Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.

Mitsubishi Electric Information Technology Center America, Inc.

Digital Equipment Corporation

Mitsubishi Electric Information Technology Center America, Inc (ita)

Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.v.

Cartesian Products, Inc.

Stuart Merrill Shieber

Joseph W Marks

Kathleen Ryall

William F Ganong, Iii

John Armstrong, Iii

Donald Bryant Selesky

Murray S Mazer

Rafael Jose Baptista

Joshua Seims

Peter B Mark

Rebecca P Hwa

Wheeler Ruml

Ramesh Johari

Kathy Ryall

Ali Partovi

Bryan A Bentz

Ho Min Kang

A system for interactive manipulation of graphs by a user applies constraints to obtain a visually pleasing display. The user adds nodes and edges to the graph. Visual Organization Feature (VOF) constraints are then applied to the nodes. The system uses a generalized spring algorithm to apply the constraints. Springs are attached to selected nodes to which a constraint is to be applied. The length and the second end-point of each spring are set based upon the constraint which is to be applied. The system then determines by simulation at-rest positions for all of the nodes based upon the springs. As the user adds, changes or deletes VOFs or changes the positions of the nodes, the graph is automatically reconfigured based upon the constraints. A user interface in connection with the graph drawing system provides a display for the graph and selection buttons for applying the VOFs.

Drawing graphs using user selectable visual oragnization features and/or other user controlled constraints

An interface is useful in browsing output vectors resulting from applying a transfer function to input data. The interface allows a user to explore effects of different parameter settings which make up the transfer function, particularly in connection with computer-generated and computer-modified images. The interface includes two portions, a central display panel and a surrounding area of a plurality of image displays. Thumbnail sketches of images corresponding to each of the output vectors are located in the central display panel to represent the relationships between the output vectors. The output vectors are processed to determine distances between them, and the distances are then projected to the two-dimensional display of the central display panel. The central display panel can be controlled to pan and zoom the display to review the thumbnail sketches. The user can then select different thumbnail sketches so that full-sized images are displayed in the plurality of image displays. The interface also has additional displays which can overlay the central display panel and the image displays. The additional displays represent information about the images or vectors. The input or output vectors corresponding to a specific image can be displayed. Alternatively, the image can be displayed in larger detail in an additional display.

User interface for creation of image generation and transformation functions

A system and method of allowing a user to control a computer application with spoken commands, include the steps of processing the spoken commands with a Speech Recognition application into candidate word phrases, and parsing at least one candidate word phrase with a Context Free Grammar (CFG) parser, into a parse tree. A plurality of predefined rewrite rules grouped into a plurality of phases applied are to the parse tree, for rewriting the parse tree. Each of the plurality of rewrite rules includes a pattern matching portion, for matching at least a part of the parse tree, and a rewrite component, for rewriting the matched part. A command string is produced by traversing each terminal node of the modified parse tree. The command string is sent to an interpreter application or directly to the computer application. Possible applications include word processing and other voice-entry systems.

Command parsing and rewrite system

A computer-based system for automatic pagination and layout of yellow pages or a commercial telephone directory uses a simulated annealing heuristic to refine a randomly determined candidate solution. The text and advertisements which are to be included in the yellow pages directory are ordered in two distinct data streams representing the order of text and the order of advertisements in the directory. The system determines a possible layout, called a candidate solution, by randomly setting parameters defining the pagination and layout. These parameters may include page breaks in the advertisement stream, column numbers for each advertisement, and an amount of padding or empty space to be added to each page. Once the parameters are set, the individual pages are laid out by putting the advertisements in the next available position in their assigned columns, and the text around the advertisements. The solution is scored based upon the guidelines for the format and layout of the yellow pages directory. The solution is then optimized using a simulated annealing heuristic, which utilizes small modifications or perturbations randomly made to the initial parameters of the candidate solution. The revised solution is scored and compared to the score of the prior solution. The revised solution is then kept according to a probabilistic formula relating the two scores. Through an iterative process of perturbations, scoring, and comparing, the candidate solution becomes optimized. The process is repeated multiple times for different initial candidate solutions, each of which is randomly determined. A best solution is then selected from all of the optimized candidate solutions.

