An image acquisition system has a computer and one or more imaging devices
coupled thereto. Each imaging device has a device memory and is capable
of capturing and storing a digital image in its memory. An image device
manager is implemented in software on the computer to control imaging
device operation. The image device manager presents a user interface (UI)
within the familiar graphical windowing environment. The UI has a context
space to a particular imaging context (e.g., scanning, photography, and
video). The UI also has a persistently-visible imaging menu positioned
within the context space that lists options particular to the imaging
context. The image acquisition system also includes a set of application
program interfaces (APIs) that enable applications to manage loading and
unloading of imaging devices, monitor device events, query device
information properties, create device objects, capture images using the
devices, and store or manipulate the captured images.
