TECHNICAL FIELD
The disclosure relates generally to protecting private information and,
more specifically but not exclusively, to protecting private information in pub5 lic
locations.
BACKGROUND
As mobile computing becomes more ubiquitous, growing numbers of
10 people need or want to be able to view private information (e.g., work emails,
online bank account statements, and so forth) while in public locations (e.g.,
at coffee shops, in the airport, and so forth). However, there are various risks
associated with viewing private information in public locations. Accordingly,
there is a need for improvements in protecting private information in public
15 locations.
SUMMARY OF EMBODIMENTS
Various deficiencies in the prior art are addressed by embodiments for
protecting information using spectral filtering.
20 In at least some embodiments, an apparatus includes a processor and
a memory communicatively connected to the memory, where the processor is
configured to detect an indication that information of an image is to be
protected and apply spectral filtering to at least a portion of the image to form
a spectrally-filtered image.
25 In at least some embodiments, a method includes detecting an
indication that information of an image is to be protected and applying spectral
filtering to at least a portion of the image to form a spectrally-filtered image.
In at least some embodiments, a wearable device includes a processor
and a memory communicatively connected to the memory, where the
30 processor is configured to reverse spectral filtering applied to at least a
portion of an image.
3
In at least some embodiments, a method includes reversing, via a
processor of a wearable device, spectral filtering applied to at least a portion
of an image.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING5 S
The teachings herein can be readily understood by considering the
detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary environment in which spectral filtering is
used to protect information;
10 FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a computing device
configured to apply spectral filtering;
FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a wearable device
configured to reverse spectral filtering;
FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a method for using
15 spectral filtering to protect information; and
FIG. 5 depicts a high-level block diagram of a computer suitable for use
in performing functions presented herein.
To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been
used, where possible, to designate identical elements common to the figures.
20
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
An information protection capability is presented. In at least some
embodiments, the information protection capability protects information by
applying spectral filtering to imagery including the information in order to
25 protect the information. In at least some embodiments, spectral filtering is
applied to at least a portion of an image including information to be viewed by
a user via a computing device based on an indication that at least a portion of
the information to be viewed by the user is to be protected (e.g., based on an
indication from the user, based on a location of the computing device, or the
30 like, as well as various combinations thereof). The information that is
protected via spectral filtering may include private information, such as
personal information of the user, non-personal information for which the user
4
does not want others aware that the user is viewing the non-personal
information, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof. The spectral
filtering may include multispectral filtering, hyperspectral filtering, ultraspectral
filtering, or the like. The spectral filtering renders the image (or portion(s) of
the image) distorted or invisible to the naked eye. The spectral filterin5 g
applied to the at least a portion of the image by the computing device is
reversed by a wearable device being used by the user, so that the user may
use the wearable device to view the image while the spectrally-filtered image
(or portion(s) of the image) will be protected from unauthorized viewing by
10 other people. These and various other embodiments and advantages of the
information protection capability may be better understood by way of
reference to the exemplary environment of FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary environment in which spectral filtering is
used to protect information.
15 The environment 100 is a location at which a first person 1101 and a
second person 1102 are located (although it will be appreciated that additional
people also may be present at the location). The first person 1101 is using a
computing device 120 to view information, at least a portion of which is private
information that the first person 1101 does not want to be visible to other
20 people at the location (e.g., second person 1102). The private information
may include personal information of the first person 1101 (e.g., work emails,
an online bank account statement, pictures, or the like), non-personal
information for which the first person 1101 does not want other people aware
that the first person 1101 is viewing the non-personal information (e.g., images
25 from a television show or movie, display of text from an e-book, or the like), or
the like. The location may be a public location (e.g., an airport, an Internet
cafe, or the like) or any other suitable location at which the first person 1101
may need or want to protect private information to be displayed to the first
person 1101 via computing device 120 (e.g., at the home of the first person
30 1101 when other people are present, at the house of a friend of the first
person 1101, or the like). The first person 1101 also is using a wearable
device 130, which is discussed further below.
