Component Forensics of Visual Sensors and Devices (ISR IP)

For more information, contact ISR External Relations Director
Jeff Coriale at coriale@umd.edu or 301.405.6604.

ISR intellectual property available to license

Inventors:
Ashwin Swaminathan, Min Wu, K.J. Ray Liu

Description
Visual sensors have experienced tremendous growth in recent decades. The resolution and quality has been steadily increasing and digital devices are becoming ubiquitous. Digital imaging has been used in a number of applications, from military to reconnaissance to medical diagnosis and consumer photography. Consequently, a series of new forensic issues arise amidst such rapid advancement and widespread adoption of imaging technologies. For example, hardware and software components inside the devices, type and brand of imaging sensors, type of processing etc.

Researchers at University of Maryland have developed an innovative forensic methodology called non-intrusive component forensics, which aims to identify the components inside the visual devices solely from its output data inferring what algorithms/processing are employed and estimating their parameter settings. Inventors have used the digital camera to illustrate the widespread applicability of the proposed technique, identifying internal components, exact nature of algorithms (and its parameter) using sample output images taken from the camera under diverse training conditions. Through simulations and data-sets captured from 16 different camera models inventors described that the invention is general and can be used to study similarities and differences among several camera models, also through the forensic evidences determining potential technology infringements and protection of intellectual property rights could be accomplished. Other applications include identifying acquisition device, detecting content tampering, performing universal steganalysis, and studying technology development and evolution.

For more information
If you would like to license this intellectual property, have questions, would like to contact the inventors, or need more information, contact ISR External Relations Director Jeff Coriale at coriale@umd.edu or 301.405.6604.

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ISR-IP-Liu ISR-IP-Wu ISR-IP-sensors ISR-IP-security

Published June 22, 2007