Showing papers on "Video camera published in 2006"

Fast separation of direct and global components of a scene using high frequency illumination

Abstract: We present fast methods for separating the direct and global illumination components of a scene measured by a camera and illuminated by a light source. In theory, the separation can be done with just two images taken with a high frequency binary illumination pattern and its complement. In practice, a larger number of images are used to overcome the optical and resolution limitations of the camera and the source. The approach does not require the material properties of objects and media in the scene to be known. However, we require that the illumination frequency is high enough to adequately sample the global components received by scene points. We present separation results for scenes that include complex interreflections, subsurface scattering and volumetric scattering. Several variants of the separation approach are also described. When a sinusoidal illumination pattern is used with different phase shifts, the separation can be done using just three images. When the computed images are of lower resolution than the source and the camera, smoothness constraints are used to perform the separation using a single image. Finally, in the case of a static scene that is lit by a simple point source, such as the sun, a moving occluder and a video camera can be used to do the separation. We also show several simple examples of how novel images of a scene can be computed from the separation results.

Do-it-yourself photo realistic talking head creation system and method

Abstract: A do-it-yourself photo realistic talking head creation system comprising: a template; handheld device comprising display and video camera having an image output signal of a subject; a computer having a mixer program for mixing the template and image output signal of the subject into a composite image, and an output signal representational of the composite image; a computer adapted to communicate the composite image signal to the display for display to the subject as a composite image; the display and the video camera adapted to allow the video camera to collect the image of the subject, the subject to view the composite image, and the subject to align the image of the subject with the template; storage means having an input for receiving the output signal of the video camera representational of the collected image of the subject and storing the image of the subject substantially aligned with the template.

An Architecture for Compressive Imaging

Abstract: Compressive Sensing is an emerging field based on the revelation that a small group of non-adaptive linear projections of a compressible signal contains enough information for reconstruction and processing. In this paper, we propose algorithms and hardware to support a new theory of Compressive Imaging. Our approach is based on a new digital image/video camera that directly acquires random projections of the signal without first collecting the pixels/voxels. Our camera architecture employs a digital micromirror array to perform optical calculations of linear projections of an image onto pseudo-random binary patterns. Its hallmarks include the ability to obtain an image with a single detection element while measuring the image/video fewer times than the number of pixels ? this can significantly reduce the computation required for video acquisition/encoding. Because our system relies on a single photon detector, it can also be adapted to image at wavelengths that are currently impossible with conventional CCD and CMOS imagers. We are currently testing a proto-type design for the camera and include experimental results.

Compressive imaging for video representation and coding

Abstract: Compressive Sensing is an emerging field based on the revelation that a small group of nonadaptive linear projections of a compressible signal contains enough information for reconstruction and processing In this paper, we propose algorithms and hardware to support a new theory of Compressive Imaging Our approach is based on a new digital image/video camera that directly acquires random projections of the light field without first collecting the pixels/voxels Our camera architecture employs a digital micromirror array to perform optical calculations of linear projections of an image onto pseudorandom binary patterns Its hallmarks include the ability to obtain an image with a single detection element while measuring the image/video fewer times than the number of pixels/voxels; this can significantly reduce the computation required for video acquisition/encoding Since our system relies on a single photon detector, it can also be adapted to image at wavelengths that are currently impossible with conventional CCD and CMOS imagers We are currently testing a prototype design for the camera and include experimental results

Real-Time Displacement Measurement of a Flexible Bridge Using Digital Image Processing Techniques

Abstract: In this study, real-time displacement measurement of bridges was carried out by means of digital image processing techniques. This is innovative, highly cost-effective and easy to implement, and yet maintains the advantages of dynamic measurement and high resolution. First, the measurement point is marked with a target panel of known geometry. A commercial digital video camera with a telescopic lens is installed on a fixed point away from the bridge (e.g., on the coast) or on a pier (abutment), which can be regarded as a fixed point. Then, the video camera takes a motion picture of the target. Meanwhile, the motion of the target is calculated using image processing techniques, which require a texture recognition algorithm, projection of the captured image, and calculation of the actual displacement using target geometry and the number of pixels moved. Field tests were carried out for the verification of the present method. The test results gave sufficient dynamic resolution in amplitude as well as the frequency. Use of this technology for a large suspension bridge is discussed considering the characteristics of such bridges having low natural frequencies within 3 Hz and the maximum displacement of several centimeters.

Vehicle event recorder systems

Abstract: The present invention relates to a vehicle recorder system that is configured with a video camera, a light weight memory system, and a radio communications facility suitable for use in conjunction with an moving vehicle. An automobile equipped with such video recorder system that is used throughout a day of service provides a video record of unusual events which may occur from time-to-time. For example, events such as accidents, near-misses, and excessive speed, among others, trigger a system to preserve video images collected before and after the moment of the event. Replaying these images provides information regarding the cause and true nature of the event. These systems are particularly suitable for vehicle fleets, or other groups of vehicles that can communicate with a common system.

