Kokusai Denshin Denwa Kabushiki Kaisha

Kokusai Denshin Denwa Co., Ltd.

Nec Corporation

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Fujitsu Corporation

British Telecommunications Public Limited Company

Yoshinori Hatori

Masahide Kaneko

Atsushi Koike

Shuichi Matsumoto

Hideo Yamamoto

Hitomi Murakami

Naoki Mukawa

Seiichi Yamamoto

Toshio Koga

Kiichi Matsuda

Mutsumi Ohta

Mark A Shackleton

Mitsuo Nishiwaki

William John Welsh

Yoichi Kato

Norio Higuchi

Tsutomu Miyasato

Satoshi Katsuno

Yasuhiro Kosugi

A picture synthesizing apparatus, and method for synthesizing a moving picture of a person's face having mouth-shape variations from a train of input characters, wherein the method steps comprise developing from the train of input character a train of phonemes, utilizing a speech synthesis technique outputting, for each phoneme, a corresponding vocal sound feature including articulation mode and its duration of each corresponding phoneme of the train of phonemes. Determining for each phoneme a mouth-shape feature corresponding to each phoneme on the basis of the corresponding vocal sound feature, the mouth-shape feature including the degree of opening of the mouth, the degree of roundness of the lips, the height of the lower jaw in a raised and a lowered position, and the degree to which the tongue is seen. Determining values of mouth-shape parameters, for each phoneme, for representing a concrete mouth-shape on the basis of the mouth-shape feature; and controlling the values of the mouth-shape parameters for each phoneme, for each frame of the moving picture in accordance with the duration of each phoneme, thereby synthesizing the moving picture having mouth-shape variations matched with a speech output audible in case of reading the train of input characters.

Mouth shape synthesizing

It is sought to provide a coding apparatus which permits high efficiency coding of bi-level images with black-and-white pixels halftoned with error diffusion algorithm. An image input/pixel selection unit selects, from an input image as a bi-level image with black-and-white pixels halftoned with error diffusion algorithm, first selected pixels with respect to a pixel '?' to be coded and second selected pixels as peripheral pixels with respect to the first selected pixels. The first selected pixels are fed to a pixel pattern binary scale translator for translation into a binary number. The second selected pixels, on the other hand, is fed to a pixel value adder for counting of black pixels. The count is fed to a binary scale translator for translation into a binary number. The binary number outputs of the pixel pattern binary scale translator and the binary scale translator are combined to be input to an address input terminal of a ROM having a coding information table.

Coding apparatus for bi-level images halftoned with error diffusion

A moving image with a plurality of continuous frames is processed by using a plurality of image processing units (5-1 through 5-n), which operate simultaneously. A frame identification designator (4) attaches an identification number cyclically to each frame of the input image signal. A frame identification selector (6) in each image processing unit inputs an image frame selectively based upon the identification number, and transfers the selected frame to a corresponding image processing module. The image processing units (5-1 through 5-n) typically carry out either the same processing on respective image frames, or a plurality of processing to a single frame. An additional processor network (8) may be coupled with the image processing units for high-level processing including recognition and/or understanding of an image.

Image analysis system

Method and device for frame interpolation of a moving image

A system for detecting three-dimensional motion of a three-dimensional object by obtaining, for each block, a velocity vector from two temporally successive images of a moving picture including the three-dimensional object. A three-dimensional model is prepared in correspondence to the solid configuration of the three-dimensional object, an area is obtained in the previous frame picture where the three-dimensional object and the three-dimensional model overlap, the area is divided into a plurality of blocks, a velocity vector between the current input image and the previous frame image is obtained for each block, depth information in the block is obtained from the three-dimensional model, and three-dimensional motion parameters of the three-dimensional object, that is, its rotational movement and translational movement components, are obtained from the velocity vectors and depth information thus obtained in the plurality of blocks, whereby the three-dimensional motion of the three-dimensional object is detected.

Method and apparatus for detecting motion of moving picture

An intelligent coding system for a picture signal is disclosed, in which a feature picture representing features of a picture is produced on the basis of an input picture signal, information of the position and the shape of each element forming the picture is extracted from the feature picture and then the information thus extracted is organized concisely by a small number of parameters. According to another aspect of the present invention, consistency (or continuity) of variations in the position and the shape of each element can be held throughout a continuation of frames of motion picture signals.

Intelligent coding system for picture signal

A moving image is coded through a waveform coding predictor (2), and a model-based coding predictor (3) which is mainly applicable to a head portion of a person, the coded outputs of said two predictors are compared (5) with an input current image for each block element which has for instance 8.times.8 or 16.times.16 pixels. A block element coded for the smaller difference from an input current image is taken, and is transmitted to a receiving side through differential coding (6,7). As the information compression ratio is high, a moving image can be transmitted through conventional telephone line, or a narrow band circuit.

Hybrid coding system for moving image

In an image coding system having a plurality of coding characteristics, such as quantization characteristics, information of a digital image signal sequence is monitored in each of a number of predetermined intervals by forming a histogram of a sequence of coefficients which is calculated from the digital image signal sequence in accordance with each of the coding characteristics. The amount of information is calculated by summing up the coefficients in relation to every one of the coding characteristics. An optimum one of the coding characteristics is indicated by the coding control circuit to code the coefficient sequence into a sequence of coded signals in accordance with the optimum coding characteristic. The coefficient sequence in each frame may be divided into a sequence of blocks each of which is judged to be either valid or invalid in relation to each coding characteristic. Results of judgement may be included in the amount of information.

