Ryuji Nishimura

Digital Still Camera System For Megapixel CCD

We have developed a digital still camera system processing images by a combination of hardware and software to meet the demand of both high speed and flexibility. The system is capable of supporting CCDs with image size from VGA (640/spl times/480) to SXGA (1280/spl times/960), progressive and interlaced type scanning, and color filters of primary RGB and complementary MGCY signals. The still image processing time for YUV conversion is completed in approximately one frame for the progressive scan type CCD.

A Solid State Color Video Camera with a Horizontal Readout MOS Imager

Since 1981 when we marketed worlds first MOS color video camera1), we have been continuously improving the performance of this line of video cameras in order to match the market needs year by year2). We recognize, however, the performance we have achieved is not satisfactory enough.

A RGB- gamma CCD camera with a novel color matrix

The authors describe a simplified RGB- gamma signal processing system with a single-chip CCD (charge-coupled device) imager and two BiCMOS LSIs, which led to the realization of a compact camera with good color reproduction. Two ICs, a signal processing IC and an imager drive IC, were developed. Adopting this simplified system, a CCD camera was realized which is small in size, free from aliasing, and excellent in color reproduction. >

A real-time object extraction processor

We have developed an LSI for extracting a target object from a moving video image using 0.8 /spl mu/m CMOS technology. By incorporating CPUs in the chip and applying a novel algorithm called sequential growing (SG), real-time operation is realized. This chip is able to extract at most twelve objects, label them, and compute their position and size every 1/60 second.<<ETX>>

Real-time object extraction system with sequential growing

This paper describes a novel system for real-time object extraction from a moving video image. The object extraction method employed in this system has two features. The first one is multi-channel thresholding in a color space for extracting a target with several colors as a single object. The color space is normalized by luminance to make the process robust against light intensity fluctuations. The other feature is a key algorithm, called sequential growing, which exploits interfield correlation of a video image and realizes field-rate operation. In this algorithm, a binary image representing a target object is generated by growing an initially given mask image horizontally and vertically until whole object is extracted. We have also fabricated a 0.8 micrometers CMOS chip to incorporate the system into a compact video camera, which has successfully extracted objects in a number of general scenes.