Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Yoshiyuki Mochizuki

Toshiya Naka

Tadashi Kobayashi

Shigeo Asahara

Akira Uesaki

Akio Nishimura

Toshiki Hijiri

Keiichi Senda

Kenji Nishimura

Kazutaka Nishio

Katsunori Orimoto

Takeshi Yamamoto

Yasuhiro Yuki

Mitsuhiro Aso

Makoto Hirai

Hitoshi Araki

Jun Ohmiya

Kazuhiro Nishitani

Yoshiteru Kawasaki

Makoto Yamakura

Kazu Segawa

Daisaku Kitagawa

Naoki Ohtani

Atsuko Oono

Takeru Ohgi

Richard Doerksen

An information processing method causes a processor in a terminal to: display, on the display of the terminal, a first screen representing a pre-preparation process included in cooking processes, the first screen displaying information indicating an intermediate foodstuff made through the pre-preparation process; acquire first identification information indicating a food container storing the intermediate foodstuff from an electronic tag apparatus attached to the food container while the first screen is displayed on the display; store, in a memory, information indicating the intermediate foodstuff or pre-preparation process and the first identification information in correspondence with each other; display, on the display, a second screen representing a finish process included in the cooking processes, the intermediate foodstuff being prepared in the finish process; and when the second screen is displayed, transmit a command to the electronic tag apparatus according to the first identification information so that the user discriminates the food container.

Information processing method and non-transitory recording medium

A decoding device improves a cache hit rate in a decoding process of compressed encoded image data. The decoding device, before the decoding process, generates a sort table for each reference picture for a plurality of MPEG data streams included in a GOP and having a frame type of P- or B-picture. The decoding device, by using the generated sort table, selects a group of pictures composed of a plurality of decoding target macro blocks that refer to the same reference macro block. The decoding device obtains, from the reference picture, four macro blocks including the same reference macro block referred to by the selected picture group, and stores the four macro blocks into the cache memory. The decoding device sequentially decodes each decoding target macro block included in the selected picture group, by using the four macro blocks stored in the cache memory.

Decoding device, decoding method, decoding program, and integrated circuit

A display device includes a wavelet transform unit for transforming an original image into wavelet coefficients using a Harr wavelet transform formula, a level obtaining unit for obtaining a mipmap level of a mipmap image. The display device also includes an inverse wavelet transform unit for receiving and subjecting at least a portion of the wavelet coefficients obtained by the transformation by the wavelet transform unit, to an inverse transform using an inverse Harr wavelet transform formula until an order having a value equal to the mipmap level is obtained, and outputting an image represented by at least a portion of a low-frequency component of wavelet coefficients having the order having the value equal to the mipmap level. Additionally, the display device includes a polygon drawing unit for drawing the image output by the inverse wavelet transform unit, as a mipmap image, on the polygon image.

Drawing device, drawing method, and drawing program

A vehicle information recording systemincludes a picture acquiring unitplaced in a vehicle that takes a picture of surroundings and generates picture data showing the picture, a vehicle data receiving unitplaced in the vehicle that receives other vehicle data concerning another vehicle shown in the picture acquired by the picture acquiring unit, an acquired information sending unitplaced in the vehicle that sends data including the picture data and the other vehicle data outside of the vehicle, a receiving unitplaced outside of the vehicle that receives the data sent by the acquired information sending unit, an encoding unitplaced outside of the vehicle that encodes the other vehicle data among the data received by the receiving unitand adds the encoded data to the picture data as related data, and a recording unitplaced outside of the vehicle that records the picture data to which the other vehicle data is added by the encoding unit

Vehicle information recording system

A curved surface image processing apparatusaccording to the present invention that can render an object at higher speed and in higher quality by performing image processing using NURBS data includes: a data input unitfor receiving NURBS data; a coordinate transformation unitfor performing coordinate transformation on NURBS data; an animation control unitfor controlling animation data of each frame to be rendered; a data transformation unitfor transforming NURBS data into rational Bezier data; a patch division unitfor subdividing a rational Bezier surface patch; a normal determination unitfor calculating normals of control points of a divided surface patch; a perspective transformation unitfor performing perspective transformation on a divided surface patch; and a rendering unitfor rendering a surface patch.

Curved surface image processing apparatus and curved surface image processing method

A subdivision level determination unit () in a curved surface subdivision apparatus () accepts an input of information about control points that define a shape of a curved surface and determines the subdivision level for the surface. Next, it sets, for a subdivision processing operation control unit (), a control table corresponding to the determined subdivision level. The subdivision processing operation control unit () executes the subdivision processing while controlling a work memory unit () and a subdivision processing operation unit () based on the set control table.

