Vol.6 No.3 (October, 2011)

Imaging and Recognition Solutions

Image recognition/analysis

HARADA Noriaki ・AOKI Masaru ・MIKAMI Akiko ・MINESHITA Satoshi ・SAITO Shigetsu

NEC has developed a flow line analysis system that analyzes the positions and conditions of persons based on camera images, combined with attribute information obtained from sensor tags. This system “visualizes” the positions and conditions of persons from images provided by several monitoring cameras and can be used as a tool for gaining an understanding of the behaivor taken by employees inside plants and distribution warehouses, as well as customers inside stores. This paper introduces related technologies for realizing this and relevant application examples.

KANEKO Hiroshi ・OZAWA Takato ・NOMURA Toshiyuki ・IWAMOTO Kota

NEC’s video identification technology enables instant video content identification by extracting a unique descriptor called a “video signature” from video content. This technology is approved as the MPEG-7 Video Signature Tool; an international standard of interoperable descriptors used for video identification. The video signature is an extremely robust tool for identifying videos with alternations and editing effects. It facilitates search of very short video scenes. It also has a compact design, making ultrafast searches possible via a compact system. In this paper, we propose video identification solutions for the mass media industries. They adopt video signatures as metadata descriptions to enable efficient video registration operations and the visualization of video content relationships.

Image accumulation/processing

KATSUKI Masahiro ・ARAKAWA Hiroyuki ・TAKAI Ryosuke

The purpose of the traditional image archiving system was to store the records of broadcasts. Since the standardization of the Material eXchange Format (MXF), the management basis of image material has been shifting from tapes to files and the purpose of image archiving has been changing from storage to distribution. Nowadays, the archiving systems of NEC Corporation are capable not only of managing image material but also of constructing new business flow systems for the distribution of image material between broadcasters or between broadcasters and associated commercial interests.

TANAKA Riyouichi

Japanese digital terrestrial TV stations have ceased analog TV broadcasting and shifted to digital TV except for in a few areas. Today, new broadcasting/communication services such as multimedia broadcasting and white space utilization are beginning using the bandwidths vacated by analog broadcasting. Existing broadcasting stations are also advancing efforts for responding to diversification of viewing environments. For example, by introducing Internet broadcasting and other measures such as the secondary use of new contents, which are aimed at meeting the networking needs of the times. This strategy is expected to promote a shift from the previous tape medium to file-based media and the construction of new intra-station systems by applying IP protocol to the TV station networks. This paper introduces the orientation of a next-generation service platform capable of supporting the new services that the TV stations are expected to start up in the near future in order to meet the needs of diversifying video content.

KISO Yasuharu ・FUKASAKU Masaki

The role of broadcasting stations in news production workflow is primarily to promptly communicate accurate information. The changeover from tape media to file-based media usage, including that used in news coverage of on-air broadcasting can improve the workflow that used to impose a lengthy time longer than actual recording hours. In this paper, the authors also introduce a solution that makes news broadcasting more flexible and faster by the effective utilization of metadata.

MIYAUCHI Yoshihito ・AIBARA Shinji ・KUROKAWA Takafumi ・KAMOTANI Ken

The “Rich UI” (user interface), so to speak, which features a touch panel and animations, is in use with recent smartphones and tablet terminals. Rich UI offers the benefit of intuitive operability, however, since magnified and reduced screen displays are used heavily, the rendering process capability of the CPUs built into embedded devices at times becomes insufficient. In some cases 3D graphics hardware is implemented on to counter this, however, there have been cases when the amount of hardware becomes so much that the power consumption increases, or the processing capabilities cannot be fully utilized, depending on the type of content. This paper introduces the GA88 series “IWAYAG,” which optimally realizes graphics necessary for the Rich UI of embedded devices, using vector graphics technology.

IKEDA Toshiyuki ・SHINBO Gouhei ・KUROSAWA Naoki ・AOKI Hirofumi ・IURA Toshiyuki

The codec used for transmitting video material is, in principle, subject to various operational limitations as a result of its encoding latency, so there was a need for lower latency encoding. In this paper, NEC introduces a newly developed codec device based on the latest H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video encoding standard to achieve minimum 10 ms codec latency while maintaining broadcast quality.

