METHOD, APPARATUS, AND ARTICLE TO FACILITATE DISTRIBUTED EVALUATION OF OBJECTS USING ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY

• US 20080133389A1
• Filed: 07/31/2007
• Published: 06/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visualant, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Visualant, Inc.
• Inventors: Furness, Thomas A., Schowengerdt, Brian T., Walker, Nicholas E.
• Granted Patent: US 7,996,173 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/34
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/02 Details
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/021 using plane or convex mirrors, parallel phase plates, or particular reflectors
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0264 Electrical interface; User interface
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/027 Control of working procedures of a spectrometer; Failure detection; Bandwidth calculation
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0278 Control or determination of height or angle information for sensors or receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/2803 using photoelectric array detector
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/31 Investigating relative effect of material at wavelengths characteristic of specific elements or molecules, e.g. atomic absorption spectrometry G01N21/72 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing

Abstract

Objects such as manufactured goods or articles, works of art, media such as identity documents, legal documents, financial instruments, transaction cards, other documents, and/or biological tissue are sampled via sequential illumination in various bands of the electromagnetic spectrum, a test response to the illumination is analyzed with respect to reference responses of reference objects. The sequence may be varied. The sequence may define an activation order, a drive level and/or temperature for operating one or more sources. Illumination may be in visible, infrared, ultraviolet, or other portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Elements of the evaluation system may be remote from one another, for example coupled by a network.

Claims

1. A method of facilitating object testing, comprising:

operating at least one source at a test device according to a first sequence during a first period to emit electromagnetic energy in a plurality of bands;

capturing electromagnetic energy returned to the test device during the first period;

operating the at least one source at the test device according to a second sequence during a second period to emit electromagnetic energy in a plurality of bands, the second sequence different from the first sequence;

capturing electromagnetic energy returned to the test device during the second period; and

transmitting signals indicative of the captured electromagnetic energy remotely.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing the first sequence to the test device from a host system, the host system remotely located with respect to the test device; and

providing the second sequence to the test device from the host system.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing the first sequence in an encrypted form to the test device from a host system remotely located with respect to the test device; and

providing the second sequence in an encrypted form to the test device from the host system.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating the first sequence at the test device;

providing the first sequence to a host system from the test device, the host system remotely located with respect to the test device;

generating the second sequence at the test device; and

providing the second sequence to the host system from the test device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating the first sequence at the test device;

providing the first sequence in an encrypted form to a host system from the test device, the host system remotely located with respect to the test device;

generating the second sequence at the test device; and

providing the second sequence in an encrypted form to the host system from the test device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting the first sequence at the test device based on a parameter that includes a representation of a first time; and

selecting the second sequence at the test device based on a parameter that includes a representation of a second time, different than the first time.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

providing an indication of the first time along with a representation of the captured electromagnetic energy returned to the test device during the first period to a host system remotely located with respect to the test device; and

providing an indication of the second time along with a representation of the captured electromagnetic energy returned to the test device during the second period to the host system.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein operating at least one source at a test device according to a first sequence during a first period to emit electromagnetic energy in a plurality of bands includes selectively turning respective ones of a plurality of sources ON and OFF in an order defined by the first sequence.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein selectively turning respective ones of the sources ON and OFF in an order defined by the first sequence includes selectively applying current at a plurality of different levels to respective ones of the sources, where the order and the level is defined by the first sequence.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein operating at least one source at a test device according to a first sequence during a first period to emit electromagnetic energy in a plurality of bands includes selectively applying drive signals at a plurality of different levels to the at least one source in the order defined by the first sequence.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein operating at least one source at a test device according to a first sequence during a first period to emit electromagnetic energy in a plurality of bands includes selectively applying temperature signals at a plurality of different levels to the at least one temperature control element proximate the at least one source in the order defined by the first sequence.

12. A method of facilitating responses to object testing requests, the method comprising:

storing a set of reference data representing responses of various reference objects to at least one sequence of illumination with a plurality of bands of electromagnetic energy;

receiving a request from a remote test device including test data representing at least one response of an object being tested to at least a first sequence of illumination with the plurality of bands of electromagnetic energy;

comparing the test data to the reference data;

determining a result based on the comparing of the test data to the reference data; and

tracking usage by a billing entity financially associated with the remote test device.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

providing the determined result to the remote test device.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

determining that the remote test device or a user of the remote test device has sufficient authority before providing the determined result to the remote test device.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

executing a financial transaction before providing the results to the remote test device.

