Abstract: A digital representation having a data structure with tessellated data defining an object in terms of triangles is compressed by analyzing the tessellated data to identify neighboring triangles, identifying stripes comprising series of neighboring triangles, redefining a given triangle with respect to a preceding triangle in the stripe in terms of a vertex of the given triangle that is not on a common edge with the preceding triangle. Digital values of the compressed digital representation for a triangle are fed back to the digital representation and are used for triangles processed subsequently. The third vertex can be defined in terms of a vector from a predetermined position with respect to the common edge.

Abstract: An image capturing and transmission device includes an image capturing module, an image processor, an image encoder, and a network transmission module. The image capturing module is used for capturing a scene of an area to be displayed and outputting image data. The image processor converts the image data according to a first and a second cutting areas and a first and a second shrink ratio values, and outputs a first and a second sub-images. The first cutting area includes the second cutting area, and the first shrink ratio value is greater than the second shrink ratio value. The image encoder encodes the first and the second sub-images according to first and second encoding information, and outputs a first and a second streaming images. The network transmission module is used for transmitting the first and the second streaming images.

Abstract: A printed material is electrically read, and electrical data of the printed material is input as a reference comparison image. The feature amount of a region to be processed containing a page image contained in the reference comparison image is extracted. A target comparison image corresponding to the reference comparison image is retrieved from a storage medium by using the extracted feature amount. The retrieved image is processed.

Abstract: A method for texture synthesis for video coding with side information may be implemented by a decoder device. The method may include receiving seed texture at high fidelity. The method may also include receiving remaining portions of synthesized regions at low fidelity. The method may also include receiving marking of regions to synthesize. The method may further include synthesizing the marked regions based on the high-fidelity seed texture and the low-fidelity portions of the synthesized regions.

Abstract: An intraprediction encoding and decoding apparatus and method to improve compression efficiency are provided. A video encoding method includes dividing an input video of a predetermined size into at least two sub-planes, performing intraprediction encoding on at least one of the divided at least two sub-planes, and performing interprediction encoding on at least one of the remaining sub-planes by using the intraprediction encoded sub-plane as a reference sub-plane.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium for basis selection is described. A plurality of sub-bands of digital data is generated and a basis function for the digital data in one of the plurality of sub-bands is determined at a rate that provides a substantially peak signal-to-noise ratio for the digital data. The basis function is added to a codebook and the digital data is compressed using the codebook.

Abstract: A rich media file is a self-contained file, including both the information to be viewed by a user and the viewer that displays the information to the user. The information can be formatted however the client likes: for example, the information can be split across several pages, and can include text and still and animated images. There can also be web links to pages on a network, and e-mail forms to simplify sending an e-mail message to the client. The rich media file can include viewing limitations, so that only the proper password can unlock the file, or that the rich media file will automatically expire after a specified condition occurs. The rich media file also assists the user in obtaining the latest version of the rich media file, by offering to retrieve a newer version for the user.

Abstract: The present invention relies on the two-dimensional information in documents and encodes two-dimensional structures into a one-dimensional synthetic language such that two-dimensional documents can be searched at text search speed. The system comprises: an indexing module, a retrieval module, an encoder, a quantization module, a retrieval engine and a control module coupled by a bus. A number of electronic documents are first indexed by the indexing module and stored as a synthetic text library. The retrieval module then converts and input image to synthetic text and searches for matches to the synthetic text in the synthetic text library. The matches can be in turn used to retrieve the corresponding electronic documents. It should be noted that a plurality of matches and corresponding electronic documents may be retrieves ranked by order according the similarity of the synthetic text.

Abstract: An apparatus and a method generate a coded block pattern (CBP) of an alpha channel image. An apparatus and a method encode or decode the alpha channel image using the method. The alpha channel image encoding apparatus includes a CBP generator generating a CBP of a first block corresponding to an encoding unit in the alpha channel image by allocating CBPs to a plurality of second blocks that includes the first block; and a bitstream generator generating a bitstream by encoding the CBP or the CBP and pixel values of the second blocks based on the CBP of each of second blocks.

