Dot Code Edge Reflectivity for Low-Visibility Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dot codes, such as bar codes and QR codes, can detract from the visual appearance of objects and are not optimally detectable by readers while being visually unobtrusive.
Innovation Solution
A dot code detection method utilizing dots with a center surface and an edge surface, where the edge surface has a different spectral reflectivity from the background, allowing for image processing techniques like dilation and erosion to enhance detectability while maintaining visual subtlety, using radiation sources and readers to capture and process images.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional image processing techniques are used for dot code detection, then the system is simple to implement, but the detection accuracy is insufficient for low-contrast and deformed dot codes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces multiple intermediary components between the image capture and final detection: a preprocessing module for enhancement, a feature extraction module for identifying dot patterns, and a decoding module for interpreting the extracted features. These intermediaries progressively refine the raw image data into accurate detection results, resolving the contradiction by adding structured complexity that systematically improves detection accuracy without creating unnecessary complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The detection system is divided into distinct functional segments: image acquisition, preprocessing, feature extraction, and decoding. Each segment handles a specific aspect of the detection process, allowing the system to address low-contrast and deformed dot codes through specialized processing at each stage while maintaining overall system manageability.
2Measurement precision
If the detection system processes complex low-contrast and deformed dot codes with high accuracy, then the detection precision improves, but the processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The preprocessing module performs preliminary enhancement of the captured image before feature extraction, applying contrast enhancement and noise reduction techniques in advance. This preliminary action prepares the data for more efficient processing in subsequent stages, reducing the time required for accurate detection of low-contrast and deformed dot codes by addressing challenging aspects beforehand.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts processing parameters based on the characteristics of the input dot code. For low-contrast images, the preprocessing intensity is increased; for deformed patterns, the feature extraction algorithms are adapted. This dynamic adjustment allows the system to maintain high detection precision while minimizing processing time by applying appropriate processing strength only when needed.
Data Source
Figure 1~2A
Figure 2B~2C
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A method of detecting a dot code comprising plural dots arranged on a background surface is disclosed, wherein each dot comprises a centre surface and an edge surface which at least partly surrounds the centre surface. A spectral reflectivity of the edge surface differs from a spectral reflectivity of the background surface. The method comprises: irradiating the dot code and the background surface by a source of radiation capturing by a reader an image of the dot code and the background surface; distinguishing in the image the edge surface from the background surface based on the difference in spectral reflectivity of the edge surface and the background surface; processing the image of the dot code by dilating in the image the edge surface of the dot, until the centre surface has been closed by the dilating, reading the processed image to derive the dot code from the processed image.