Photographing long scenes with multi-viewpoint panoramas

Abstract: We present a system for producing multi-viewpoint panoramas of long, roughly planar scenes, such as the facades of buildings along a city street, from a relatively sparse set of photographs captured with a handheld still camera that is moved along the scene. Our work is a significant departure from previous methods for creating multi-viewpoint panoramas, which composite thin vertical strips from a video sequence captured by a translating video camera, in that the resulting panoramas are composed of relatively large regions of ordinary perspective. In our system, the only user input required beyond capturing the photographs themselves is to identify the dominant plane of the photographed scene; our system then computes a panorama automatically using Markov Random Field optimization. Users may exert additional control over the appearance of the result by drawing rough strokes that indicate various high-level goals. We demonstrate the results of our system on several scenes, including urban streets, a river bank, and a grocery store aisle.

Method and apparatus for compressive imaging device

Abstract: A new digital image/video camera that directly acquires random projections of the incident light field without first collecting the pixels/voxels. In one preferred embodiment, the camera employs a digital micromirror array to perform optical calculations of linear projections of an image onto pseudorandom binary patterns. Its hallmarks include the ability to obtain an image with only a single detection element while measuring the image/video fewer times than the number of pixels or voxels—this can significantly reduce the computation required for image/video acquisition/encoding. Since the system features a single photon detector, it can also be adapted to image at wavelengths that are currently impossible with conventional CCD and CMOS imagers.

Distributed video coding in wireless sensor networks

Abstract: This paper addresses the important aspect of compressing and transmitting video signals generated by wireless broadband networks while heeding the architectural demands imposed by these networks in terms of energy constraints as well as the channel uncertainty related to the wireless communication medium. Driven by the need to develop light, robust, energy-efficient, and low delay video delivery schemes, a distributed video coding based framework dubbed PRISM is introduced. PRISM addresses the wireless video sensor network requirements far more effectively than current state-of-the-art standards like MPEG. This paper focuses on the case of a single video camera and use it as a platform to describe the theoretical principles and practical aspects underlying distributed video coding.

A mobile markerless AR system for maintenance and repair

Abstract: We present a solution for AR based repair guidance. This solution covers software as well as hardware related issues. In particular we developed a markerless CAD based tracking system which can deal with different illumination conditions during the tracking stage, partial occlusions and rapid motion. The system is also able to automatically recover from occasional tracking failures. On the hardware side the system is based on an off the shelf notebook, a wireless mobile setup consisting of a wide-angle video camera and an analog video transmission system. This setup has been tested with a monocular full-color video-see-through HMD and additionally with a monochrome optical-see-through HMD. Our system underwent several extensive test series under real industrial conditions and proved to be useful for different maintenance and repair scenarios.

method and apparatus for an on-screen/off-screen first person gaming experience

Abstract: An interactive apparatus is described comprising a multiple portable gaming systems interconnected with a wireless communications link. Each gaming system comprises a visual display, a user interface, a communications link, a computer system and gaming software. The gaming system can display the real-time real-world images captured by a video camera mounted on the gaming system overlaid with simulated gaming objects and events. In this way a combined on-screen off-screen gaming experience is provided for the user that merges real-world events with simulated gaming actions.

Methods and apparatus for providing content and services coordinated with television content

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for providing content and services to an Internet-enabled device in synchronization with media content presented on a television, radio or other separate device are described. In various embodiments, information suitable for identifying the media content being presented on a television or radio is detected by an audio or video receiver such as a microphone, video camera or optical receiver built into or connected to a PC or laptop. Corresponding content is then fetched from Internet servers or local memory or storage and displayed on the PC or laptop. Also, a program module-based framework that provides for the delivery of such media-coordinated content across multiple programs and advertisements and multiple content providers is described.

Video game system combining gaming simulation with remote robot control and remote robot feedback

Abstract: An interactive apparatus is described comprising a portable gaming system and a mobile toy vehicle connected by a wireless communications link. The mobile toy vehicle has a drive system, a video camera, a communications link, a computer system, and vehicle control software. The gaming system comprises a visual display, a user interface, a communications link, a computer system and gaming software. The gaming system can display the real-time real-world images captured by the video camera mounted on the mobile toy vehicle overlaid with simulated gaming objects and events. In this way a combined on-screen off-screen gaming experience is provided for the user that merges real-world events with simulated gaming actions. The apparatus allows for single player and multiplayer configurations.

