A navigator efforts to guide a ship for safe and efficient navigation, and s/he gets a navigational information through five senses. Visual information is most important because it is said to occupy more than eighty percents to whole information. We are researching on relationship between a visual image of seascape and a physiological/ a body response using ship bridge simulator, which is used to train and educate ship handling and how to handle a navigational instrument. The simulator training is popular worldwide. The purpose of this paper is to find characteristics of body response to artificial ship movement by vision and motion platform. The result shows characteristics of body response to artificial rolling and pitching by vision and motion platform differ.

The radio detection and ranging (radar) is one useful instrument which a navigator uses to attempt safe navigation in poor visibility and night navigation. In the case of poor visibility and/or many similar targets in a close area, navigators sometimes make an error in recognizing the direction when they find the target in the landscape from radar information-target direction, distance, echo size, echo shape, sweep and relationship among targets' echoes. Also, they can make errors when finding the radar target's echo from the target information in the landscape. We have to prevent the errors to ensure safe navigation. The purpose of this paper is to find characteristics of target recognition using simulated marine radar in two steps: 1) to propose a model for radar target recognition; 2) to evaluate the errors of target recognition on the radar monitor by using two basic experiments.

We propose a relative estimation method for subjective age, imaged by ourselves, using peoples' facial images and their chronological (real) age. We experimented with a rating scale for facial images which stimulated subjects. The subject evaluated an image as looking older than themselves with a range of responses. Finding an approximation curve of this range, the zero crossing point in the approximation curve is defined as the subjective age. The experimental result shows that the subjective age tends to be found in negative direction (tendency to estimate oneself as younger than actual). Besides, there are other trends between gender, between age groups, and between the different expressions such as ordinary and smiling.

We developed a direction system for assisting the work in a real world from a distant site. At first, the 3-D shape of the object is measured and sent to the distant PC. A supervisor at the distant site can observe the CG of the object and draw annotation figures on it. The figures of the direction message are projected onto the object using projectors. The worker is free from any wearing equipment, ex. HMD, and multi projectors avoid the problem of occlusion by the worker body.

In order for the navigator to handle the ship for safe navigation, he/she judges the navigational information through the five senses. Here, we think that visual information is the most important because it is said to occupy eighty percent of the whole information. We research on the relationship between the visual environment and its influence on the ship's bridge simulator. It is used to train and educate the handling of ships as well as the handling of some navigational instruments. The purpose of this paper is to find characteristics of the body sway of the navigators and inexperienced persons for rolling created through the picture of ship's bridge simulator not physically or mechanically. The four kinds of visual field (210/spl deg/, 150/spl deg/, 90/spl deg/, and 30/spl deg/) are also carried out. The results show that the characteristic of body sway is different among navigators, inexperienced persons and seasick subjects, and the body sway tunes with the period of rolling while subjects feel the true rolling.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the radar echo signal data in marine radar system, and we tackle a problem on suppression of the sea clutter on marine radar display by using Wavelet Transform, which gives optimum cut-off frequency with time (distance). Also, we propose Signal to Clutter Ratio (S.C.R.) to evaluate our method and optimum cut-off Wavelet coefficients. The experiment carried out by using X band radar (3 cm wave length) off marine practice center of our school in Awaji Island. In short, the collection of the radar echo signal data reflected from floats, test buoy and a ship carried out in smooth and moderate sea conditions, and targets distance is 0.13, 0.24 and 1.17 nautical miles each. The received signals are processed by 8 bits, 120MHz NO converter and stored in the 8 Mbytes memory by our system.

We describe a method for observing multiple targets in a wide-area spatial environment using a distributed vision system (DVS). The DVS is constructed of some 'watching stations' that consist of a camera, an image processor and a computer network that connects each systems. The system's goal is to track multiple people in a wide-area that cannot be watched by single visual sensor. Our approach is based on three algorithms; an algorithm for real-time human tracking, the task decision algorithms of individual watching stations, and the object-matching method used between stations. We also describe experimental results that show the validity of our approach.

The purpose of this paper is to find characteristics of the body and physiological response to visual simulation of rolling from the standpoint of our thinking. There is a difference of unconscious response to the ship's environment between the human navigator and inexperienced persons, and we measured the subject's center of gravity, R-R interval and nasal temperature to evaluate our thinking.

