Texas Instruments Corporation

Other

Bruce E Flinchbaugh

Vishal Markandey

Kashipati G Rao

Aditya Srivastava

Frank Z Brill

Steven B Dolins

Vinay Sharma

Rajendra K Talluri

Thomas Warren Lassiter

Sarma S Gunturi

Floyd H Hollister

Lawrence J Ronk

Robert L Love

Mihran Tuceryan

Manoj Aggarwal

Ajai Narayan

Jon Reese

For detecting an obstacle with a camera, a first image is viewed by the camera at a first location during a first time. Points on a surface would project onto first pixels of the first image. A second image is viewed by the camera at a second location during a second time. The points on the surface would project onto second pixels of the second image. Coordinates of the second pixels are identified in response to coordinates of the first pixels, in response to a displacement between the first and second locations, and in response to a distance between the camera and the surface. The obstacle is detected in response to whether the first pixels substantially match the second pixels.

Method, system and computer program product for detecting an obstacle with a camera

Automatic vision system object indexing and image database query system using both path-dependent and path-independent features of moving objects within a sequence of images. Feature vectors of both average over frames of an object traversing the field of view plus average over blocks of a grid for a path association. Color histograms may be an included feature.

Image object ranking

A digital still camera () receives and digitizes visible radiation () and sound waves () from a scene (). When an operator actuates a shutter release (), the camera detects and evaluates digitized information () from the scene in a continuing manner, until a point in time when information representative of a human facial characteristic satisfies a specified criteria set by the operator through use of switches () and a display (). The camera then records in a memory () a digital image of the scene, which corresponds to the point in time. The stored image is a high-quality image, which can avoid characteristics such as eyes that are closed or a mouth that is open.

Digital still camera with high-quality portrait mode

A system () includes an image detector () which is a video camera, and which detects and outputs a succession of video images of a selected subject. A technique for processing these images involves preparing compressed image information. The compressed image information includes a first detected image (FIG.A) that serves as a reference image, includes information (FIG.G) identifying regions of subsequent detected images that differ from the first image, and excludes at least a portion of each of the subsequent images. The information identifying regions of subsequent detected images is free of contrast information for a substantial portion of each of those regions. The compressed image information for a given image is decompressed by displaying the reference image and by modifying the displayed reference image based on the information identifying differences from the reference image.

Method and apparatus for compressing image information

A monitoring system ( ) includes a video camera ( ) which generates images of a monitored area. A computer ( ) receives the images from the video camera, and contains a digitized map ( ) of the monitored area. One of the detected images ( ) is saved as a reference image. An operator defines a first region ( ) corresponding to a selected portion of the monitored area, as viewed in the reference image, and defines a second region ( ) which corresponds to the selected portion of the area as viewed on the map. Subsequent images from the camera are compared to the reference image, in order to identify an object of interest, and a first point associated with the object is identified. If the first point is within the first region, a warp transformation of the first point from the first region to the second region is carried out, in order to identify within the second region a second point which corresponds to the first point, and which identifies the location on the map of the object of interest.

Method and apparatus for mapping a location from a video image to a map

The method uses a three-dimensional face model and a technique called eigenface decomposition to analyze the video at one end. The facial feature locations and eigenface coding of the face image are sent to a decoder. The decoder synthesizes the face image at the receiving end. Eigenface decoding is used to texture map a three-dimensional model warped by detected feature locations.

Model based faced coding and decoding using feature detection and

A method for deriving a two-dimensional first-range data model at a distance, d, from a two-dimensional second-range data model at a distance, d.sub.0. The method (10) comprises the steps of first smoothing the second-range data model, I, by masking the second-range data model by a masking matrix (step 24) and next undersampling the smoothed second-range data model (step 26) to yield a first-range data model. Both steps for smoothing (step 24) and undersampling (step 26) use operators depending on the ratio of the first-range distance, d, to the second-range distance, d.sub.0. One aspect of the invention includes a distance relating system (80) that performs the smoothing step (step 24) and undersampling step (step 26) to generate first-range data models from second-range data models in an intelligent sensor system.