5
The computing device 120 may be any suitable user device via which
first person 1101 may view information. For example, computing device 120
may be a smartphone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktop
computer, an entertainment system (e.g., a set-top box and a television), or
the like. In FIG. 1, computing device 120 is illustrated as being a lapt5 op
computer. The computing device 120 is configured to provide information,
including the private information that the first person 1101 needs or wants to
protect, to a presentation interface for presentation to the first person 1101. It
will be appreciated that, depending on the type of computing device 120 being
10 used and the type of information being presented via computing device 120,
the information may be presented on the computing device via a web
browser, a media player, a word processing program, or using any other
suitable program or interface. The information provided to the presentation
interface for presentation to the first person 1101 may be provided in the form
15 or one or more images including the information. The computing device 120,
however, rather than presenting an original image including the original
information (which includes at least some private information) such that the
original information (again, which includes at least some private information)
of the first person 1101 may be seen by both the first person 1101 and
20 potentially the second person 1102 (thereby putting the private information of
the first person 1101 at risk), spectrally filters at least a portion of the original
image including the original information (e.g., at least the portion of the
original image including the private information to be protected) to form a
spectrally filtered image which is then presented by computing device 120.
25 The spectrally filtered image (or spectrally filtered portions of the image) is
invisible or distorted when viewed with the naked eye, thereby preventing the
second person 1102 from seeing or comprehending the spectrally filtered
image (or spectrally filtered portions of the image). The computing device 120
is configured to spectrally filter at least a portion of an original image to form a
30 spectrally filtered image in response to the detection of a condition indicative
that spectral filtering is to be applied (which also may be considered to be a
condition indicative that private information of the first person 1101 is to be
6
protected). As a result, computing device 120 presents the spectrally filtered
image, rather than the original image, such that the original information
associated with portions of the original image to which spectral filtering is
applied (again, at least the portions of the original image representing private
information of first person 1101) is protected5 .
The application of spectral filtering to private information of the first
person 1101 may be performed based on spectral imaging. In general,
spectral imaging involves collecting and processing information from across
the electromagnetic spectrum. It will be appreciated that this may be
10 considered to be similar to the manner in which the human eye sees visible
light in visible spectral bands (e.g., red, green, and blue (RGB)); however, in
spectral imaging, the spectrum typically is divided into a larger number of
spectral bands. In general, the spectral filtering of private information may
include processing at least a portion of an original image including the private
15 information, based on spectral imaging, to form a spectrally-filtered image.
The spectral filtering that is applied by computing device 120 may include
multispectral filtering, hyperspectral filtering, ultraspectral filtering, or any other
suitable type of spectral filtering which may be used to render the image (or
portion(s) of the image) distorted or invisible to the naked eye. In at least
20 some embodiments, spectral filtering of an image may be based on a
mapping of a set of visible spectral bands of the image (e.g., RGB bands) to a
set of spectral bands configured to render the image distorted or invisible to
the naked eye. In at least some embodiments, spectral filtering of an image
may include mapping a set of visible spectral bands of the image (e.g., RGB
25 bands) to a set of spectral bands configured to render the image distorted or
invisible to the naked eye, such that the information that was previously
represented using the visible spectral bands of the image is no longer
represented using the visible spectral bands and, thus, is at least distorted,
and possibly invisible, to the naked eye. In at least some embodiments, as
30 discussed further below, the set of spectral bands used for spectral filtering of
an image on computing device 120 may be selected randomly (e.g., where
computing device 120 and wearable device 130 may be synchronized to use
7
the same mappings between the visible spectral bands and the set of spectral
bands), selected based on a process executing on computing device 120
(e.g., where computing device 120 and wearable device 130 may be
executing respective processes by which they may independently derive the
appropriate mappings between the visible spectral bands and the 5 e set of
spectral bands), or the like. As a result of application of spectral filtering to
the original image, the spectrally-filtered representation of the information of
the original image is only viewable by a human using a device that is
configured to reverse the spectral filtering applied to the original image
10 (illustratively, wearable device 130 which enables the first person 1101 to view
the information of the original image even though the spectrally-filtered image
is being presented via computing device 120).
The application of spectral filtering to private information of the first
person 1101 that is included within an image may include applying spectral
15 filtering to the entire image (e.g., where all of the information of the image is
private information or even where not all of the information of the image is
considered to be private information), applying spectral filtering to only a
portion of the image (e.g., at least to the portion(s) of the image representing
private information and, optionally, to a portion(s) of the image representing
20 non-private information), or the like. The information to which spectral filtering
is applied may be obtained from any suitable source of information, such as
locally from the computing device 120 (e.g., a file stored on the computing
device 120, a picture stored on the computing device 120, or the like), from a
network device (e.g., a webpage including bank account information that is
25 retrieved from a bank server, an image downloaded from a content server, or
the like), or the like, as well as various combinations thereof.
