# US 2019/0172074 A1 · Computer-implemented method and system for authentication of a product > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2019/0172074 A1 - Document ID: US20190172074A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/832,784 - Filed: 2017-12-06 - Published: 2019-06-06 - Earliest claimed: 2017-12-06 - Assignees: International Business Machines Corporation - Applicants: International Business Machines Corporation - Inventors: Geoffrey H Siwo - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190172074A1 ## CPC - G06Q 30/0185: {Product, service or business identity fraud} - G06F 16/903: Querying (for retrieval from the web G06F16/953) - G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) ## Abstract A computer-implemented method of authenticating a product comprises receiving, from a scanner terminal, a query message including a hapto-signature of the product to be authenticated, the hapto-signature including at least one haptic characteristic of the product as scanned by a touch-sensitive surface of the scanner terminal. The method comprises comparing the received hapto-signature against a hapto-signature database comprising a plurality of reference hapto-signatures, each reference hapto-signature having an associated product, to determine whether or not the received hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signatures, wherein a determination that the received hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signatures indicates that the product is authentic. The method comprises generating and sending a response message indicative of whether or not the received hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signature. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A computer-implemented method of authenticating a product, the method comprising: receiving, from a scanner terminal, via a communication interface of a computer system, a query message including a hapto-signature of the product to be authenticated, the hapto-signature including at least one haptic characteristic of the product as scanned by a touch-sensitive surface of the scanner terminal; comparing, by a comparison module of the computer system, the received hapto-signature against a hapto-signature database comprising a plurality of reference hapto-signatures, each reference hapto-signature having an associated product, to determine whether or not the received hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signatures, wherein a determination that the received hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signatures indicates that the product is authentic; generating, by the comparison module, a response message indicative of whether or not the received hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signature; and sending, via the communication interface, the response message to a designated recipient. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether or not the received hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signatures includes at least one of: determining that the scanned hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signatures if the received hapto-signature is identical to at least one of the reference hapto-signatures; determining that the scanned hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signatures if the received hapto-signature is within a pre-defined tolerance of at least one of the reference hapto-signatures; or determining that the scanned hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signatures if the received hapto-signature is within a pre-defined statistical similarity of at least one of the reference hapto-signatures. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein: the query message include an identifier of the product other than the received hapto-signature, and the received hapto-signature is compared against only the reference hapto-signature of the identified product; or the query message does not include an identifier of the product other than the received hapto-signature, and the received hapto-signature is compared against all of the reference hapto-signatures of the hapto-signature database. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein, in response to a determination that the received hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signatures, generating the response message comprises including in the response message includes an indication of the associated product of the matching reference hapto-signature. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, which comprises: scanning, by the touch-sensitive surface of the scanner terminal, the product to be authenticated; generating, by the scanner terminal, the hapto-signature of the scanned product; generating and sending, by the scanner terminal to the computer system, the query message including the generated hapto-signature of the product to be authenticated. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the designated recipient is the scanner terminal and wherein the method comprises: receiving, by the scanner terminal, the response message; and displaying, by the scanner terminal, the determination of whether or not the product is authentic. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, which includes displaying, in response to a determination that the received hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signatures, an indication of the associated product of the matching reference hapto-signature. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the hapto-signature comprises at least one of the following characteristics or a change or shift in at least one of the following characteristics of the product: capacitance; conductance; resistance; opacity; light absorbance; and/or reflectance. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the hapto-signature comprises at least one characteristic of the product based on: an outline or perimeter of the product relative to the touch-sensitive surface; an area occupied by the product on the touch-sensitive surface. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the hapto-signature includes data related to the product encoded therein. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, comprising predicting, by a signature generation module of the computer system, a reference hapto-signature for an associated product of known shape, size, conductance, resistance, porosity, absorbance, and/or reflectance based on statistical or machine learning models trained on a range of reference hapto-signatures for products of known shape, size, conductance, resistance, porosity, absorbance, reflectance. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, comprising designing, by a signature generation module of the computer system, an optimal shape, size, weight, conductance or resistance, porosity, absorbance, and/or reflectance for the product to have a unique hapto-signature based on statistical or machine learning models trained on a range of reference hapto-signatures for associated products of known shape, size, conductance, resistance, porosity, absorbance, and/or reflectance. ### Claim 13 A computer system for authenticating a product, the system comprising: a computer processor; a hapto-signature database comprising a plurality of reference hapto-signatures, each reference hapto-signature associated with a product; a communication interface operable to send and receive messages; and a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon program instructions executable by the computer processor to direct the operation of the processor, wherein the computer processor, when executing the program instructions, comprises: a comparison module configured to compare a hapto-signature included in query message received from a scanner terminal via the communication arrangement, wherein the received hapto-signature is compared the plurality of reference hapto-signatures, to determine whether or not the received hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signatures, wherein a determination that the received hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signatures indicates that the product is authentic, wherein the comparison module is further configured to generate a response message indicative of whether or not the received hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signature, and wherein the comparison module is further configured to send, via the communication interface, the response message to a designated recipient. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The system of claim 13, wherein the comparison module is configured to determine whether or not the received hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signatures based on at least one of: determining that the scanned hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signatures if the received hapto-signature is identical to at least one of the reference hapto-signatures; determining that the scanned hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signatures if the received hapto-signature is within a pre-defined tolerance of at least one of the reference hapto-signatures; or determining that the scanned hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signatures if the received hapto-signature is within a pre-defined statistical similarity of at least one of the reference hapto-signatures. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The system of claim 13, wherein the comparison module is configured, in response to a determination that the received hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signatures, to generate the response message by including in the response message an indication of the associated product of the matching reference hapto-signature. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The system of claim 13, which comprises the scanner terminal comprising a touch-sensitive surface operable to scan the product to be authenticated. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The system of claim 16, wherein: the scanner terminal is the designated recipient; and the scanner terminal comprises a display unit configured to display the determination of whether or not the product is authentic. ### Claim 18 (depends on 13) The system of claim 13, wherein the computer processor, when executing the program instructions, comprises a signature generation module operable to generate at least one reference hapto-signature. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The system of claim 18, wherein the signature generation module is configured to: generate the reference hapto-signature by predicting reference hapto-signatures for products of known shape, size, conductance, resistance, porosity, absorbance, and/or reflectance, based on statistical or machine learning models trained on a range of reference hapto-signatures for associated products of known shape, size, conductance, resistance, porosity, absorbance, and/or reflectance; or design an optimal shape, size, weight, conductance or resistance, porosity, absorbance, and/or reflectance for the product to have a unique hapto-signature based on statistical or machine learning models trained on a range of reference hapto-signatures for associated products of known shape, size, conductance, resistance, porosity, absorbance, and/or reflectance. ### Claim 20 A computer program product for authenticating a product, the computer program product comprising: a computer-readable medium having stored thereon: first program instructions executable by a computer processor to cause the computer processor to receive, from a scanner terminal, a query message including a hapto-signature of the product to be authenticated, the hapto-signature including at least one haptic characteristic of the product as scanned by a touch-sensitive surface of the scanner terminal; second program instructions executable by the computer processor to cause the computer processor to compare the received hapto-signature against a hapto-signature database comprising a plurality of reference hapto-signatures, each reference hapto-signature having an associated product, to determine whether or not the received hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signatures, wherein a determination that the received hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signatures indicates that the product is authentic; third program instructions executable by the computer processor to cause the computer processor to generate a response message indicative of whether or not the received hapto-signature matches at least one of the reference hapto-signature; and fourth program instructions executable by the computer processor to cause the computer processor to send the response message to a designated recipient.