The invention refers to a method for generating 2D barcodes, or generic tags, containing information encrypted and not decipherable except by those who generated them, which have a good visual impact integrated into the context, as opposed to current barcodes.
| Patent title | Encryption method and system based on images |
|---|---|
| Thematic area | Industry, Digital and Security |
| Ownership | ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - UNIVERSITA' DI BOLOGNA |
| Inventors | Daniele De Gregorio, Luigi Di Stefano |
| Protection | Italy |
| Licensing status | Available for development agreements, option, license and other exploitation agreements |
| Keywords | Convolutional neural network, Deep networks, Barcodes, Augmented reality, Watermarking |
| Filed on | 22 February 2019 |
The proposed system uses Deep Convolutional Generative Adversarial Networks (DCGAN) to generate images, in black/white or color (with a style similar to an input image or randomly), that are apparently meaningless, but if read with a special device they reveal a hidden code.
The method implements a public key encryption system in which the part capable of generating images is considered as a Public Key and the part capable of interpreting images is considered as a Private Key.
Applications:
In industry, manufacturing and tertiary sectors, for:
- replacement of QR Codes;
- augmented reality;
- robotic manipulation;
- watermarking with product logos.
Advantages:
- simplicity of implementation as hardware;
- readability of tags even in non-ideal conditions;
- robustness of the decoder, trained with distortions;
- lower aesthetic impact on products and their packaging;
- unique and non-repeatable bar codes.