Abstract: Devices, systems, apparatuses, methods, and other embodiments associated with bit resolution enhancement are described. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes logic configured to produce a high-resolution pixel from a low-resolution pixel. The apparatus includes logic configured to classify the high-resolution pixel as being in a smooth region of an image based on at least one of a gradient value and a variance value associated with the low-resolution pixel. The apparatus includes logic configured to selectively re-classify the high-resolution pixel as not being in the smooth region of the image based on a set of neighboring high-resolution pixels associated with high-resolution pixel. The apparatus includes logic configured to selectively filter the high-resolution pixel based on whether the high-resolution pixel remains classified as being in the smooth region of the image.

Abstract: A selector of an image processing apparatus may select, from a plurality of sub-pixels included in a first pixel, at least one sub-pixel to be anti-aliased. A processor of the image processing apparatus may calculate a color value of the first pixel by performing an anti-aliasing process with respect to each of the selected at least one sub-pixel.

Abstract: Effective color-aware search of a collection of content associated with one or more images is enabled. Content and/or its associated images may be automatically associated with representative palette colors in a suite of color palettes. Color palettes may be of a variety of types and have a hierarchical structure in which lower levels enable increasingly subtle distinctions between shades of color. Color palette hierarchies may be effectively presented, and appropriate portions emphasized based on associated search result sets. Search result sets may be refined and/or reordered in accordance with color palette selections and/or representative confidences of color palette selections for items at least referenced therein.

Abstract: A display apparatus includes a display panel configured to include a plurality of pixels and display an image having a plurality of viewpoints in response to a data signal and a control signal, a converter, and a driver. The converter is configured to receive a first image signal and a first control signal, the first image signal including an image data and a depth data corresponding to the image data and a first control signal, the converter further configured to generate a converted depth data corresponding to a predetermined pixel on the basis of the first image signal, and output a second image signal having the viewpoints and a second control signal based on the image data and the converted depth data. The driver is configured to receive the second image signal and the second control signal and output the data signal and the control signal to the display panel.

Abstract: An information processing section of a game apparatus executes a program which includes: acquiring a real world image; setting the most recent view matrix of a virtual camera based on a detected marker S204; reading the previous view matrix S206; calculating correction view matrixes so as to change a blending ratio at which the most recent view matrix is blended depending on a distance S208 to S210; selecting the correction view matrix such that the longer the distance between an object and the marker is, the lower the blending ratio is; and rendering a virtual object in a frame buffer in a superimposed manner by using the selected correction view matrix.

Abstract: A method is disclosed that includes receiving multiple sequential images captured by an image capture device. The method includes selecting a subset of the multiple sequential images that are aligned to each other. The method further includes averaging pixel values from each image in the subset of the multiple sequential images to produce a combined image.

Abstract: With respect to an object that strokes a path existing in page description data, the position of a start point of a line element formed along the path is estimated based on a path construction operator and a dotted line pattern determining operator. If the distance between the start point and an end point of the path is equal to or less than a prescribed threshold value, the position of the end point of the path is changed to another position along the path in order to increase the distance.

Abstract: A method for rendering a two-dimensional input path defined according to a nonzero winding rule is described. Degenerate segments and degenerate contours of the input path are removed. intersections of the input path are determined. Contours of the input path that include intersections are marked. Unmarked interior contours are removed. Intersections are linked. The marked contours are walked to form new contours. Marked contours and degenerate contours are removed. The new contours and the unmarked contours are collected to form an equivalent output path. The contours of the equivalent output path are filled by either the nonzero winding rule or an even-odd parity rule. The segments of the equivalent output path are antialiased.

Abstract: Provided herein is a method for implementing antialiasing including independently operating different portions of a graphics pipeline at different sampling rates in accordance with pixel color details.

Abstract: This patent relates to thin plate spline (TPS)-based interpolation techniques for representing free-flowing vector graphics (VG) images based on user-specified features, such as points and curves. One or more features can be identified in a pixel grid. A higher-order least squares interpolating function with a TPS smoothness objective can then be utilized to interpolate individual color values to individual pixels of the pixel grid. Smoothness terms of the function that impose smoothness penalties can be interrupted in certain regions of the pixel grid based on attributes of the user-specified features. For example, a curve attribute can specify a particular color value(s), add or remove a smoothness penalty, or anisotropically impose a first derivative constraint in a particular direction.

