We propose a multipoint TV conference supporting environment. It improves human interface of various complicated operations such as a call set up at the beginning of the conference and a video switch during the conference, by visualizing each operation. This supporting environment consists of a virtual conference room and an office-in environment. The virtual conference room is used during the conference and the office-in environment is until the begining of the conference. We also describe the multipoint TV conference system which connect LAN domains through band limitted channels and show that this TV conference supporting environment is also applicable to the inter-LAN multipoint communication system.

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The Karhunen-Loeve expansion is one of the methods for expressing continuous-image as discrete value. In this study, we investigate an influence of using truncated coefficients of kL expansion by one dimensional signal. We explain experimentally and statistically that errors, caused by truncated coefficients, tend to be large in the neighborhood of the both ends of signal.

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In Chubu Electric Power co., we have introduced ITV monitoring systems for improvement of power supply-reliability and better customer services,and also video conference systems for efficient communication. This paper describes the outline of these systems and practical use of video network system.

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The electrostatic field in an electrophotographic development zone is calculated using a newly developed method. The zone is assumed to becomposed of four parallel layers, namely, a conductive substrate, a photoconductive layer, a development space, and a development electrode. For the calculation a charge pattern having a similar figure to a resolution test chart is considered on the surface of the photoconductive layer. The potential and the field distribution in the development space are calculated taking in consideration the effect of image charges needed to satisfy the boundary conditions. Various useful knowledge which cannot be clearlified by conventional methods is gained by the newly developed one.

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Small and powerful workstations and LAN network environments are getting widely available. It is required to manage and utilize electronic information beyond the limits of word processors, document filing systems and other traditional office equipments. The fact should be emphasized that it is harder to share information in a group than in personal. A field study of the information sharing systems and organizational sharing policies is carried out. The result and analysis are presented. Also, the future issues are discussed from the study result.

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There are many advantages in expediting payments through financial institutions, and such a payment system has come to be regarded as an essential component of market economies. But rapid increase in payment volume has given rise to the issue of critical risks among banks. A number of risk reduction methods have been proposed in the past, but they also reduce the efficiency of a payment system. The safety of the payment system is incompatible with its efficiency. However, a new technology associated with wire transfer payments has caused changes in the way the efficiency issue is viewed. This paper presents a model for evaluating the efficiency of a payment system under the assumption that a wire transfer of funds has become possible.

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A distributed surveillance system, in which video images taken by dispersedly equipped cameras are analyzed and integrated to grasp the state of entire object field, has been studied as an efficient approach of surveillance for large-scale/widely spread electric power facilties. In order to implement such a system, it is necessary to integrate the provided information into a virtual object field through mutual identification of observed objects by flexible analysis of the information and contorol of the system with cooperative action between each processing unit This paper proposes an identification method which cut out the object images in conjunction with their background and make an identification judgement by a neural network using their color, motion, texture and other available factors. Simulation results have shown a high success rate on recognition among the objects in the different category, and the method has been verified to hold great promise.

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This paper proposes a new algorithm which compares contents in the frames. This algorithm divides original images into the regions, and tracks separated regions.

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A audio and video multi-point communication system, which consists of audio and video real-time communication terminals and WS/PC connected by a 10-Mbps Ethernet, attains a variety of audio and video applications. A multi-point communication server, implemented as WS's programs and a video multiplexing unit, is developed for terminals that have only the capability of point-to-point real-time audio-video communication. The server emulates a terminal's real-time communication protocol on TCP/IP and serves terminals as an audio and video application provider, such as teleconferencing and video on demand. A software decoder program using decode delay control makes PC/WS communicate the terminal in real-time.

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This paper shows that region sizes have influence for the human visual system to recognize subjects in the image, and proposes an algorithm that makes use of the region sizes to get the satisfying segmented image for the human visual system. Simulation is carried out by approximating texture information using a two-dimensional polynomial function. Texture-information coding is also investigated with an easy way of expression.

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We propose an interactive 3-D object recovery system using 2-D images captured by a single video camera. The system is designed to allow images that contain a single rigid object positioned in any arbitrary environment. The user only has to select feature points on displayed images. Our system revises position of the feature points using image processing techniques. Our system recovers shape and motion of object using 3-D object reconstruction algorithms. Especially, our algorithm can judge whether there is an unique solution using only the input images. And our system pastes textures of the object on the recovered 3-D object shape in real time, and integrates multiple reconstructed structures to complete the entire 3-D object modeling.

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For realization of video communication services for the office, we present a video CODEC with an Ethernet interface useable over a LAN. This video CODEC is contorolled by various terminals with TCP/IP and conforms to multi-platform use. We also propose a control algorithm for purging transmission delay that obstructs a smooth video communication over a LAN. Evaluated on a TV phone system in LAN using the video CODEC, we show that the algolithm is effective in purging delay of transmission without adversely infulencing communication.

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The demand for digital video communication services across LAN (Local Area Network) is increasing rapidly. Network traffic across a LAN adversely influences the realtime delivery of video frames. Realization of digital video communication services requires managing QOS (Quality Of Service). This paper describes a prototype of a video delivery system over a LAN. This system manages QOS by controling network traffic flow. Experiment results demonstrate reduced interruption of video frames.

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This paper reviews earlier work concerning variable-block-size motion compensation and proposes a plan for optimum bit allocation between motion-related information and motion-compensated interframe prediction residues. The block-size is generally fixed in motion compensation for image sequence. But fixed-block-size motion compensation uses the same block size in a region which has complicated motions as in a region with calm motions. Motions cannot be compensated effectively and the method invites blocking effects.

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This paper proposes a new method for controlling bits assigned to motion vectors for variable-block-size motion compensation. It uses hierarchical images to detect motion vectors. The block size is decided by the termination of motion search in a hierarchy level with a small matching error. The error threshold can be set up according to a desired number of bits assigned to motion vectors. A relation between the threshold and the number of bits is presented. The equation is used to control the motion bits. Efficacy of the proposed method is confirmed by video coding simulation.

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