Messaging System 3D Barcode Authenticity Verification

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Solution Overview

Problem

Counterfeiting and intellectual property infractions of consumer products remain a significant issue due to the complexity and variability of products from three-dimensional printing and on-demand manufacturing, making it difficult to determine authenticity through visual inspection alone.

Innovation Solution

A messaging system that captures image data of physical items, extracts verification metadata from identification indicators like 2D or 3D barcodes, and verifies authenticity by comparing it with manufacturer-provided metadata, providing provenance information and media overlays to indicate authenticity.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If visual inspection is used to determine product authenticity, then the process is simple and quick, but it is unreliable due to counterfeiting and intellectual property infractions

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveauthenticity verification reliabilityVSAvoidverification system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary verification system that includes a messaging server, database server, and verification module. This intermediary system acts as a mediator between the client device and the product authentication process, managing the complex tasks of metadata extraction, comparison, and verification while keeping the client device relatively simple. The intermediary handles the complexity of communicating with manufacturers, extracting verification metadata from images, and determining authenticity, thereby resolving the contradiction between reliability and system complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The verification system implements feedback mechanisms where the messaging server communicates verification results, provenance information, and media overlays back to the client device. The system continuously receives image data, processes verification requests, and provides feedback on product authenticity. This feedback loop enables reliable verification by systematically comparing product metadata with manufacturer records and providing actionable verification results to users.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Measurement precision

If detailed verification metadata is extracted and compared, then authenticity determination becomes more accurate, but the processing time and computational resources increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveauthenticity verification precisionVSAvoidverification processing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing manufacturer records, product metadata databases, and verification protocols before actual verification occurs. Manufacturers provide product information, images, and verification metadata in advance, which are stored and organized in the database server. This preliminary preparation enables faster real-time verification by eliminating the need to gather and process this information during the actual authentication process, thus reducing verification time while maintaining high precision.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The verification process is segmented into distinct functional modules: image capture, metadata extraction, database querying, comparison analysis, and result generation. Each module handles a specific aspect of verification independently, allowing for optimized processing of each task. The segmentation enables parallel processing capabilities and reduces bottlenecks, thereby maintaining measurement precision while minimizing overall processing time through efficient task distribution and specialized handling of each verification stage.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Reliability

If comprehensive provenance information is provided, then consumer trust and security are enhanced, but data storage and management complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveconsumer trust and securityVSAvoiddata storage and management complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent transforms provenance information from a flat data structure into a multi-dimensional verification framework. The system organizes data across multiple dimensions including product metadata, manufacturer information, verification history, media overlays, and provenance records. This dimensional organization allows comprehensive provenance information to be stored and managed efficiently through structured databases and hierarchical data models, reducing management complexity while providing rich, multi-faceted verification data that enhances consumer trust and security.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentUS12141647B2Product verification in a messaging system
Publication Date: 2024.11.12 SNAP INC
  • US12141647B2 patent drawing
  • US12141647B2 patent drawing
  • US12141647B2 patent drawing

AI summary

The subject technology transforms a set of features into a three-dimensional mesh, the three-dimensional mesh including a set of vertices and a set of edges, wherein the set of features are determined based on analyzing a representation of a three-dimensional barcode. The subject technology extracts verification metadata from the three-dimensional mesh, the verification metadata including information for verifying whether a physical item is an authentic item. The subject technology receives manufacturer verification information based at least in part on the verification metadata. The subject technology receives provenance information associated with the physical item based at least in part on the manufacturer verification information and the verification metadata. The subject technology causes display of a media overlay including the physical item based at least in part on the provenance information, wherein the media overlay includes an indication of authenticity of the physical item.