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for implementing a resolution-adaptive mesh smoothing brush. The resolution-adaptive mesh smoothing brush computes updated positions of vertices of a 3D mesh based on vertex density of the polygons defining the 3D mesh. The resolution-adaptive mesh smoothing brush effectively controls the “rate” of smoothing based on the local mesh density at each vertex. Therefore, areas of the 3D mesh with varying vertex density are smoothed. For example, elevated bumps or dimples on a sphere may be smoothed to lay on the surface of the sphere while the sphere shape is retained.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for adaptively adjusting the rendering quality of one or more images. The apparatus may include at least one memory and at least one processor configured to adjust a rendering quality associated with display of one or more images to degrade the images based in part on a determined distance corresponding to a predetermined threshold. The processor is further configured to cause the apparatus to enable rendering and display of the degraded images in response to receipt of the degraded images from a device or retrieval of the degraded images from a locally stored memory. The degraded images include images having a size that is smaller than a size of corresponding original images. Corresponding computer program products and methods are also provided.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display device has pixels containing first to fourth subpixels (“SPs”) having four different colors, respectively, arranged in a two-by-two matrix. In displaying a font on a pixel composed of three SPs having three different colors, respectively, arranged in three columns of stripes, the SP in the first column of stripes takes on a tone Tx, the SP in the second column of stripes takes on a tone Ty, and the SP in the third column of stripes takes on a tone Tz. Each of the first and fourth SPs takes on a tone which is obtained by performing rounding on (Tx×?)+(Ty×?)=p and that each of the second and third SPs takes on a tone which is obtained by performing rounding on (Ty×?)+(Tz×?)=v.

Abstract: A vector image drawing device has the following configuration. A contour generation unit (104), based on vector data, generates contour data that represents the starting pixels on a scan line in a drawing area where fill-in starts, and the ending pixels where fill-in ends. An outline buffer (106) stores the number of starting or ending pixels in the contour data for fill-in for each drawn pixel. An error judgment unit (2), when storing the contour data in the outline buffer (106), determines in which pixel there is overflow in the outline buffer of contour data. A pixel position transfer unit (3) adds the numerical value of the overflow portion of a pixel that the error judgment unit (2) determined to have overflow to the numerical value of contour data that corresponds to a pixel.

Abstract: A system and method for enhanced multi-sample anti-aliasing. The method includes determining a sampling pattern corresponding to a pixel and adjusting the sampling pattern based on a visual effect (e.g., post-processing visual effect). The method further includes accessing a first plurality of samples based on the sampling pattern. The first plurality of samples may comprise a second plurality of samples within the pixel and a third plurality of pixels outside of the pixel. The method further includes performing anti-aliasing filtering of the pixel based on the first plurality of samples and the sampling pattern.

Abstract: Techniques that give animators the direct control they are accustomed to with key frame animation, while providing for path-based motion. A key frame animation-based interface is used to achieve path-based motion with rotation animation variable value correction using additional animation variables for smoothing. The value of the additional animation variables for smoothing can be directly controlled using a tangent handle in a user interface.

Abstract: Techniques related to graphics rendering including lossy color merge for multi-sampling anti-aliasing compression are discussed.

Abstract: Apparatuses, methods and systems for processing, rendering and displaying plenoptic images are disclosed. One exemplary embodiment is a method comprising storing a plenoptic image in a non-transitory computer readable memory associated with a processor, receiving at the processor a viewing position information, processing the plenoptic image and the viewing position information to render a visual output based upon information of the plenoptic image and the viewing position information, performing a blending or smoothing function on information of the plenoptic image including weighting each of a plurality of pixels of the plenoptic image based upon a first color value associated with each pixel and a set of second color values associated with a plurality of neighboring pixels, and displaying the visual output on a display device. The visual output displayed on the display device varies as a function of the viewing position information.

Abstract: Described is a system for stabilizing, detecting, and recognizing objects in video captured from a mobile platform. The system first receives a video (with a plurality of image frames) captured from a mobile platform. The video is stabilized by registering the image frames to a global coordinate system to generate stabilized image frames. A bio-inspired attention algorithm is applied to the stabilized image frames to produce a set of locations in the stabilized image frames that are salient points representative of an object of interest. An image chip is generated that surrounds each salient point. High-dimensional feature vectors are extracted from the image chip. The feature vectors are then classified as an object class. Thus, through classifying the feature vectors, an object of interest can be identified in the video as captured from the mobile platform.

