Tag: ‘Imaging’

Nanotext: Holographic print gets 30 times finer

02 Feb 2007

Nanotext --- On February 1, Toppan Printing unveiled new nanotext printing technology for inserting microscopic text into holographic images. The company says they plan to use nanotext to provide an extra layer of security to their "Crystagram" holographic anti-counterfeit technology. Test production is set to begin later this month.

Toppan's holographic nanotext printing uses electron beams (EB) to print characters 30 times smaller than possible with existing "microtext" technology. With a resolution of about 100 nanometers, it is now possible to print more than 20 holographic characters in a space the width of a human hair (about 80 microns).

Holograms have long been used as an effective method for preventing the counterfeit of items ranging from gift certificates to credit cards to luxury brand products, but organizations find themselves locked into a race with counterfeiters that are quick to adopt new technologies. Nanotext, Toppan argues, provides the next hurdle for counterfeiters to overcome.

Toppan is now working on the technology necessary for mass production, and full market release is scheduled for autumn 2007. The company is aiming for first-year sales of 300 million yen ($2.5 million).

[Source: Toppan press release]

Sayaka: Next-generation capsule endoscope

05 Jan 2007

Sayaka: Next-generation endoscopic capsule --

Endoscopic capsules, ingestible pill-shaped devices designed to capture images from inside the digestive tract, have been around for quite a while. But Sayaka, an endoscopic capsule developed by RF System Lab in December 2005, has dramatically increased the overall image quality by changing the camera position and enabling the camera to rotate.

While conventional capsules -- including RF System Lab's own Norika -- typically have cameras at one end of the capsule, Sayaka's camera has been moved to the side, where it has a better view of the intestinal walls. In addition, a tiny stepper motor rotates the camera as the capsule passes through the digestive tract, allowing Sayaka to capture images from every angle.

Like Norika, Sayaka's power is supplied wirelessly from an external source, primarily so that no harmful battery substances get into the body.

On a typical 8-hour, 8-meter (26 feet) journey through the gastrointestinal tract, Sayaka snaps approximately 870,000 photos, which are sent to a receiver located near the body. Image mosaicking technology is then used to stitch the images together into a flat, high-resolution rectangular map of the intestines, which can be magnified up to 75 times. In addition to scouring the maps for problem areas, gastroenterologists can compare maps from previous sessions to track changes in a patient's condition.

And as if all that were not enough, RF System Lab has released a trippy Sayaka promo video featuring a smooth disco/house soundtrack and starring a naked humanoid that floats over the Nazca Lines, shooting beams from its eyes as it scans the landscape below. Cool.

[Link: Sayaka homepage]

Model train controlled via brain-machine interface

17 Nov 2006

Hitachi brain-machine interface -- Hitachi has successfully tested a brain-machine interface that allows users to turn power switches on and off with their mind. Relying on optical topography, a neuroimaging technique that uses near-infrared light to map blood concentration in the brain, the system can recognize the changes in brain blood flow associated with mental activity and translate those changes into voltage signals for controlling external devices. In the experiments, test subjects were able to activate the power switch of a model train by performing mental arithmetic and reciting items from memory.

The prototype brain-machine interface allows only simple control of switches, but with a better understanding of the subtle variations in blood concentrations associated with various brain activities, the signals can be refined and used to control more complex mechanical operations.

In the long term, brain-machine interface technology may help paralyzed patients become independent by empowering them to carry out actions with their minds. In the short term, Hitachi sees potential applications for this brain-machine interface in the field of cognitive rehabilitation, where it can be used as an entertaining tool for demonstrating a patient?s progress.

The company hopes to make this technology commercially available in five years.

[Source: Yomiuri Shimbun via Seihin World]

Iris recognition technology for mobile phones

06 Nov 2006

Iris recognition techology for cellphones -- On November 6, Oki Electric announced the development of iris recognition technology for camera-equipped mobile phones. Unlike Oki's previous iris recognition technology that relies on infrared cameras for the iris scan, the new technology uses ordinary cellphone cameras.

With plans to make the technology commercially available in March 2007, Oki hopes to boost the security of cellphone payment systems.

According to Oki, any camera-equipped cellphone or PDA can perform iris recognition once the special software is installed. Identification accuracy is said to be high, with only 1 in 100,000 scans resulting in error, and the system can tell the difference between flesh-and-blood eyes and photographs.

[Sources: Nikkei Net, Oki press release]

Intelligent wheelchair sees all

21 Sep 2006

SOS: Stereo Omnidirectional System --

On September 20, Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) unveiled an intelligent wheelchair that relies on an omnidirectional camera for a view of its surroundings, avoids collisions with people and obstacles, and knows when something is wrong with the chair's occupant. Developed with the cooperation of the National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, the new technology is expected to improve the safety and security of electric wheelchairs for the disabled and elderly.

While the increased prevalence of electric wheelchairs has improved the mobility of persons with serious disabilities, they have also resulted in an increased number of collisions and accidents. To boost wheelchair safety, AIST engineers incorporated elements of intelligent automotive systems, which are capable of calculating the risk of collisions before they happen and automatically applying the brakes when necessary.

The prototype wheelchair is equipped with a camera system -- interestingly dubbed Stereo Omnidirectional System (SOS) -- whose 360-degree field of vision has no blind spot. Relying on the camera images, the chair detects potential hazards that arise while in motion and decelerates or stops accordingly. The chair also checks the occupant for signs of abnormality (unusual posture) and is equipped with a function that allows the occupant to control the chair by gesturing (pointing). Check out the AIST press release for videos of the chair in action.

