Abstract: The present disclosure describes portable devices (e.g., smart phones and tablets), related methods and systems. One claim relates to a portable computing device including a device input for initiating a discovery mode. The discovery mode includes processing camera-captured video imagery or microphone-captured audio to obtain identification of an object depicted in camera-captured video imagery or to obtain identification of microphone-captured audio. The portable computing device operates to initiate a discovery mode including processing real-time video imagery captured with a camera, cause a sensor pane to be displayed on a touch screen display, in which real-time captured video imagery is displayed along with augmented reality graphics within the sensor pane, and cause user-selectable graphic icons to be displayed within a first area of the touch screen display, and cause a user-selectable graphic icon to be displayed on touch screen display to facilitate switching discovery modes from image to audio.

Abstract: Imagery from two or more users' different smartphones is streamed to a cloud processor, enabling creation of 3D model information about a scene being imaged. From this model, arbitrary views and streams can be synthesized. In one arrangement, a user of such a system is at a sports arena, and her view of the sporting event is blocked when another spectator rises to his feet in front of her. Nonetheless, the imagery presented on her headworn display continues uninterrupted—the blocked imagery from that viewpoint being seamlessly re-created based on imagery contributed by other system users in the arena. A great variety of other features and arrangements are also detailed.

Abstract: In one arrangement, a smartphone camera gathers skin imagery while controlled spectral illumination is emitted from the smartphone display. In a particular embodiment, differently colored bands move across a darkened screen to illuminate the skin from different angles as plural images are being captured. The collection of imagery from different viewing angles, with different spectral illumination, and different illumination angles, can provide imagery (including composite imagery) useful in manual or automated dermoscopic analysis. A great variety of other features and arrangements are also detailed.

Abstract: A portable computing device captures imagery from a screen of a second computer, decodes information steganographically-encoded in the screen display, and uses the decoded information to establish a secure session with the second computer. Such technology enables a help-desk staffer to interact with a client's desktop computer, without touching the keyboard of the desktop computer, and without interrupting the client's work. A great many other features and arrangements are also detailed.

Abstract: Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) tend to be specialized and expensive—relegated to only key points in power distribution networks, and are generally reliant on GPS technology. The present disclosure details how any smart meter—using wireless communication—can perform sub-microsecond-grade synchrophasor measurements. Other aspects concern smart meter-based determination of A, B or C phase of the tri-phase power network. This can involve count-stamp enabling message packets sent to and/or from a smart meter, and then associating such count-stamps to local measurements of power phase by a metrology unit. Once a network of such enabled smart meters and other devices is formed, sub-microsecond metropolitan-wide and entire region-wide synchronizing time standard can calibrate local measurements of power phase, where simple A, B and C phase determination is one low hanging fruit application of such.

Abstract: Directional albedo of a particular article, such as an identity card, is measured and stored. When the article is later presented, it can be confirmed to be the same particular article by re-measuring the albedo function, and checking for correspondence against the earlier-stored data. The re-measuring can be performed through us of a handheld optical device, such as a camera-equipped cell phone. The albedo function can serve as random key data in a variety of cryptographic applications. The function can be changed during the life of the article. A variety of other features are also detailed.

Abstract: An image capture device, such as a smartphone or point of sale scanner, is adapted for use as an imaging spectrometer, by synchronized pulsing of different LED light sources as different image frames are captured by the image sensor. A particular implementation employs the CIE color matching functions, and/or their orthogonally transformed functions, to enable direct chromaticity capture. These and various other configurations of spectral capture devices are employed to capture spectral images comprised of spectral vectors having multi-dimensions per pixel. These spectral images are processed for use in object identification, classification, and a variety of other applications. Particular applications include produce (e.g., fruit or vegetable) identification. A great variety of other features and arrangements are also detailed.

Abstract: A method for obtaining object surface topology in which image frames of a scene (e.g., video frames from a user passing a smartphone camera over an object) are transformed into dense feature vectors, and feature vectors are correlated to obtain high precision depth maps. Six dimensional pose is determined from the video sequence, and then used to register patches of pixels from the frames. Registered patches are aligned and then correlated to local shifts. These local shifts are converted to precision depth maps, which are used to characterize surface detail of an object. Feature vector transforms are leveraged in a signal processing method comprising several levels of interacting loops. At a first loop level, a structure from motion loop process extracts anchor features from image frames. At another level, an interacting loop process extracts surface texture, as noted. At additional levels, object forms are segmented from the images, and objects are counted and/or measured.

Abstract: The application discloses identification and security documents and methods, apparatus and systems for authenticating such identification and security documents. Some such methods and apparatus involve steganography or data hiding.

Abstract: Methods and arrangements involving portable user devices such smartphones and wearable electronic devices are disclosed, as well as other devices and sensors distributed within an ambient environment. Some arrangements enable a user to perform an object recognition process in a computationally- and time-efficient manner. Other arrangements enable users and other entities to, either individually or cooperatively, register or enroll physical objects into one or more object registries on which an object recognition process can be performed. Still other arrangements enable users and other entities to, either individually or cooperatively, associate registered or enrolled objects with one or more items of metadata. A great variety of other features and arrangements are also detailed.

Abstract: The present invention relates to image management systems and methods. In one implementation we provide a method to provide geo-location feedback corresponding to an image area selected by a user. A digital watermark embedded in the selected image area is decoded, and the decoded digital watermark includes or points to geo-location information associated with the selected image location. In another implementation we provide an alert engine to notify a network station that information associated with a digital watermark identifier is available.

