Producing, capturing and using visual identification tags for moving objects

Abstract

A visual Reference tag is formed from an array of cells, wherein each is visually distinct from all other cells in a given neighborhood and each of said cells contains a single visual cue, for example a unique color, selected from a finite number of visual cues.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of numerical coding a reference tag that includes a core that includes multiple cells, wherein each cell within the core displays a different visual cue from a set of visual cues that includes multiple colors and at least one gray shade, the method comprising:
 determining numbers to be associated with cells of the core;   in a defined sequence according to a defined sequential ordering of the cells in the core, for each respective cell of the core,
 associating respective visual cues, which have not been selected previously for different cells of the core, with respective numbers; 
 selecting a visual cue from the set of respective visual cues that corresponds to a number determined to be associated with the selected cell; and 
 applying the selected visual cue to the respective core cell. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 ,
 wherein selecting includes selecting a visual cue for at least for at least six cells.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 ,
 wherein selecting includes selecting a visual cue from the set of visual cues for at least six cells; and   wherein the multiple colors are evenly distributed across the visual spectrum.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 ,
 wherein selecting includes selecting a visual cue for at least seven cells; and   wherein the multiple colors include at least six colors that are evenly distributed across the visual spectrum.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the visual cue includes at least five colors from the set (R, Y, G, C, B, M) and includes at least two gray shades;   wherein selecting includes selecting a visual cue from the set of colors for at least six cells; and   wherein selecting includes selecting a visual cue from the at least two gray shades for at least one cell.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the visual cue includes at least six colors that are evenly distributed across the visual spectrum and includes at least two gray shades;   wherein selecting includes selecting a visual cue from the multiple colors for at least six cells; and   wherein selecting includes selecting a visual cue from the at least two gray shades for at least one cell.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  further including:
 selecting for each respective cell of a second layer of cells arranged to surround the core, a visual cue that is different from visual cues applied to its nearest neighbor cells; and 
 applying the selected visual cue to the respective second layer cell. 
 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 ,
 wherein selecting for each respective cell of the core includes selecting for at least seven cells; and   wherein selecting for each respective cell of the core includes selecting for at least seven cells.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 ,
 wherein selecting for each respective cell of the core includes selecting for no more than eight cells; and   wherein selecting for each respective cell of the core includes selecting for no more than twelve cells.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the visual cue includes at least six colors that are evenly distributed across the visual spectrum and includes at least two gray shades;   wherein selecting for each respective cell of the core includes selecting for no more than eight cells; and   wherein selecting for each respective cell of the core includes selecting for no more than twelve cells.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  further including:
 selecting for each respective cell of a second layer of cells arranged to surround the core, a visual cue that is different from visual cues applied to its nearest neighbor cells; and 
 applying the selected visual cue to the respective second layer cell; 
 selecting for each respective cell of a third layer of cells arranged to surround the core, a visual cue that is different from visual cues applied to its nearest neighbor cells; and 
 applying the selected visual cue to the respective third layer cell. 
 
     
     
         12 . A method of numerical coding a reference tag that includes a core that includes multiple cells, wherein each cell within the core displays a different visual cue from a set of visual cues that includes multiple colors and at least one gray shade, the method comprising:
 receiving a first number;   for the first received number, for each successive cell of a first ordered sequence of the core cells, starting with a first core cell of the first sequence and continuing successively with each core cell in the first sequence,
 selecting a core cell; 
 associating respective visual cues, which have not been selected for a previous cell in the first sequence, with respective numbers of a set of numbers; 
 selecting an unselected visual cue; and 
 applying the selected visual cue to the cell. 
   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12  further including:
 for at least one pair of core cells of the first ordered sequence of cells, associating at least one respective currently unselected visual cue with different respective numbers of the set of numbers. 
 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12  further including:
 receiving a second number; 
 for the second received number, for each successive cell of a first ordered sequence of the core cells, starting with a first core cell of the first sequence and continuing successively with each core cell in the first sequence,
 selecting a core cell; 
 associating respective visual cues, which have not been selected for a previous cell in the first sequence, with respective numbers of a set of numbers, 
 wherein for at least one core cell, at least one visual cue is associated with a different number than was that same at least one core cell for the first received number; 
 selecting an unselected visual cue; and 
 applying the selected visual cue to the cell. 
 
 
     
     
         15 . The method of numerical coding a reference tag of  claim 12  further including:
 associating respective ordered core cells of the first ordered sequence of cells with respective ordered coefficients of an ordered sequence of coefficients; 
 receiving a number to encode; and 
 determining numbers by which to multiply coefficients from the ordered sequence of coefficients such that a sum of the coefficients multiplied by the determined numbers represents the received number;
 wherein selecting an unselected visual cue includes selecting a visual cue that corresponds to a number by which the coefficient that corresponds to the cell is determined to be multiplied. 
 
 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 ,
 wherein successive coefficients in the second sequence increase in size.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 ,
 wherein for each selected core cell, the associated coefficient is a product of the number of currently available visual cues for each core cell of the first sequence that precedes the selected core cell in the first sequence of cells.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15  further including:
 for each cell of a second ordered sequence of cells in a second layer of cells that surrounds the core cells, starting with a first second layer cell of the second sequence and continuing successively to subsequent cells in the second layer,
 selecting a second layer cell; 
 associating respective visual cues, which do not match visual cues selected for nearest neighbors of the currently selected second layer cell, with respective numbers of a set of numbers; 
 selecting an unselected visual cue from the set of visual cues; and 
 applying the selected visual cue to the currently selected second layer cell. 
 
 
     
     
         19 . The method of numerical coding a reference tag of  claim 15  further including:
 associating respective ordered core cells of the first and second ordered sequences of cells with respective ordered coefficients of an ordered sequence of coefficients; 
 receiving a number to encode; and 
 determining numbers by which to multiply coefficients from the ordered sequence of coefficients such that a sum of the coefficients multiplied by the determined numbers represents the received number;
 wherein for each currently selected cell of the first sequence of cells, selecting an unselected visual cue includes selecting a visual cue that corresponds to a number by which the coefficient that corresponds to the cell is determined to be multiplied; and 
 wherein for each currently selected cell of the second sequence of cells, selecting an unselected visual cue includes selecting a visual cue that corresponds to a number by which the coefficient that corresponds to the cell is determined to be multiplied. 
 
 
     
     
         20 . A method of numerical decoding a reference tag that includes a core that includes multiple cells, wherein each cell within the core displays a different visual cue from a set of visual cues that includes multiple colors and at least one gray shade, the method comprising:
 receiving the reference tag;   for each successive cell of a first ordered sequence of the core cells, starting with a first core cell of the first sequence and continuing successively with each core cell in the first sequence,
 selecting a core cell; 
 associating respective visual cues, which have not been associated with a previous cell in the first sequence, with respective numbers of a set of numbers; 
 identifying a visual cue associated with the currently selected core cell; and 
 reporting a respective number associated with the identified visual cue.