Methods for presenting and determining the efficacy of progressive pictorial and motion-based CAPTCHAs

• US 8,752,141 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2009
• Issued: 06/10/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Human Differential Intelligence, LLC
• Original Assignee: John Nicholas, Kristin Gross
• Inventors: Gross, John Nicholas
• Primary Examiner(s): DADA, BEEMNET W
• Application Number:
  US12/494,083
• Publication Number:
  US 20090328150A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,807 Days
• Field of Search: 726 3- 5, 726/17, 726/21
• US Class Current: 726/5
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/215 comprising means for detecting acoustic signals, e.g. using a microphone
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/332 using wireless networks, e.g. cellular phone networks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/335 using Internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/338 using television networks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/424 involving acoustic input signals, e.g. by using the results of pitch or rhythm extraction or voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/44 involving timing of operations, e.g. performing an action within a time slot
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/52 involving aspects of the displayed game scene
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/61 using advertising information
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/795 for finding other players; for building a team; for providing a buddy list
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/80 Special adaptations for executing a specific game genre or game mode
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/847 Cooperative playing, e.g. requiring coordinated actions from several players to achieve a common goal
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/0661 Making a drawing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/558 by assessing the players' skills or ranking
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/572 Communication between players during game play of non game information, e.g. e-mail, chat, file transfer, streaming of audio and streaming of video
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/638 according to the timing of operation or a time limit
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8094 Unusual game types, e.g. virtual cooking
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/0423 Word games, e.g. scrabble electric A63F3/0421; two-dimensional puzzles with rotating rings or discs A63F9/0811, A63F9/0819
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2133 : Verifying human interaction, e.g., Captcha
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3241 : Security aspects of a gaming system, e.g. detecting cheating, device integrity, surveillance computer security G06F21/00

Abstract

Methods for presenting and determining the efficacy of progressive pictorial and motion-based CAPTCHAs are disclosed. The CAPTCHA system uses images, pictures, and/or motion for granting access to a computing system. The images can be culled from examples used in pictorial games, and can progressively presented to increase the strength of the CAPTCHA challenges. Speech recognition, motion and touch sensing can also be employed as parts of the challenge. When a CAPTCHA is presented, the methods may include steps of measuring efficacy by determining a percentage of users who are able to solve the CAPTCHA correctly within a defined period of time.

Claims

1. A method of testing recognition of images for a Completely Automatic Public Turing Test To Tell Humans And Computers Apart (CAPTCHA) system comprising:

a. automatically electing an electronic image for a participant with a computing system, wherein said electronic image comprises a set of imagery data other than words, and wherein said electronic image is configured such that a subset of said set of imagery data for said electronic image can be made perceptible in a first image state;

b. associating said electronic image with one or more concepts;

c. presenting said electronic image in said first image state and progressively revealing information over a first time period within an interface for said participant using said computing system;

d. automatically processing responses from the participant with the computing system to correlate an accuracy of guesses from said participant for said one or more concepts associated with said electronic image; and

e. calculating a percentage of participants able to decode and accurately guess said one or more concepts within a predetermined time.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said progressively revealing information comprises presenting said electronic image at different time intervals with differing levels of resolution, noise and/or pixelation.

3. The method of claim 1 further including a step:

using said electronic image within a CAPTCHA system for granting access to resources of a second computing system.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said second computing system is associated with a portable electronics device.

5. A method of providing a visual Completely Automatic Public Turing Test To Tell Humans And Computers Apart (CAPTCHA) challenge comprising:

a. automatically electing an electronic image for a participant with a computing system, wherein said electronic image comprises a set of imagery data other than words and wherein said electronic image is configured such that a subset of said imagery data for said electronic image can be made perceptible in a first image state;

b. associating said electronic image with one or more concepts;

c. progressively revealing information in said electronic image over a first time period within an interface for said participant using said computing system;

d. automatically processing responses from the participant with the computing system to detect if a guess from said participant for said one or more concepts associated with said electronic image meets a required threshold; and

e. determining a percentage of participants with guesses meeting the required threshold within a predetermined time.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said responses are received in audible form and processed by a speech recognition device adapted to recognize human voices.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the CAPTCHA challenge is embodied in a computer readable form and implemented as a routine executing on a portable computing device which also has motion and/or orientation sensors.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the visual CAPTCHA challenge is combined with a physical CAPTCHA challenge requiring the user to manipulate the portable computing device in a prescribed manner.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said physical CAPTCHA challenge is used to interact with elements of said electronic image and/or other objects presented in said interface.

10. A method of testing recognition of images for a Completely Automatic Public Turing Test To Tell Humans And Computers Apart CAPTCHA system comprising:

a. automatically electing an electronic image for a participant with a computing system, wherein said electronic image comprises a set of imagery data other than words, and wherein said electronic image is presentable with differing amounts of data, including a first image state in which only a first portion of the image information therein is perceptible;

b. associating said electronic image with one or more concepts;

c. presenting said electronic image in said first image state and progressively revealing additional information in said electronic image over a first time period within an interface for said participant using said computing system;

d. automatically processing responses from the participant with the computing system to correlate an accuracy of guesses from said participant for said one or more concepts associated with said electronic image; and

e. calculating a percentage of participants able to decode and accurately guess said one or more concepts within a predetermined time.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein said progressively revealing additional information comprises presenting said electronic image at different time intervals with differing levels of resolution, noise and/or pixelation.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein said automatically processing responses occurs during said presenting said electronic image and said progressively revealing additional information.

13. The method of claim 10 further including a step:

using said electronic image within a CAPTCHA system for granting access to resources of a second computing system.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said second computing system is associated with a portable electronics device.