Capturing physical feature data
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method comprising:
- assessing directional albedo data relating to a surface of a first article, said assessing including sensing non-coherent illumination reflected from the article in at least three directions;
storing data corresponding to said assessment; and
later using the directional albedo data to verify said article;
wherein said assessing comprises using a sensor to sense non-coherent illumination reflected by the article from an illumination source, wherein said assessing proceeds independently of information about position of the illumination source relative to at least one of the sensor and the article.
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Abstract
Directional albedo of a particular article, such as an identity card, is measured and stored. When the article is later presented, it can be confirmed to be the same particular article by re-measuring the albedo function, and checking for correspondence against the earlier-stored data. The re-measuring can be performed through us of a handheld optical device, such as a camera-equipped cell phone. The albedo function can serve as random key data in a variety of cryptographic applications. The function can be changed during the life of the article. A variety of other features are also detailed.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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assessing directional albedo data relating to a surface of a first article, said assessing including sensing non-coherent illumination reflected from the article in at least three directions; storing data corresponding to said assessment; and later using the directional albedo data to verify said article; wherein said assessing comprises using a sensor to sense non-coherent illumination reflected by the article from an illumination source, wherein said assessing proceeds independently of information about position of the illumination source relative to at least one of the sensor and the article. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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6. A method of issuing driver licenses that includes fabricating a license, and providing same to an applicant, further characterized by, prior to said providing, collecting a unique set of physical measurement data from each license, storing same in a database, and later using said stored data to identify said license;
wherein said collecting comprises using a sensor to sense non-coherent illumination reflected by the license from an illumination source, and wherein said collecting proceeds without reference to information about position of the illumination source relative to at least one of the sensor and the license. - View Dependent Claims (7)
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8. An apparatus comprising:
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a card positioning system, adapted to position an ID card at a known location; an optical imaging system, arranged to capture optical data from a card positioned at said location from plural different directions, the optical imaging system including a sensor for sampling illumination reflected by the card from an illumination source; a processor adapted to process data received from said plural optical sensors, and determine therefrom-for each of plural areas on the surface of said card-a wobble angle associated therewith; and a data store for storing wobble angle information output from said processor, by reference to which the ID card can be validated; wherein said processor is adapted to determine said wobble angles without reference to information about position of the illumination source relative to at least one of the sensor and the ID card. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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Specification