Sparse Signal Modulation for Volumetric Object Encoding
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing barcode technologies are limited by their placement on objects, which can slow down code reading, increase costs, and pose safety risks due to the need for repositioning, while digital watermarking offers a solution by encoding information within the entire surface of objects but faces challenges in robustness and payload capacity, especially in environments with geometric distortions and limited host signal content.
Innovation Solution
A method for inserting a sparse, variable data carrying signal into an image using orthogonal or compatible signal components, modulated to ensure robustness and minimal impact on perceptual quality, involving synchronization and distribution of signal elements within a two-dimensional block, and employing techniques like differential modulation and threshold operations to optimize data capacity and recovery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If barcodes are placed on dedicated locations (back or bottom of items), then product aesthetics and consumer messaging are preserved, but code reading speed decreases and additional scanner components are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional barcode placement on dedicated surfaces to three-dimensional volumetric encoding within the object itself. The system embeds data signals throughout the volume of the object using sparse modulation, allowing reading from multiple angles and dimensions simultaneously, thereby eliminating the need for dedicated placement locations and additional scanner components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the entire object surface and volume serve as the coding medium, eliminating the need for separate dedicated barcode locations. The sparse modulation system can be applied across any surface or within any volume, making the object itself universal for data encoding while preserving aesthetics and enabling multi-angle reading.
2Ease of manufacture
If barcodes are placed on dedicated locations, then product aesthetics are maintained, but additional scanner components and worker repositioning are required
Solution Approach 1:
By moving from surface-level two-dimensional coding to three-dimensional volumetric encoding, the system enables standard scanners to read data from multiple angles without requiring additional components. The volumetric sparse modulation creates reading opportunities throughout the object's volume, making the scanning process simpler and more versatile.
3Adaptability or versatility
If digital watermarking is applied across entire object surface, then code reading from multiple views is enabled, but robustness is reduced in environments with geometric distortions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by using sparse modulation that adapts to local characteristics of the object surface and volume. Rather than uniformly distributing data across the entire surface, the system places signal elements strategically at locations optimized for each specific environment, maintaining robustness while enabling multi-view reading.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adapts the sparse modulation pattern to the specific geometry and viewing conditions of each object. The encoding strategy adjusts based on the object's shape, size, and the expected reading environment, creating a flexible system that maintains robustness across different geometric distortions while preserving multi-view capability.
4Extent of automation
If digital watermarking is applied across entire object surface, then auto-identification is enabled, but payload capacity is limited by host signal content
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of data encoding from two-dimensional surface modulation to three-dimensional volumetric modulation. This dimensional change increases the available space for data encoding, thereby increasing payload capacity while maintaining auto-identification capability through the sparse modulation approach.
Data Source
AI summary
Sparse signal modulation schemes encode a data channel on a substrate in a manner that is robust, flexible to achieve perceptual quality constraints, and provides improved data capacity. The substrate is printed by any of a variety of means to apply the image, with sparse signal, to an object. After image capture of the object, a decoder processes the captured image to detect and extract data modulated into the sparse signal. The sparse signal may incorporate implicit or explicit synchronization components, which are either formed from the data signal or are complementary to it.