Abstract: Viewing of a scrolled image on a display screen is facilitated. Assume that a first image portion (81) is being displayed on the display screen of a mobile telephone and that a second image portion (82) is not being displayed on the screen. If scrolling is performed rightward in order to display the second image portion (82) on the display screen, data representing the scrolling direction and scrolling amount is transmitted from the mobile telephone to an image server. The image server rotates the second image portion (82) in accordance with the scrolling direction, reads the rotated second image portion (82) block by block and transmits the resultant image data to the mobile telephone block by block. The mobile telephone rotates the block images reversely through the angle of the original rotation and displays the blocks in order.

Abstract: When images classified into groups of similar images are displayed, the similar images are efficiently displayed. For this purpose, a selection unit selects representative images representing the respective groups from the images classified into the groups. A display control unit displays a catalog of thumbnails of the representative images on display means. When a desired one of the representative images is selected in the catalog, a catalog of all the images in the group represented by the selected representative image is displayed on the display means, instead of the catalog of thumbnails of the representative images.

Abstract: An image evaluation apparatus includes a printing status judgment unit for judging a printing status of a target image assigned with an evaluation value and an evaluation value changing unit for appropriately changing the evaluation value based on information representing the printing status. An image evaluation method and a program for causing a computer to execute the image evaluation method are also provided. Therefore, the evaluation value can be assigned to the image, reflecting an intention and preference of a user at the time of selection of an image for printing.

Abstract: A server device compares an image before changing with an image after changing and specifies a difference image that is an image part different between the two images. The server device determines patterns of boxes (rectangles) enclosing the difference image. In image transmission from the server device, the box becomes a macro block being a unit of image compression. The server device specifies from among the patterns of the enclosing box group, an optimal box group that is a pattern of the enclosing box group requiring the shortest response time. The server device sets each of the boxes that make up the specified optimal box group as a unit of macro block, and performs compression coding of the difference image in the set units. The server device transmits partial image information including the compression-coded difference image and the coordinates of the difference image to the client device.

Abstract: A plurality of images are classified into hierarchical categories. A degree of importance for each of the categories is set according to at least one of: the number of images therein, the number of images in an upper-level category, the number of categories related to the category, the number of hierarchical levels below the category, and the number of hierarchical levels from the uppermost level to the level of the category.

Abstract: An image-attached mail transiting apparatus has a mail receiving portion for receiving an image-attached mail transmitted from a transmitting terminal that transmits the image-attached mail to which an image picked up by an installed miniature camera is attached, a mail control portion for extracting an attached image from the image-attached mail, then instructing an image processing portion how to process the attached image, and then substituting a processed image for the original attached image of the image-attached mail, an image processing portion for performing the process indicated by the mail control portion to the image, and a mail transmitting portion for transmitting the image-attached mail to the receiving terminal, whereby the mail control portion discriminates a type of the transmitting terminal, and the image processing portion performs image processing according to the type.

Abstract: According to the image processing apparatus, method and program of the present invention, images to be used can be automatically selected from inputted images for the number of images designated by a user. Moreover, a user can easily manually add an image to be used so that the number of images to be used is equal to or less than the number previously designated by the user.

Abstract: An image analyzing section acquires information on a type of a subject as an image attribute using an image analysis technique, and if the subject is a human, information on clothes of the human as the image attribute. In an additional information DB, there are provided plural pieces of candidate additional information which possibly become additional information, plural reference attributes for each piece of the candidate additional information, and individual compatibility degrees for the respective reference attributes. For every piece of the candidate additional information, a sum of the individual compatibility degrees of the reference attributes which are correlated with the image attributes acquired from the image are calculated as a total compatibility degree. The candidate additional information having the total compatibility degree equal to or higher than a certain value is selected as additional information. A tag having this additional information is attached to an image file.

Abstract: A compositing face image for replacing a face image is input and stored. The image of a subject is sensed to obtain the image of the subject. A face image is detected from the image of the subject, and the face orientation and facial expression indicated by the face image are detected. A compositing face image having the face orientation and facial expression detected is substituted for the face image in the image of the subject. The image of the subject in which the face image has been replaced is displayed on a display unit.

Abstract: A matrix of processing object frame data and a matrix of temporally consecutive next frame data of the processing object frame data, are prepared as matrices for error diffusion processing. An error generated at a pixel position in a frame, which is represented by the processing object frame data, is diffused to a corresponding pixel in a frame represented by the temporally consecutive next frame data of the processing object frame data.

Abstract: Processing for obtaining processed compressed moving image data can be carried out efficiently through image enhancement processing on compressed moving image data. In a moving image processing unit of a relay server in a mobile phone system, a division unit divides compressed moving image data attached to an e-mail into a target part to be corrected and a non-target part not to be corrected. A decoding unit decodes the target part to generate decoded data. A correction unit carries out image enhancement processing on the decoded data, and obtains corrected decoded data. An encoding unit encodes the corrected decoded data, and obtains encoded corrected data. A combination unit combines the encoded corrected data with the non-target part, and obtains processed compressed moving image data.

