DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "… the plural input image pixel values …" (emphasis added to accentuate insufficient antecedent basis).
For the purposes of examination, the limitation in interpreted as the following:
“…
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yoresh (WO 2012/063241 A1).
As per claim 1, Yoresh discloses a computer implemented method of image processing for detection of explosive devices (Yoresh: Paras. [0002], [0011]-[0013], [0102] disclose a computer implemented method of image processing for detection of minefield [explosive] devices.), the method comprising:
receiving image data comprising aerial multispectral image data, aerial hyperspectral image data and/or aerial image data covering an area of terrain, wherein the image data comprises plural spectral channels in an electromagnetic spectrum (Yoresh: Paras. [0122]–[0126], [0202]–[0206], [0209], [0227] disclose airborne and satellite sensing/receiving over a geographical ROI (terrain) using ASTER (multispectral, VNIR/SWIR/TIR bands), HyMap (125 spectral channels, 0.45–2.5 μm), and AISA Dual (VNIR/SWIR), all mounted on aircraft and/or satellites, producing images of electromagnetic radiation with many spectral bands.);
filtering the image data to provide output image data according to at least one filter in which each pixel value is a function of the plural input image pixel values (Yoresh: Paras. [0014]–[0019], [0103]–[0114], [0177]–[0186], [0218]–[0220], [0220], [0241]–[0243] disclose “vegetation indices” explicitly as single numbers computed “for each pixel” from reflectance at two or more wavelengths; it lists two band and multi band parameters (e.g., SR, NDVI, SAVI, MSR, RDVI), “green ratio,” Red–NIR parameters, NIR–SWIR1 slope, nitrogen index, and SAM (Spectral Angle Mapper) treating each pixel spectrum as an n dimensional vector across multiple bands. These are per pixel transforms (filters) that take plural input band values and produce a derived pixel value (output image data) and applies them to separate minefield vs. control vegetation/soil and to generate classification layers.); and
displaying an output image based on the filtered image data (Yoresh: Paras. [0027]–[0029], [0221]–[0224], [0244]–[0249], [0255]–[0257] disclose constructing and displaying thematic/classification maps showing probability classes for minefields, including superimposition on geographic maps and color-coded scales.).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoresh in view of Balthasar et al., hereinafter referred to as Balthasar (US 2023/0011383 A1).
As per claim 2, A computer implemented method of detecting explosive device (Yoresh: Abstract, Pg. 39.), the method comprising:
receiving image data comprising aerial multispectral data, hyperspectral image data and/or aerial image data covering an area of terrain (Yoresh: Paras. [0122]–[0126], [0202]–[0206], [0209], [0227] disclose airborne and satellite sensing/receiving over a geographical ROI (terrain) using ASTER (multispectral, VNIR/SWIR/TIR bands), HyMap (125 spectral channels, 0.45–2.5 μm), and AISA Dual (VNIR/SWIR), all mounted on aircraft and/or satellites, producing images of electromagnetic radiation with many spectral bands.);
sampling the image data to provide image samples (Yoresh: Paras. [0008], [0150] disclose sampling the image data.);
preprocessing the image samples (Yoresh: Abstract; Para. [0223] disclose preprocessing the image samples sampling the image data.);
inputting preprocessed image samples into a model trained to detect a presence or an absence of an explosive device in the image data (i.e., classifies the samples to detect minefields), (Yoresh: Abstract; Para. [0223] disclose automatically outputs a prediction of whether or not an explosive device is present.); and
providing output to a user indicating the prediction (Yoresh: Abstract; Para. [0223] disclose the data of Norway group validates and approves spectral results of the suggested algorithm.).
However, Yoresh does not explicitly disclose “… wherein the model is a convolutional neural network …”.
Further, Balthasar is in the same field of endeavor and teaches wherein the model is a convolutional neural network (Balthasar: Abstract.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, and having the teachings of Yoresh and Balthasar before him or her, to modify the minefield detection system of Yoresh to include the convolutional neural network feature as described in Balthasar. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve spectral parameter analysis by providing a more advanced algorithm for the purpose of object detection, classification, and segmentation.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and can be viewed in the list of references.
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/PEET DHILLON/Primary Examiner
Art Unit: 2488
Date: 09-29-2025