Abstract: Embodiments are described for a method for using anti-aliasing hardware to generate a higher resolution image at the processing of a lower resolution image with anti-aliasing. A graphics image comprising allocating a buffer used in a multisample anti-aliasing process, wherein the allocated buffer has a dimension comprising a reduction in at least one of the width or height of an original dimension of an original buffer provided by the anti-aliasing hardware; rendering sampled image data to the allocated buffer at a sampling rate proportional to the reduction; and expanding the allocated buffer back to the dimension of the original buffer.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer-storage media for efficiently tessellating two dimensional (2-D) curves using a graphics pipeline running on a graphics processing unit (GPU) are provided. A central processing unit (CPU) converts a geometry having one or more 2-D curves into an intermediate tessellation having at least one Bezier fan with a fan origin and four control points. The intermediate tessellation is sent on to the graphics pipeline. A hull shader in the graphics pipeline is configured to approximate the Bezier fan curve by subdividing the curve into a defined number of triangles based on a maximum value of a width or a height of a bounding box containing the four control points of the Bezier fan. A domain shader in the graphics pipeline is configured to determine a vertex position for each of the defined triangles along the curve of the Bezier fan.

Abstract: Ink rendering techniques are described. In an implementation, an input is recognized by one or more modules that are executable on one or more processors of a computing device as an ink stroke to be rendered by a display device of the computing device. The ink stroke is built by the one or more modules using a strip of triangles and the strip of triangles is sent to a graphics processing unit to render the ink stroke.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention includes techniques for rasterizing primitives that include edges shared between paths. For each edge, a rasterizer unit selects and applies a sample rule from multiple sample rules. If the edge is shared, then the selected sample rule causes each group of coverage samples associated with a single color sample to be considered as either fully inside or fully outside the edge. Consequently, conflation artifacts caused when the number of coverage samples per pixel exceeds the number of color samples per pixel may be reduced. In prior-art techniques, reducing such conflation artifacts typically involves increasing the number of color samples per pixel to equal the number of coverage samples per pixel. Advantageously, the disclosed techniques enable rendering using algorithms that reduce the ratio of color to coverage samples, thereby decreasing memory consumption and memory bandwidth use, without causing conflation artifacts associated with shared edges.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention includes techniques for rasterizing primitives that include edges shared between paths. For each edge, a rasterizer unit selects and applies a sample rule from multiple sample rules. If the edge is shared, then the selected sample rule causes each group of coverage samples associated with a single color sample to be considered as either fully inside or fully outside the edge. Consequently, conflation artifacts caused when the number of coverage samples per pixel exceeds the number of color samples per pixel may be reduced. In prior-art techniques, reducing such conflation artifacts typically involves increasing the number of color samples per pixel to equal the number of coverage samples per pixel. Advantageously, the disclosed techniques enable rendering using algorithms that reduce the ratio of color to coverage samples, thereby decreasing memory consumption and memory bandwidth use, without causing conflation artifacts associated with shared edges.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention includes techniques for rasterizing primitives that include edges shared between paths. For each edge, a rasterizer unit selects and applies a sample rule from multiple sample rules. If the edge is shared, then the selected sample rule causes each group of coverage samples associated with a single color sample to be considered as either fully inside or fully outside the edge. Consequently, conflation artifacts caused when the number of coverage samples per pixel exceeds the number of color samples per pixel may be reduced. In prior-art techniques, reducing such conflation artifacts typically involves increasing the number of color samples per pixel to equal the number of coverage samples per pixel. Advantageously, the disclosed techniques enable rendering using algorithms that reduce the ratio of color to coverage samples, thereby decreasing memory consumption and memory bandwidth use, without causing conflation artifacts associated with shared edges.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for a predictive rendering component that may generate a rendering of a character based at least in part on predictive information regarding the background into which the character is to be rendered. Using such predictive information, the predictive rendering component may produce a rendering of a character that blends into the character background more smoothly than if the predictive background information were not used. In this way, the predictive rendering component improves upon previous implementations of font smoothing.