System and method for relating disparate data models of physical objects

This invention is a method of decoding a stream of video image data transmitted as independent image frames consisting of plural marcoblocks transmitted in a nonsequential order. The method defines a sub-frame corresponding to a proper subset of the full frame. The method determines if a currently received macroblock is within the sub-frame. The method decodes the sub-frame. The sub-frame may be decoded at less than or equal to the frame rate of the video image data. A table has one entry for each macroblock that stores a transmission order within the video frame for the corresponding macroblock. The method determine if a current macroblock is within the sub-frame by reading the table. Each macroblock consists of a plurality of contiguous blocks and includes luminance data for any included blocks and chrominance data for the macroblock as a whole. The method optionally decodes the luminance data for each included block and ignores the chrominance data. The method decodes the sub-frame employing only data prior to an end of data marker or the end of a data group allocated to that block, and ignores data following an end of data marker. The method may also decode a full frame of video image data at a full frame decode rate less than the sub-frame decode rate. The method preferably employs a digital camcorder to generate the stream of video image data and a notebook computer for decoding and display.

Sub-frame decoder with area dependent update rate for digital camcorder

A color resolution enhancement method and enhanced color cameras (600) with a single CCD detector (606) having attached color filters (604) and using luminance-based gradient interpolation to fill in color channels. A color camera, includes an image detector, the detector with sets S.sub.1, S.sub.2, . . . S.sub.N of pixels for N, an integer greater than 1, where pixels in the set S.sub.J detect radiation in a corresponding sampled channel C.sub.J for each J in the range 1 to N, a channel reconstructor coupled to an output of the detector. The reconstructor includes a luminance generator which combines the sampled channels C.sub.1, C.sub.2, . . . C.sub.N to a luminance channel, a gradient generator coupled to an output of the luminance generator and which transfers the luminance channel to a gradient channel, and a directional interpolator coupled to an output of the detector and to an output of the gradient generator and which transfers each of the sampled channels C.sub.1, C.sub.2, . . . C.sub.N to a corresponding reconstructed channel RC.sub.1, RC.sub.2, . . . RC.sub.N, and a reconstructed channel output.

Color resolution enhancement by using color camera and methods

An image processor (10) is provided in which imaging data obtained by an image sensor (12) is processed for purposes of detecting motion. An optical flow field generator (16) processes the image data to provide condition number-based smoothed optical flow vectors, and stores those smoothed vectors in memory (18). The optical flow field stored in memory (18) is accessed and further processed by analyzer (20) for purposes of providing users with information on the motion of objects in the image plane of image sensor (12). Such user information may be displayed on a monitor (22).

Condition number-based smoothins of optical flow fields

A method and apparatus for producing optical flow obtains a first image of a first spectral region of a field of view, obtains a second image of a second spectral region of the field of view, and processes the images to obtain the optical flow of the field of view. The first and second spectral regions are non-identical, as, for example, the visible and infrared bandwidths.

Method and apparatus for producing optical flow using multi-spectral

A method and system for range detection using a passive infrared sensing device (10) is disclosed. The method includes determining a region (35,38) on a moving object, such as an automobile (13, 36, 37), the region (35, 38) having a size characteristic of the object and emitting energy (14) characteristic of the object. The next step is to characterize the region by a plurality of feature points (31, 32, 33, 34) and sense the energy emitting from the feature points. The next step is to calculate the distance between the sensing device (10) and the moving object as a function of the feature points. The method has application in adaptive cruise control for automobiles (13, 36, 37). The method includes the use of perspective projection formulae to determine the distance between the sensing device (10) and the moving object 13, 36, 37). To smooth measurements to each other, one embodiment of the method includes the use of an Euler predictor to integrate measurements across measurement firmness.

System and method for determining the distance to an energy emitting

An apparatus and method for improved segmentation and object recognition which describes objects and background appropriately based on calculations of desired local surface geometries such as local surface orientation, local surface curvature, surface extent and occluding boundaries, from sensed relative range images. Relative range data is used rather than converting such data to absolute range and then performing the desired geometric calculations.

Estimation of local surface geometry from relative range images for

Operations of a plasma etch reactor (10) are monitored to detect aberrations in etching operations. A reference end point trace is defined (62) for the etch process. Regions are defined in the reference end point trace (70) with aid of a dynamic time warping matching function (84) and characteristics and tolerances for each region are defined (72-80). The etcher is run and an actual end point trace is obtained (82) from the running of the etcher. A warping function is constructed (88) between the actual trace and the reference trace. In building the warping function, candidate path segments (100) are constructed according to a minimum cumulative cost function (96). Once the regions of the reference trace and the actual trace has been matched according to an optimum dynamic time warping function path (106), characteristics of the matched regions are compared (66) to determine whether aberrations have occurred during the etch process. In an alternative embodiment, the actual trace (164) is matched to each of a library of reference traces (162,182) by dynamic time warping (166). By determining the best match, a determination can be made whether the actual trace is abnormal (174) or normal (176), and the type of abnormality.

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Dallas, TX, United States of America

Bruce E Flinchbaugh