The application of spectral filtering to private information of the first
person 1101 may be based on an indication that the private information is to
be protected. The indication that the private information is to be protected
30 may be based on various conditions or information. The indication that the
private information is to be protected may be based on a location-related
condition or information (discussed further below), detection of an explicit
8
indication by the first person 1101 that the private information should be
protected, based on information indicative of a source of the information to be
presented or indicative that a source of the information to be presented is a
secure source of information (e.g., information received from a secure
website, information received from a secure server or other secure device, 5 ce, or
the like), based on information indicative of security being applied to the
information to be presented (e.g., information indicative that the information to
be presented is received via a secure connection, information indicative that
the information to be presented is from an encrypted file, or the like), based
10 on an indication that a particular program of computing device 120 is being
used to view the private information (e.g., a web browser, a media player, a
word processing program, or the like), based on detection of availability of a
wearable device that may be used by the first person 1101 to reverse the
spectral filtering, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof.
15 The application of spectral filtering to private information of the first
person 1101, as indicated above, may be based on a location-related
condition or information. The application of spectral filtering to private
information of the first person 1101 may be based on a determination that the
first person 1101 is in a public location (e.g., an airport, an Internet cafe, or the
20 like). The application of spectral filtering to private information of the first
person 1101 may be based on a determination that the first person 1101 is in a
location at which spectral filtering is to be applied (which may or may not be a
location which is traditionally considered to be a public location), which may
be preconfigured by the first person 1101 and determined by the computing
25 device 120 automatically based on preconfigured information, selected by the
first person 1101 and detected by the computing device 120 based on the
selection by the first person 1101, or the like, as well as various combinations
thereof. The application of spectral filtering may be based on a location of the
first person 1101 or a location of computing device 120 which, although
30 expected to be the same (or substantially the same) physical location, may be
determined in different ways or based on different types of location-indicative
information. The location of the first person 1101 may be a geographic
9
location of the first person 1101 (e.g., determined based on GPS capabilities
of a mobile phone of the first person 1101), an indoor location of the first
person 1101, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof. The location
of the computing device 120 may be a geographic location of the computing
device 120 (e.g., determined based on GPS capabilities of computing 5 g device
120), an indoor location of the computing device 120, a network location of
the computing device 120 (e.g., based on information indicative of a network
access point to which the computing device 120 is connected), or the like, as
well as various combinations thereof. For example, computing device 120
10 may apply spectral filtering to information when the first person 1101 is using
computing device 120 to access private information at an airport based on a
determination that GPS coordinates of the computing device 120 indicate the
presence of first person 1101 at the airport. For example, computing device
120 may apply spectral filtering to information when the first person 1101 is
15 using computing device 120 to access private information at an Internet cafe
based on a determination that a WiFi access point of the Internet cafe is
associated with a public location. It will be appreciated that the above
examples are merely a few of the various situations in which spectral filtering
may be used to protect information.
20 As described above, the first person 1101 is authorized to view the
original information included in the original image that was spectrally filtered
by computing device 120 (which includes private information of the first
person 1101), and uses wearable device 130, which is configured to reverse
the spectral filtering applied to the original image by computing device 120, in
25 order to view the original image and, thus, the original information of the
original image. For example, the wearable device 130 may include a pair of
glasses, a pair of goggles, a helmet, or the like. The second person 1102,
however, is not authorized to view the original information that was spectrally
filtered (as, again, it includes private information of the first person 1101) and,
30 since the second person 1102 does not have a wearable device that is
configured to reverse the spectral filtering applied to the original image by
computing device 120, is unable to view the original image and, thus, the
10
original information of the original image. In this manner, any private
information that otherwise could have been viewed by the second person 1102
when being displayed for the first person 1101 is protected from being viewed
by the second person 1102. The protection of the private information of first
person 1101 may be further seen from exemplary images 121O and 1215 F
(collectively, images 121) illustrated in FIG. 1. The original image 121O is
what first person 1101 and second person 1102 would see on the display
screen of computing device 120 if the original image 121O was presented on
the display screen of computing device 120 (i.e., without application of
10 spectral filtering to original image 121O). The spectrally-filtered image 121F is
what the second person 1102 would see on the display screen of computing
device 120 if the spectrally-filtered image 121F was presented on the display
screen of computing device 120 (i.e., following application of spectral filtering
to original image 121O to form spectrally-filtered image 121F). However, since
15 the first person 1101 has wearable device 130 that is configured to reverse the
spectral filtering applied by computing device 120, the original image 121O is
what the first person 1101 would see via the wearable device 130 if the
spectrally-filtered image 121F was presented on the display screen of
computing device 120 (i.e., following application of spectral filtering to original
20 image 121O to form spectrally-filtered image 121F), thereby enabling the first
person 1101 to view the original image 121O while protecting the original
image 121O from the second person 1102. As may be seen from FIG. 1, the
images 121 represent a webpage from an online bank account where only the
private bank account information (e.g., bank account number, bank account
25 balance, and the like) has been spectrally filtered.