Abstract: In an image coding apparatus, a ROI setting unit sets a ROI region in an image. An entropy coding unit entropy-codes the image. A ROI information coding unit encodes information for specifying the ROI region. A codestream generator generates a codestream in a manner that the coded image and the coded information are explicitly included in the codestream. When a plurality of ROI regions are set in the image, the information may include a degree of priority.

Abstract: Systems and methods for editing of a computer-generated animation across a plurality of keyframe pairs are provided. Embodiments enable time editing across a plurality of non-roving keyframe pairs. Such non-roving keyframes have fixed references relative to an animation's reference timeline. An author may specify a point on an animation's reference timeline at which each non-roving keyframe is placed. In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, an animation across a plurality of non-roving keyframes is treated as an editable unit. Thus, an author may modify the timing for all or a select portion of such editable unit (which may span a plurality of the non-roving keyframes). For instance, an author may expand or reduce the time span for a plurality of non-roving keyframes, and the timing of the plurality of non-roving keyframes automatically adjusts to maintain their timing proportionality relative to each other in the resulting modified time span.

Abstract: The invention is related to methods and apparatus that decode robustly encoded video bitstreams. One embodiment of a decoder can advantageously reconstruct a predictive-coded video object plane (P-VOP) from a standard motion vector and the previous frame; from a redundant motion vector and a frame prior to the previous frame; or from both. Advantageously, this permits the decoder to display a frame based on a reconstructed VOP in the presence of unfavorable environmental conditions, such as interference, delays, and the like, which could otherwise corrupt a previous frame that is used as a reference by a standard decoder, such as a standard MPEG-4 decoder. One embodiment is advantageously backwards compatible with standard MPEG-4 compliant bitstreams and retrieves redundant motion vector information from user data video packets. One embodiment includes at least one extra frame buffer or memory, which stores a reference frame corresponding to a redundant motion vector.

Abstract: A data processing device (100) includes an input unit (101) which acquires image data, a meaning information extraction unit (102) which extracts meaning information indicating a feature of an object image included in an image represented by the image data, a compression specifying unit (103) which determines an initial value of a compression ratio, a compression unit (104) which compresses the image data according to the compression ratio to generate compressed image data, and a determination unit (103) which determines whether or not the meaning information can be extracted from the compressed image data. The compression specifying unit (103) further changes the compression ratio from the initial value according to a result of the determination by the determination unit (105), and when the compression ratio is changed, the compression unit (104) further compresses the image data according to the changed compression ratio to newly generate compressed image data.

Abstract: A position and an area of a region to be processed, that is, a region from which image feature parameters are to be extracted, are obtained, and the number of pixels required for obtaining the usable image feature parameters is determined in accordance with types of the image feature parameters to be extracted. Then, a required resolution is calculated in accordance with the determined number of pixels and the area of the region to be processed, an image having a minimum resolution which is equal to or higher than the required resolution and which is usable to extract the usable image feature parameters is selected, and the image feature parameters are extracted from a region to be processed in the selected image.

Abstract: In some embodiments, content-category-level encoding statistical indicators (statistics) are assigned to weighted linear combinations of corresponding macroblock-level statistics. Content categories may identify potentially overlapping content types such as sky, water, grass, skin, and red content. The combination weights may be similarity measures describing macroblock similarities to content categories. A given macroblock may be associated with multiple content categories, with different similarity levels for different content categories. A similarity measure for a given macroblock with respect to a content category may be defined as a number (between 0 and 8) of neighboring macroblocks that meet a similarity condition, provided the macroblock meets a qualification condition. The similarity condition may be computationally simpler than the qualification condition. Macroblock-level encoding parameters are generated by combining content-category-level parameters.

Abstract: A technique of efficiently extracting and synthesizing an object image from a plurality of images captured at different image magnifications. An image processing method of the present invention includes the steps of generating a first background image corresponding to a first image captured at a predetermined image magnification, extracting a first object image from the first image, generating a second background image corresponding to a second image captured at an image magnification higher than the predetermined image magnification, based on the first background image and the first object image, and extracting a second object image from the second image and the second background image.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for switching a resolution of an image, wherein the image includes at least one block. In some embodiments, the image is compressed. At least one compressed block in the compressed image is tagged, if the data size of the compressed block exceeds a threshold. A non-transition region is grown based on the at least one compressed block that is tagged until a safe-transition block is reached, wherein the non-transition region includes the at least one compressed block in the compressed image. The resolution of each compressed block in the non-transition region is reduced.

