Abstract: Included are: a cylindrical body (cylindrical portion 16) provided with a shaft portion (18); and a first valve body (11) that is in close contact with the shaft portion to close an opening portion (22) of the cylindrical body, and is separated from the shaft portion when pressure (P) in the cylindrical body rises to a threshold (Pth) or higher by gas that has entered the cylindrical body, to release the gas from the cylindrical body to the outside. The valve body includes a closing portion (40) that receives the pressure (P) of the gas in the cylindrical body. The pressure received by the closing portion (40) serves as a valve opening force. As a result, the discharge characteristics of the gas filling a case are improved to enhance a pressure regulation function.

Abstract: A foreign substance collection apparatus includes: a frame body; a photosensitive drum; a cleaning roller which collects foreign substances from a surface of the photosensitive drum; a collecting roller which further collects the foreign substances having been collected by the cleaning roller from the cleaning roller; and a scraping member which scrapes off the foreign substances from the collecting roller. A foreign substance collecting portion included in the frame body has, in a posture during use: a first inner bottom surface which is positioned below the scraping member in a gravity direction; an outer bottom surface which is positioned further below the first inner bottom surface; and a connecting surface which intersects the first inner bottom surface and the outer bottom surface and which connects the first inner bottom surface and the outer bottom surface with each other.

Abstract: An accuracy estimation apparatus includes at least one processor and/or at least one circuit that functions as an obtainment unit configured to obtain a shooting condition for a plurality of parallax images that mutually exhibit parallax, and an estimation unit configured based on the shooting condition, to estimate an accuracy of dimension measurement that is performed using the plurality of parallax images.

Abstract: An apparatus includes one or more processors, and a memory storing instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to function as an image acquisition unit configured to acquire a captured image, a parameter acquisition unit configured to acquire a parameter recorded when the image is captured, a determination unit configured to determine a target area in the image using the parameter corresponding to the image, an evaluation value calculation unit configured to calculate one or more evaluation values from the target area based on a number of the target areas and a size of the target area, a representative evaluation value calculation unit configured to calculate a representative evaluation value from the evaluation value, and a distance information calculation unit configured to calculate distance information about a distance to a subject in the image based on the representative evaluation value.

Abstract: A distance measurement apparatus includes one or more processors, and a memory storing instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the distance measurement apparatus to function as a calculation unit configured to calculate distance information corresponding to an image captured by an imaging apparatus using an image sensor that captures an object image focused on the image sensor via an optical system, a temperature information obtaining unit configured to obtain temperature information of the imaging apparatus at different times, and a distance correction unit configured to correct the distance information, wherein the distance correction unit corrects the distance information based on the temperature information at a time at which a first image capturing is performed and the temperature information at a time before the first image capturing is performed.

Abstract: There is provided an accuracy estimation apparatus. An obtainment unit obtains a shooting condition for a plurality of parallax images that mutually exhibit parallax. Based on the shooting condition, an estimation unit estimates an accuracy of dimension measurement that is performed using the plurality of parallax images.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes an acquisition unit configured to acquire an image captured by an imaging unit, and image capturing information at the time of image capturing of the image, and a calculation unit configured to calculate an object side pixel dimension of a target subject in the image based on the image capturing information and a pixel dimension of the imaging unit, wherein the acquisition unit acquires in-focus information indicating an in-focus state of a subject in an image, as the image capturing information, and wherein the calculation unit calculates the object side pixel dimension based on the in-focus information.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a unit (input unit) configured to acquire image data and depth information corresponding to the image data, a unit (layer division image generation unit) configured to generate layer division image data based on the depth information by dividing the image data into a plurality of layers depending on a subject distance, and a unit (output unit) configured to output the layer division image data. The layer division image data includes image data of a first layer including image data corresponding to a subject at a subject distance less than a first distance, and image data of a second layer including image data corresponding to a subject at a subject distance larger than or equal to the first distance. The first distance changes based on the depth information.

Abstract: Systems and methods for optical sensing, visualization and detection in media (e.g., turbid media; turbid water; fog; non-turbid media). A light source and an image sensor are positioned in turbid media or external to the turbid media with the light source within a field of view of the image sensor array. Temporal optical signals are transmitted through the turbid media via the light source and multiple perspective video sequence frames are acquired via the image sensor array of light propagating through the turbid media. A three-dimensional image is reconstructed from each frame and the reconstructed three-dimensional images are combined to form a three-dimensional video sequence. The transmitted optical signals are detected from the three-dimensional video sequence by applying a multi-dimensional signal detection scheme.

