Abstract: A method for combining multiple digital shape objects contained within a digitized document to obtain a distinct shape or hull dependent on the shapes of the original objects. This shape may thereafter be utilized to simplify storage, recognition, and classification of the digitized documents. The method for combining multiple digital images includes the steps of forming a connected, one-pixel thick boundary around the shape objects contained within a document; and collapsing the boundary around the contained digital objects, the boundary thereby attaining a distinct shape or hull dependent upon the shapes of the digital objects contained within the document. When necessary, pixels are deleted from the boundary to "shrink-wrap" or make taut the boundary around the contained objects.

Abstract: In an image processing method, contours of an image are represented in the form of vector coordinates, and calculation processing is performed based on the vector coordinate representation. In the method, noise present within the original image from which the vector coordinates are extracted is removed in the form of vector data.

Abstract: A spatial light modulator based imaging system (30) with improved peak white performance characteristics. The apparent dynamic range of the spatial light modulator (74) is increased by adding light to pixels neighboring a saturated pixel. An apparent bloom effect is created with the pixels neighboring the saturated pixel appearing brighter, to give sunlight reflecting from the surface of a lake, for instance, more sparkle or highlights. Charts or equations are utilized to determine the degree to which pixel brightness is increased for neighboring pixels. The closer a pixel to a saturated pixel, and the greater the saturation of a particular pixel, the greater increase in brightness for neighboring pixels.

Abstract: Contraction and expansion of video images are important capabilities for multi-media, television picture-in-picture functionality, digital video archiving, browsing, and video transmission. A video image expansion process is used to expand contracted images. The video image expansion process uses a non-linear median filter to interpolate the original pixel values of the contracted image. The non-linear median filter provides good approximations of the original pixel values including pixel values in high contrast regions, such as boundary regions. The video image expansion process is fast, and provides excellent results for low bitrate video coding used for contracting and expanding video images. The video compression image expansion scheme is used with video compression encoding schemes such as MPEG to produce high quality expanded video images from contracted video images.

Abstract: A wiring pattern inspection apparatus for inspecting an abnormality of a wiring pattern formed on a printed circuit board, which is equipped with an optical image pickup device for optically illuminating a surface of the printed circuit board including the wiring pattern to photoelectrically convert optical information of the printed circuit board surface due to the optical illumination into a grey level image. This grey level image is converted into a bi-level image which separates the grey level image into the wiring pattern side and a background side of the wiring pattern. Thereafter, the bi-level image is once contracted by a first size and then expanded by a second size so as to eliminate a micro conductive portion left on the printed circuit board or a micro pinhole which can be disregarded in the abnormality inspection, thereby preventing the excessive detection.

Abstract: A process is provided for avoiding a gap between adjacent uniform color objects in an image. First, it is first determined whether the image data contains two adjacent uniform color objects, each uniform color composed of two or fewer characteristic color components, and whether a gap would be evident between the uniform color objects. If the image data does not contain two adjacent uniform color objects with two or fewer characteristic color components or if a gap would not be evident, the image data is processed and output without adjusting the image. If, alternatively, it is determined that the image data contains two adjacent uniform color objects with two or fewer characteristic color components and a gap would be evident, at least one of the objects is examined to determine the saturation of each characteristic color component.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and a method of forming an image by separating color information into two or more color information items. The boundary of images is compensated, the images being the images formed by an analog recording system for forming an image on a recording medium by removing a predetermined color component from an original document image and a digital recording system for forming an image on said recording medium by extracting a predetermined color component from said original document image. Therefore, if a slight positional deviation takes place between images formed by the digital recording system and the digital recording system, a want of color information can be prevented. Therefore, the deviation can be satisfactorily compensated so that an original image can be correctly reproduced.

Abstract: A method and system for processing a digital image of an object comprises forming a single pixel image outline of the object in a digital image and producing a measure of the outline shape as a single number. In this way risk of spina bifida can be determined from an ultrasonic image of a fetal skull.