Abstract: An embodiment of a method for encoding a source image comprising multiple data units, performed by an image encoding unit, comprises the following steps. A quantized DC coefficient and multiple AC coefficients of a data unit are generated. A value at the (0,0) element of the first data unit is determined according to the quantized DC coefficient. A variable length coding (VLC) stream of the data unit is generated by encoding the determined value and the AC coefficients. An encoded bitstream comprising a restart mark followed by the VLC stream of the data unit is generated. An offset pointing to the beginning of the restart mark of the encoded bitstream is stored in a random access table. A compression image comprising the encoded bitstream and the random access table is generated.

Abstract: A system and method may compress a digital image. A storage unit may store a dictionary having a plurality of predetermined template patterns each identified by a code. A decomposition module may divide the image into a plurality of sub-regions. A compression module may select a template pattern from the dictionary that most closely matches an image features for each sub-region. The compression module may generate a compressed data set for the image in which each sub-region is represented by a code identifying the template pattern selected therefore. Once the data is compressed, a decompression unit may reconstruct the image. The decompression unit may use the code from the compressed data set to retrieve the template pattern from the dictionary for each sub-region and may reconstruct a full image by combining the template patterns for all of the sub-regions. An output device may display the reconstructed image.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and physical computer-readable storage media for performing geometric data compression and geometric data decompression and/or geometric data encryption and geometric data decryption. A virtual geometric compression object is generated within a computer system by defining a plurality of discrete elements arranged in a geometric shape and assigning one or more data bit values to each of the plurality of discrete elements. The virtual geometric compression object is used by the computer system to compress sequences of uncompressed data bits into compression definitions. A compression definition defines a path through the virtual geometric compression object corresponding to a sequence of uncompressed data bits. In a reverse manner, for data decompression, at least a portion of a virtual geometric compression object is generated and a compression definition is used to extract a corresponding sequence of uncompressed data bits from the portion of the virtual geometric compression object.

Abstract: An image may be quantized into a pattern of dots, e.g., for devices capable of printing dots of variable size and variable color intensity. One may use a pre-determined mapping of the continuous-tone intensity value into a discrete vector of intensity values, and each intensity value may then be processed by a set of binary quantizers. The resulting binary vector may then be mapped into a combination of available dot sizes and color intensities. Through a scalar multiplier, the pre-determined mapping of continuous-tone intensity values may be used as multiple print resolutions.

Abstract: A code transforming apparatus inputs therein a first codestream of a target file, and outputs a second codestream transformed from the first codestream. In the code transforming apparatus, a BOX decomposing unit extracts BOX information from the first codestream. A sharing/referencing determining unit determines whether sharing process or referencing process is to be performed on the BOX information. A sharing/referencing processing unit performs the sharing process or the referencing process on the BOX information based on a determination result from the sharing/referencing determining unit. The sharing/referencing processing unit can specify a logical set of codes on a referenced side as a unit of reference for referencing an incremental codestream.

Abstract: A computer-based method for detecting features in a digitally sampled biological (bio) signal includes the steps of applying a wavelet transform to the bio signal to generate a list of wavelet transform coefficients, ranking the coefficients according to value or frequency, and removing at least one low value or low frequency coefficient. The method further includes the steps of performing an inverse wavelet transform using the remaining coefficients to generate a reconstructed signal, and detecting feature locations using the reconstructed signal.

Abstract: A first aspect of the invention relates to a method for creating a binary mask image from an a inputted digital image of a scanned document, comprising the steps of creating a binarized image by binarizing the inputted digital image, detecting first text regions representing light text on a dark background, and inverting the first text regions, such that the inverted first text regions are interpretable in the same way as dark text on a light background. A second aspect of the invention relates to a method for comparing in a binary image a first pixel blob with a second pixel blob to determine whether they represent matching symbols, comprising the steps of detecting a line in one blob not present in the other and/or determining if one of the blobs represents an italicized symbol where the other does not.