Image coding system coding digital image signals by forming a histogram

A system of coding moving image signals produces a predictive error signal by a predictive coding based on inter-frame correlation and quantizing the predictive error signal for each block of a picture frame constituted by N lines of M pixels. The system includes a block coding/non-coding decision unit for calculating a first evaluation value Sm of the predictive error signal for each block of the picture frame. This unit decides that block non-coding is applicable when the first evaluation value Sm is less than a first threshold value T.sub.1 and that block coding is applicable when the first evaluation value Sm is greater than the first threshold value T.sub.1. The predictive error signal is not transmitted when the result of the decision is for block non-coding, and the predictive error signal is quantized and transmitted when the result of the decision is for block coding.

Moving image signal coding system

For decoding by the use of a decoder buffer memory an encoded video signal into which an encoder input signal is encoded with data compression on a basis of frames, a decoding device comprises a control signal producing unit for delivering a decoder control signal to a decoder when the frame of data written into the buffer memory coincides with the frame of data read out of the buffer memory. Responsive to the control signal, the decoder produces a supply control signal to the buffer memory to stop delivery of the read-out data to the decoder. Preferably, the decoding device should comprise a processing unit for producing frame pulses at heads of the respective frames of the encoded video signal. A counter counts the frame head pulses to make the write-in data and the read-out data indicate frame numbers for use in the signal producing unit. Alternatively, the decoding device may receive an encoded video signal in which frame number data are included for use in the signal producing unit.

Decoding device capable of producing a decoded video signal with a

A motion vector V.sub.x of a picture block X between a current input picture and a preceding frame picture is corrected to V.sub.p, when said motion vector V.sub.x differs from a motion vector V.sub.r of adjacent blocks of said current input block, and (S.sub.v.sbsb.x &lt;T.sub.hl, and S.sub.v.sbsb.p .gtoreq.T.sub.h2) is not satisfied, where S.sub.v.sbsb.x is a block difference of the block X between the current frame F.sub.0 and the preceding frame f.sub.2 for said motion vector V.sub.x, V.sub.p is one of motion vectors V.sub.r giving the minimum value of S.sub.v.sbsb.r, and S.sub.v.sbsb.p is a block difference for said v.sub.p. The present invention provides correct motion vector of a moving object on a screen irrespective of noise in a picture signal and sudden intensity change. The present invention is applicable to a frame interpolation in a television standard system conversion system, and an efficient coding of a television signal.

Motion vector detection system of a moving object on a screen

A coded picture signal re-quantization system, in which a parameter such as a variance or a mean value of picture element values in a region to be re-quantized is calculated on the basis of sub-sampled picture element values and, according to this parameter, a quantizer is adaptively varied for each region and, further, quantization of thinned-out picture elements is performed or stopped as required, thereby effecting conditional re-quantization.

System for re-quantization of coded picture signals

A system for detecting the vector of motion of a moving object on a picture screen, in which there is prepared, in addition to a picture memory for storing picture signals, a background memory for storing background picture signals. From the background memory, picture elements of a block #0b which lies at the same position on the screen as the current input block are read out and an inter-block difference B(#0', #0b) between the current input block #0' and the block #0b is calculated. If this gives rise to an uncovered background, then the above inter-block difference B(#0', #0b) between the picture memory and the background memory becomes smaller than any other inter-block differences (that is, the degree of similarity becomes the highest), and consequently, it is possible to judge that a new background portion has appeared. Incidentally, in connection with the background portion except the uncovered background, for example, a portion A' data in the picture memory and data in the background memory become identical, excepting noise components. Accordingly, in connection with this portion, the contents of the block #0 in the picture memory and the block #0b in the background memory differ little from each other, so that even if either the inter-block difference B(#0', #0) or B(#0', #0b) is chosen as a result of comparison of their magnitudes, substantially no characteristic deterioration is caused. For instance, in case of using the result of detection of movement for the movement-compensated predictive coding operation, the coding efficiency is hardly affected, even if either the block #0 or #0b is used for prediction.

System for detecting vector of motion of moving objects on picture

A TV signal median prediction coding system in which a prediction value of a picture element to be coded is obtained from information of an already coded picture element and a difference between the prediction value and the value of the picture element to be coded is coded. In accordance with the present invention there is provided a storage section having a capacity large enough to store input TV signals of at least one frame at all times; an intrafield prediction section which, when supplied with a value X.sub.1 of the latest input picture element of the TV signal, produces a prediction value X.sub.1N of the latest input picture element using a value of a picture element of the same field as the latest input picture element, read out from the storage section; an interfield prediction section which, when supplied with the value X.sub.1 of the latest input picture element, produces a prediction value X.sub.1K of the latest input picture element using picture elements of the same field as the latest input picture element and the immediately preceding field, read out from the storage section; an interframe prediction section which, when supplied with the value X.sub.1 of the latest input picture element, produces a prediction value X.sub.1F of the latest input picture element using picture elements of the same field as the latest input picture element, the immediately preceding frame; and an adaptive control section which compares the intrafield prediction value X.sub.1N, the interfield prediction value X.sub.1K and the interframe prediction value X.sub.1F in magnitude and selects a median of them as the latest input picture element value X.sub.1.

TV Signal median prediction coding system

An adaptive predictive coding system for television signals, in which noting the movement of a picture, adopts the inter-frame prediction value in a case of the picture being decided to be a still picture and, in other cases, compares the inter-frame, into-field and intra-field prediction values with each other in terms of magnitude taking into account the quantity of movement of the picture and adopts the prediction value which would not make the coding efficiency the worst, spo that a stable and high coding efficiency can be achieved.

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Kawasaki, Japan

Yoshinori Hatori