Abstract: Systems and methods for optical sensing, visualization and detection in media (e.g., turbid media; turbid water; fog; non-turbid media). A light source and an image sensor are positioned in turbid media or external to the turbid media with the light source within a field of view of the image sensor array. Temporal optical signals are transmitted through the turbid media via the light source and multiple perspective video sequence frames are acquired via the image sensor array of light propagating through the turbid media. A three-dimensional image is reconstructed from each frame and the reconstructed three-dimensional images are combined to form a three-dimensional video sequence. The transmitted optical signals are detected from the three-dimensional video sequence by applying a multi-dimensional signal detection scheme.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure include systems and methods for cell identification using a lens-less cell identification sensor. Randomly distributed cells can be illuminated by a light source such as a laser. The object beam can be passed through one or more diffusers. Pattern recognition is applied on the captured optical signature to classify the cells. For example, features can be extracted and a trained classifier can be used to classify the cells. The cell classes can be accurately identified even when multiple cells of the same class are inspected.

Abstract: Provided is an image processing apparatus for detecting a sky region based on a color image and a depth image, having: a first generator configured to generate a first provisional sky map based on pixel values of the color image; and an integrator configured to generate a sky map based on the first provisional sky map and depth values of the depth image.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus calculates the distance in a depth direction of an object in an image by using a plurality of images whose blur amount is different. The image processing apparatus has: an acquisition unit configured to acquire distance range information for designating a range of a distance to be calculated; a determination unit configured to determine a photographing condition of each of images photographed, on the basis of the distance range information; and a calculation unit configured to calculate the distance by using a plurality of images photographed in the respective photographing conditions determined by the determination unit.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure include systems and methods for cell identification using a lens-less cell identification sensor. Randomly distributed cells can be illuminated by a light source such as a laser. The object beam can be passed through one or more diffusers. Pattern recognition is applied on the captured optical signature to classify the cells. For example, features can be extracted and a trained classifier can be used to classify the cells. The cell classes can be accurately identified even when multiple cells of the same class are inspected.

Abstract: An imaging apparatus comprising: an image acquisition unit configured to acquire an image; a depth map acquisition unit configured to acquire a first depth map; a working range map generation unit configured to generate a working range map showing a working range in the image on the basis of the first depth map; a synthesizing unit configured to synthesize the image and the working range map and to generate a synthesized image; and a display unit configured to display the synthesized image.

Abstract: A depth measurement apparatus that calculates depth information of an object based on a first color image and a second color image. A depth calculator calculates depth information of a target pixel in a color plane, using the two color images. An evaluator calculates, for each color plane, an evaluation value to indicate a confidence coefficient of the depth information in the target pixel. The depth calculator (i) determines, based on the evaluation value, a color plane from which the depth information of the target pixel is calculated, (ii) calculates a correlation value in one color plane between the two color images, to calculate the depth information from the correlation value using a conversion table or a conversion formula that is different for each color plane, and (iii) calculates the depth information of the target pixel using a color plane of which a correlation value is a threshold or less.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus comprises a corresponding point determining unit configured to, for a plurality of points contained in a first image, search a second image for corresponding points; a transformation coefficient calculating unit configured to divide the plurality of corresponding points into groups, based on amounts of misalignment between the images at the corresponding points, and configured to calculates a coordinate transformation coefficient for each of the groups; and an image synthesizing unit configured to generate a synthesis image, using a plurality of the coordinate transformation coefficients and the second image.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus for correcting, on the basis of an image and a depth map corresponding to the image, the depth map, includes: a detection unit that detects an object included in the image; a determination unit that determines whether a size of the object detected by the detection unit is a threshold or less; and a correction unit that corrects a distance in a target area which corresponds to an area of the object in the depth map, when the size of the detected object is the threshold or less.

Abstract: A motion information acquiring apparatus includes: a lighting device that illuminates an object at the same time with first intensity-modulated light, second intensity-modulated light, and constant illumination light, wherein the first and second intensity-modulated light are intensity modulated with reference signals having substantially same wavelength but different phase; an image generator that generates first to third images corresponding to the first intensity-modulated light, the second intensity-modulated light, and the constant illumination light; and a motion information acquirer that acquires motion information in the images on the basis of the first to third images.

Abstract: An image pickup apparatus includes an imaging unit that acquires a first image by capturing an object at a first focusing position, and acquires a second image after acquiring the first image, by capturing the object at a second focusing position different from the first. The second image has different blur than the first image. A depth information determination unit determines depth information of the object on the basis of a difference in blur between the first image and the second image. A focusing position setting unit sets a focus movement amount that is a difference between the first focusing position and the second focusing position, in accordance with an F-number of the imaging unit. The second focusing position is set such that an absolute value of the focus movement amount is larger when the F-number is large, as compared to when the F-number is relatively small.