Abstract: A rich media file is a self-contained file, including both the information to be viewed by a user and the viewer that displays the information to the user. The information can be formatted however the client likes: for example, the information can be split across several pages, and can include text and still and animated images. There can also be web links to pages on a network, and e-mail forms to simplify sending an e-mail message to the client. The rich media file can include viewing limitations, so that only the proper password can unlock the file, or that the rich media file will automatically expire after a specified condition occurs. The rich media file also assists the user in obtaining the latest version of the rich media file, by offering to retrieve a newer version for the user.

Abstract: An image editing method includes recording by coding edit information in a predetermined field of an original image frame, and displaying either the original image or an image edited based on the edit information. Accordingly, the edit information is recorded in a blank field of the original frame without damaging the original image, and thus, the image frame can be efficiently stored without wasting storage space.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to creating and managing electronic documents. One claim recites a computerized tablet including: electronic memory for storing electronic data corresponding to an application document, an electronic processor, and a display. The electronic processor is programmed for: obtaining the electronic data corresponding to an application document; analyzing the electronic data to detect steganographic indicia encoded therein, the steganographic indicia comprising a plural-bit identifier; and generating an electronic form based at least in part on the steganographic indicia, the electronic form comprising at least one field to receive user input. The display is for displaying the electronic version of the application document, and for receiving user input corresponding to the at least one field. Other claims and combinations are provided as well.

Abstract: The address calculating unit calculates a virtual address of a page for each pixel of a rectangular region of a predetermined size that is included in a screen. The acquiring unit acquires a physical address in correspondence with the virtual address of each pixel of the image information for which writing is requested, in accordance with a conversion table. The writing unit writes the image information for which writing is requested at the acquired physical address. The detecting unit detects an updated portion of the image information the content of which does not match before and after the writing, in units of pages. The compressing unit compresses the image information of the updated portion that is detected.

Abstract: A color image processing apparatus is provided with a black text emphasis mode, in which, when compressing an image in a compression processing section, edges of a black text in the image are detected, a foreground layer in which the detected edges of the black text are represented by a binary image is generated, and lossless compression is performed on the foreground layer. When the black text emphasis mode is selected, a background layer in which the difference in density between the edges of the black text and pixels in the vicinity of the edges in the image is reduced is generated, and lossy compression is performed on the background layer. With this operation, in an image obtained by decompressing a compressed file, outline of the black text is clearly represented, and an artifact caused by the lossy compression is suppressed.

Abstract: An apparatus and method encodes into block units an image in which halftone images and character and/or line images are mixed, and makes a substitution value, substituting for pixels in which pixels of a character and/or line image exist, a value whereby the occurrence of quantization errors of direct current components after frequency conversion is substantially zero, thereby minimizing block distortion of images when decoding. Therefore, a blocking unit inputs images in 8×8 pixel blocks. An acquisition unit acquires pixel data of character and/or line images as acquisition color information and acquires identification information identifying character and/or line image pixel positions. A substitution unit substitutes pixel data acquired as character and/or line images in image data of input blocks with a substitution value determined based on pixel data having halftone attributes.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method can provide compression of a digital representation of an object. The digital representation can include a graphical data structure with graphical data defining the object in terms of a definition of respective faces of the object. Each face can be defined in terms of a surface for the face and each edge of the face on that surface. The method can include, for respective faces of the object, accessing the definition of the face in the graphical data structure, generating a compressed definition of the face and replacing the definition of the face in the graphical data structure by the compressed definition of the face.

Abstract: This invention encodes an image mixed of a character or line-drawing image and a natural image. An extraction unit extracts the color of a pixel, which constitutes a high-frequency component, from the input image data as an extracted color and generates identification information indicating whether each pixel in the image data is a pixel of an extracted color or non-extracted color. A replacement unit replaces a pixel value of an extracted color with an average value of non-extracted colors. Using a window having a size of 2×2 pixels, a reducing unit generates one pixel from the window after replacement. If even one non-extracted-color pixel exists in the window, the average value of non-extracted colors within the window is determined to be a pixel value of the reduced image. A packing unit concatenates the extracted color, the result of lossless-encoded identification information and lossy-encoded data of the reduced image.

