3D Volumetric Watermark Detection for Perspective Distortion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Smartphone visual search applications face challenges in decoding digital watermark data due to perspective distortion, leading to consumer confusion about the presence of watermarks and requiring precise positioning.
Innovation Solution
The technology encodes hidden data in images using chroma keys that can be detected by smartphones even at significant perspective angles, providing feedback to users for optimal positioning and allowing for reliable detection of watermarks beyond 30, 45, or 60 degrees.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If digital watermark data is encoded in printed imagery for visual search applications, then consumers can access information and services through smartphone imaging, but perspective distortion at off-axis angles causes decoding failure and consumer confusion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the watermark encoding from a fixed 2D spatial pattern to a parameter-rich 3D volumetric representation. By encoding watermark data as three-dimensional markers with spatial coordinates (x, y, z) and orientation parameters, the system can detect and decode watermarks regardless of the smartphone's viewing angle or distance, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The invention adds a third dimension to traditional 2D watermarking by creating volumetric markers embedded in printed imagery. These 3D markers can be detected from multiple angles because they encode their spatial position and orientation, allowing the decoding algorithm to compensate for perspective distortion and maintain reliable detection across varying viewing conditions
2Ease of operation
If consumers use smartphones to image magazine pages without precise positioning, then ease of operation improves, but perspective distortion increases causing watermark detection failure
Solution Approach 1:
The watermark markers perform self-correction by encoding their own spatial transformation parameters within their 3D structure. When the smartphone captures the imagery from any angle, the detection algorithm automatically extracts these embedded parameters and applies the appropriate geometric transformation to restore the watermark to its original configuration, eliminating the need for precise manual positioning by the consumer
Solution Approach 2:
The patent pre-encodes transformation compensation data within the volumetric markers during the printing process. This preliminary embedding of spatial reference information allows the mobile device to automatically correct for perspective distortion without requiring real-time calibration or precise positioning, maintaining high detection accuracy under varied operating conditions
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides methods and systems for processing data. One claim recites a method practiced using used a user's camera-equipped portable computer system. The method includes the acts of: capturing image data corresponding to a region using the camera of the portable computer system; applying a filter to the captured image data, in which the filter prioritizes image data at a center of the region and averages images data at a relative distance from the center region; and searching the filtered image data for hidden keys. Of course, other combinations and claims are provided as well.