Abstract: Even if an email attached with a moving image is sent to a terminal that is not capable of moving image display, pseudo moving image display can be carried out in high quality on the terminal. An email reception unit receives the email, and a model judgment unit judges the model of the terminal as a destination of the email. If the destination terminal cannot display the moving image, a moving image conversion unit generates a multimedia image data in a multimedia format from moving image data representing the moving image. An image attaching unit attaches the moving mage data or the multimedia image data to main content of the email, and an email transmission unit sends the image-attached email to the destination terminal.

Abstract: An image processing method and apparatus capable of decoding and reducing image data encoded with an orthogonal transformation and a variable length decoding in high speed without degrading the accuracy of the reduced image data. In the method and apparatus, the image data are decoded by a variable length decoding and an inverse orthogonal transformation, and reduced to a predetermined target resolution. The image data are decoded by the variable length decoding and resolution of the decoded image data is obtained. Then, the obtained resolution is compared with the target resolution to select the low frequency components to be used for the inverse orthogonal transformation based on the comparison result. Thereafter, an optimum reduction method is selected based on the comparison result, and the decoded image data are reduced by the selected reduction method.

Abstract: An image evaluation device includes: an information acquiring unit to acquire, from an image containing at least one face, at least one type of information including at least the number of the at least one face and optionally including any of a size of the face, a position of the face in the image, an orientation of the face, a rotational angle of the face and a detection score of the face; and an individual evaluation value calculating unit to statistically calculate an individual evaluation value indicating a result of evaluation for each type of information based on the acquired information.

Abstract: A method and apparatus capable of efficiently calculating evaluation values by reducing the processing time when performing image evaluation. When a processing target image for evaluation is specified, in order to calculate a comparative characteristic amount obtainable by comparing the processing target image with another image, a CPU determines whether or not the another image is tentatively stored in a cache. If the another image is stored in the cache, an individual evaluation value calculation unit calculates the comparative characteristic amount using the image stored in the cache, and calculates an individual evaluation value from the comparative characteristic amount. Then, an overall evaluation value calculation unit calculates an overall evaluation value based on a plurality of individual evaluation values, including the individual evaluation value calculated from the comparative characteristic amount.

Abstract: A method and apparatus capable of efficiently calculating evaluation values by reducing the processing time when performing image evaluation. When a processing target image for evaluation is specified, a CPU determines whether or not a processing result of a process performed when calculating a characteristic amount and/or evaluation value is tentatively stored in a cache. If the processing result is stored in the cache, an individual evaluation value calculation unit calculates a plurality of different types of individual evaluation values using the processing result stored in the cache. Then, an overall evaluation value calculation unit calculates an overall evaluation value based on the plurality of different types of individual evaluation values.

Abstract: An image evaluation apparatus and method capable of performing image evaluation more precisely using face information included in an image. An information obtaining unit obtains information with respect to at least one of the following face characteristics from an image including a face: face size, face position in the image, face orientation, face rotation angle, face-to-face positional relationship when a plurality of faces is included in the image, and face detection score. Then, an evaluation value calculation unit calculates an evaluation value representing an evaluation result of the image based on the information of the at least one of the face characteristics of face size, face position in the image, face orientation, face rotation angle, face-to-face positional relationship when a plurality of faces is included in the image, and face detection score obtained by the information obtaining unit.

Abstract: When images classified into groups of similar images are displayed, the similar images are efficiently displayed. For this purpose, a selection unit selects representative images representing the respective groups from the images classified into the groups. A display control unit displays a catalog of thumbnails of the representative images on display means. When a desired one of the representative images is selected in the catalog, a catalog of all the images in the group represented by the selected representative image is displayed on the display means, instead of the catalog of thumbnails of the representative images.

Abstract: According to the image processing apparatus, method and program of the present invention, images to be used can be automatically selected from inputted images for the number of images designated by a user. Moreover, a user can easily manually add an image to be used so that the number of images to be used is equal to or less than the number previously designated by the user.

Abstract: An image processing method and apparatus capable of decoding and reducing image data encoded with an orthogonal transformation and a variable length decoding in high speed without degrading the accuracy of the reduced image data. In the method and apparatus, the image data are decoded by a variable length decoding and an inverse orthogonal transformation, and reduced to a predetermined target resolution. The image data are decoded by the variable length decoding and resolution of the decoded image data is obtained. Then, the obtained resolution is compared with the target resolution to select the low frequency components to be used for the inverse orthogonal transformation based on the comparison result. Thereafter, an optimum reduction method is selected based on the comparison result, and the decoded image data are reduced by the selected reduction method.