Abstract: Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for generating subimages of an image to use to represent the image. A determination is made of a pixel location on one axis of an image comprising a plurality of pixels. The image is divided into multiple subimages at the determined pixel location on the axis. A determination is made as to whether each subimage can be cropped to remove regions of white pixels from the subimage. Each subimage is cropped to remove a region of white pixels in response to determining that the subimage can be cropped. An image file is generated defining the image including the subimages.

Abstract: Systems and methods provide vision-based image compression. In one implementation, inpainting is the vision-based technique selected to augment a conventional signal-processing-based technique. For some regions of a source image, an exemplary system efficiently extracts and organizes structural edge information instead of compressing the regions. In one implementation, the system applies binary curve fitting to capture the edge information. A structure-aware inpainter in the decoder can then restore the regions via the edge information, which occupies very little data space or minimal bandwidth in a bitstream that is transmitted from encoder to decoder. Key visual components of the image can still be conventionally compressed. Extracting edge information for some regions instead of compressing them considerably increases overall image compression.

Abstract: Apparatuses and techniques relating to encoding a video are provided. An encoding device includes a motion coding module configured to determine a coding block level for processing an image data, and further configured to determine a block formation for a motion coding of the image data according to the coding block level; and a texture coding module configured to determine a block size for a texture coding of the image data according to the block formation to thereby generate a coded bit stream.

Abstract: Based on, for example, the image at the start of a movie, a thumbnail image is tentatively generated and is stored in a header file. If a predetermined triggering condition is fulfilled during movie shooting, a thumbnail image is generated from the frame image at the timing that the triggering condition is fulfilled, and the thumbnail image existing in the header file is replaced with the newly generated thumbnail image. The triggering condition is fulfilled, for example, if, after zooming-in, the angle of view has been kept fixed for a predetermined period or longer, or if the focus has been kept locked for a predetermined period.

Abstract: A method of extracting information parts, and a recorded medium recording the method, for retrieving image sequence data are disclosed. According to an embodiment of the present invention, image frames included in an image sequence are converted to frames, in a quantity of n, including only the object that is separated from a background, and the corresponding shape descriptors, in a quantity of n, are extracted. The shape descriptors, in a quantity of n, are aligned according to a temporal order, to generate a shape sequence, which is frequency-converted along the time axis to obtain conversion coefficients having frequency information. Using coefficients in a low frequency area among the obtained conversion coefficients, a shape sequence descriptor is extracted. With this invention, video data expressing the motion of an object can be captured as an image sequence, and the similarity between video data can be distinguished by extracting information parts from each image sequence.

Abstract: Locations of word images corresponding to words in a document image are ascertained. The word images are grouped into clusters. For each of multiple of the clusters, a respective compressed word image cluster is determined based on a joint compression of respective ones of the word images that are grouped into the cluster. The positions of the word images in the document image are associated with the respective ones of the compressed word image clusters corresponding to the clusters respectively containing the word images.

Abstract: A method, system, and machine-readable medium for classifying an image element as one of a plurality of categories, including assigning the image element based on a ratio between an unoccluded perimeter of the image element and an occluded perimeter of the image element and coding the image element according to a coding scheme associated with the category to which the image element is classified. Exemplary applications include image compression, where categories include image foreground and background layers.

Abstract: A method and apparatus prioritizing video information during coding and decoding. Video information is received and an element of the video information, such as a visual object, video object layer, video object plane or keyregion, is identified. A priority is assigned to the identified element and the video information is encoded into a bitstream, such as a visual bitstream encoded using the MPEG-4 standard, including an indication of the priority of the element.

Abstract: A method for sampling volume data of an object in an imaging device is disclosed.

