# US 2014/0193073 A1 · Method and Apparatus to Highlight Information in Complex Visual Environments > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0193073 A1 - Document ID: US20140193073A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 14/156,190 - Filed: 2014-01-15 - Published: 2014-07-10 - Earliest claimed: 2004-03-30 - Assignees: University of Newcastle Upon Tyne - Inventors: Yoav Tadmor - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140193073A1 ## CPC - G06T 1/00: General purpose image data processing - G06T 5/70: Denoising; Smoothing - G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL ## Abstract An image processing system is described which is arranged to highlight information in image displays by selectively blurring less important areas of an image. By generating such displays comprising areas which are in focus and areas which are out of focus, a viewer's attention is preferentially drawn towards those areas of an image which appear sharp. By having a display system which is arranged to generate such images a means is provided to direct a viewer's attention towards considering the sharp areas of the image display first. Further the selective blurring portions of an image reduces rather than increases the amount of information presented to a viewer and hence reduces the likelihood that a viewer will become overloaded with information. Display systems of this type are therefore especially applicable to complex control environments as means of directing viewer's attention. ## Claims ### Claim at position 1 1-37. (canceled) ### Claim 38 An image generation method, comprising: obtaining one or more readings of external conditions; determining a current status on the basis of received readings; receiving image data; generating selection data identifying one or more portions in an image as portions of an image which are to be emphasized on the basis of the determined current status; and processing received image data to generate a composite image in which the portions of said composite image corresponding to said portions to be emphasized identified by received selection data correspond to said portions of the image defined by received image data and in which other portions of said composite image correspond to the other portions of the image defined by said received image data to which a blurring function has been applied. ### Claim 39 (depends on 38) A method in accordance with claim 38 wherein said processing received image data comprises: generating a blurred image by processing said received image data; and generating composite image comprising portions defined by said received image data and portions of said generated blurred image. ### Claim 40 (depends on 39) A method in accordance with claim 39, wherein generating a blurred image comprises deriving pixel values for pixels in a blurred image corresponding to pixels in said defined by received image data by calculating a weighted average of received image data weighted by a function dependent upon the distance between a pixel in an image for which pixel data is being generated and a corresponding pixel in said image being utilized to calculate said weighted average. ### Claim 41 (depends on 40) A method in accordance with claim 40, wherein said function dependent upon distance comprises a Gaussian function. ### Claim 42 (depends on 38) A method in accordance with claim 38, wherein processing received image data to generate a composite image comprises: determining pixel data for areas of an image identified by selection data as portions of an image to be emphasized by copying image data for said pixels from received image data; and determining pixel data for the remaining portions of a composite image by calculating for pixels in said remaining portions of a composite image a weighted average of received image data weighted by a function dependent upon the distance between a pixel in an image for which pixel data is being generated and a corresponding pixel in said image being utilized to calculate said weighted average. ### Claim 43 (depends on 42) A method in accordance with claim 42, wherein said function dependent upon distance comprises a Gaussian function. ### Claim 44 (depends on 42) A method in accordance with claim 42, further comprising: storing function data defining a plurality of functions operable to derive composite image data from received image data in which some portions of a composite image correspond to said portions of the image defined by received image data and in which other portions of said composite image correspond to the other portions of the image defined by said data received by said receiver to which a blurring function has been applied; selecting stored function data defining a function on the basis of received selection data; and generating a composite image utilising received image data and said selected function data. ### Claim 45 (depends on 44) A method in accordance with claim 44, further comprising: generating image data defining an image identifying at least one obtained reading. ### Claim 46 (depends on 38) A method in accordance with claim 38, wherein processing image data to generate a composite image comprises: generating selection data in response to receipt of status data identifying a default status identifying the entirety of an image as being the portion of an image to be emphasized. ### Claim 47 (depends on 38) A method in accordance with claim 38, further comprising: generating a composite image in which portions of an image defined by received image data which do not correspond to portions to be emphasized identified by received selection data correspond to portions of the image defined by said received image data to which a number of different blurring functions have been applied. ### Claim 48 (depends on 47) A method in accordance with claim 47, wherein said selection data associates portions of an image with data indicative of a level of importance wherein said processing of image data comprises generating a composite image in which portions of a composite image associated with decreasing levels of importance appear to be increasingly blurred. ### Claim 49 A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, which when executed by at least one processor, configure the at least one processor to perform operations comprising: obtaining one or more readings of external conditions; determining a current status on the basis of received readings; receiving image data; generating selection data identifying one or more portions in an image as portions of an image which are to be emphasized on the basis of the determined current status; and processing received image data to generate a composite image in which the portions of said composite image corresponding to said portions to be emphasized identified by received selection data correspond to said portions of the image defined by received image data and in which other portions of said composite image correspond to the other portions of the image defined by said received image data to which a blurring function has been applied. ### Claim 50 (depends on 49) A non-transitory computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 49, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprises a disk. ### Claim 51 (depends on 50) A non-transitory computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 50, wherein the disk comprises a magnetic, magneto-optic or optical disk.