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Camera Phones Read Hidden Messages in Print

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the go-go-gadget-decoder dept.

pikine writes "As reported by BBC News, Fujitsu has developed a technology that encodes 12-bytes of information in a printed picture by skewing yellow hue, which is difficult to discern by human eye but fairly easy for camera phones to decode using software written in Java." The first target uses are promotional contests and competitions, not entirely unlike those game pieces that need to be viewed through a colored filter.

6 of 126 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Scary Tech by spagetti_code · · Score: 5, Informative

    The unique identification of many (soon to me most or all) inkjets and color lasers was not
    done for you or me. It was done quietly for law enforcement to be able
    to *find* the owner of any printed document.

    The enormity of that type of underhanded removal of privacy is
    just gobsmacking. And most vendors quietly went along with it.

    This technology will no doubt be used in a similar vein - any
    picture uploaded onto the internet can be traced back to *you*.

    Freedom takes another blow.

  2. Re:Anyone remember Digital Convergence? by slash.dt · · Score: 3, Informative

    This is software and will work with any digital camera - though you would want to use a web-enabled device like your cellphone so that you can go to the link. So there is no need for dedicated hardware.

  3. further development of an existing technology by slash.dt · · Score: 5, Informative
    Mobile phones in Japan already have a function to read barcodes - rather than the traditional barcode that the west are used to, it is a small square of barcode information which holds a lot more data.

    You often see this barcode on advertisements next to the url - you can scan the barcode and save typing in the url. I've done it several times - even my non-techy wife uses the feature.

    This new announcement seems like a way that you can embed the information without having to have an obvious barcode spoiling the picture - but you will still need some tag to let you know that there was something there worth scanning.

    1. Re:further development of an existing technology by Hal_Porter · · Score: 3, Informative

      It's called QR code

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_Code

      The idea is that you print them on business cards, and people can scan your name and phone number into their phone quickly. Kind of useful in Japan where you end up with piles of business cards quite quickly.

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
  4. Why not Semacode? by mungewell · · Score: 3, Informative

    The artical talks about the 'advantage' that you can link a picture to a digital domain.... so why not just use semacode or Q-codes. Then the reader knows your pushing a website/etc and will actually point their phone at it!

    Semacodes can store a lot more information and can be scalled to include more or less. They are FEC'ed and are quite relisiant to damage.
    http://www.semacode.com/

    You don't even need to use the offical Semacode decoder, there are Free projects around.
    Simon

  5. They put a CueCat in my phone! by Panaflex · · Score: 4, Informative

    The CueCat was a device to read barcodes out of printed materials into your machine - which then linked you up to the referenced website.

    Fortunately it was a commercial failure - as the "free" devices cost a huge amount of cash. I'm sure this will fare better, of course, because it utilizes customers existing equipment. But who knows what wonderful websites it'll forward you too, hmm?

    --
    I said no... but I missed and it came out yes.