Method, apparatus, and article to facilitate distributed evaluation of objects using electromagnetic energy

• US 7,996,173 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2007
• Issued: 08/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visualant, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Visualant, Inc.
• Inventors: Furness, Thomas A. III, Schowengerdt, Brian T., Walker, Nicholas E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Charioui; Mohamed
• Assistant Examiner(s): Desta; Elias
• Application Number:
  US11/831,662
• Publication Number:
  US 20080133389A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,470 Days
• Field of Search: 356/320, 702/106, 702/108, 702/189, 702/193, 705/1, 705/34, 705/40
• US Class Current: 702/108
• 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 operating a host authentication system to provide responses to object authentication requests, the method comprising:

storing in at least one non-transitory processor-readable storage medium a set of object authentication reference data representing responses of various reference objects to at least one sequence of illumination with a plurality of bands of electromagnetic energy;

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

comparing by at least one processor of the host authentication system the test data to the object authentication reference data;

determining by the at least one processor of the host authentication system an authentication result for the object being authenticated based on the comparing of the test data to the object authentication reference data; and

tracking by at least one processor of a billing system usage of the host authentication system by a billing entity financially associated with the remote test device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing the determined authentication result to the remote test device by the host authentication system.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

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

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

executing a financial transaction by the billing system before providing the authentication result to the remote test device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

charging by the billing system an account for which the billing entity is financially responsible based at least in part on the usage of the host authentication system.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

charging by the billing system an account for which the billing entity is financially responsible on a per use charge based on the usage of the host authentication system.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving by the host authentication system an authorization to charge a financial account along with the object authentication request.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein determining an authentication result based on the comparing of the test data to the object authentication reference data includes determining whether the test data matches the object authentication reference data for a defined one of the reference objects within a threshold.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein determining an authentication result based on the comparing of the test data to the object authentication reference data includes determining how closely the test data matches the object authentication reference data.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein determining an authentication result based on the comparing of the test data to the object authentication reference data includes determining a type of object for which the test data most closely matches the object authentication reference data.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the set of object authentication reference data from a remote party, the set of object authentication 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 object authentication 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 object authentication reference data in a local data base.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating the set of object authentication 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 object authentication 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 object authentication reference data in a local data base stored on the at least one non-transitory processor-readable storage medium remote from the remote test device.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein storing a set of object authentication 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 object authentication 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.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein tracking by at least one processor of a billing system usage of the host authentication system 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.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein tracking by at least one processor of a billing system usage of the host authentication system 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.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

producing the set of object authentication 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 on 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.

17. A method of operating an authentication system for facilitating remote authentication of objects, the method comprising:

receiving at the authentication system a set of object authentication reference data from a remote entity, the set of object authentication 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 at a plurality of different bands of wavelengths;

locally storing the received set of object authentication reference data in at least one non-transitory processor-readable storage medium; and

providing by at least one processor of the authentication system remote access to the locally stored set of object authentication reference data on a fee basis.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

storing in at least one non-transitory processor-readable storage medium a set of analysis instructions locally with respect to the object authentication reference data, to analyze a set of test data from a remote source against the set of locally stored object authentication reference data.

19. The method of claim 17 and wherein providing remote access to the locally stored set of object authentication reference data on a fee basis includes receiving test data by the authentication system, locally comparing the test data to the object authentication reference data by at least one processor of the authentication system, and remotely providing results of the comparison of the test data to the object authentication reference data by the authentication system.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

executing a financial transaction by a billing component before providing results of the comparison of the test data to the object authentication reference data.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

executing a financial transaction by a billing component on a per test data received basis.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

executing a financial transaction by a billing component on a per comparison basis.

23. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

executing a financial transaction by a billing component on a per results basis.

24. The method of claim 17 wherein providing remote access to the locally stored set of object authentication reference data on a fee basis includes from time-to-time, transmitting by at least one processor of the authentication system at least a portion of the locally stored set of object authentication reference data to at least one remote location that is remote with respect to the locally stored set of object authentication reference data.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

executing a financial transaction by a billing component before providing remote access to the locally stored set of object authentication reference data.

26. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

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

27. The method of claim 26 wherein providing remote access to the locally stored set of object authentication reference data on a fee basis includes providing remote access to a limited portion of the locally stored set of object authentication reference data based on a set of access grant parameters for the requester.

28. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

downloading by an authentication system host 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 object authentication reference data.

29. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

downloading by an authenticating system host 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 object authentication reference data.

30. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

downloading by an authenticating system host 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 object authentication reference data.

31. A method of operating a testing device to authenticate objects, the method comprising:

at a testing device, downloading a first subset of object authentication reference data at a first time from a remote set of object authentication reference data that is remote with respect to the testing device, the object authentication reference data indicative of a response of at least one reference object to emission of electromagnetic energy in a plurality of bands;

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

at the testing device, capturing electromagnetic energy returned from the first object to be authenticated during the first period with at least one sensor of the testing device;

at the testing device, comparing the captured electromagnetic energy to at least a portion of the subset of object authentication reference data by at least one processor of the testing device; and

at the testing device, determining a first authentication result based on the comparing of the test data to the first subset of object authentication reference data, the first authentication result indicative of whether the first object to be authenticated is authentic.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising:

at the testing device, authorizing a first payment to download the first subset of object authentication reference data from the remote set of object authentication reference data.

33. The method of claim 31, further comprising:

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

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

at the testing device, capturing electromagnetic energy returned during the second period with the at least one sensor of the testing device;

at the testing device, comparing the captured electromagnetic energy to at least a portion of the subset of object authentication reference data by the at least one processor of the testing device; and

at the testing device, determining a second authentication result based on the comparing of the test data to the second subset of object authentication reference data, the second authentication result indicative of whether the second object to be authenticated is authentic.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

at the testing device, authorizing a first payment to download the first subset of object authentication reference data from the remote set of reference data; and

at the testing device, authorizing a second payment to download the second subset of object authentication reference data from the remote set of reference data.

35. The method of claim 31, further comprising:

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

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

at the testing device, authorizing a payment to download the first executable module.

37. A method of operating an authentication system including at least one processor and at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium to authenticate objects to be authenticated 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 by the at least one processor;

storing the determined responses by the at least one reference object to the respective ones of the plurality of bands of electromagnetic radiation in the at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium;

based at least in part on a first sequence of illumination at each of a plurality of different wavelengths for an object that is the subject of evaluation, determining at least one expected response from the stored responses by the at least one processor;

comparing a response from the object that is the subject of evaluation to the at least one determined expected response by the at least one processor; and

determining whether the object to be authenticated is authentic based at least in part on the comparing of the response from the object to the at least one determined expected response by the at least one processor.

38. The method of claim 37 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.

39. The method of claim 37, 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 by the at least one processor.

40. The method of claim 37 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.

41. The method of claim 37 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.

42. The method of claim 37 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.

43. The method of claim 37 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.

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

a non-transitory computer-readable storage 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 successive illumination of the object with each of 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 successive illumination of the object being evaluated 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.

45. The evaluation system of claim 44 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.

46. The evaluation system of claim 44, 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.

47. The evaluation system of claim 46 wherein test device is further configured to produce a plurality of sequences, including the first sequence.

48. The evaluation system of claim 46 wherein the computing system is operable to remotely receive a signal indicative of the first sequence from the test device.

49. The evaluation system of claim 46 wherein the computing system is further configured to provide the first sequence to the test device.

50. The evaluation system of claim 46 wherein the computing system is further configured to randomly generate sequences and to provide the first sequence to the test device.

51. The evaluation system of claim 46 wherein the computing system is further configured to provide a result of the comparison to the test device.

52. The evaluation system of claim 46 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.

53. The evaluation system of claim 46 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.

54. The evaluation system of claim 46 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.

55. The evaluation system of claim 46 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.

56. The evaluation system of claim 46 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.

57. The evaluation system of claim 46 wherein the computing system is configured receive reference responses and to store the received reference responses to the database.

58. The evaluation system of claim 46 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.

59. The evaluation system of claim 46 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.

60. The evaluation system of claim 46 wherein the computing system is configured to download a test response creating executable, and to execute a financial transaction with respect to each download of the test response creating executable.

61. 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.

62. The evaluation system of claim 61 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.

63. The evaluation system of claim 61 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.

64. The evaluation system of claim 61 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.

65. The evaluation system of claim 61 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.