Kazumasa Enami

Morphological segmentation of sport scenes using color information

We propose a new method for segmenting image sequences in sports scenes containing brisk movement. An important feature of this method is the computation of color histograms in the areas for the turf, which is done interactively during rehearsal. Another important feature is automatic morphological segmentation during broadcast. The morphological segmentation consists of two operations: coarse segmentation by binary reconstruction based on the areas detected by thresholding the color histogram, and fine segmentation by watershed transformation with markers. It is shown that this new method achieves accurate segmentation in sport scenes.

Desktop virtual studio system

We have been developing a desktop virtual studio (DVS) that allows video producers to create various studio shots on a desktop work space as if those are shot in a real studio. Electronically generated or stored sets, actors, and a camera are integrated in a virtual workspace, and producers can manipulate them through specially designed man-machine interfaces. Our prototype DVS system can realize virtual shooting where two prerecorded actors are performing in virtual sets generated by real-time computer graphics. We discuss the prototype DVS and its application to desktop program production (DTPP).

A Proposed Universal Signal-Processing System

The diversification of television production methods and the appearance of new broadcast services have made current production systems more complex. The authors propose a new approach to developing a simpler and more flexible production system in which all video signal processing is done by standardized hardware modules performing a wide range of video processing under the control of software. In this article, the concept of the proposed system and a model program-production system are considered and the architecture of a system capable of real-time video signal processing is discussed.

Virtual Museum-3-D fine art appreciation system

We have developed an interactive multimedia system for the appreciation of three-dimensional art objects, such as porcelain and sculptures. With the system, the viewer is able to see a representation of the object from various directions as if holding it in his/her hands. He/she can enjoy the object images on high-quality HDTV (Hi-Vision) display, with supplementary audio and written information about the object. This system consists of (1) a video server, to store the HDTV images of the fine arts, which have been shot from various paths around the fine arts at 0.2 degree intervals; (2) a specially designed manipulator to select a desired image from the server; and (3) an HDTV or stereoscopic HDTV display, and accompanying spectacles. The HDTV video server can randomly access data at a video rate (1/60 sec), so as to quickly respond to the operations of the manipulator. The experimental system has been tested by many artists and scientists for operability and effectiveness, and has been confirmed as useful for art galleries and other educational institutions.

Tapeless and Tape Recording Technologies for Desktop Program Production

This paper reports on the concept and configurations of the desktop program production (DTPP) system and specifications of the storage system for the multimedia data base in the DTPP. The current technologies of VTRs, hard disks, and magneto-optical disks for the storage system, as well as the latest research results related to high-speed and high-density recording technologies, are also introduced.

Real-Time Video Signal Processing System For Dynamic Images

A real-time video signal processing system (Picot-system) has been developed which processes multiple color time-varying images at video-rate and carries out various image processing functions such as edge detection, and geometrical transformation. The system is a multi-processor system including several hundred processors, and is divided into cascaded clusters, each of which has 16 processors. Each processor has an image memory to store all data required for its own processing, thus eliminating memory-access conflict. These processors and cluster inputs/outputs are connected by a crossbar network, which carries out all combinations of connections, and processors operate in both parallel and pipeline fashion. Micro-program controlled system has a control mechanism and arithmetic functions suitable for image signal processing. Performance of the system improves in proportion to the number of processors. The processors and network are virtually all LSIs, which use CMOS gate-array technology. The Picot-system can be applied to various fields such as medical imaging, robot vision, video CODEC, broadcast video production, and so on.

NTSC Simultaneous Transmission System for Dual Signals.

A simultaneous transmission system for dual video signals has been developed. It can transmit two conventional TV signals through a single analog channel. The system uses an analog bandwidth compression technique. The signal to be transmitted is divided into several sub-bands in a two-dimensional spatial frequency domain, cutting out the high diagonal component. The sub-band signals then transmitted by a time division multiplex form. The encoded signal conforms to the NTSC signal format.

Digital Image Sequence Storage and Display System.

動画像処理の研究を効率良く進めるためのツールとして, 各種の動画像シミュレータが国内外のメーカから市販されている.動画像シミュレータは, 大容量の半導体メモリーとコンピュータから構成されており, 1つのシステムで, 標準テレビ信号だけでなくハイビジョンなど各種の信号を扱うことができるものが多い.本解説では, NHKに導入されているシステムを中心に, そのハードウェア構成や制御ソフトウェアを紹介する.また, 関連の新しい技術動向について述べる.

Special Issue Imaging Processing-Algorithm and System. A Consideration on Motion Detection for Video Synthesis.

A new video synthesis method is proposed. In this method, the key for extracting moving objects is given in the first frame. In the following frames, the key is moved and transformed according to the detected motion-vector of the objects. Then with this transformed key, the objects are extracted automatically and synthesized. A motion-vector detection method suitable for this synthesis is discussed. According to the experiment using motion pictures with pan, tilt, zoom, and rotation, the matching method obtains an error smaller than •}2 pixels with detection points of 4 distant areas on the edge of the objects. It is confirmed that this synthesis method can be achieved at a video-rate on the real-time video signal processing system called the Picot-system.

Universal video signal processor. Picot system.

番組制作形態の多様化, 放送メディアの多元化に対処するために, 映像信号を高度に, 効率よく処理する「汎用映像処理システム」を提案する.このシステムは, 規格化された同種のハードウェアを用いて, ソフトウェアを変えることにより広汎な映像信号処理のニーズに対応しようとするものである.この概念を具体化するために, 約200台のプロセッサを持つ並列コンピュータ, Picotシステムを開発した.このシステムは, 14.3MHz, または13.5MHzでサンプリングされた映像信号を実時間で処理する.処理内容は, 階調処理, 時間・空間フィルタリング, 幾何学変換, 複数画像処理など放送局でよく使用されているものであり, これを複数同時に実行する.Picotシステムで多数使用するプロセッサや相互接続するネットワークは, 新規開発したLSIを使用している.