Abstract: The present invention tracks a specified target object and provides an image in real time in a way that gives a viewer a sense of reality. The present invention connects, in order to produce a spherical image Q1, the images captured by cameras 13 that can move in a space and are arranged so as to take images of different directions such that the images captured by at least two or more image pickup elements are partially overlapped with one another, calculates a positional correlation between the spherical image Q1 and the target object specified from the images, and then arranges the target object substantially at the center of the spherical image Q1 in accordance with the positional correlation. This provides a tracking image that tracks and focuses on the target object out of the spherical image Q1.

Abstract: The present invention defines the area where the targeted moving object can move in the three-dimensional real spatial coordinate system, then maps it to the two-dimensional area corresponding to the capturing method and the capturing range of the capturing device, and by limiting the image processing for obtaining the coordinate to that area, obtains the coordinate of the moving object in the three-dimensional real space rapidly by using the signal which is capturing the moving object. Furthermore, the present invention is able to control the capturing direction and the capturing range which correspond to the movement of the capturing target, to overlap the image signal with the data which is always changing by the capturing condition and the movement of the measurement data, to improve the detection precision, and to track automatically and smoothly.

Abstract: An adaptive learning type general purpose image measurement and recognition method includes the steps of extracting a large number of basic initial features having values which are invariant to parallel displacement of an object to be caught in an image frame and which have additivity with respect to the image frame and performing statistical feature extraction having a learning function on the basis of a multivariate analysis method applied to the extracted initial features to thereby adaptively enable use for various types of measurement.

Abstract: An adaptive learning type general purpose image measurement and recognition method includes the steps of extracting a large number of basic initial features having values which are invariant to parallel displacement of an object to be caught in an image frame and which have additivity with respect to the image frame, and performing statistical feature extraction having a learning function on the basis of a multivariate analysis method applied to the extracted initial features to thereby adaptively enable use for various types of measurement.

Abstract: The concept of windows has been widely used in the technical field of image processing. Since the conventional method was necessary to define the shape of the windows so that one window does not include more than one subject, the algorithm of image processing including determination of the windows became inevitably complicated to require complex hardware. Further, the prior method was difficult to process the images at high speed. According to the present invention, there is provided an image processing method which enables efficient processing by giving priority order to windows and processing images in accordance with the predetermined priority order.

Abstract: A mark (something like a reflecting tape which reflects light in the coaxial direction when the light is applied, or an infrared radiant) attached on an object is caught with the coaxial light (visible radiation, infrared light) by a TV camera or infrared TV camera, and video signals from the camera are processed in binary in an image processing apparatus. Consequently, a high luminous mark appears on a binary image, and the primary moment center values (so called "centroid") on the high luminous binary image are calculated on real time, for instance, every 1/60 second, and fed back to an electrically-powered driving part of a lighting unit, so that the lighting is always applied to the position. An electrically-powered turn table automatically operates the control of the lighting directions by the signals feed backed. By carrying out a series of controls precisely as mentioned above, the lighting can be applied by the lighting unit tracking automatically the position of the moving mark.