Abstract: A hardware-implemented function evaluator performs mathematical calculations at high speeds to generate data values in place of an LUT. The disclosed embodiments can generate a small number of output values from a large number of input values. The calculations can use functions that are monotonically increasing such as, for example, square root, power curves, and trigonometric functions.

Abstract: A density smoothing server determines the zoom level at which one or more points-of-interest are to be displayed on an electronic map. The density smoothing server may be in communication with a global points-of-interest database, where the global points-of-interest database includes previously ranked points-of-interest. The density smoothing server selects a group of points-of-interest as local points-of-interest and extracts the local points-of-interest, along with corresponding prominence values, from the global points-of-interest database. Using a centroid determination manager and a centroid surface manager, the density smoothing server determines a number of centroids for the surface of the electronic map and then constructs centroid surfaces based on the determined centroids. A zoom level is assigned to each of the extracted local points-of-interest based on a comparison of the prominence values for the local points-of-interest with the constructed centroid surfaces.

Abstract: A method and system for generating strokes in real-time on an electronic paper display. A display device receives the stroke input, which is converted to binary code by a digitizer. A rendering engine renders the high-resolution stroke data in non-antialiased form to an ink buffer. The rendering engine then updates pixels based on the color or gray level of the background (unlinked) pixel and the amount of ink covering the pixel.

Abstract: A method and system for foveated image rendering are provided herein. The method includes tracking a gaze point of a user on a display device and generating a specified number of eccentricity layers based on the gaze point of the user. The method also includes antialiasing the eccentricity layers to remove artifacts, rendering a foveated image based on the eccentricity layers, and displaying the foveated image to the user via the display device.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for three-dimensional (3D) visualization and analysis for automatic non-destructive examination of a rotor bore using ultrasound. Data is acquired by scanning the rotor bore with an ultrasound pulser/transducer producing a plurality of one-dimensional ultrasound scans, each scan having a plurality of sample points. Each sample point is associated with a voxel of a regular 3D grid having a plurality of voxels. A Gaussian kernel is associated with each sample point and a value for a particular voxel is determined based on a weighted sum of sample points whose kernels cover the particular voxel. The values for the other voxels of the regular 3D grid are determined similarly. A 3D visualization of the rotor bore can be displayed to a user.

Abstract: A sketch can be received. The sketch can include one or more sketched graphical elements and one or more sketched representations of text. Pattern matching of the one or more sketched graphical elements and the one or more sketched representations of text with a map region can be automatically performed. A map of the map region can be automatically generated and displayed.

Abstract: Hybrid image projection systems and methods can superimpose image components of an input image. An input image can be divided into smaller regions and at least one parameter of each region can be determined. The input image can be decomposed based on the parameter of each region into multiple, less correlated, orthogonal or quasi-orthogonal image components. Each projector can display respective image components so that the images projected may be optically superimposed on a screen. The superposition of orthogonal or quasi-orthogonal image components can result in superposition of images in an existing multi-projector image systems being more insensitive to inter-projector image misalignment. Superimposing orthogonal or quasi-orthogonal images can be used to avoid visible image degradation, and provide more robust image quality in a multiple projector system implementation.

Abstract: A reference point determinator determines, as a reference point, the center of each pixel where a sloped line is located. A candidate line generator generates candidate lines each connecting between a point in a pixel having the start point of the sloped line extracted by an endpoint extractor, and a point in a pixel having the end point of the sloped line. A candidate line selector selects a candidate line having the smallest sum total of distances between the candidate line and the reference points from the candidate lines generated by the candidate line generator. A data corrector corrects the sloped line to the candidate line selected by the candidate line selector.

Abstract: A blend unit in a display pipe for processing pixels of video and/or image frames may include multiple blend stages, where each blend stage may include multiple levels for blending pixels according to a blend equation. The blending operation includes blending pixel color values and Alpha values. A multiplication may be performed at each blend level, necessitating Alpha value normalizations in the form of divisions to obtain pixel color values having a specified bit-length. Color value normalizations are not needed when the desired result is an actual color value. In order to reduce the compounding of errors that may result from the introduction of an error at each division, Alpha value normalizations may not be performed at each blend level, carrying the intermediate results forward in fractional form—through one or multiple blend stages—until the end of the blending operation.