Video aided system for elevator control

Abstract: An elevator control system (24) provides elevator dispatch and door control based on passenger data received from a video monitoring system. The video monitoring system includes a video processor (16) connected to receive video input from at least one video camera (12). The video processor (16) tracks objects located within the field of view of the video camera, and calculates passenger data parameters associated with each tracked object. The elevator controller (24) provides elevator dispatch (26), door control (28), and security functions (30) based in part on passenger data provided by the video processor (16). The security functions may also be based in part on data from access control systems (14).

Vehicle back-up viewing system

Abstract: A system for displaying an external view of a vehicle is provided. The system may comprise a video camera for capturing images external to the vehicle and a display for displaying the images for the vehicle operator. The camera is powered by electrically connecting it to the reverse lamp power line and is operable to continuously capture images when powered. The camera may be mounted in a license plate frame to further simplify installation. The camera may communicate with the display through a wireless connection. The receiver and display may be mounted in the field of view of the vehicle operator, such as on the dashboard of the vehicle.

Audio-video communication system for receiving person at entrance

Abstract: An audio-video communication system comprises a wireless exterior module located proximate an entrance, a computerized controller running a software application, and a remote peripheral device. The wireless exterior module includes a proximity sensor for detecting a person at the entrance, a video camera for recording an image of the person at the entrance, a microphone for recording the person at the entrance, a speaker for playing audio to the person at the entrance, a transmitter for communicating sounds and images of the person at the entrance, and a receiver for receiving communications at the wireless exterior module. The computerized controller is disposed in wireless electronic communication with the wireless exterior module via the transmitter and the receiver of the wireless exterior module. The remote peripheral device is configured to electronically communicate with the computerized controller for viewing an image from the video camera communicated from the wireless exterior module.

Remote viewing system

Abstract: A remote viewing system is disclosed for providing video and/or audio surveillance of an entry or doorway of a building. The system is provided within the panels of the entry or doorway door. A video camera is positioned within the panels to obtain video images of the entryway or doorway and to transmit them via Bluetooth wireless connection to a remote viewing station. The Wireless driver for the camera can be located in or adjacent to the door panel. Video and audio data can be transmitted from the driver to any of a variety of Bluetooth enabled electronic devices, including PCs, PDAs, cell phones, and the like.

Rear view mirror with integrated video system

Abstract: A video system (10) integrated along with a rear view mirror (170) into a rear view mirror housing (20) of a vehicle. The system (10) includes at least one video camera (30) and a display monitor (40), with the monitor (40) being located substantially behind and viewable through the mirror (170). The system (10) is capable of recording, storing, and replaying video images, and may also allow for capturing audio signals and other desirable information, including, for example, location and speed information.

Security system and method for use of same

Abstract: A security system and method for use of the same are disclosed that provide for remote surveillance In one embodiment, a property's entry point such as a doorway is equipped with a video camera, an external microphone, and an external speaker An individual, such as an owner of the property, is away from the property and equipped with a cellular telephone When a person arrives at the entry point, a control unit relays audio and visual data captured by the video camera and the external microphone to the individual's cellular telephone Similarly, the control unit relays audio data from the owner to the person at the entry point

Surface enhancement using real-time photometric stereo and reflectance transformation

Abstract: Photometric stereo recovers per-pixel estimates of surface orientation from images of a surface under varying lighting conditions. Transforming reflectance based on recovered normal directions is useful for enhancing the appearance of subtle surface detail. We present the first system that achieves real-time photometric stereo and reflectance transformation. A high-speed video camera, computer controlled light sources and fast GPU implementations of the algorithms enable both methods. We also present novel GPU-accelerated normal transformations before relighting that "amplify" shape detail. By applying standard image processing methods to our computed normal image, we can selectively enhance surface detail at different frequencies. Our system allows users in fields such as forensics, archeology and dermatology to investigate objects and surfaces by simply holding them in front of the camera. Real-time analysis of surface roughness for metrology can also be performed from the extracted normal field.

Wireless event authentication system

Abstract: A wireless data acquisition and recording (DAR) system includes acquisition circuitry including a video camera (18) and/or a microphone (20) carried by an operator for capturing video and audio events viewed and/or heard by the operator. A wireless transmitter (82) wirelessly transmits digital signals containing the video events captured by the video camera and the audio events detected by the microphone. A data display and report submission (DD) device (26) receives the wirelessly transmitted digital data captured by the acquisition circuitry and stores the data as media files.

Methods and devices for video correction of still camera motion

Abstract: Disclosed are devices including a mobile imaging device having memory, a video camera system and a still camera system. The video camera system can be configured for video imaging, and configured to generate motion detection output. An application can be stored in memory of the device and configured to process the motion detection output of the video camera system to form motion correction input for the still camera system. The still camera system is configured for still photography imaging and configured to process the motion correction input. Also disclosed are methods of a mobile imaging device including a still camera system and a video camera system. A method includes processing the sequential image data of the video camera system to generate motion detection output, processing the motion detection output to form motion correction input and processing still image correction by the still camera system based on the motion correction input.