Abstract: Disclosed is an autonomous rendezvous and docking system and method therefor used for the rendezvous and docking of spacecraft. The autonomous rendezvous and docking system allows spacecraft rendezvous, proximity maneuvering, and docking between a chase spacecraft and a target spacecraft by determining the relative position between the two spacecrafts. The relative position is determined based on the location of target reflections from a reflective target positioned on the target spacecraft. The target reflections are identified by intensity, shape, size and location from various other spurious reflections. This ultimately allows the autonomous rendezvous and docking system to determine the x, y, z, roll, pitch and yaw positions of the target spacecraft in relation to the chase spacecraft.

Abstract: A read image is displayed and a specific point is set to a desired point to be subjected to an image processing. A first specific region is set within the range of a circle whose center is the specific point. A boundary of the first specific region is then expanded or contracted, thereby obtaining a boundary. A second specific region is set between the so-obtained boundary and the boundary of the first specific region. A predetermined image processing is effected on the first and second specific regions.

Abstract: According to the invention, video data which are incapable of sufficiently reducing toner consumption through thinning-down control inclusive of edge detection, is divided into unit elements to increase the apparent dot matrix number of each letter or character, and the unit elements thus obtained are reconstituted through an image smoothing process or a pseudo image density increasing process for thinning-down control again. When a pixel is divided into four divisions, for instance, substantially the same effect as of thinning-down control of a letter of apparently four times the size is obtainable. Dense thinning-down control is thus obtainable.

Abstract: The present invention is a method and apparatus for mapping digital image data using paired erosion-based filters. One filter of the pair creates a superset of the output image data and the other a subset of the output image data, and combinatorial logic is then applied to the superset and subset data to obtain the mapped image data. In one embodiment a plurality of erosion-based filters are used where one filter of the pair is extensive and the other filter is antiextensive, each pair generating a sample phase of a high resolution output image.

Abstract: In a space having image parameter values, a contour (10) is defined consisting of vertices (11, 12, 13) connected by edges (14, 15, 16). By variation of the position and number of the vertices as a function of the variation of image parameter values in the space, the contour (10) is determined to follow features in the density variation. The movement of vertices is restricted to a direction (P.sub.i) perpendicular to the local direction (t.sub.i) of the contour (10). For smoothing the contour (10), an internal force or energy is defined at each of the vertices (11, 12, 13) which force or energy depends on the angle (c.sub.i) between the edges at the vertex, or of the variation of the angles along a sequence of adjacent vertices. A direct interaction between vertices is thereby avoided.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of processing an unknown physical fingerprint for use in a data processing system to verify/identify an unknown fingerprint. The method involves obtaining an unknown fingerprint image that includes images of ridges, binarizing the images of ridges in the unknown fingerprint image, generating an image with fused ridges by expanding the images of ridges in the binarized image, shrinking the image with fused ridges to create a scaled-down image, and masking a first portion of the unknown fingerprint image with the scaled-down image so as to create a modified image of the unknown fingerprint.

Abstract: A method of determining unintended inclination in an image of characters that is to be processed by a device such as a copy machine, a facsimile machine, or an optical character recognition system. An image of characters is generated, and expansion is performed on this image the optimal number of times. The number of expansions is based on the differences in the area of the non-background portion of the image at various stages of expansion. Next, the major direction of inclination is determined for the image. The inclination angle of the image is then determined based on the inclination factors of the character lines for various zones in the image.

Abstract: A wiring pattern inspection apparatus for inspecting an abnormality of a wiring pattern formed on a printed circuit board, which is equipped with an optical image pickup device for optically illuminating a surface of the printed circuit board including the wiring pattern to photoelectrically convert optical information of the printed circuit board surface due to the optical illumination into a grey level image. This grey level image is converted into a bi-level image which separates the grey level image into the wiring pattern side and a background side of the wiring pattern. Thereafter, the bi-level image is once contracted by a first size and then expanded by a second size so as to eliminate a micro conductive portion left on the printed circuit board or a micro pinhole which can be disregarded in the abnormality inspection, thereby preventing the excessive detection.