16. The method claim 12, further comprising:

charging an account for which the billing entity is financially responsible based at least in part on the usage.

17. The method claim 12, further comprising:

charging an account for which the billing entity is financially responsible on a per use charge based the usage.

18. The method claim 12, further comprising:

receiving an authorization to charge a financial account along with the request.

19. The method of claim 12 wherein determining a result based on the comparing of the test data to the reference data includes determining whether the test data matches the reference data for a defined one of the reference objects within a threshold.

20. The method of claim 12 wherein determining a result based on the comparing of the test data to the reference data includes determining how closely the test data matches the reference data.

21. The method of claim 12 wherein determining a result based on the comparing of the test data to the reference data includes determining a type of object for which the test data most closely matches the reference data.

22. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving the set of reference data from a remote party, the set of reference data representing reference responses of the various reference objects to at least one sequence of illumination with the plurality of bands of electromagnetic energy, and wherein storing a set of reference data representing reference responses of various reference objects to at least one sequence of illumination with the plurality of bands of electromagnetic energy includes storing the set of reference data in a local data base.

23. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

creating the set of reference data representing reference responses of the various reference objects to at least one sequence of illumination with the plurality of bands of electromagnetic energy, and wherein storing a set of reference data representing the reference responses of various reference objects to at least one sequence of illumination with the plurality of bands of electromagnetic energy includes storing the set of reference data in a local data base remote from the remote test device.

24. The method of claim 12 wherein storing a set of reference data representing reference responses of various reference objects to at least one sequence of illumination with the plurality of bands of electromagnetic energy includes storing a set of reference data representing reference responses of various objects to a plurality of different sequences of activation of a plurality of sources, each source emitting in a respective one of the plurality of bands of electromagnetic energy.

25. The method of claim 12 wherein tracking usage by a billing entity financially associated with the remote test device includes tracking usage by a plurality of billing entities each financially associated with respective ones of the a plurality of remote test devices.

26. The method of claim 12 wherein tracking usage by a billing entity financially associated with the remote test device includes tracking usage by the billing entity financially associated with respective ones of the a plurality of remote test devices.

27. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

producing the set of reference data representing responses of various reference objects to at least one sequence of illumination with a plurality of bands of electromagnetic energy based at least in part on at least one of a standard database of spectral signatures or a set of predicted spectral signatures based one a chemical composition of the reference objects, and a set of spectral characteristics of at least one of a source or a sensor of the remote test device.

28. A method of facilitating remote testing of objects, the method comprising:

receiving a set of reference data from a remote entity, the set of reference data representing reference responses of various reference objects to at least one sequence of illumination with electromagnetic energy by a plurality of illumination sources;

locally storing the received set of reference data; and

providing remote access to the locally stored set of reference data on a fee basis.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

storing a set of analysis instructions locally with respect to the reference data, to analyze a set of test data from a remote source against the set of locally stored reference data.

30. The method of claim 28 and wherein providing remote access to the locally stored set of reference data on a fee basis includes receiving test data, locally comparing the test data to the reference data, and remotely providing results of the comparison of the test data to the reference data.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

executing a financial transaction before providing results of the comparison of the test data to the reference data.

32. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

executing a financial transaction on a per test data received basis.

33. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

executing a financial transaction on a per comparison basis.

34. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

executing a financial transaction on a per results basis.

35. The method of claim 28 wherein providing remote access to the locally stored set of reference data on a fee basis includes from time-to-time, transmitting at least a portion of the locally stored set of reference data to at least one remote location that is remote with respect to the locally stored set of reference data.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

executing a financial transaction before providing remote access to the locally stored set of reference data.

37. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

authenticate an identity of a requester of remote access to the locally stored set of reference data before providing remote access to the locally stored set of reference data.

38. The method of claim 37 wherein providing remote access to the locally stored set of reference data on a fee basis includes providing remote access to a limited portion of the locally stored set of reference data based on a set of access grant parameters for the requester.

39. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

downloading an executable to a remote test device controlled by the remote entity, the executable including instructions that cause the remote test device to create the set of reference data.

40. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

downloading at least one executable to a remote test device controlled by the remote entity on a fee basis, the executable including instructions that cause the remote test device to create the set of reference data.

41. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

downloading an executable to a remote test device controlled by the remote entity, the executable including instructions that cause the remote test device to create a set of test data for comparison with the set of reference data.

42. A method of facilitating testing, the method comprising:

at a testing device, downloading a first subset of reference data at a first time from a remote set of reference data that is remote with respect to the testing device;

at the testing device, operating at least one source according to a first sequence during a first period to emit electromagnetic energy in a plurality of bands;

at the testing device, capturing electromagnetic energy returned during the first period;

at the testing device, comparing the captured electromagnetic energy to at least a portion of the subset of reference data; and

at the testing device, determining a result based on the comparing of the test data to the first subset of reference data.

43. The method of claim 42, further comprising:

authorizing a first payment to download the first subset of reference data from the remote set of reference data.

44. The method of claim 42, further comprising:

at the testing device, downloading a second subset of reference data at a second time from a remote set of reference data that is remote with respect to the testing device;

at the testing device, operating the at least one source according to the first sequence during a second period to emit electromagnetic energy in the plurality of bands;

at the testing device, capturing electromagnetic energy returned during the second period;

at the testing device, comparing the captured electromagnetic energy to at least a portion of the subset of reference data; and

at the testing device, determining a result based on the comparing of the test data to the second subset of reference data.

45. The method of claim 44, further comprising:

authorizing a first payment to download the first subset of reference data from the remote set of reference data; and

authorizing a second payment to download the second subset of reference data from the remote set of reference data.

46. The method of claim 42, further comprising:

at the testing device, downloading a first executable module including instructions for performing the comparing.

47. The method of claim 46, further comprising:

authorizing a payment to download the first executable module.

48. A method of facilitating evaluation of objects using electromagnetic energy, the method comprising:

determining a plurality of responses by at least one reference object to respective ones of a plurality of bands of electromagnetic radiation; and

storing the determined responses by the at least one reference object to the respective ones of the plurality of bands of electromagnetic radiation in a computer-readable medium.

49. The method of claim 48, further comprising:

based at least in part on a first sequence of illumination for an object that is the subject of evaluation, determining at least one expected response from the stored responses.

50. The method of claim 49 wherein determining at least one expected response from the stored responses includes populating an array with the stored responses, where the order of stored responses in the array corresponds to the first sequence.

51. The method of claim 49, further comprising:

based at least in part on a second sequence of illumination for an object that is the subject of evaluation, determining at least one expected response from the stored responses.

52. The method of claim 49, further comprising:

comparing a response from the object that is the subject of evaluation to the at least one determined expected response.

53. The method of claim 48 wherein determining a plurality of responses by at least one reference object to respective ones of a plurality of bands of electromagnetic radiation includes determining the plurality of responses by the at least one reference object to respective ones of a plurality of sources, at least some of the sources having different emission spectra than other of the sources.

54. The method of claim 48 wherein determining a plurality of responses by at least one reference object to respective ones of a plurality of bands of electromagnetic radiation includes determining the plurality of responses by the at least one reference object to respective ones of a plurality of light emitting diodes, each at a plurality of temperatures, at least some of the light emitting diodes having different emission spectra than other of the light emitting diodes, and at least some of the light emitting diodes having different emission spectra at different temperatures.

55. The method of claim 48 wherein determining a plurality of responses by at least one reference object to respective ones of a plurality of bands of electromagnetic radiation includes determining the plurality of responses by the at least one reference object to respective ones of a plurality of light emitting diodes, each at a plurality of current levels, at least some of the light emitting diodes having different emission spectra than other of the light emitting diodes, and at least some of the light emitting diodes having different emission spectra at different current levels.

56. The method of claim 48 wherein determining a plurality of responses by at least one reference object to respective ones of a plurality of bands of electromagnetic radiation includes determining the plurality of responses by the at least one reference object to respective ones of a plurality of light emitting diodes, each at a plurality of current levels and at a plurality of temperatures, at least some of the light emitting diodes having different emission spectra than other of the light emitting diodes, and at least some of the light emitting diodes having different emission spectra at different current levels and at different temperatures.