A location based wireless collaborative environment with a visual user interface

Abstract: A wireless networked device incorporating a display, a video camera and a geo-location system receives geo-located data messages from a server system. Messages can be viewed by panning the device, revealing the message's real world location as icons and text overlaid on top of the camera input on the display. The user can reply to the message from her location, add data to an existing message at its original location, send new messages to other users of the system or place a message at a location for other users. World Wide Web geo-located data can be explored using the system's user interface as a browser. The server system uses the physical location of the receiving device to limit messages and data sent to each device according to range and filtering criteria, and can determine line of sight between the device and each actual message to simulate occlusion effects.

Obstacle Avoidance For Unmanned Air Vehicles Using Image Feature Tracking

Abstract: This paper discusses a computer vision algorithm and a control law for obstacle avoidance for small unmanned air vehicles using a video camera as the primary sensor. Small UAVs are used for low altitude surveillance ∞ights where unknown obstacles can be encountered. Small UAVs can be given the capability to navigate in uncertain environments if obstacles are identifled. This paper presents an obstacle detection methodology using feature tracking in a forward looking, onboard camera. Features are found using the Harris Corner Detector and tracked through multiple video frames which provides three dimensional localization of the salient features. A sparse three dimensional map of features provides a rough estimate of obstacle locations. The features are grouped into potentially problematic areas using agglomerative clustering. The small UAV then employs a sliding mode control law in the autopilot to avoid obstacles.

Object density estimation in video

Abstract: A video camera may overlook a monitored area from any feasible position. An object flow estimation module monitor the moving direction of the objects in the monitored area. It may separate the consistently moving objects from the other objects. A object count estimation module may compute the object density (e.g. crowd). A object density classification module may classify the density into customizable categories.

Imaging position analyzing method

Abstract: The imaging position of each of the frames in image data of a plurality of frames captured while a vehicle is traveling is accurately determined. An image data acquiring device (100) captures a front image by means of a video camera (120) while a vehicle is traveling. When in imaging, the device associates the vehicle speed pulse detected by a vehicle speed sensor (104) with the frame data and records them. An image data processing device (200) arranges data on each frame of the image along the initial path according to the correspondence with the vehicle speed pulse. The device determines the variation between the frames of a feature point such as a road lane marking included in the image, reflects the variation on the initial path, and corrects the errors in the direction perpendicular to the moving direction so as to determine the traveling path and imaging positions of the frames. With this, the accuracy in determining the imaging position of each frame is improved.

Dual sensor video camera

Abstract: Various embodiments of a dual-sensor video camera are disclosed. The dual-sensor video camera includes a color filter array (CFA) sensor, which has a low-pass filter. The dual-sensor video camera also includes a panchromatic sensor. A beam splitter directs an incoming light beam to both sensors. An output image is produced based on image information from the two sensors. The output image includes luminance information based on the image information from the panchromatic sensor and chrominance information based on the image information from the CFA sensor.

An Intelligent Surveillance System Based on an Omnidirectional Vision Sensor

Abstract: Video surveillance, object tracking and activity monitoring are some of the important issues for a home-care robotic system. In this work, an omnidirectional video camera is adopted to provide a 360 degree view angle of the indoor scene with a single image sequence. Some basic functions for smart living and elderly care, such as motion detection, object tracking and target behavior analysis, are implemented. For the motion detection, a background model is first created and the CamShift algorithm is used for object tracking by extracting color information of the target. To make the motion detection and object tracking fully automatic and robust under different illumination conditions, an optical flow approach is cooperated to detect small changes of the mobile object. In addition, the camera is calibrated to obtain the one-to-one correspondences between the image pixels and the locations on the ground. They are used for fall detection of the target by comparing the object length appeared in the image and the computed length according to the object's physical height.

Direct vision sensor for 3D computer vision, digital imaging, and digital video

Abstract: A method and apparatus for directly sensing both the focused image and the three-dimensional shape of a scene are disclosed. This invention is based on a novel mathematical transform named Rao Transform (RT) and its inverse (IRT). RT and IRT are used for accurately modeling the forward and reverse image formation process in a camera as a linear shift-variant integral operation. Multiple images recorded by a camera with different camera parameter settings are processed to obtain 3D scene information. This 3D scene information is used in computer vision applications and as input to a virtual digital camera which computes a digital still image. This same 3D information for a time-varying scene can be used by a virtual video camera to compute and produce digital video data.

Laser ranging, tracking and designation using 3-d focal planes

Abstract: The present invention tracks or locates small moving objects, or generates a 3-D frame of data by using 3-D focal plane arrays with low laser energy and few mechanically moving parts. The invention may be used to determine the direction of a laser designating a target, for target tracking, used as a 3-D movie/video camera or used to provide data for autonomous navigation.