A range image segmentation contest was organized in conjunction with ICPR'2000. The goal is to continue the effort of experimentally evaluating range image segmentation algorithms initiated by Hoover et al. (1996) and Powell et al. (1998). This paper summarizes the results of the contest.

It is the foundation that the absolute fringe order is discerned in 3-D image measurement methods, such as spatial pattern projection technique and Moire topography. The reason is that the depth range of the object is computed from the correspondence relation between the fringe order of a reflective pattern and the depth of an object. Multiple images are need by the conventional method for discerning the fringes order. Moreover, it has a problem of phase unwrapping in the phase analysis method of a Moire pattern or other interfering pattern. So it is difficult to calculate the absolute phase or to discern the relation between the fringes, especially in cases of which the fringes are discontinuous or the objects are isolated, and so forth. The technique of using modulation projection with 3-D information is presented. A new fringes pattern whose fringe intensity or color changes with its order is produced. Thus the fringe order can be extracted easily from the fringe intensity or color, and then the absolute phase and the absolute depth range can be obtained also. This technique needs only a single image or double images.

Describes an attractiveness evaluation model based on the physical features of image regions. The word "attractiveness" here means salient, which is to get the attention of viewers. The model uses the heterogeneity of regions in color, texture, shape, and size, as well as the potential attractiveness of color, spatial frequency, and size as the evaluation parameters. These parameters significantly contribute to the attractiveness in our subjective experiments. The model calculates the level of attractiveness by first merging the parameters through weighted linear combination, and then by providing the merged value to the Beta function, i.e., one of the S curve functions.

In this paper we propose a new method of shadowing in image based rendering (IBR). A model-based rendering is the principal method of computer graphics (CG). It needs a perspective transform or light source from three-dimensional models. On the other hand, the method called IBR generates images from multiple real images. It can easily represent objects that are very complex or vague form. And it is less costly for IBR to calculate than such a ray tracing. In this paper, we focus the representation of a shadow that is a weak point in the IBR. Images under arbitrary position of light source can be interpolated from multiple light source images. Moreover, we can synthesize the IBR image to a virtual space and apply to arbitrary view point of IBR object with shadowing. Our shadowing method uses shadow image extracted from a real scene, so it can represent transparent objects.

It is possible to consider a mastered skill to be an optimal skill under some conditions, especially in the field of sports, We call an ideal skill generated in an artificial environment like a computer, an "artificially mastered skill". There must exist an objective function which represents the objective of the optimization for the skill. The objective function plays the most important role in defining the meaning of the mastered skill. In this paper, we propose a computer simulation method of generating artificially mastered motions for an upper limb during baseball pitching by using a three-dimensional mathematical model and an optimizing method. We report the consequences of simulation experiments for several objective functions that define the mastered skill in the meaning of "nonwasteful" and/or "smooth". From the consequences, we also investigate the property of an "artificially mastered skill motion" generated from each objective function, paying attention to differences among the consequent motions for each objective function from the viewpoints of kinematics and dynamics.

In this paper, we propose a tool for extracting composition information fi-om pictures called the Composition Analyzer.This tool extracts such composition information as the shapes, proportions, andlocations of figures, by two processes.More specifically, it first segments a picture into figures and a ground by a figure extraction method we developed.It then extracts the above composition information tirn ihe fiiures based on the Dynamic Symmetry principle.The extracted composition information is used to refine the picture, and as such, facilitates the production of multimedia for nonprofessionals.

Moire topography has the advantage that it just requires a single image, but it cannot discern the fringe order. So, it is difficult to discern the connection among fringes in the case where the fringe orders are not continuous. In our work, an intensity modulated moire is presented. By modulating the transmission of projection and observation grating, the moire pattern whose fringe intensity changes with its order can be produced. The fringe order can be obtained easily from its intensity, so the skeleton of fringes in every order can be extracted to discern the global 3-D shape by intensity analysis. In the same time, we can segment the moire pattern by its fringe order. In every segment, the accurate 3-D shape among the skeletons can be calculated by phase analysis.

In this paper, we propose a method for estimation of illuminant spectral distribution using geometrical information. To realize color constancy, it is important to separate the illuminant light color from the reflected light. The light reflected from an object consists of the surface reflection component that is equal to the light-source color, and the body reflection that corresponds the object color. Their intensities vary depending upon the light source, the camera, and the object's geometrical shape information. We estimate the illuminant spectral distribution based on the difference between these intensities, and show effectiveness of this method by experiments.