Abstract: A wi-fi based mobile positioning system determines mobile device positioning by count stamped packets communicated between the mobile device and access points according to a standard wifi protocol. Ad-hoc groups of wifi network nodes are formed and then broken with a mobile device as that mobile devices moves relative to fixed nodes, such as access points. Within an ad-hoc group, the nodes count stamp packets by latching a local counter within each node. Count-stamps are collected and used to generate ranges for a mobile device relative to nodes in an ad hoc group. A positioning services determines the position of the mobile device from the ranges.

Abstract: Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) tend to be specialized and expensive—relegated to only key points in power distribution networks, and are generally reliant on GPS technology. The present disclosure details how any smart meter—using wireless communication—can perform sub-microsecond-grade synchrophasor measurements. Other aspects concern smart meter-based determination of A, B or C phase of the tri-phase power network. This can involve count-stamp enabling message packets sent to and/or from a smart meter, and then associating such count-stamps to local measurements of power phase by a metrology unit. Once a network of such enabled smart meters and other devices is formed, sub-microsecond metropolitan-wide and entire region-wide synchronizing time standard can calibrate local measurements of power phase, where simple A, B and C phase determination is one low hanging fruit application of such.

Abstract: Content is encoded with a watermark that associates it with a particular consumer. When presented for playback, the rendering equipment examines the watermark to confirm that the consumer with whom the content is associated, is also the consumer with whom the equipment is associated. If there is no watermark—or if the watermark is associated with a different consumer, then playback is refused. The equipment also desirably checks whether the content has a second watermark (or even a very feeble remnant thereof), indicating that the content has been derived from content earlier provided to a different consumer. If so, playback is again refused. Thus, this embodiment will refuse to play if there is no watermark; if there is one watermark not associated with the proprietor of the equipment; or if there are two or more watermarks.

Abstract: One arrangement concerns a portable device (e.g., a smartphone) that executes plural recognition agents, such as agents that perform fingerprint-based object recognition, fingerprint-based audio recognition, barcode reading, watermark decoding, etc. Each of the agents reads from and writes to a blackboard data structure, to which camera and microphone sensors also post their data. Queues of stored sensor data are thus available for the agents to process. In some arrangements, the agents also post—to the blackboard—estimates of the resource costs required to perform certain functions, and estimates of the quality of results that may be achieved by such functions. This allows the system to make informed decisions about how to deploy the device's limited resources (battery, processing cycles, network bandwidth, etc.). A great variety of other features and arrangements are also detailed.

Abstract: An object (e.g., a driver's license) is tested for authenticity using imagery captured by a consumer device (e.g., a mobile phone camera). Corresponding data is sent from the consumer device to a remote system, which has secret knowledge about features indicating object authenticity. The phone, or the remote system, discerns the pose of the object relative to the camera from the captured imagery. The remote system tests the received data for the authentication features, and issues an output signal indicating whether the object is authentic. This testing involves modeling the image data that would be captured by the consumer device from an authentic object—based on the object's discerned pose (and optionally based on information about the camera optics), and then comparing this modeled data with the data sent from the consumer device. A great variety of other features and arrangements are also detailed.

Abstract: An illustrative implementation of the technology includes three primary components: a desktop application, a mobile phone application, and connections to retailer inventory and pricing APIs (e.g., for Walmart and/or Best Buy). The experience begins with the consumer going to an online retailer's website (e.g., Amazon) to search for a product. The desktop application automatically searches for product matches using the APIs of affiliated retailers. If matches and near-matches of the product are found, the product name, model, price, and local availability at affiliate locations is shown. With a mobile phone camera-scan of the product page, relevant information is transferred to the consumer's phone. From there, the consumer can interact with the options on the mobile phone to be directed to the nearby brick and mortar store of choice carrying that product at the price they want. Along the way, the retailer can present offers and additional product information directly to the consumer.

Abstract: Watermark encoders and decoders can be integrated into operating systems, Internet browsers, media players, and other applications and devices. Such integration enables the watermark-enabled application or device to provide additional functionality and information available via the watermark. The watermark, for example, may link to metadata or actions related to a media object. To exploit this watermark enabled functionality, the integrated application uses a watermark decoder to access the related metadata and actions. The user interface of the integrated application is enhanced to present metadata and actions linked via the watermark. Similarly, watermark encoders may be integrated into applications to convert media objects into enhanced, watermarked objects. A variety of other arrangements and features are also detailed. Many arrangements can be implemented using object identifiers other than watermarks.

Abstract: Methods and arrangements involving portable user devices such smartphones and wearable electronic devices are disclosed, as well as other devices and sensors distributed within an ambient environment. Some arrangements enable a user to perform an object recognition process in a computationally- and time-efficient manner. Other arrangements enable users and other entities to, either individually or cooperatively, register or enroll physical objects into one or more object registries on which an object recognition process can be performed. Still other arrangements enable users and other entities to, either individually or cooperatively, associate registered or enrolled objects with one or more items of metadata. A great variety of other features and arrangements are also detailed.

Abstract: The present technology concerns improvements to smart phones and related sensor-equipped systems. Some embodiments involve spoken clues, e.g., by which a user can assist a smart phone in identifying what portion of imagery captured by a smart phone camera should be processed, or identifying what type of image processing should be conducted. Some arrangements include the degradation of captured content information in accordance with privacy rules, which may be location-dependent, or based on the unusualness of the captured content, or responsive to later consultation of the stored content information by the user. A great variety of other features and arrangements are also detailed.