An electronic device may include a position detecting unit that detects a position; a time detecting unit that detects a time; a communicating unit that communicates with a first device provided separately from the position detecting unit and the time detecting unit; and an instructing unit that instructs, via the communicating unit, a first detecting unit provided to the first device to perform detection according to a detection result of the position detecting unit and the time detecting unit. An electronic device may include a position detecting unit that detects a position; a time detecting that detects a time; a physical amount detecting unit that detects a physical amount of an ambient environment according to a detection result position detecting unit and the time detecting unit; and a human detecting that performs detection about human according to a detection result of the physical amount detecting unit.

Detecting a pattern in an image by receiving the image of a pattern and storing the image in a memory, where the pattern is composed of shapes that have geometrical properties that are invariant under near projective transforms. In some embodiments the process detects shapes in the image using the geometrical properties of the shapes, determines the alignment of the various shapes, and, corresponds or matches the shapes in the image with the shapes in the pattern. This pattern detection process may be used for calibration or distortion correction in optical devices.

A system and method is provided for automatically identifying a vehicle and facilitating a transaction related to the vehicle. The system includes a first mobile apparatus with an image sensor that captures an optical image of a vehicle license plate and convert the optical image into an electrical signal, a license plate detector that identifies the vehicle license plate information, and an interface that transmits the vehicle license plate information. The system further includes a remote server that automatically identifies vehicle configuration information based on the vehicle license plate information, automatically transmits the vehicle configuration information to the first mobile device, and automatically provide for access vehicle sales information in response to a posting request from the first mobile apparatus. Moreover, a second mobile apparatus displays the vehicle sales information and automatically initiates the transaction related to the vehicle in response to a user input.

A control device is provided and includes: an acquisition unit that acquires the number of persons from a count unit, the count unit counting up the number of persons in an area based on a detection result of a first detection unit, the first detection unit detecting a person who goes in and out through an entrance of the area; and an operation mode control unit that controls an operation mode of a processing device according to the acquired number of persons.

An information processing apparatus includes a processor. The processor is configured to identify a type of a target document to be processed from a read image obtained by reading the target document; refer to specific-character information, the specific-character information being information on a specific character set for each type of document in association with a specific image that is to be contained in the document, to obtain a specific character corresponding to the type of the target document and associated with a specific image that is to be contained in the target document; and determine whether an image that matches a search condition set in advance for the obtained specific character is extractable from the read image, to determine a presence or absence of a specific image that is to be contained in the target document in association with the obtained specific character.

A method and system for maintaining privacy in private postal mail, such as privileged or other legal postal mail or medical mail, at a correctional facility comprising a privacy verification system to verify a privacy status of a sender and generate privacy status identifiers to be used on the legal postal mail. The privacy status identifiers when scanned or observed at a mail processing facility that processes incoming mail sent to inmates who are incarcerated in a correctional facility provides an indication to the mail processing facility that the mail is private so that appropriate measures can be taken to maintain privacy status.

A method for ordering a print product comprises displaying a video that includes an exhibited physical product; comparing a feature or attribute associated with the exhibited product with a feature or attribute associated with the available product; displaying a digital overlay in the video and in association with the displayed exhibited product if the displayed exhibited product corresponds to the digital representation of the available product; allowing for the selection of the digital overlay and then a digital image; establishing a print order including an identification of the displayed exhibited product associated with the selected digital overlay and the selected digital image; and allowing for the fulfillment of the print order to produce a print product using a printing device, wherein the print product includes the selected digital image disposed on a selected physical product representative of the displayed exhibited product associated with the selected digital overlay.

A control portion performs a predetermined detection process on a first image from a first reading portion and a second image from a second reading portion. When the detection process on the each image is successful, the control portion performs, based on a value of an image processing variable specified from a detection result, predetermined image processing on the each image, When the detection process on the image of one side fails, a value of an image processing variable for the image of one side is specified based on a value of an image processing variable specified from the detection result for the image of the other side for which detection is successful. Based on the specified value of the image processing variable, image processing is performed on the image of one side.

A multi-function printer includes a generating section, an image recognition section, a speaking section, and a transmitting section. The generating section scans an original document to generate scan data. The image recognition section performs image recognition on the scan data. The speaking section causes a word corresponding to a recognition result of the image recognition section and corresponding to a drawing, a photograph, or the like included in the original document to be spoken from a speaker circuit. The transmitting section transmits the scan data generated by the generating section to a specific destination when a specific operation is performed during speaking performed by the speaking section or within a certain period of time after completion of the speaking performed by the speaking section.

A computer-implemented method for recommending at least one substrate to be used in conjunction with a digital image to form a print product includes: providing a digital image; providing a list of available substrates stored in a memory; utilizing a processor, allowing for the selection of at least one of a size of substrate to be used to form a print product or a display location for the print product; automatically identifying at least one substrate from the list of available substrates utilizing the processor based on at least one of the selected substrate size or the selected display location; displaying the identified at least one substrate on a display; and allowing for the selection of the identified at least one substrate for fulfillment to produce the print product including the digital image disposed on the selected at least one substrate.