British Telecommunications Public Limited Company

British Telecommunications Corporation

The Post Office

Charles Nightingale

Li-Qun Xu

David G Morrison

Jason Morphett

Yongmin Li

Jeremy M Thorne

Alan J Greaves

David J Chatting

Daniel Ballin

Peter J Wyard

Philip Ernest Greenaway

Roger D Turkington

Hugh Spriggs

David Geoffrey Morrison

David John Chatting

Jeremy Michael Thorne

Global motion between frames of a motion-compensated inter-frame encoded video sequence is estimated directly from the motion vectors encoded within the frames. For any particular frame, the motion vectors are first decoded, and a finite number of sets of vectors are selected. An affine or other geometrical transform is then used to generate a motion estimation for each set, and then the least median squared error present in each motion estimation is calculated for each estimation. The motion estimation with the smallest least median squared error is then selected as being representative of the global motion in the image of the frame. A panoramic image generating method and system makes uses of the global motion estimations thus obtained.

Method and system for estimating global motion in video sequences

The invention relates to estimating the global motion between frames of a motion-compensated inter-frame encoded video sequence, directly from the motion vectors encoded within the frames. For any particular frame, a motion estimation is determined from motion vectors direct from the frame's anchor frame to the frame in question. This motion estimation is then checked against pre-determined criteria, and where the criteria are not met, re-estimation along a different route is performed, using the bi-directional motion vectors contained within B-frames. A panoramic image generating method and system which makes uses of the global motion estimations thus obtained is also described.

Increased recognizance of caricatured images is provided for the level of caricaturing to be applied to an image to be set in dependence on the intended size of the caricature image. Preferably, the caricature level is set as a generally inverse function of the image size, such that the smaller the image the greater the level of the caricaturing that is applied. In such a case increased recognizance of subjects represented in smaller images may result.

Image-size dependent facial caricaturing

The invention provides an image processing method and system wherein an image is conceptually textured onto the surface of a three dimensional shape via a projection thereonto. The shape and/or the image position are then moved relative to each other, preferably by a rotation about one or more axes of the shape, and a second projection taken of the textured surface back to the image position to obtain a second, processed image. The view displayed within the processed image will be seen to have undergone an aspect ratio change as a result of the processing. The invention is of particular use in simulating the small movements of humans when speaking, and in particular of processing viseme images to simulate such small movements when displayed as a sequence.

Image processing method and system

Trainable neural network having short-term memory for altering input

Recursive image encoding/decoding using interpolation within variably

A filter network that exhibits a bandstop response comprises a network of basically low pass or high pass structure. The network is developed by choosing a bandstop transfer function, a fourth-orderelliptic is disclosed, which is converted to a low pass function. This function describes a passive low pass LC ladder network including a negative impedance element. A Bruton transformation is applied to the passive LC network to give an active version including an ungrounded negative resistance network in a series arm and frequency-dependent negative resistances in shunt arms without requiring inductance coils for its implementation.

Bandstop filters

Growing community of inventors

Felixstowe, United Kingdom

Charles Nightingale