57. An evaluation system operable to evaluate objects, comprising:

a computer-readable medium storing a database of a plurality of reference responses indicative of electromagnetic energy returned by each of a number of objects in response to illumination of the object with a plurality of bands of electromagnetic energy; and

a computing system configured to remotely receive a signal representative of a test response that is indicative of electromagnetic energy returned by an object being evaluated in response to illumination with at least a first sequence of a plurality of bands of electromagnetic energy response, and to compare the test response to at least one of the plurality of the reference responses based on the first sequence.

58. The evaluation system of claim 57 wherein the computing system is operable to remotely receive a signal indicative of the first sequence from a test device that is operable to illuminate the object being evaluated according to the first sequence.

59. The evaluation system of claim 57, further comprising:

a test device remotely located with respect to the computing system and operable to illuminate the object being evaluated according to the first sequence.

60. The evaluation system of claim 59 wherein test device is further configured to produce a plurality of sequences, including the first sequence.

61. The evaluation system of claim 59 wherein the computing system is operable to remotely receive a signal indicative of the first sequence from the test device.

62. The evaluation system of claim 59 wherein the computing system is further configured to provide the first sequence to the test device.

63. The evaluation system of claim 59 wherein the computing system is further configured to randomly generate sequences and to provide the first sequence to the test device.

64. The evaluation system of claim 59 wherein the computing system is further configured to provide a result of the comparison to the test device.

65. The evaluation system of claim 59 wherein the computing system is further configured to provide a result of the comparison to the test device along with an indication of a confidence level for the result.

66. The evaluation system of claim 59 wherein the computing system is further configured to produce different sequences from time-to-time, and to provide the sequences to a plurality of test devices remotely located from the computing system.

67. The evaluation system of claim 59 wherein the computing system is further configured to produce different sequences from time-to-time, and to provide the sequences in encrypted from to a plurality of test devices remotely located from the computing system.

68. The evaluation system of claim 59 wherein the computing system is further configured to track requests from each of a plurality of test devices remotely located from the computing system according to a financial entity financially responsible for the requests.

69. The evaluation system of claim 59 wherein the computing system is configured to execute a financial transaction in response to each of a plurality of test responses received from each of a plurality of test devices remotely located from the computing system.

70. The evaluation system of claim 59 wherein the computing system is configured receive reference responses and to store the received reference responses to the database.

71. The evaluation system of claim 59 wherein the computing system is configured receive reference responses, to store the received reference responses to the database, and to execute a financial transaction with respect to at least one of receiving or storing the reference responses.

72. The evaluation system of claim 59 wherein the computing system is configured download a reference response creating executable, and to execute a financial transaction with respect to each download of the reference response creating executable.

73. The evaluation system of claim 59 wherein the computing system is configured download a test response creating executable, and to execute a financial transaction with respect to each download of the test response creating executable.

74. An evaluation system operable to evaluate objects, comprising:

means for producing test responses indicative of electromagnetic energy returned by an object being evaluated in response to illumination with a plurality of sequences of a plurality of bands of electromagnetic energy response; and

means for comparing the test responses to a plurality of reference responses indicative of electromagnetic energy returned by each of a number of objects in response to illumination of the object with a plurality of bands of electromagnetic energy based at least in part on the sequence of illumination.

75. The evaluation system of claim 74 wherein the means for producing a test response includes a test device including at least one source operable to emit electromagnetic energy in at least a first band at one time and a second band at another time.

76. The evaluation system of claim 74 wherein the means for producing a test response includes a test device including a plurality of sources operable to emit electromagnetic energy in at least a first band at one time and a second band at another time.

77. The evaluation system of claim 74 wherein the means for comparing the test responses to a plurality of reference responses includes a computing system configured to receive the test responses from remote locations and compare the test responses to the reference responses based at least in part on the sequences of illumination.

78. The evaluation system of claim 74 wherein the means for comparing the test response to a plurality of reference responses includes a test device including a plurality of sources operable to emit electromagnetic energy in at least a first band at one time and a second band at another time and further configured to compare the test responses to the reference responses based at least in part on the sequences of illumination.