As discussed above, application of spectral filtering to protect private
information of the first person 1101 also relies upon reversal of the spectral
filtering that is applied to protect private information of the first person 1101;
otherwise the first person 1101 also will be unable to view his or her own
30 private information. Accordingly, wearable device 130 of the first person 1101
is configured to reverse the spectral filtering that is applied by computing
device 120. In at least some embodiments, reversal of spectral filtering of
11
private information may include processing at least a portion of a spectrallyfiltered
image including the private information, based on spectral imaging, to
recover the original image that was spectrally filtered to form the spectrallyfiltered
image. In at least some embodiments, reversal of spectral filtering of
an original image may include mapping the set of spectral bands 5 nds used to
spectrally filter the original image to the visible spectral bands (e.g., RGB
bands or other visible spectral bands), such that information that was
distorted, and possibly invisible, to the naked eye becomes visible via the
wearable device 130. Accordingly, in order for the wearable device 130 to be
10 able to reverse the spectral filtering applied to an original image by computing
device 120, wearable device 130 needs to have information indicative of the
mappings between the visible spectral bands and the set of spectral bands
used by computing device 120 to spectrally filter the original image.
In at least some embodiments, application of spectral filtering and
15 corresponding reversal of spectral filtering to protect information to be viewed
on computing device 120 may be pre-configured on the computing device 120
and the wearable device 130 such that communication between the
computing device 120 and the wearable device 130 is not needed at the time
of viewing the information on computing device 120. For example, computing
20 device 120 and wearable device 130 may be pre-configured with
complementary processes for applying and reversing the spectral filtering,
respectively, such that, at any given time, the spectral filtering applied by the
computing device 120 may be correctly reversed by the wearable device 130.
For example, the set of spectral bands mapped to by the computing device
25 120 and mapped from by the wearable device 130 may be determined locally
by computing device 120 and wearable device 130, respectively, based on
one or more parameters expected to be the same for the computing device
120 and the wearable device 130 (e.g., temporal information, location
information, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof).
30 In at least some embodiments, application of spectral filtering and
corresponding reversal of spectral filtering to protect information to be viewed
on computing device 120 may be coordinated using communication between
12
computing device 120 and wearable device 130. For example, the computing
device 120 may provide to the wearable device 130 information indicative of
the spectral mappings (e.g., mappings between the visible spectral bands and
the set of spectral bands) used by computing device 120 to apply spectral
filtering, such that the wearable device 130 may use the information 5 indicative
of the spectral mappings in order to reverse the spectral filtering applied by
the computing device. The spectral mapping information may be provided
from the computing device 120 to the wearable device 130 in any suitable
manner. The spectral mapping information may be provided from the
10 computing device 120 to the wearable device 130 using wired or wireless
communication between the computing device 120 and the wearable device
130. The spectral mapping information may be provided from the computing
device 120 to the wearable device 130 using a wired or wireless
communication channel established between the computing device 120 and
15 the wearable device 130. The spectral mapping information may be provided
from the computing device 120 to the wearable device 130 using any suitable
communication protocol (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB), Bluetooth, Zigbee,
or the like). The spectral mapping information may be provided from the
computing device 120 to the wearable device 130 following pairing of the
20 computing device 120 to the wearable device 130 (e.g., a pairing based on
Bluetooth or any other suitable communication protocol).
FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a computing device
configured to apply spectral filtering. The computing device 200 of FIG. 2 is
suitable for use as computing device 120 of FIG. 1. As depicted in FIG. 2,
25 computing device 200 includes a processor 210, a memory 220, an
interaction interface 230, a presentation interface 240, and a communication
interface 250 (and may include various other components which are omitted
for purposes of clarity). The processor 210 is communicatively connected to
each of memory 220, interaction interface 230, presentation interface 240,
30 and communication interface 250. The memory 220 is configured to store
information 221, an image(s) 222, a spectrally-filtered image(s) 223, an
information protection program(s) 224, and spectrum mapping information
13
225. The information 221 may be represented in one or more of the image(s)
222. The processor 210 is configured to execute information protection
program(s) 224 to provide various functions depicted and described herein
(e.g., determining whether or when to spectrally filter image(s) 222 to form
spectrally-filtered image(s) 223, apply spectral filtering to image(s) 222 5 2 to form
spectrally-filtered image(s) 223, communicate spectrum mapping information
to an authorized wearable device, or the like). The processor 210 is
configured to perform spectral filtering of the image(s) 222, based on
spectrum mapping information 225, to form spectrally-filtered image(s) 223.
10 The interaction interface 230 may include any suitable interface or interfaces
(e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a touchpad, a touch screen, a television remote,
or the like, as well as various combinations thereof) via which a user may
control computing device 200 (e.g., obtaining information 221, requesting
presentation of information 221, requesting presentation of image(s) 222,
15 interacting with image(s) 222 or spectrally-filtered image(s) 223 when
image(s) 222 or spectrally-filtered image(s) 223 are presented via
presentation interface 240, or the like). The presentation interface 240 may
include any suitable interface or interfaces (e.g., a screen of a smartphone or
tablet, a computer monitor, a television, or the like, as well as various
20 combinations thereof) for presenting information 221, image(s) 222,
spectrally-filtered image(s) 223, or the like. It will be appreciated that,
although interaction interface 230 and presentation interface 240 are depicted
and described as separate interfaces, at least some portions of interaction
interface 230 and presentation interface 240 may be integrated in various
25 types of computing devices. The communication interface 250 may include
any suitable interface or interfaces for communications by computing device
200 (e.g., a WiFi interface, a cellular interface, an Ethernet interface, a
Bluetooth interface, a USB interface, or the like). It will be appreciated that
computing device 200 of FIG. 2 is only exemplary, and that other computing
30 devices may be used to provide the various information protection functions
depicted and described herein.
14
FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a wearable device
configured to reverse spectral filtering. The wearable device 300 of FIG. 3 is
suitable for use as wearable device 130 of FIG. 1. As depicted in FIG. 3,
wearable device 300 includes a processor 310, a memory 320, an interaction
interface 330, a presentation interface 340, and a communication interfac5 e
350 (and may include various other components which are omitted for
purposes of clarity). The processor 310 is communicatively connected to
each of memory 320, interaction interface 330, presentation interface 340,
and communication interface 350. The memory 320 is configured to store an
10 information protection program(s) 324 and spectrum mapping information
325. The processor 310 is configured to execute information protection
program(s) 324 to provide various functions depicted and described herein
(e.g., determining whether or when to reverse spectral filtering, reversing
spectral filtering, receive spectrum mapping information from a computing
15 device, or the like). The processor 310 is configured to reverse spectral
filtering applied to an image on a computing device, based on spectrum
mapping information 325, so as to enable a user who is wearing the wearable
device 300 to view the image even though the spectrally-filtered version of the
image is being presented on the computing device. The interaction interface
20 330 may include any suitable interface or interfaces (e.g., a touchpad, a touch
screen, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof) via which a user
may control wearable device 300. The presentation interface 340 may
include any suitable interface or interfaces (e.g., a lens or lenses, a screen, or
the like, as well as various combinations thereof). It will be appreciated that,
25 although interaction interface 330 and presentation interface 340 are depicted
and described as separate interfaces, at least some portions of interaction
interface 330 and presentation interface 340 may be integrated in various
types of wearable devices. The communication interface 350 may include
any suitable interface or interfaces for communications by wearable device
30 300 (e.g., a WiFi interface, a cellular interface, an Ethernet interface, a
Bluetooth interface, a USB interface, or the like). It will be appreciated that
wearable device 300 of FIG. 3 is only exemplary, and that other wearable
15
devices may be used to provide the various information protection functions
depicted and described herein.
FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a method for using
spectral filtering to protect information. It will be appreciated that, although
primarily depicted and described as being performed serially, at 5 least a
portion of the steps of method 400 may be performed contemporaneously or
in a different order than as presented in FIG. 4.
