An optical code reader classifies a code depicted in input imagery, so that appropriate decoding actions can be invoked. This classification may identify, e.g., (a) whether the code is of a continuous tone or sparse mark variety, (b) which one of different reference signals it includes, and (c) which one of different protocols is used in expressing reference and payload signal components of the code. A great variety of other features and technologies are detailed as well.

An information processing device, an information processing method, and an information processing program capable of reducing an information processing amount of an application processor that recognizes a subject from an input image are provided. An information processing device (100) according to the present disclosure includes an acquisition unit (4), a generation unit (7), and an output unit (6). From an imaging unit that captures an image and generates image data, the acquisition unit (4) acquires the image data. The generation unit (7) generates, from the image data acquired by the acquisition unit (4), metadata to assist an application processor that executes processing related to the image. The output unit (6) outputs the metadata generated by the generation unit (7) to the application processor.

Content is identified using watermarking and/or other content recognition combined with contextual metadata, which facilitates identification and correlation with other content and metadata when it is posted to a network.

Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture are disclosed to perform time alignment for watermarks. An example apparatus adjusts a power value of an element of a template based on respective average magnitudes and respective tonality ratios corresponding to a plurality of frequency representations of a media signal, the media signal to be encoded with at least one watermark, the element corresponding to one of the plurality of frequency representations. Additionally, the example apparatus computes an alignment of the template to the media signal based on respective power values of elements of the template, the template corresponding to a type of the at least one watermark. The example apparatus also encodes the media signal with the at least one watermark according to the alignment.

A system and method is provided for management of digital watermarks, including a system and method for identifying the source of counterfeit copies of multimedia works using layered simple digital watermarks which are difficult to locate, identify and circumvent. The layered digital watermarks may be modulated in a variety of ways, and may be individualized to assist in detection of unlawful copyrighted material infringement by endpoint device and/or the user committing the copyright infringement. In addition, multiple layers of watermarks may be selected and applied by various schemes, such as on-the-fly remotely by the distributor of the copyrighted material. This system and method for management of digital watermarks effectively makes it impossible for a potential copyright infringer to have complete confidence that they located and disabled all of the watermarks in the copyrighted material, and therefore substantially increases the risk of infringer identification and prosecution for copyright violations.

An image processing apparatus includes: an embed-data generating unit configured to generate embed-data, which is to be embedded in input-image-data, the input-image-data representing an image including a first color, the embed-data representing an image including a second color; an inverting unit configured to invert the image represented by the embed-data, in response to meeting a predetermined condition relating to the first color and the second color; and an output-image-data generating unit configured to embed, in the input-image-data, embed-data representing the image that is inverted by the inverting unit, in order to generate output-image-data in a case where the predetermined condition is met, and configured to embed, in the input-image-data, embed-data representing the image that is not inverted by the inverting unit, in order to generate output-image-data in a case where the predetermined condition is not met.

Various features described herein may allow an authorized user to provide a guest with access to a secured location through use of an encoded image containing steganographically encoded access information. The encoded access information may be recognizable by a security system, and the security system may grant access to the secured location when the encoded image is presented to the security system. The authorized user may request the generation of the encoded image on an authorized computing device, and the encoded image may be provided to the guest on a guest computing device. When a monitoring device associated with the security system captures the encoded access information, the security system may, for example, open a door at the secured location.

An encoding apparatus partitions a digital image into multiple regions for subsequent encoding. A first encryption code is associated with a first region, a second encryption code is associated with a second region and the first code, and a third code is associated with the first code, the second code and a third region. An authentication apparatus authenticates the digital image in an inverse process.

Abstract: An image processing circuitry configured to: generate, based on obtained image data, a visual content word sequence indicative for a visual content of an image represented by the obtained image data; and generate, based on the generated visual content word sequence, an image signature for the image.

An encoding apparatus partitions a digital image into multiple regions for subsequent encoding. A first encryption code is associated with a first region, a second encryption code is associated with a second region and the first code, and a third code is associated with the first code, the second code and a third region. An authentication apparatus authenticates the digital image in an inverse process.