Image distribution

OMINO Takayuki

NEC has developed a remote system to provide tour guide and interpretation services to foreign tourists in their native languages. This system was made possible by combining wearable computer and unified communication technology, enabling two-way real-time visual and audio communication even while foreign tourists are on the move. Field tests were performed at “specified ubiquitous districts (tourism-oriented country)” in Kyoto as certified by the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, in order to evaluate viability from the standpoints of technology and service.

OOSAKA Tomoyuki

The use of digital signage has been increasing recently. This paper describes the general architecture of digital signage and the functions required for the distribution server and signage terminals respectively. It also reports on the technological issues of digital signage and the trends that accompany its standardization, and introduces the types of digital signage solutions targeted by the NEC Corporation.

ISHIGURO Shin

NEC has been providing an enterprise oriented rental service featuring a “Communication Robot, PaPeRo.” As a part of this service, we have produced a prototype of a “telecommunication robot (a mobile robot performing telecommunication)” that is capable of communicating with people while being operated from remote locations and we are currently undertaking further research and evaluation.A user remotely controls the robot via a PC by watching the images that the robot captures with its camera eyes. This enables smooth communication between a person remotely operating the PaPeRo and those sitting in front of it. The history of communication tools has been progressed via telephone and videophone. The “telecommunication robot” suggests a new possibility of a communication tool in next generation.

General Papers

TAKAMATSU Hiroaki ・KATOU Atsushi ・MORIMOTO Takeshi ・MASUDA Naoki ・
NAKANISHI Shuichi ・JOUGO Shinichirou

As a result of pursuing eco-awareness, long service life, freedom from maintenance and high color reproduction of projectors, more and more projectors are adopting solid-state light source devices. Under this trend, NEC Display Solutions is developing a 3-panel LCD projector that uses LEDs as the light source. The much larger color gamut of the LED light source compared to the conventional light source allows this product to achieve an AdobeRGB coverage of 98%, a level that has been hitherto impossible with traditional projectors. At the same time a long service life, freedom from maintenance and high color reproduction characteristics are also implemented.

KANZAKA Kenji ・KOBAYASHI Michio ・HOSONO Hideaki ・SHIOYA Yukinori ・
NISHIHARA Masahiko ・OGAWA Susumu

As the reduction of the environmental loads of IT equipment is recently becoming an important topic, NEC Display Solutions has developed the NP-M series of standard projectors that incorporate improved environmental performance for enterprises and educational institutions. This paper introduces the environmentally friendly technologies featuring reduced environmental loads that are employed in the NP-M Series of projectors.

KOBAYASHI Reiichi ・ISHII Eisaku

Projectors that offer adaptability of installation in any location and projection on any screen shape improve not only the degree of freedom of usage but also give users more choice of visual expression. In order to respond to this viewpoint, NEC Display Solutions has provided high-class projector models with the geometric distortion correction function since the dawn of business projector production. Recently, the company has succeeded in implementing geometric distortion correction in a system linked to a PC in order to make use of its computing function. The present paper describes how the system is packaged in low-priced models.

MATSUI Katsuyuki ・ISHIWATA Akio ・ITAKURA Naoki

Digital imaging has been the driver of the utilization of color management in order to match color tones across different I/O devices. Conventional displays need complicated adjustments (calibration) using an externally attached color sensor to effectively reproduce color correctly, but the new MultiSyncPA Series displays offer both accurate color reproduction and calibration-free operation for many types of users. This advance is due to the combination of a newly developed image processor ASIC and correction algorithms.

OGAWA Koutarou ・MITSUHASHI Renichi

Public display systems are being expanded with the introduction of large video wall displays.NEC Display Solutions has developed a video wall display system featuring a multi-screen display using ultra-thin bezel LCD panels. This paper introduces the salient features of this system.

MOCHIZUKI Yoshihito

The need for a reduction in the corporate environment burden that results from the increased use of IT equipment is currently a topic of major importance. Aiming at improving the environmental performance of our enterprise-oriented LCD panels, NEC Display Solutions has developed the EX Series (Office Cool) of environmentally friendly models that are marketed as “MultiSync+ECO.” This development places special importance on reductions in the weight and size of the products.This paper describes our efforts for the development of the EX Series by reducing the weight and size compared to that of the previous EA Series.