach to stereo analysis provides a more accurate and coherent depth map than the traditional line-by-line stereo method. Moreover, the optimality of the depth surface is guaranteed and can be shown to be a generalization of the dynamic programming approach that is widely used in standard stereo. Results show improved depth estimation as well as better handling of depth discontinuities. While the worst case running time is O(n.sup.3 d.sup.3), the observed average running time is O(n d.sup.1.4) for an image size of n pixels and depth resolution d.

Abstract: A method for rectifying first and second images of a single scene for stereoscopic analysis is provided. The method has first and second steps of providing the first and second images from first and second cameras. The first camera having a first optical center and a first geometry relative to the scene, the second camera having a second optical center and a second geometry relative to the scene. The first and second images each comprise a plurality of epipolar lines wherein each point on each of the epipolar lines is expressed in a first and second image coordinate system, respectively. Third and fourth steps are provided wherein each point on each epipolar line of the first and second images are rotated to be parallel to a line connecting the first and second optical centers of the first and second cameras.

Abstract: A technique for determining the ego-motion between two frames of an image that includes estimating likely values of the translation and rotation and making a five-dimensional search over the space of likely translations and rotations and finding the global minimum at the current motion estimate by a sum of squared differences cost function.

Abstract: Dynamic histogram warping is performed on histograms extracted from an image pair of a scene. The warped histograms are remapped to the image pair and the resulting remapped image pair is subsequently subjected to image processing.

Abstract: A technique for compensating for egomotion of the camera used to record a pair of two-dimensional views of a scene when the pair of images is to be used to provide a three dimensional representation of the scene. The technique involves comparing histograms of the intensity levels of pixels of corresponding epipolar lines in the pair of images for assumed amounts of egomotion to identify the amount that results in the smallest total of the sums of squared differences of the histograms.