It is important to express the realism and quality of human skin in computer graphics. We obtain spectral distributions of skin in vivo and attempt to extract the features that show the characteristics of skin by multivariate analysis. Furthermore, we introduce what we learned from the analyses into our proposal model to compute the spectral distributions of virtual skin.

We present a wide area human tracking method using distributed computer vision systems. Each vision system consists of a camera and an image processor and they are all connected through a computer network. In this paper, we propose a method for human tracking and for coordination of all the vision systems. The human tracking method works on each vision system and uses a type of model based template matching to track moving people at 15 frame/sec on a standard personal computer. Coordination between the vision systems is necessary to achieve consistent wide area tracking. We use a state transition map and several action rules to synchronize the image processing between systems. All the vision systems share the state transition map jointly and decide their own actions according to the action rules. We describe experimental results that show the validity of our approach.

We propose a stereo matching algorithm based on shapes and mutual location relationships of granitic patterns of stone surface. This algorithm is divided into two steps. At the first step, granitic patterns which have most similar shapes are matched as an initial matching. At the second step, the other patterns are matched using the relational graph made from relative locations of patterns. This algorithm effectively works for stone statues.

Visual simulation using computer graphics has attracted wide attention in many fields. In this paper, we propose a method of modeling and visualizing pearls to implement a pearl visual simulator. Pearls manifest a very specific optical phenomenon. To investigate this feature, we propose a physical model of blurring and pearl interference. The experimental results show that the physics-based-modeling of internal blurring in the multilayer of a pearl and the partial coherent interference model are effective for high quality pearl visualization. This paper finally describes the possibility that this simulator can be practically used in jewellery shops.

Visual simulation using CG and VR has attracted wide attention in the machine vision field. This paper proposes a method of modeling and visualizing pearls that will be the central technique of a pearl-quality evaluation simulator. Pearls manifest a very specific optical phenomenon that is not dependent on the direction of the light source. To investigate this feature, we propose a physical model, called an illuminant model for multilayer film interference considering the multiple reflection in spherical bodies. The rendering algorithm has been configured from such representations of physical characteristics as interference, mirroring, and texture, which correspond, respectively, to the sense of depth, brightness, and grain that are the main evaluation factors obtained from psychological experiments. Further, portions of photos of real pearls and the images generated by the present method were evaluated based on a scale of psychological evaluations of pearl-like quality demonstrating, thereby, that not merely the generated images as a whole, but the respective parts of images can present such a pearl-like quality.

An application of the pose detection using range images usually uses characteristic matching of the geometrical model but this method has two problems: selecting characteristics from range images is difficult; and it is difficult to make a geometrical model for a complicated shape. Previously a parametric eigen-space method was proposed for pose detection. This method makes object recognition and pose detection possible, but this parametric eigen-space method has a problem that intensity-images depend on a variety of light conditions therefore learning images must include variation of light conditions.

We propose a new method to track 3-D motion of an object in real-time, using range images. A very high speed range sensor "Silicon Range Finder" makes it possible to acquire range images at more than 30 frames per second, and rotated to keep the object in the measurable area. Rough but fast results of range image processing controls the angle of the range sensor, and the object centered range images decide the pose of the object. The 3-D CG rendering hardware of the graphics workstation generates range images from the surface model very fast, so it makes the comparison algorithm simple. Tracking speed and accuracies of estimated motion seem to be feasible for the man-machine cooperative systems.

A new method of recognition of material types is described. To materialize this idea, this paper proposes a simple color reflection model based on a dichromatic reflection model which classifies colored opaque objects into three categories: "metallic", "matte nonmetallic" and "glossy nonmetallic". In addition processing of a spectral image for indoor object recognition is described. An experimental image acquisition system with 2D scanning of a spectrometer is able to generate 2D spectral images, like a multi-band image. As applications of the spectral images, a spectral image is used to recognise material types, and the validity of this method is shown by experiments.

A new color image acquisition system which can measure continuous spectral pixel data in order to apply continuous spectral images to object recognition. For segmentation of continuous spectral image, object contours can be detected by checking the correlation coefficient between neighboring pixels. Also the continuous spectral images can be used as reference image when selecting the most suitable imaging sensor, such as a gray scale camera, a RGB camera or a spectral camera with narrow band-pass filter. When investigating features in spectral distribution, object recognition should be simplified for color objects.

