An intelligent electronic appliance preferably includes a user interface, data input and/or output port, and an intelligent processor. A preferred embodiment comprises a set top box for interacting with broadband media streams, with an adaptive user interface, content-based media processing and/or media metadata processing, and telecommunications integration. An adaptive user interface models the user, by observation, feedback, and/or explicit input, and presents a user interface and/or executes functions based on the user model. A content-based media processing system analyzes media content, for example audio and video, to understand the content, for example to generate content-descriptive metadata. A media metadata processing system operates on locally or remotely generated metadata to process the media in accordance with the metadata, which may be, for example, an electronic program guide, MPEG 7 data, and/or automatically generated format. A set top box preferably includes digital trick play effects, and incorporated digital rights management features.

Intelligent electronic appliance system and method

An adaptive interface for a programmable system, for predicting a desired user function, based on user history, as well as machine internal status and context. The apparatus receives an input from the user and other data. A predicted input is presented for confirmation by the user, and the predictive mechanism is updated based on this feedback. Also provided is a pattern recognition system for a multimedia device, wherein a user input is matched to a video stream on a conceptual basis, allowing inexact programming of a multimedia device. The system analyzes a data stream for correspondence with a data pattern for processing and storage. The data stream is subjected to adaptive pattern recognition to extract features of interest to provide a highly compressed representation which may be efficiently processed to determine correspondence. Applications of the interface and system include a VCR, medical device, vehicle control system, audio device, environmental control system, securities trading terminal, and smart house. The system optionally includes an actuator for effecting the environment of operation, allowing closed-loop feedback operation and automated learning.

Ergonomic man-machine interface incorporating adaptive pattern recognition based control system

We define a new image feature called the color correlogram and use it for image indexing and comparison. This feature distills the spatial correlation of colors, and is both effective and inexpensive for content-based image retrieval. The correlogram robustly tolerates large changes in appearance and shape caused by changes in viewing positions, camera zooms, etc. Experimental evidence suggests that this new feature outperforms not only the traditional color histogram method but also the recently proposed histogram refinement methods for image indexing/retrieval.

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Image indexing using color correlograms

The present invention is directed to secreted and transmembrane polypeptides and to nucleic acid molecules encoding those polypeptides. Also provided herein are vectors and host cells comprising those nucleic acid sequences, chimeric polypeptide molecules comprising the polypeptides of the present invention fused to heterologous polypeptide sequences, antibodies which bind to the polypeptides of the present invention and to methods for producing the polypeptides of the present invention.

Secreted and Transmembrane Polypeptides and Nucleic Acids Encoding the Same

The invention is directed to an apparatus for use in a transluminal procedure. The apparatus, comprising, for example, a housing having a guide lumen and a seal proximal to a distal end of the housing that extends across and completely seals the guide lumen; a fixation element in the housing and adapted to secure the distal end of the housing to tissue; and a channel extending through the side wall of the housing having an outlet in communication with the lumen distal of the seal. Methods are also provided. For example, a method includes, performing a transluminal procedure by: securing a datum and position indicator to a wall of a target lumen; forming an opening in the wall; advancing an instrument through the opening; and tracking the advancement of the instrument using the datum and position indicator.

Methods and apparatus for performing transluminal and other procedures

A method of processing images taken by an endoscope having insertion section, bending section and operation section including a step of entering a first image of an object taken by the endoscope having the bending section situated in a first position, a step of entering a second image taken by the endoscope having the bending section situated in a second position, after moving the bending section into the second position by operating an operation member, the first image being partially overlapped with the second image, a step of detecting a positional relation between the first and second positions by detecting the movement of the bending section, a step of deriving a distance between corresponding points on the first and second images, a step of deriving three dimensional information of the object, and a step of displaying a three dimensional image of the object in accordance with the three dimensional information.

Method of processing endoscopic images

An optical apparatus which can reproduce an image having a large focal depth without losing resolution and luminance, wherein there is inputted a plurality of images focused on different object planes. A plurality of input images are then weighted and added together. Image recovery processing of the thus added images is then performed.

Optical image input/output apparatus for objects having a large focal depth

The method for detecting corresponding regions between a plurality of picture images comprises the steps of setting respective operation object regions for a plurality of picture images, calculating a variance of mutual concentration or density distributions in the operation object regions, and detecting the operation object regions which have been set in which the calculated variance value is at a minimum. The apparatus for detecting corresponding regions between picture images comprises a variance calculating member for calculating a variance of mutual concentration or density distributions in the operation object regions of a plurality of picture images, and a corresponding region detecting member for detecting a seat of regions where a variance value calculated by the variance calculating device is at a minimum.

Method and apparatus for detecting corresponding regions between picture images

A correlation operational apparatus for multi-dimensional images includes: means for reducing at least two-dimensional components of the multi-dimensional images composed of at least two components by at least one component by projecting a vector representing the image onto a space perpendicular to a vector representing a large variance of distribution of the multi-dimensional image in a vector space whose orthogonal axes represent the individual dimensional component values of the multi-dimensional image; and means for performing a correlation operation for each component on the multi-dimensional images whose dimensional components have been reduced by at least one. In consequence, images having a relatively high number of high spatial frequency components and whose components have been reduced by at least one are extracted, and a correlation operation is performed thereon.

Junpei Tsujiuchi

Papers

Method of processing endoscopic images

Optical image input/output apparatus for objects having a large focal depth

Method and apparatus for detecting corresponding regions between picture images

Correlation operational apparatus for multi-dimensional images

Color image correlation