Abstract: The present invention provides an information-processing apparatus including detection means, recognition means, and meta-information generation means. The detection means detects conditions surrounding the user and generates sensing data revealing the conditions surrounding the user. The recognition means recognizes the conditions surrounding the user on the basis of the sensing data. The meta-information generation means generates meta information in the form of structured information to be used for detecting a change in the conditions surrounding the user on the basis of one or more pieces of the sensing data and recognition information showing a recognition result produced by the condition recognition means.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for processing information. In one implementation, an image processing apparatus includes an acquisition unit that acquires two or more images to be grouped together. The images include time information as attribute information. The image processing apparatus groups the images based on whether the intervals among times represented by the time information are greater than at least one threshold value. The images are managed in the form of a binary tree structure and handled in single or different groups based on comparing a threshold value with the standard deviations of intervals among the times so as to match a user's subjective intention.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a storage apparatus and method, a program, and a playback apparatus and method, capable of quickly reading a specific part of data among metadata including metadata associated with faces. A storage controller 123 controls storing face metadata in a storage medium, wherein the face metadata includes a content data set added for each content, content data storage location information indicating the storage location of the content data set, a detected face data set associated with each of face images detected from a content, and detected face data storage location information indicating the storage location of the detected face data set, and wherein the face metadata is configured such that the content data storage location information and face block storage location information indicating the storage location of the detected face data storage location information are described in a single data set. The present invention is applicable to a digital camera.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a face detector detecting face images from still-image frames successively extracted from a moving-image stream in accordance with image information items regarding the still-image frames, a face-feature-value calculation unit calculating face feature values of the face images in accordance with image information items regarding the face images, an identity determination unit determining whether a first face image in a current frame and a second face image in a previous frame represent an identical person in accordance with at least face feature values of the first and second face images, and a merging processor which stores one of the first and second face images when the first face image and the second face image represent an identical person, and which stores the first and second face images when the first face image and the second face image do not represent an identical person.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a content management apparatus, including: content inputting means for inputting a content with which position information is associated; position information acquisition means for acquiring the position information associated with the content inputted by the content inputting means; tree production means for producing binary tree structure data corresponding to a binary tree having leaves to which contents inputted by the content inputting means correspond based on the position information of the contents acquired by the position information acquisition means; and determination means for extracting a node which satisfies a predetermined condition from among nodes of the binary tree structure data produced by the tree production means and determining those of the contents which belong to the extracted node as one group.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes a content storage unit storing a plurality of pieces of content; a background-image storage unit storing a background image corresponding to the plurality of pieces of content stored in the content storage unit; an attribute-information storage unit storing attribute information for each of the plurality of pieces of content in association with the plurality of pieces of content, the attribute information including a corresponding position in the background image; a classification unit classifying the plurality of pieces of content into one or more clusters on the basis of the attribute information; and a rendering unit rendering images indicating the classified pieces of content in a predetermined order on a cluster-by-cluster basis and rendering an area of the background image, the area including the corresponding position included in the attribute information of content corresponding to at least one of the images rendered.

Abstract: A situation recognition apparatus includes: an optical information acquisition unit configured to acquire optical information; a storage configured to store a plurality of pieces of optical information; a processing unit configured to match a plurality of the pieces of optical information stored in the storage and optical information newly acquired by the optical information acquisition unit; and an output unit configured to output a result of the matching. The storage further stores a probabilistic model that numerically represents transitions between the plurality of pieces of optical information.

Abstract: In an information processing apparatus, an acquisition unit acquires information of a predetermined type, and a reliability information producing unit produces reliability information indicating reliability of the information of the predetermined type on the basis of a deviation from a predetermined standard condition. A storage unit stores the reliability information indicating the reliability of the information of the predetermined type produced by the reliability information producing unit, in association with the information of the predetermined type.

Abstract: A personal identification device compares personal identification dictionary data, which is generated from feature data extracted from an identification element for identifying a person and is stored in association with person-specifying information for specifying a person, against feature data extracted from an identification element extracted from a person to thereby identify a person having the captured identification element.