This paper describes the development of an anthropomorphic visual sensor with retina-like structure to perform the polar mapping. The sensor consists of a dove prism for image rotation and a linear CCD sensor with 512 pixel/line resolution, and holds approximately 45 Kbytes of image data. The retina-like sensor has variable resolution with increasing density towards the center of the visual field, and performs the polar transforming directly. The motion equation that relates the egomotion and/or the motion of the object in the scene to the optical flow is considerably simplified if the velocity is represented in a polar coordinate system, as opposed to a cartesian representation. Development of this sensor holds promise in application to high speed tracking systems, such as the eyes of navigation robots, because it has a data reduction characteristics and mapping function onto the polar plane.

Presents a range imaging VLSI sensor which gives a range image of a scene with high robustness and high accuracy at a video frame rate. No adjustment is required. Photodiodes and operational circuits are integrated into each pixel of the range imaging VLSI sensor to function as analog/digital micro-rangefinders. The 2D array of the micro-rangefinders, the range imaging VLSI sensor, acquires frames of range data in fully parallel manner as a light stripe is swept across a scene. Complementary pairs of photodiodes in each cell realize reliable capturing of range data without being disturbed by temperature drift, ambient light, manufacturing irregularities or other noise. A prototype system has been built using a 24/spl times/24 VLSI array of sensing elements and gives 24/spl times/24 range images at a video frame rate.>

An approach to music interpretation by computers is discussed. A rule-based music interpretation system is being developed that generates sophisticated performance from a printed music score. The authors describe the function of learning how to play music, which is the most important process in music interpretation. The target to be learned is expression rules and grouping strategy: expression rules are used to convert dynamic marks and motives into concrete performance data, and grouping strategy is used to extract motives from sequences of notes. They are learned from a given virtuoso performance. The delicate control of attack timing and of the duration and strength of the notes is extracted by the music transcription function. The performance rules are learned by investigating how the same or similar musical primitives are played in a performance. As for the grouping strategy, the system analyzes how the player grouped music and registers dominant note sequences to extract motives.>

A recognition method for roughly hand-drawn diagrams based on hybrid utilization of multilayered knowledge is described. This method is free from various drawing constraints which previous systems cannot avoid. It is based on two concepts: (1) no strict segmentation should be performed-various hypotheses of symbols should be considered; and (2) various kinds of knowledge should be utilized-ambiguity of a figure can thus be resolved. Experimental results show that this method is effective for the recognition of roughly hand-drawn logical diagrams.>

Sentiments are extracted from real performance through three steps: transcription, musical primitive analysis, and music understanding. In the transcription step, the acoustic signal is transformed into notes. Musical primitives such as chord progression, melody, rhythm, and tempo are analyzed from the notes using musical knowledge. Musical primitives are meaningful for the atmosphere of music. Sentiments are extracted by firing the heuristic rules representing the relation between musical primitives and sentiments for music understanding.>

A rule-driven recognition system of a 3-D scene using range images is described. The system is constructed with a production system. A scene is described with simple a surface patch network (planar or quadric) by examining the local curvature of objects. The region and edge network is interpreted with IF-THEN-like heuristic rules. The system can recognize smoothly joined curved surfaces and explain the structure of a scene consisting of plural objects. The experiments have been carried out with real range data.>

The fundamental frequency of signal is one of the important information. We can obtain the frequency of periodic wave from the peak of spectrum calculated by FFT. But the resolution of peak frequency is not so high. To get higher resolution, some methods have been proposed. They require a great deal of calculation. To improve the calculation speed, this paper proposes a new method to estimate the fundamental frequency in short observation interval using the complex spectrum. The phase component of complex spectrum gives us a useful information to increase the resolution. Using the characteristics of complex spectrum, we obtained the peak frequency with negligible error. This method requires a little caliclation. The frequency of signal can be estimated in real time when an array processor is used.

This paper describes a system which can automatically transcribe sung songs into music note. Pitch detection and segmentation of sung songs are more difficult than that of instrumental tone. Because there are anbiguous transients, such as vibrato, between adjacent tone. In this paper, we use knowledges of the music, for example, tempo, musical form and key of the song. The division of the time into the sub-unit is performed in the first place by using musical form and tempo. Next the pitch of sub-unit is detected by the interpolation in the complex spectrum. The key of the song is used to correct errorsof the pitch of sub-units. In the ethnomusicology, there is a large number of folksongs which have not been transcribed yet. This system can serve as a supporting facility for the ethnomusicology.