Color to Gray: Visual Cue Preservation

Both commercial and scientific applications often need to transform color images into gray-scale images, e. g., to reduce the publication cost in printing color images or to help color blind people see visual cues of color images. However, conventional color to gray algorithms are not ready for practical applications because they encounter the following problems: 1) Visual cues are not well defined so it is unclear how to preserve important cues in the transformed gray-scale images; 2) some algorithms have extremely high time cost for computation; and 3) some require human-computer interactions to have a reasonable transformation. To solve or at least reduce these problems, we propose a new algorithm based on a probabilistic graphical model with the assumption that the image is defined over a Markov random field. Thus, color to gray procedure can be regarded as a labeling process to preserve the newly well-defined visual cues of a color image in the transformed gray-scale image. Visual cues are measurements that can be extracted from a color image by a perceiver. They indicate the state of some properties of the image that the perceiver is interested in perceiving. Different people may perceive different cues from the same color image and three cues are defined in this paper, namely, color spatial consistency, image structure information, and color channel perception priority. We cast color to gray as a visual cue preservation procedure based on a probabilistic graphical model and optimize the model based on an integral minimization problem. We apply the new algorithm to both natural color images and artificial pictures, and demonstrate that the proposed approach outperforms representative conventional algorithms in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. In addition, it requires no human-computer interactions.

Biologically Inspired Features for Scene Classification in Video Surveillance

Inspired by human visual cognition mechanism, this paper first presents a scene classification method based on an improved standard model feature. Compared with state-of-the-art efforts in scene classification, the newly proposed method is more robust, more selective, and of lower complexity. These advantages are demonstrated by two sets of experiments on both our own database and standard public ones. Furthermore, occlusion and disorder problems in scene classification in video surveillance are also first studied in this paper.

Image Ratio Features for Facial Expression Recognition Application

Video-based facial expression recognition is a challenging problem in computer vision and human-computer interaction. To target this problem, texture features have been extracted and widely used, because they can capture image intensity changes raised by skin deformation. However, existing texture features encounter problems with albedo and lighting variations. To solve both problems, we propose a new texture feature called image ratio features. Compared with previously proposed texture features, e. g., high gradient component features, image ratio features are more robust to albedo and lighting variations. In addition, to further improve facial expression recognition accuracy based on image ratio features, we combine image ratio features with facial animation parameters (FAPs), which describe the geometric motions of facial feature points. The performance evaluation is based on the Carnegie Mellon University Cohn-Kanade database, our own database, and the Japanese Female Facial Expression database. Experimental results show that the proposed image ratio feature is more robust to albedo and lighting variations, and the combination of image ratio features and FAPs outperforms each feature alone. In addition, we study asymmetric facial expressions based on our own facial expression database and demonstrate the superior performance of our combined expression recognition system.

An Efficient Nanocrystalline La2O3:Tm3+ Blue Phosphor for Field-Emission Displays with High Color Purity

Nanocrystalline Tm3+-doped La2O3 phosphors were prepared through a Pechini-type sol-gel process. X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, photoluminescence, and cathodoluminescence spectra were utilized to characterize the synthesized phosphors. Under the excitation of UV light (234 nm) and low-voltage electron beams (1-3 kV), the Tm3+-doped La2O3 phosphors show the characteristic emissions of Tm3+(D-1(2), (1)G(4)-F-3(4), H-3(6) transitions).

Manipulating charge-transfer character with electron-withdrawing main-group moieties for the color tuning of iridium electrophosphors

A new and synthetically versatile strategy has been developed for the phosphorescence color tuning of cyclometalated iridium phosphors by simple tailoring of the phenyl ring of ppy (Hppy=2-phenylpyridine) with various main-group moieties in [Ir(ppy-X)(2)(acac)] (X=B(Mes)(2), SiPh3, GePh3, NPh2, POPh2, OPh, SPh, SO2Ph). This can be achieved by shifting the charge-transfer character from the pyridyl groups in some traditional iridium ppy-type complexes to the electron-withdrawing main-group moieties and these assignments were supported by theoretical calculations.

Red-light-emitting iridium complexes with hole-transporting 9-arylcarbazole moieties for electrophosphorescence efficiency/color purity trade-off optimizationE

The synthesis, structures, photophysics, electrochemistry and electrophosphorescent properties of new red phosphorescent cyclometalated iridium(III) isoquinoline complexes, bearing 9-arylcarbazolyl chromophores, are reported. The functional properties of these red phosphors correlate well with the results of density functional theory calculations

Red-Light-Emitting Iridium Complexes with Hole-Transporting 9-Arylcarbazole Moieties for Electrophosphorescence Efficiency/ Color Purity Trade-off Optimization

The synthesis, structures, photophysics, electrochemistry and electrophosphorescent properties of new red phosphorescent cyclometalated iridium(III) isoquinoline complexes, bearing 9-arylcarbazolyl chromophores, are reported. The functional properties of these red phosphors correlate well with the results of density functional theory calculations. The highest occupied molecular orbital levels of these complexes are raised by the integration of a carbazole unit to the iridium isoquinoline core so that the hole-transporting ability is improved in the resulting complexes relative to those with I-phenylisoquinoline ligands. All of the complexes are highly thermally stable and emit an intense red light at room temperature with relatively short lifetimes that are beneficial for highly efficient organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs).