Abstract: A method for creating a graphical representation of data in the form of a heatmap is performed at an electronic computing device. The device positions data points on a heatmap for graphical representation and calculates conical distribution values around a first data point based on a first data value associated with the first data point. When a conical distribution value around the first data point is greater than a second data value associated with a second data point, the device adjusts the conical distribution values proximate to the second data point by applying an inverse conical distribution around the second data point. The device renders the heatmap based on the calculated conical distribution values and the adjusted conical distribution values so that the data value of the second data point is visible on the heatmap.

Abstract: A method for generating two-dimensional image space noise. The method includes receiving a first frame of a rendered animation sequence; receiving a second frame of the rendered animation sequence; and generating a frame of noise that is associated with at least one object moving between the first frame and the second frame and is to be applied to the second frame, where generating the frame of noise comprises applying, for each pixel in the second frame, a causal filter based on a depth associated with the pixel and a velocity associated with the pixel.

Abstract: Vertical synchronization (v-sync) in prior art prevents video tearing artifacts by keeping the video pipeline synchronized with the monitor. Such technique keeps the frame rate of the rendering engine equal to monitor's refresh rate. However, it suffers from two substantial shortcomings: performance limitations and input lag, both of which are critical in real-time applications such as video games and professional applications (e.g. 3D CAD). The different embodiments of present invention, termed virtual vertical-synchronization (Virtual v-sync), eliminate tearing artifacts, while solving the shortfall of performance by shortening or dropping undisplayed frames, and solving the input lags by removing frame blocking. Any frame rate is achievable, independently of the monitor refresh. Two additional uses of the virtual vertical-synchronization are cloud gaming improvement and power consumption control.

Abstract: An image displaying apparatus and an image processing apparatus are provided. The image displaying apparatus comprises a signal receiver unit, a signal processor unit, a display unit, a signal output unit, and a control unit. The signal receiver unit receives a broadcast signal or a signal provided from a signal source. The signal processor unit processes the received signal. The display unit displays the processed signal. The signal output unit comprises an output terminal configured to output the received signal, and a signal converter configured to convert the processed signal. The control unit controls the signal, provided from the signal receiver unit, to be outputted to the external device by using the signal output unit.

Abstract: A graphics or image rendering system, such as a map image rendering system, receives image data from an image database in the form of vector data that defines various image objects, such as roads, boundaries, etc., which are to be rendered as straight lines within an image. The imaging rendering system renders the image objects by applying an anti-aliasing technique that determines varying pixel color values at or near the edges of each straight line to be rendered on the image, so as to obtain a pleasing visual effect when rendering a road or other boundary in any orientation on the image screen. The anti-aliasing technique determines a scaling vector having values dependent on the location of a particular pixel in the image along the normal to the straight line forming a road and determines a pixel color value at each pixel location associated with the road based on this scaling vector, such that the pixel color value at each pixel in or near the line is proportional to a component of the scaling vector.

Abstract: A video display pipe used for processing pixels of video and/or image frames may include edge Alpha registers for storing edge Alpha values corresponding to the edges of an image to be translated across a display screen. The edge Alpha values may be specified based on the fractional pixel value by which the image is to be moved in the current frame. The video pipe may copy the column and row of pixels that are in the direction of travel, and may apply the edge Alpha values to the copied column and row. The edge Alpha values may control blending of the additional column and row of the translated image with the adjacent pixels in the original frame, providing the effect of the partial pixel movement, simulating a sub-pixel rate of movement.

Abstract: A method of generating an image of a scalable graphical object for reproduction on a display device is disclosed. The method provides a pixel map and a scaling factor, the map being a representation of at least of portion of the image with each pixel of the map corresponding to a pixel of the image and having a corresponding pixel coverage representation. The method, for at least one pixel in the map, identifies the pixel coverage representation associated with the pixel, and determines a pixel coverage value for the pixel using the pixel coverage representation and the scaling factor. The method then renders the scalable graphical object using the determined pixel coverage value for the pixel on the display device.

