A system and associated method, the system including an item including a substrate including a polymer material and a first diffraction feature configured to diffract incident radiation into the substrate at an angle greater than the critical angle and launch the incident radiation into a waveguide transmission mode within the substrate to transmit the incident radiation laterally within the substrate, and a computing device including a radiation source configured to irradiate the item at a location of the first diffraction feature directly or indirectly on or within the substrate such that radiation is transmitted laterally within the substrate and a camera configured to measure emitted radiation from the substrate after lateral transmission of the incident radiation, where, in connection with irradiating with the radiation source and measuring the emitted radiation with the camera, the computing device is disposed in contact with the substrate.

A device for verifying a machine-readable security feature of a document of value, having: a transport device configured to transport the document on a transport plane, a radiation emitter that is arranged on a first flat side and emits radiation in the direction towards the first flat side, a sensor that is arranged on the first flat side and is configured to receive at least part of the luminescent radiation, a reflector arranged and configured on the second flat side-so as to at least partly reflect the luminescent radiation of the security feature of the document of value to the sensor, and an evaluation unit.

A method and system for authenticating an item includes providing the item including a polymer substrate comprising a polymer material and a doping material, the polymer material and the doping material configured to transmit radiation laterally through the polymer substrate, and the doping material capable of scattering radiation and absorbing radiation of at least one specific wavelength to generate a spectral signature in a spectral band of wavelengths of the transmitted radiation, irradiating the item with incident radiation characterized by a spectral band of wavelengths spanning a band of wavelengths including the at least one specific wavelength absorbed and scattered by the doping material, detecting the spectral signature after the radiation is transmitted laterally through the polymer substrate, and determining a code associated with the spectral signature.

A method for evaluating sensor data for a value document includes a memory and a multi-core processor arranged to access the memory. A management sub-group of the cores comprises at least one of the cores, and at least one evaluation subgroup of the cores comprises at least one other of the cores. The management subgroup manages the memory regarding the storing of at least the sensor data and generates evaluation information for carrying out the evaluation. At least one evaluation subgroup carries out at least one part of the evaluation in dependence on the evaluation information and stores the result in the memory.

Existing currency validation (CVAL) devices, systems, and methods are too slow, costly, intrusive, and/or bulky to be routinely used in common transaction locations (e.g., at checkout, at an automatic teller machine, etc.). Presented herein are devices, systems, and methods to facilitate optical validation of documents, merchandise, or currency at common transaction locations and to do so in an obtrusive and convenient way. More specifically, the present invention embraces a validation device that may be used alone or integrated within a larger system (e.g., point of sale system, kiosk, etc.). The present invention also embraces methods for currency validation using the validation device, as well as methods for improving the quality and consistency of data captured by the validation device for validation.

An automatic teller machine includes a banknote conveyance channel, a banknote recycling channel, and a banknote circulation channel. The banknote conveyance channel includes an annular channel, a first branch channel, a second branch channel, a third branch channel, a fourth branch channel, and a fifth branch channel. A banknote-in mechanism communicates with the annular channel via the first branch channel. A temporary storage mechanism communicates with the annular channel via the second branch channel. A banknote-out mechanism communicates with the annular channel via the third branch channel. Two ends of an identification mechanism communicate with the annular channel via the fourth branch channel and the fifth branch channel, respectively. A recycling box communicates with the banknote conveyance channel via the banknote recycling channel. A circulation box communicates with the banknote circulation channel via the banknote circulation channel.

A value document system, a method for identifying a value document of a value document system, and a luminescent substance set, wherein the value document system includes at least a first value document and a second value document. The first value document has a security feature composed of a combination of at least a first and a second luminescent substance of a first or a second substance class. The second value document has a security feature with at least a first luminescent substance of the first or second substance class. The security feature of the first value document has at least a different intensity ratio of the emission, a different decay time ratio and/or a different decay time sum in two adjacent spectral ranges compared with the security feature of the second value document.

In a money handling system (10), a storage cassette (40) is detachably mounted to each of a money change machine (20) and a money depositing/dispensing machine (30) (money handling machine). A determination unit (51) is provided for determining whether or not money has been sent into the money depositing/dispensing machine (30) from all the storage cassettes (40) to which money has been sent from the money change machine (20) when a plurality of the storage cassettes (40) are used in a collection process.

A security element is applied to a document or an object in the form of a directly printed marking or in the form of a tag made of paper or another material, with or without an identifier. A user can take a picture of the marking or tag with a smartphone and then send the picture to a device including software provided with a recognition algorithm including neural networks. The device visualizes the fingerprint of the tag or marking, thus making it possible to ascertain the authenticity of the document or object. In order to establish the authenticity of the product protected by the device, the image, stored in a cloud or blockchain database, of the tag obtained after printing same or of the marking is compared with a new description.

An optical security element made of a refractive transparent or partially transparent optical material and comprising an optical assembly of a caustic layer having a light-redirecting surface with a relief pattern of given depth and a focal length f.sub.C and an adjacent lens element of focal length f.sub.L configured to redirect incident light received from a point-like light source through it and to form a projected image containing a caustic pattern directly on a retina of an observer. A marked object, as well as a method of visually authenticating an object, and use of optical security elements for authenticating or securing against counterfeiting are also disclosed.