VR Codes for Dynamic Video Data Encoding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing codes, such as QR codes, are not optimized for dynamic displays and require precise aiming by cameras, which limits their effectiveness in conveying information on electronic public displays without intruding on the user's experience.
Innovation Solution
The development of VR codes, which use spatio-temporal coding schemes to embed invisible data in video displays, allowing for dynamic and seamless information transfer using complementary colors that are undetectable to humans but detectable by cameras, enabling data transmission without the need for precise camera alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If QR codes are used for data encoding on displays, then data can be transmitted to mobile devices, but the codes require precise camera aiming and centering which reduces ease of operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from static 2D QR codes to dynamic temporal encoding where data is embedded across multiple video frames. The code is distributed over time rather than confined to a single spatial plane, allowing cameras to capture data regardless of precise positioning. This temporal dimension enables robust data transmission even when the camera views only a portion of the display or when positioning is imprecise.
Solution Approach 2:
The code is divided and distributed across multiple video frames rather than concentrated in a single static pattern. Each frame contains a segment of the encoded data, and the complete information is reconstructed by combining data from multiple captured frames. This segmentation allows the system to tolerate partial viewing and imprecise camera positioning while maintaining data transmission capability.
2Loss of information
If visible codes are displayed on screens, then data can be detected by cameras, but the codes intrude on the user's viewing experience
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs color modulation where the encoded data is conveyed through subtle color variations and transitions between frames rather than through visible static patterns. The human visual system integrates these rapid color changes and perceives them as stable image content, while camera sensors capture the temporal color variations to decode the embedded data. This allows data encoding without creating visually distracting or noticeable code patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The encoding utilizes periodic color transitions and temporal variations that occur naturally in video content. Data is embedded in the periodic modulation of color properties across frames, leveraging the regular temporal structure of video displays. This periodic encoding is imperceptible to human viewers who see stable images, while camera sensors detect the systematic temporal variations to extract the encoded information.
3Device complexity
If static codes are used on displays, then simple detection is possible, but the codes cannot convey dynamic or streamed information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms static code detection into a dynamic process where the encoded information evolves over time through video frame sequences. The code is not fixed but changes systematically across frames, enabling the encoding of streamed or dynamic data. Camera-based detection remains relatively simple by capturing multiple frames and processing the temporal variations, achieving both dynamic data capability and manageable detection complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The encoding maintains continuous data transmission across video frames rather than relying on discrete static code presentations. The useful action of data conveyance continues uninterrupted through the video sequence, with each frame contributing to the overall encoded message. This continuous temporal encoding enables dynamic information delivery while the detection process continuously captures and processes the evolving code pattern across frames.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
VR codes enable efficient and unobtrusive data transfer on dynamic displays, allowing for accurate viewer positioning and increased data capacity, while remaining invisible to users, and can be embedded throughout the image area for improved tracking accuracy.
Implementation Method 1
displaying alternating, complementary colors at the full frame rate of the display. This is rapid enough so that a normal observer sees the sum, or mixture of those colors. For example, when a blue color is alternated with a yellow one above the critical fusion frequency of the viewer, that viewer will see their sum, which in this case is white.
Data Source
AI summary
System for conveying a stream of information. The system includes an encoding device employing a spatio-temporal coding scheme that omits light, including codes embedded therein that are invisible to a user. A receiver that might be a cell phone camera receives light from the encoding device and computer apparatus is programmed with software to decode the received light to generate the stream of information. The encoding device is preferably a video display.