Dynamic Barcode Occlusion for Fraud Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge lies in preventing fraudulent use of electronic coupons, particularly one-time-use static barcodes, which can be easily reproduced and distributed, leading to unintended and unauthorized redemptions due to their static nature, making it difficult for brands and merchants to curb fraudulent reuse.
Innovation Solution
Implementing dynamic occlusions on barcodes displayed on mobile devices, where the barcode is rendered unscannable for parts of the time it is displayed, using techniques such as opaque layers that shift or flash, ensuring the barcode is never fully visible in a single image, thus preventing screenshotting and fraudulent capture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If static barcodes are used for electronic coupons, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to easy reproduction and fraudulent use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms static barcodes into dynamic barcodes that change over time through various techniques including animation, occlusion, and regeneration. The barcode is no longer a fixed image but evolves continuously, making it impossible to capture in a single static screenshot while remaining scannable by barcode readers that can process dynamic sequences.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic changes in the barcode display through animation frames, occlusion patterns that repeat and reset, and time-based regeneration cycles. These periodic actions ensure the barcode presents different states at different time intervals, preventing fraudulent capture while maintaining legitimate scanability through multiple presentation cycles.
2Reliability
If dynamic occlusions are applied to barcodes, then reliability is improved by preventing fraudulent capture, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the barcode into multiple segments or frames that are presented sequentially. Dynamic occlusions are applied to different portions of the barcode at different times, and the barcode is regenerated in discrete intervals. This segmentation allows the system to manage complexity through modular, time-based presentation rather than requiring complex spatial transformations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer between the static barcode image and the display output. This intermediary applies dynamic occlusions, animation effects, and time-based transformations that mediate between the simple static barcode data and the complex dynamic display requirements, simplifying the overall system architecture.
3Reliability
If barcodes are made dynamic with occlusions, then anti-fraud protection is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to reduced visibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a dynamic balance between occlusion and visibility by implementing time-varying transparency and animation patterns. The barcode transitions between obscured and visible states in a controlled sequence, ensuring that while fraudulent static capture is prevented, legitimate dynamic scanning remains possible through the visible portions presented during the animation cycle.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent ensures continuous scanability throughout the dynamic presentation by maintaining the barcode in a scannable state during specific intervals of the animation cycle. The useful action of barcode scanning is preserved continuously through multiple presentation opportunities, even as the visual appearance changes to prevent fraudulent capture.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments include technologies for applying dynamic occlusions to barcodes, which include determining a dynamic occlusion to be applied to a barcode, generating an object for displaying a series of images of the barcode with the dynamic occlusion, where the barcode is to be scannable at least once based on the series of images to be displayed, and providing the object for access by the mobile device. In specific embodiments, the dynamic occlusion includes a modification to a first portion of the barcode to create a first image of a modified barcode. In further specific embodiments, the object, when displayed for a first time period, is to render the first image of the modified barcode for at least a first interval occurring within the first time period. The first portion of the barcode is unscannable during the first interval and is at least partially scannable during one or more other intervals.