Steganographic Image Verification via Cloud Mediator

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current smartphone imaging technologies lack effective mechanisms for secure content and source verification, leading to potential malicious tampering and limited interaction between image creators, viewers, and facilitators, hindering reliable and safe communication and collaboration.

Innovation Solution

Implementing specialized image creation and viewing devices with imaging software that includes security measures, steganographic marking, and cloud-based services for content and source verification, enabling secure image interaction and communication between users through an interactive 'billow' structure that tracks interactions and provides a portal for communication.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If smartphone users share images freely without verification mechanisms, then ease of operation and communication is improved, but reliability and security against malicious tampering deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of image sharingVSAvoidimage authenticity

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system embeds security measures, steganographic markings, and verification mechanisms into the image creation and sharing process beforehand. Images are pre-marked with authentication data and interaction records before being shared, allowing automatic verification without disrupting the ease of sharing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an intermediary verification system that acts as a mediator between image sharers and viewers. This intermediary cloud service validates images, tracks interactions, and provides authentication without requiring direct complex actions from users, thus maintaining ease of operation while ensuring reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If robust security measures and verification mechanisms are implemented in image creation software, then reliability and protection against tampering is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent verificationVSAvoidsoftware complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent offloads complex verification, validation, and interaction tracking functions to an intermediary cloud service. The local software on devices remains relatively simple, while the complex security and verification logic resides in the cloud-based interaction management system, reducing local device complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system replaces complex local mechanical verification processes with automated cloud-based digital validation. Instead of implementing heavy local security software, the patent uses network-based verification mechanisms that perform validation remotely, simplifying the local software architecture.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Reliability

If comprehensive interaction tracking and verification systems are implemented, then reliability and traceability of image interactions is improved, but loss of information and processing overhead increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinteraction traceabilityVSAvoiddata processing overhead

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts interaction tracking and verification data from the main image data stream, storing them separately in the cloud-based interaction management system. This separation allows comprehensive tracking without burdening the image processing pipeline, reducing information loss and processing overhead.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies different levels of verification and tracking to different aspects of image interaction. Critical authentication data receives rigorous verification, while less critical interaction metadata uses lighter validation, optimizing the balance between traceability and processing efficiency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS10339283B2System and method for creating, processing, and distributing images that serve as portals enabling communication with persons who have interacted with the images

Publication Date: 2019.07.02 TAUTACHROME INC

AI summary

A system and method for processing, storage, distribution, and interaction with electronic images created or captured by mobile devices having network communications capabilities, such as smartphones, allows a user whose image-displaying device includes enhanced viewer software to use an image displayed on the image-displaying device as a portal for communication with others who have interacted with the image, including authors and facilitators of the image. Watermarking and security measures are provided to enable source and content verification of a displayed image so that user morphing of imagery can be tracked to maintain stability of image-based interaction and so that malicious imagery tamper can be prevented.