Blue electroluminescent polymers with dopant-host systems and molecular dispersion features: polyfluorene as the deep blue host and 1,8-naphthalimide derivative units as the light blue dopants

We developed a series of highly efficient blue electroluminescent polymers with dopant-host systems and molecular dispersion features by selecting 1,8-naphthalimide derivatives as the light blue emissive dopant units, choosing polyfluorene as the deep blue emissive polymer host and covalently attaching the dopant units to the side chain of the polymer host. The polymers' EL spectra exhibited both deep blue emission from the polymer host and light blue emission from the dopant units because of the energy transfer and charge trapping from the polymer host to the dopant units.

Synthesis and characterization of color-stable electroluminescent polymers: Poly(dinaphtho [1,2-a : 1 ',2 '-g]-s-indacene)s

Two new stepladder conjugated polymers, that is, poly(7,7,15,15-tetraoctyldinaphtho[1,2-a:1',2'-g]-s-indacene) (PONSI) and poly(7,7,15,15-tetra(4-octylphenyl)dinaphtho[1,2-a:1',2'-g]-s-indacene) (PANSI) with alkyl and aryl substituents, respectively, have been synthesized and characterized. In comparison with poly(indenofluorene)s, both polymers have extended conjugation at the direction perpendicular to the polymer backbone because of the introduction of naphthalene moieties. The emission color of the polymers in film state is strongly dependent on the substituents. While PONSI emits at a maximum of 463 nm, PANSI with the same backbone but aryl substituents displays dramatically redshifted emission with a maximum at 494 nm.

Hydrogen-Bonding Recognition-Induced Color Change of Gold Nanoparticles for Visual Detection of Melamine in Raw Milk and Infant Formula

The color change induced by triple hydrogen-bonding recognition between melamine and a cyanuric acid derivative grafted on the surface of gold nanoparticles can be used for reliable detection of melamine. Since such a color change can be readily seen by the naked eye, the method enables on-site and real-time detection of melamine in raw milk and infant formula even at a concentration as low as 2.5 ppb without the aid of any advanced instruments.

Fluorene-Based Copolymers Containing Dinaphtho-s-indacene as New Building Blocks for High-Efficiency and Color-Stable Blue LEDs

By incorporating a new building block, 7,7,15,15-tetraoctyldinaphtho-s-indacene (NSI), into the backbone of poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) (PFO), a novel series of blue light-emitting copolymers (PFO-NSI) have been developed. The insertion of the NSI unit into the PFO backbone leads to the increase of local effective conjugation length, to form low-energy fluorene-NSI-fluorene (FNF) segments that serve as exciton trapping sites, to which the energy transfers from the high-energy PFO segments. This causes these copolymers to show red-shifted emissions compared with PFO, with a high efficiency and good color stability and purity. The best device performance with a luminance efficiency of 3.43 cd . A(-1), a maximum brightness of 6 539 cd . m(-2) and CIE coordinates of (0.152, 0.164) was achieved.

Nanocrystalline LaOCl:Tb3+/Sm3+ as promising phosphors for full-color field-emission displays

Nanocrystalline LaOCl:Tb3+/Sm3+ phosphors were synthesized by a Pechini-type sol-gel process. Under UV and electron-beam excitation, LaOCl:Tb3+/Sm3+ show the characteristic emission of Tb3+ (D-5(3,4) -> F-7(6), ... (2)) and Sm3+ ((4)G(5/2) -> H-6(5/2),(7/2),(9/2)), respectively. In particular, the cathodoluminescence (CL) color of LaOCl:Tb3+ can be tuned from blue to green by changing Tb3+-doped concentration, and their CL intensities (brightness) are higher than those of commercial products Y2SiO5:Ce3+ and ZnO:Zn, respectively. White CL can be realized by codoping with Tb3+ and Sm3+ in a single-phase LaOCl host. The obtained white light is very close to the standard white light. These phosphors are promising for application in field-emission displays.

Multifunctional bipolar triphenylamine/oxadiazole derivatives: highly efficient blue fluorescence, red phosphorescence host and two-color based white OLEDs

Two simple triphenylamine/oxadiazole derivatives were synthesized and fully characterized; their multifunctionality as highly efficient non-doped blue fluorescence, excellent red phosphorescent host and single-doped two-color based white OLEDs has been demonstrated.

Phosphorescence Color Tuning by Ligand, and Substituent Effects of Multifunctional Iridium(III) Cyclometalates with 9-Arylcarbazole Moieties

The synthesis, isomeric studies, and photophysical characterization of a series of multifunctional cyclometalated iridium(III) complexes containing a fluoro- or methyl-substituted 2[3-(N-plienylcarbazolyl)]pyridine molecular framework are presented. All of the complexes are thermally stable solids and highly efficient electrophosphors. The optical, electrochemical, photo-, and electrophosphorescence traits of these iridium phosphors have been studied in terms of the electronic nature and coordinating site of the aryl or pyridyl ring substituents. The correlation between the functional properties of these phosphors and the results of density functional theory calculations was made. Arising from the propensity of the electron-rich carbazolyl group to facilitate hole injection/transport, the presence of such a moiety can increase the highest-occupied molecular orbital levels and improve the charge balance in the resulting complexes relative to the parent phosphor with 2-phenylpyridine ligands. Remarkably, the excited-state properties can be manipulated through ligand and substituent effects that allow the tuning of phosphorescence energies from bluish green to deep red.