Abstract: A content management apparatus includes a content storage section configured to store a piece of content together with a content unique identifier; a content transmitter configured to transmit the piece of content together with the content unique identifier to a Web server; an intra-server management identifier receiver configured to receive an intra-server management identifier corresponding to the content unique identifier from the Web server; a management table for storing the content unique identifier and the intra-server management identifier; a content information updating message receiver configured to receive content information on the piece of content and a content information updating message containing the intra-server management identifier from the Web server; an identifier converter configured to convert the intra-server management identifier contained in the content information updating message into the content unique identifier; and a content management section configured to allow the content s

Abstract: An information processing device and method, a program, and an information processing system, for location identification at small granularity with high accuracy are disclosed. A portable terminal has a camera in addition to a GPS module. In a location recognition model construction phase, a location recognition model is constructed from an image sequence taken by the camera, associated with location information collected by the GPS module and the like, and stored. In a location identification phase, the current location in a global area is identified by the GPS module, and the current location in a local area is identified on the basis of the location recognition model selected from the identification result and the image sequence obtained at the time. The present invention can be applied to portable terminals such as notebook type personal computers, PDAs and mobile telephones.

Abstract: An image management apparatus may include an input image setting information acquiring unit configured to, when image analysis information on an input image is set, acquire setting information as input image setting information, an available setting information acquiring unit configured to acquire setting information as available setting information, an update necessity determining unit configured to determine whether or not an update of the image analysis information is necessary, on the basis of a difference between the input image setting information and the available setting information, and an image analysis information setting unit configured to, when it is determined that an update of the image analysis information is necessary, perform image analysis on the input image using the second image analysis processing unit so as to set new image analysis information.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method capable of avoiding communication interruptions during communication. In an apparatus having a function of dynamically changing a frequency of a CPU 51, when a source supplying a power supply voltage supplied is switched, it is determined whether or not communication performed by a modem 62 is in progress. If the communication is in progress, information written in a register 211 is information indicating that transition of the frequency of the CPU 51 is not permissible. This information is updated to a frequency transition permissible state. Then, the frequency of the CPU 51 is transitioned to a suitable frequency for the current situation. After the frequency has been transitioned, the information of the register 211 is updated again into information indicating that transition of the frequency is not permissible. The present invention is applicable to a personal computer having a function of transitioning the CPU frequency.

Abstract: The present invention provides an image processing apparatus which may include scene change detection means, object detection means, and determining means. The scene change detection means may be configured to detect a scene change in a motion picture. The object detection means may be configured to detect a predefined object that is contained as a subject in still pictures constituting the motion picture. The determining means may be configured to determine, in accordance with the result of a detection operation that is performed by the object detection means in relation to still pictures constituting a predefined scene between a scene change detected by the scene change detection means and a chronologically adjacent scene change, whether the predefined scene contains a still picture containing the predefined object as a subject.

Abstract: A display control apparatus may include a calculating unit for calculating the degree of similarity of each of a plurality of second images to a selected first image, a display control unit for controlling displaying of the second images in the order of similarity, and a selecting unit for selecting, in response to an instruction from a user, one second image from among the plurality of second images displayed in the order of similarity. In response to the selection of the one second image, the display control unit may control the displaying of the second image and a third image belonging to the same group as the selected second image so that the third image and the second image are displayed in accordance with a predetermined order in the group.

Abstract: An image processing system may include an imaging device for capturing an image and an image processing apparatus for processing the image. The imaging device may include an imaging unit for capturing the image, a first recording unit for recording information relating to the image, the information being associated with the image, and a first transmission control unit for controlling transmission of the image to the image processing apparatus. The image processing apparatus may include a reception control unit for controlling reception of the image transmitted from the imaging device, a feature extracting unit for extracting a feature of the received image, a second recording unit for recording the feature, extracted from the image, the feature being associated with the image, and a second transmission control unit for controlling transmission of the feature to the imaging device.

Abstract: An image managing apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes image information storage means that stores image information corresponding to captured image data, and cluster managing means that manages the image information by hierarchical clusters that include a plurality of layers of clusters and whose structure is fixed from an uppermost layer to a predetermined layer on the way to a lowermost layer.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus may include an input unit for inputting an image, and an extracting unit for extracting from the color of a pixel in the input image a relation level indicating the degree of association under which the image is thought of in response to a predetermined color name.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes an extraction unit operable to extract metadata used for recognizing an event associated with a captured image from at least one of the captured image and attribute information concerning the captured image, and a recognition unit operable to recognize, on the basis of the metadata extracted by the extraction unit, the event associated with the captured image from among a plurality of predetermined events.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes an acquisition unit for acquiring a plurality of pieces of information to be grouped, the pieces of information including time information as attribute information, and an arithmetic unit for grouping the pieces of information acquired by the acquisition unit so that a portion in which a level of variation of intervals among times represented by the time information included in the pieces of information is greater than at least one threshold value is used as a boundary between groups.