Apparatus and method for automatic yellow pages pagination and layout

A system and method for creating lighting for an image generates a large number of images based upon randomly selected light positions, types and directions. The images are then culled to reduce the number of images to be reviewed by a user. The images are culled to provide a set of images which best spans the lighting space represented by the large number of images. The culling process is iterative; at each iteration, the image which is most dissimilar from a nearest neighbor in the selected set is added to the selected set. The images are organized in a hierarchical structure to ease review by the user. The hierarchical structure separates the images into multiple levels. At each level, the images are separated into sets of equal size. Each set includes images which are most similar. An average image from each set is picked as the visual representation for that set. In creating the hierarchical structure, a single image may or may not be included in different subsets. A user interface allows the user to review and select images in the hierarchical structure. The images selected by the user are combined to create a final image with lighting. The lighting specifications can be saved for future reference by the lighting system or other applications.

System and method for exploring light spaces

A system for delineating partially- or fully-bounded areal regions of a map utilizes deformable templates, which it dynamically expands and contorts to conform to the boundaries of the regions. The system segments the map into a number of cells, with each cell relating, for example, to a pixel. The system then defines an 'energy' field for the floor plan by assigning cells corresponding to boundary edges predetermined minimum energy values, cells corresponding to boundary interiors predetermined maximum energy values, and each non-boundary cell an energy value defined by the distance of the cell from the closest boundary edge cell. The system then iteratively manipulates a template over a selected region of the floor plan in an attempt to minimize the 'potential' of the template, which is defined by a potential function that includes a 'total energy score' and various size and test terms that encourage desired template deformations. The system determines the total energy score, by (i) scan converting the template sides, (ii) weighting the energy values of the cells through which the sides pass based on the lengths of the sides passing through the cells, and (iii) summing the scores. After determining the potential for all possible new locations for each of the vertices, the system selects next locations for each of the vertices and, as necessary, moves the vertices to these next locations to complete an iteration. At various times, the system raises the energy field and updates the template by altering the number of vertices. The system ends its manipulations of the template when it has performed a predetermined number of iterations or, in an energy field at its ceiling values, either the template vertices do not move between iterations or the potential of the template does not change. A user may then edit the template to conform the template more closely to the selected region. A user may also specify certain constraints on template deformation. In response, the system uses a modified potential function for controlling the deformation of the template.

System for delineating and annotating areal regions

Apparatus for determining the structure of a hypermedia document containing ext and graphics that are to be laid out on several linked pages includes a system that specifies the assignment of text and graphics to pages and the links between the pages via a reduction to graph partitioning and the use of optimization techniques for graph partitioning. In one embodiment, display items and relations between these display items are listed along with a measure of their importance. These factors are captured in terms of numeric weights for edges between nodes in the associated graph to permit the system to assign display items to pages, and determine which pages should be linked, so that a user can move between pages in the most efficient manner. In a further embodiment, to accommodate limited display area that restricts the number of display items and page links that can be displayed simultaneously, the system can take into account multistage page moves that allow the user to access display items on different pages in sequence by moving from one page to another via links on other pages, through the use of 'stepping-stone' nodes in the associated graph that record possible traversal routes in the document that are not represented in other formulations of the hypermedia-document-layout task.

Apparatus for determining the structure of a hypermedia document using

An image compression method based on symbol matching is disclosed. Precompression of the image is performed prior to symbol matching to improve efficiency. A voting scheme is used in conjunction with a plurality of novel similarity tests to improve symbol matching accuracy. A template composition scheme achieves image enhancement. Other disclosed features provide further advantages. Apparatus for implementing the image compression method for image transmission, storage, and enhancement are included.

Growing community of inventors

Cambridge, MA, United States of America

Stuart Merrill Shieber