The wheelchair is currently equipped with a function for transmitting the camera's color video via wireless LAN, and AIST is investigating the possibility of enabling the video to be delivered via cellular phone and providing support for remote-control functions. AIST will soon subject the prototype to rigorous testing and continue upgrading the functions.

This intelligent wheelchair technology will be demonstrated at the 2006 Home Care and Rehabilitation Exhibition scheduled for September 27 to 29 in Tokyo.

[Sources: MYCOM Journal and AIST press release]

Fujitsu develops “invisible” barcode

15 Sep 2006

FP Code -- On September 13, Fujitsu unveiled a new type of "invisible" barcode, called FP (Fine Picture) code, which allows data to be embedded directly into color print photographs. FP code consists of a series of faint yellow lines -- said to be invisible to the naked eye -- which are overlaid on the photograph during the printing process. Once encoded, a photograph can retain its original quality while serving as an "object hyperlink" to websites that users can access via mobile phone.

To use FP code, users must first download special free software to their camera-equipped phone. Then, when the camera is used to take a picture of an encoded photograph, the code is sent to a server where it is converted into URL data, which is used to connect the user's mobile phone to the corresponding website. Text, video and audio content can then be delivered directly to the user's phone.

The first examples of FP code will reportedly begin to appear in Japanese catalogs and magazine advertisements as early as October. If FP code is what Fujitsu claims it is, we may soon bear witness to the disappearance of unsightly barcodes and QR code (2D code) from print material.

One thing, though. If FP code is invisible, how will anyone know where to point their camera?

[Sources: Asahi Shimbun and Fujitsu press release]

3800-year-old mummy gets a face

22 Jun 2006

Computer-generated image of mummy faceOn June 21, researchers at Waseda University's Institute of Egyptology unveiled the computer-generated facial image of an ancient Egyptian military commander that lived about 3,800 years ago. The image is based on CAT scans taken of a mummy.

Researchers claim the mummy, which was unearthed near Cairo at an archeological site in North Dashur, is from ancient Egypt's 13th dynasty (c.1756 to c.1630 BC), and according to inscriptions on the sarchophagus, it appears to be that of a military commander named Senw.

The facial image, which was created by a team of graphic artists from the Joshibi University of Art and Design, is based on bone structure data obtained from CAT scans of the mummy. The research group determined that he was a middle-aged to elderly man, and from information such as the military commander's title they hypothesized he was of mixed race. The artists worked to provide the face with strong, military commander-like features, referring to ancient Egyptian pictorial representations and sculptures.

"We had to rely on artististic imagination for the parts we did not understand," says Sakuji Yoshimura, Waseda University professor who led the research team. Several faces were generated, and the one that most resembled that of a military commander was chosen.

The face will be on display to the public beginning in July at Fukuoka City Museum.

You can read more about the mummy HERE.

[Source: Asahi Shimbun]

3D image of Milky Way shows deformed galaxy

28 Mar 2006

Researchers from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) and Tokyo University have created a three-dimensional image of the Milky Way -- reportedly the first of its kind. The image depicts a disk-shaped galaxy with a large deformity in one area, and it indicates the presence of five spiral arms as opposed to the six commonly believed to exist. The results of the research were presented at a meeting of the Astronomical Society of Japan in Wakayama City on March 28.

3D image of Milky Way

(The area on the bottom-left is deformed. The red area represents neutral hydrogen gas, the green represents hydrogen molecular gas, and the area at bottom is blank due to a lack of data.)

Because interstellar dust interferes with attempts to observe the galaxy?s visible light, the researchers focused on studying radio waves emitted by hydrogen, which is abundant in our galaxy. A variety of existing observation data from radio telescopes in Europe, the Americas, and Australia was collected, and after 6 years of analyzing the quantities and movement of hydrogen gas, an image of the three-dimensional structure of the galaxy emerged.

Gas quantities were calculated from the strength of radio waves emitted by hydrogen gas, and gas locations were obtained from calculations based on the galaxy?s rotational speed. Using the resulting distribution map of gas density, a computer was able to recreate the shape of the galaxy.

"The image can help provide a visual understanding of the cosmos that we live in," says NAOJ Nobeyama Radio Observatory researcher Hiroyuki Nakanishi. "I hope it can play a role in education."

The Milky Way is estimated to be roughly 65,000 light years in radius and 10,000 light years thick.

[Sources: Mainichi Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun, NRO press release (with high-resolution images)]

Camera system for the ultimate narcissist?

02 Mar 2006

Cosmetics giant Kao has developed a "multi-perspective image analysis system" that captures facial images from a variety of angles and under various lighting conditions, for the purpose of analyzing skin characteristics such as tone and sheen. The system's ability to perform detailed analysis of make-up finish means it will likely play a role in cosmetic product development.

Kao's multi-perspective image analysis system

At 3 meters (10 feet) in diameter, the semi-spherical apparatus consists of 20 cameras and 50 lights, enabling users to observe subtle changes in how the skin looks under a wide range of indoor and outdoor lighting conditions.

Some captured images

In addition to the frontal view that you see in the mirror, the system records lateral and diagonal images, allowing you to check how the face appears to others. Make-up finish and the beauty of bare skin can be quantitatively analyzed.

Kao says the system was used in the development of its new foundation, Sofina Raycious Perfect Angle Powder, which went on sale at the end of February.

[Source: IT Media]

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