Optical identification and characterization system and tags
AssigneeThewhollysee Ltd.
InventorsDan Yanson, Avraham Yoffe
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system is disclosed capable of automatic and remote identification, tracking, sensing, and characterization of physical entities (objects and subjects) using structural-color tags. Optical encoding is performed in the spectral domain using photonic engineering. Several embodiments are provided for the imaging, tagging and processing aspects of the system.
Claims28
A system comprising:
- (a) a plurality of structural-color tags, generating a distinct spectral response in a specified spectral range, said distinct spectral response including at least one characteristic spectral feature including at least one transition between a high-intensity level and a low-intensity level, said intensity levels differing by 20% or more and said transition occurring over a spectral bandwidth of 1000 inverse centimeters or less;
- (b) a spectral imaging system for capturing a dataset of at least 5 spectrally-filtered digital images of a field of view;
- and
- (c) a processing system comprising at least one processor, said processing system being configured to process the dataset of spectrally-filtered digital images from said spectral imaging system so as to:
- (i) identify spatial pixels of said dataset having said characteristic spectral feature in said specified spectral range as spatial pixels corresponding to one of said tags;
- and
- (ii) process spectral data from said dataset for said tag to derive information relating to said tag.
A method for detection of, and obtaining information from, a plurality of structural-color tags comprising the steps of:
- (a) employing a spectral imaging system to capture a dataset of at least 5 spectrally-filtered digital images of a field of view;
- (b) processing said dataset of spectrally-filtered digital images to identify spatial pixels having characteristic spectral features including at least one transition between a high-intensity level and a low-intensity level, said intensity levels differing by 20% or more and said transition occurring over a spectral bandwidth of 1000 inverse centimeters or less in a specified spectral range as spatial pixels corresponding to a structural-color tag;
- and
- (c) for each detected tag, process spectral data for the corresponding pixels to derive information relating to the tag.
A structural-color tag having a lateral dimension greater than five millimeters and comprising at least one photonic structure selected from the group consisting of interferometric, multilayer, thin-film, quarter-wavelength, Bragg;
- grating, Fabry-Perot, plasmonic, photonic crystal, structural filter, color-shifting, optically-variable structures, said photonic structure having a distinct spectral response in a specified spectral range, said distinct spectral response associated with
- (a) one or more optical phenomena from the group comprising interference, diffraction, refraction, iridescence, scattering, plasmonics;
- and
- (b) at least one characteristic spectral feature, said feature including at least one transition between a high-intensity level and a low-intensity level, said intensity levels differing by 20% or more and said transition occurring over a spectral bandwidth of 1000 inverse centimeters or less.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.