Curved surface subdivision apparatus

An animation control unit specifies shape data, hierarchical structure data, a group table, and state information. A character state calculating unit obtains the specified shape data from a shape data storing unit, the hierarchical structure data from a hierarchical structure storing unit, and the group table from a table storing unit. The character state calculating unit also obtains motion data shown in the specified state information from a motion data storing unit and specifies, from the obtained motion data, motion data identified by each group number. In accordance with the obtained hierarchical structure data, the character state calculating unit corrects the shape data by using the specified motion data. A three-dimensional rendering unit renders the corrected shape data to generate an image, and a display unit displays the generated image.

Method and apparatus for computer graphics animation utilizing element groups with associated motions

A virtual space control data receiving apparatus comprises stream data receiving means for receiving a plurality of stream data for controlling a dynamic virtual space, according to the type of each stream data; manual data input means for inputting control data for an object to be controlled in the virtual space; and control data output means for outputting the control data input by the manual data input means, for the object controlled by the manual data input means, and outputting the stream data received by the stream data receiving means, for the other objects. Therefore, in a dynamic virtual space represented by 3-dimensional CG, static image, dynamic image, audio, and text which are based on a network such as the Internet, the virtual space can be reproduced in real time, and the viewer can selectively control an object.

Virtual space control data receiving apparatus,virtual space control data transmission and reception system, virtual space control data receiving method, and virtual space control data receiving program storage media

A communication unitcarries out voice communication, and a character background selection input unitselects a CG character corresponding to a communication partner. A voice/music processing unitperforms voice/music processing required for the communication, a voice/music converting unitconverts voice and music, and a voice/music output unit outputs the voice and music. A voice input unitacquires voice. A voice analyzing unitanalyzes the voice, and an emotion presuming unitpresumes an emotion based on the result of the voice analysis. A lips motion control unita body motion control unitand an expression control unitsend control information to a 3-D image drawing unitto generate an image, and a display unitdisplays the image.

Virtual television phone apparatus

A form analyzing unit receives 2-D outline data stored in an outline data storing unit via an outline data obtaining unit, and judges from the received 2-D outline data whether an outline of a character includes an outline of a hole formed in the character. If so, a top/bottom dividing unit divides an area surrounded by the two outlines into convex polygons. A side generating unit moves each divided structure element in a z-axis direction to generate a side plane of the 3-D character, and generates 3-D data for the character.

3-D character data generating device and a 3-D graphics data generating device

A three-dimensional (3D) graphic generation apparatus and its generation method according to the present invention generate high quality 3D graphics from two-dimensional (2D) graphics such as characters, without requiring difficult operations. Triangulation is performed using outline data corresponding to a sequence of all points which form an outline of a 2D graphic including a 2D character or the like, and thereafter configurations of the triangles are changed using the outline segments. The generated triangles are judged whether or not they are components of the character, and triangles that have been judged as the components are spatially moved, thereby generating the top surface. Further, side surfaces are generated by connecting corresponding points, thereby generating a 3D graphic.

Apparatus and method for generating 3D graphics

An image object content generation device has a key generation unit that generates a key that is a reference for distinguishing an object pixel from a background pixel per pixel of an inputted image signal, a frame size changing unit that changes a frame size of the image signal, and a low frequency component passing unit that removes high frequency components of the image signal which was processed in the frame size changing unit. The image object generation device also has a pixel compensation unit that performs a padding processing to the image signal which was processed in the low frequency component passing unit by using Low Pass Extrapolation padding algorithm, and a pixel selecting unit that selects one of the Image signal which was processed in the low frequency component passing unit and the image signal which was processed in the pixel compensation unit.

Image object content generation device and padding device

An animation data generation apparatus that supplies a state where a character string can be read in a part of 3D character animation generated based on functions. The apparatus includes an interface unit for setting characters which are used for animation, time allocation between 3D character animations in a moving standstill state, and the type of the animation in the moving state. The apparatus also includes a calculation unit for calculating the number of frames corresponding to animation based on the time allocation, and a generation unit for generating animation data in the standstill state so that 3D characters corresponding to the set characters can be read, and for generating data of the 3D character animation in a moving state so as to link to the data of the animation in the standstill state by using the number of calculated frames and a function corresponding to the set animation.

Animation data generation apparatus, animation data generation method, animated video generation apparatus, and animated video generation method

A communication system is provided, which includes: a transmitter for transmitting multi-dimensional stream data capable of representing a CG scene; and a receiver for receiving the multi-dimensional stream data.

Apparatus for transmitting and/or receiving stream data and method for producing the same

In a map display device, a surface storing unit stores surface information which defines a curved surface having a form that depends on positions of portions of a map which are to be enlarged and/or contracted. A mapping unit maps the map onto the curved surface defined by the surface information. A projecting/displaying unit projects the mapped map onto a flat virtual screen, and displays the projected image. Here, by defining the curved surface so that each part of the curved surface forms an intended angle with a line of sight in the projection, the image is displayed with desired portions enlarged and/or contracted, while maintaining connections of roads. The same effect can also be achieved by projecting the map onto a virtual screen having the form of the curved surface.

Growing community of inventors

Suita, Japan

Yoshiyuki Mochizuki