Abstract: A method and system are disclosed for antialiased rendering a plurality of pixels in a computer system. The method and system comprise providing a fixed storage area and providing a plurality of sequential format levels for the plurality of pixels within the fixed storage area. The plurality of format levels represent pixels with varying degrees of complexity in subpixel geometry visible within the pixel. A system and method in accordance with the present invention provides at least the following format levels: one-fragment format, used when one surface fully covers a pixel; two-fragment format, used when two surfaces together cover a pixel; and multisample format, used when three or more surfaces cover a pixel. The method and system further comprise storing the plurality of pixels at a lowest appropriate format level within the fixed storage area, so that a minimum amount of data is transferred to and from the fixed storage area.

Abstract: Techniques to sample texels efficiently for an image effect may include determining a number of texels (kernel size) needed to compute a weighted average for an image effect on an image. The technique may further include selecting at least one mipmap generated by a graphics processing unit (GPU) according to a function of the determined kernel size. The function may also consider a threshold kernel size. The technique may further sampling texels, with the GPU, from the selected mipmap(s), and calculate the weighted average of the sampled texels to produce the image effect.

Abstract: A noise estimation apparatus and method to prevent texture from being erroneously determined as noise, is provided. To this end, the noise estimation method includes generating an initial noise map for an input image signal, generating at least one noise map based on a temporal change of an image signal continuing from the image signal, calculating a correlation value for each region between the initial noise map and the noise maps, and determining noise of an image according to a temporal change based on the correlation value.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a technique for converting alpha values into pixel coverage masks. Geometric coverage is sampled at a number of “real” sample positions within each pixel. Color and depth values are computed for each of these real samples. Fragment alpha values are used to determine an alpha coverage mask for the real samples and additional “virtual” samples, in which the number of bits set in the mask bits is proportional to the alpha value. An alpha-to-coverage mode uses the virtual samples to increase the number of transparency levels for each pixel compared with using only real samples. The alpha-to-coverage mode may be used in conjunction with virtual coverage anti-aliasing to provide higher-quality transparency for rendering anti-aliased images.

Abstract: A high-speed ring topology. In one embodiment, two base chip types are required: a “drawing” chip, LoopDraw, and an “interface” chip, LoopInterface. Each of these chips have a set of pins that supports an identical high speed point to point unidirectional input and output ring interconnect interface: the LoopLink. The LoopDraw chip uses additional pins to connect to several standard memories that form a high bandwidth local memory sub-system. The LoopInterface chip uses additional pins to support a high speed host computer host interface, at least one video output interface, and possibly also additional non-local interconnects to other LoopInterface chip(s).

Abstract: A system for edge enhancement includes an input unit to receive an input signal Yin, a vertical enhancement unit to perform a vertical enhancement of an edge of the input signal Yin to generate an output YEV, and a horizontal enhancement unit to perform a horizontal enhancement of the edge of the input signal Yin to generate an output YEH. The system also includes a local gradient analysis unit to generate a local gradient direction GradDir and a local gradient magnitude GradMag based at least partly upon the input signal Yin, and a mixer to generate an output Yout by mixing the output YEV with the output YEH using the local gradient direction GradDir. The system further includes an output unit to output the output Yout.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a technique for efficiently creating and accessing an A-Buffer that supports multi-sample compression techniques. The A-Buffer is organized in stacks of uniformly-sized tiles, wherein the tile size is selected to facilitate compression techniques. Each stack represents the samples included in a group of pixels. Each tile within a stack represents the set of sample data at a specific per-sample rendering order index that are associated with the group of pixels represented by the stack. Advantageously, each tile includes tile compression bits that enable the tile to maintain data using existing compression formats. As the A-Buffer is created, a corresponding stack compression buffer is also created. For each stack, the stack compression buffer includes a bit that indicates whether all of the tiles in the stack are similarly compressed and, consequently, whether the GPU may operate on the stack at an efficient per pixel granularity.

Abstract: The invention relates to an image processor configured to: receive an image, take area-specific samples (11) of the image information of the area and calculate (12) a reference value (REF) on the basis of the samples; store into a memory (16) or to transmit (17) the reference value (REF) calculated for an area and the area identifier (ALUE) area-specifically; check (13) whether the reference value (REF) obtained as a result of the calculation and the image information (INF) corresponding to it have already been stored in the memory (16) or transmitted (15); and to store into the memory (16) or to transmit (15) the calculated reference value (REF) and the corresponding image information (INF), if the reference value (REF) and the corresponding image information (INF) have not been stored into the memory or transmitted previously.