Abstract: To provide a code amount estimating device which can perform, at high speed and with high precision, estimation of code amount obtained after arithmetic coding. The code amount estimating device includes a context index calculation unit which calculates a context index of a binary symbol included in binary data, and an estimate code amount calculation unit which calculates an estimate code amount for the binary data based on symbol occurrence probability information stored in association with the calculated context index and on a held probability interval range. The estimate code amount calculation unit estimates the code amount for the binary data according to code amount information indicating an association between (i) a combination of a binary symbol string including one or more binary symbols, symbol occurrence probability information, and a probability interval range and (ii) an estimate code amount for the binary symbol string.

Abstract: Briefly, in accordance with one embodiment, a method of designing a basis selection for matching pursuits is described.

Abstract: Disclosed is a system and method for determining, in parallel on a graphics processing unit, a block compression case which results in a least error to a block. Once determined, the block compression case may be used to compress the block.

Abstract: A video processing apparatus and methodology use a combination of a processor and a video decoding hardware block to decode video data by using a reference block cache memory to perform motion compensation decode operations in the video decoding hardware block. To improve the cache hit rate, each memory access for required reference block(s) is used to fetch one or more additional reference blocks which can be used to improve the cache hit rate with future motion compensation operations. Speculative fetch control logic selects the additional reference blocks by using a frequency history table to accumulate compared motion vector information for a current motion compensation block with motion vector information from previously processed motion compensation blocks.

Abstract: Provided are a rasterizer configured to convert a triangle TA formed with vertices VT to a group of pixels PX and then to divide the group of pixels PX into tiles TL; and a sorting buffer configured to store the group of pixels PX for each of the tiles TL.

Abstract: Prediction-based compression engines are spoon-fed with sequentially efficiently compressible (SEC) streams of input data that make it possible for the compression engines to more efficiently compress or otherwise compact the incoming data than would be possible with streams of input data accepted on a TV-raster scan basis. Various techniques are disclosed for intentionally forming SEC input data streams. Among these are the tight packing of alike files or fragments into concatenation suitcases and the decomposition of files into substantially predictably consistent (SPC) fragments or segments that are routed to different suitcases according to their type. In a graphics-directed embodiment, image frames are partitioned into segment areas that are internally SPC and multidirectional walks (i.e., U-turning walks) are defined in the segment areas where these defined walks are traced during compression and also during decompression.

Abstract: Prediction-based compression engines are spoon-fed with sequentially efficiently compressible (SEC) streams of input data that make it possible for the compression engines to more efficiently compress or otherwise compact the incoming data than would be possible with streams of input data accepted on a TV-raster scan basis. Various techniques are disclosed for intentionally forming SEC input data streams. Among these are the tight packing of alike files or fragments into concatenation suitcases and the decomposition of files into substantially predictably consistent (SPC) fragments or segments that are routed to different suitcases according to their type. In a graphics-directed embodiment, image frames are partitioned into segment areas that are internally SPC and multidirectional walks (i.e., U-turning walks) are defined in the segment areas where these defined walks are traced during compression and also during decompression.

Abstract: A picture coding apparatus (300) is a picture coding apparatus that codes a difference between picture data (Img) representing an input picture and predictive picture data (Pred) representing a predictive picture for the input picture and generates coded picture data, and includes a picture decoding unit (104) for decoding coded picture data (Img) after the picture data (Img) is coded; inter pixel filters A and B (303 and 304) for performing inter pixel filter operation for decoded picture data (Recon) obtained by the picture decoding unit (104); switches (301 and 302) for selecting one of the inter pixel filters; and an inter picture predicting unit (108) for generating the predictive picture data (Pred) for the input picture data (Img) using filtered decoded picture data (FilteredImg1), as reference picture data (Ref), obtained by the selected inter pixel filter.

Abstract: It is known to represent a square block of an image which has a maximum horizontal or vertical extension N as N vectors each representing one column or row, and encode it using an N×N discrete cosine transform matrix. We introduce a technique which transforms an input vector, or array, representing a portion of an arbitrarily-shaped object block in which the maximum horizontal or vertical extension is at most N, by adding to it additional padding elements, to produce a vector or array which can be encoded using an N×N discrete cosine transform. The padding maximises the number of transformed elements which are zero. We propose encoding arbitrarily-shaped objects based on this padding technique.