Artwork generated to convey digital messages, and methods/apparatuses for generating such artwork
AssigneeDigimarc Corporation
InventorsAjith M. Kamath, Fabrice Capiez
Life of this patent
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Abstract
2D machine readable symbologies are stylized and made aesthetically-appealing, facilitating their use to convey plural-symbol data on product packaging and other articles. In some arrangements, a symbology is mimicked as a collage of excerpts from a style image (e.g., a photograph or other artwork). To human viewers, the stylized symbology resembles the style image, rather than the 2D symbology. A great variety of other features and arrangements are also detailed.
Claims45
A method of creating a stylized counterpart to a target image, the target image comprising a 2D machine-readable code, the target image having an attribute of being decodable by a compliant reader apparatus to produce a plural-symbol payload earlier encoded therein, the method comprising the acts:
- (a) identifying component blocks of the target image, each component block having a respective location within said target image, wherein an array of P of said component blocks collectively forms a pattern that spans the target image, in which P comprises a positive integer;
- (b) receiving one or more style images;
- (c) performing a similarity comparison between a first of said component blocks of the target image, and plural candidate excerpts within the one or more style images, yielding a set of similarity values—each corresponding to a respective candidate excerpt within a style image;
- (d) selecting one of said candidate excerpts, based at least in part on its corresponding similarity value;
- (e) copying the selected candidate excerpt into a location in an output frame that corresponds to the location of the first component block within the target image;
- and
- (f) repeating acts (c) through (e) for second through Pth component blocks of the target image;
- wherein the output frame is filled with selected excerpts from one or more style images, yielding a stylized counterpart image having said attribute of being decodable by said compliant reader apparatus to produce said plural-symbol payload.
A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors of a computer system, cause the computer system to perform operations comprising:
- (a) identifying component blocks of a target image, the target image comprising a 2D machine-readable code, the target image having an attribute of being decodable by a compliant reader apparatus to produce a plural-symbol payload earlier encoded therein, each component block having a respective location within said target image, wherein an array of P of said component blocks collectively forms a pattern that spans the target image, in which P comprises a positive integer;
- (b) receiving one or more style images;
- (c) performing a similarity comparison between a first of said component blocks of the target image, and plural candidate excerpts within the one or more style images, yielding a set of similarity values—each corresponding to a respective candidate excerpt within a style image;
- (d) selecting one of the candidate excerpts, based at least in part on its corresponding similarity value;
- (e) copying the selected candidate excerpt into a location in an output frame that corresponds to the location of the first component block within the target image;
- and
- (f) repeating operations (c) through (e) for second through Pth component blocks of the target image;
- wherein the output frame is filled with selected excerpts from one or more style images, yielding a stylized counterpart image of the target image, the stylized counterpart image having the attribute of being decodable by the compliant reader apparatus to produce the plural-symbol payload.
An apparatus comprising:
- memory storing:
- i) a target image comprising a 2D machine-readable code, the target image having an attribute of being decodable by a compliant reader apparatus to produce a plural-symbol payload earlier encoded therein, each component block having a respective location within said target image, and ii) one or more style images;
- (a) means for identifying component blocks of a target image, wherein an array of P of said component blocks collectively forms a pattern that spans the target image, in which P comprises a positive integer;
- (b) means for performing a similarity comparison between a first of the component blocks of the target image, and plural candidate excerpts within the one or more style images, yielding a set of similarity values—each corresponding to a respective candidate excerpt within a style image;
- (c) means for selecting one of the candidate excerpts, based at least in part on its corresponding similarity value;
- (d) means for copying the selected candidate excerpt into a location in an output frame that corresponds to the location of the first component block within the target image;
- and
- (e) means for re-executing the means of (b) through (d) for second through Pth component blocks of the target image;
- means for filling the output frame with selected excerpts from one or more style images, yielding a stylized counterpart image of the target image, the stylized counterpart image having the attribute of being decodable by the compliant reader apparatus to produce the plural-symbol payload.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.