At step 401, method 400 begins.
At step 405, a person uses a computing device. The person may use
10 the computing device to perform various functions, many of which may result
in display of images via a presentation interface(s) of the computing device.
At step 410, a determination is made that an image is to be displayed
via the computing device. The determination that an image is to be displayed
via the computing device may be based on an indication of a request by the
15 person using the computing device (e.g., a request to open a file available
locally on the computing device, a request to retrieve content from a network
device, or the like).
At step 415, a determination is made as to whether to apply spectral
filtering to the image to be displayed. The determination as to whether to
20 apply spectral filtering to the image to be displayed may be based on a
determination as to whether at least a portion of the image is to be protected.
The determination as to whether at least a portion of the image is to be
protected may be based on at least one of a determination as to whether or
not the image includes private information, information indicative of a location
25 of the computing device (e.g., an indication that the computing device is in a
public location, an indication that the computing device is in a private location,
or the like), information indicative of a location of a user of the computing
device, information indicative of a source of information included in the image,
information indicative of application of security to information included in the
30 image, a program of the computing device that is to be used to present the
image, a determination as to availability of a wearable device configured to
reverse the spectral filtering applied to the at least a portion of the image, or
16
the like, as well as various combinations thereof. If a determination is made
not to apply spectral filtering to the image to be displayed, method 400
proceeds to step 420. If a determination is made to apply spectral filtering to
the image to be displayed, method 400 proceeds to step 425.
At step 420, the image is displayed via the computing device. It will b5 e
appreciated that, since spectral filtering is not applied to the image, the
information of the image may be viewed by people other than the person for
which the image is being displayed and, thus, that the information of the
image is not protected. From step 420, method 400 proceeds to step 450.
10 At step 425, spectral filtering is applied to the image to form thereby a
spectrally-filtered image. The spectral filtering may be applied to the entire
image or a portion of the image (which may include one or more separate
portions of the image). The spectral filtering may include multispectral filtering
(e.g., mapping the set of visible spectral bands to multispectral bands),
15 hyperspectral filtering (e.g., mapping the set of visible spectral bands to
hyperspectral bands), ultraspectral filtering (e.g., mapping the set of visible
spectral bands to ultraspectral bands), or any other suitable type of spectral
filtering which may be used to render the image (or portions of the image)
distorted or invisible to the naked eye.
20 At step 430, the spectrally-filtered image is displayed via the computing
device.
At step 435, the person wears a wearable device. The wearable
device, which is configured to reverse the spectral filtering applied to the
image to form the spectrally-filtered image, enables the person to view the
25 image.
At step 440 (an optional step), the computing device and the wearable
device are synchronized to apply spectral filtering and reverse the spectral
filtering, respectively. The synchronization of the computing device and the
wearable device to apply spectral filtering and reverse the spectral filtering,
30 respectively, may be performed using wired or wireless communication
between the computing device and the wearable device. It will be appreciated
that this is indicated as being optional step, because synchronization of the
17
computing device and the wearable device to apply spectral filtering and
reverse spectral filtering, respectively, may have been preconfigured such that
it is not required as part of method 400 of FIG. 4.
At step 445, the wearable device reverses the spectral filtering of the
spectrally-filtered image. It will be appreciated that, since spectral filtering 5 ing is
applied to the image, the information of the image cannot be viewed by
anyone other than the person wearing the wearable device configured to
reverse the spectral filtering applied to the image (e.g., expected to be the
person for which the image is being displayed) and, thus, that the information
10 of the image is protected from being viewed by other people for which the
image is not intended.
At step 450, the person views the image. It will be appreciated that,
here, the person views the image without using the wearable device (if
spectral filtering was not applied to the image) or using the wearable device (if
15 spectral filtering was applied to the image).
At step 499, method 400 ends.
It will be appreciated that, although primarily depicted and described
with respect to embodiments in which spectral filtering is applied to private
information, it will be appreciated that spectral filtering may be applied to any
20 information. For example, computing device 120 may be configured
spectrally filter all information to be presented via computing device, where
the spectral filtering still may be applied based on one or more conditions
indicative that spectral filtering is to be applied.
FIG. 5 depicts a high-level block diagram of a computer suitable for use
25 in performing functions described herein.
The computer 500 includes a processor 502 (e.g., a central processing
unit (CPU) and/or other suitable processor(s)) and a memory 504 (e.g.,
random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), and the like).
The computer 500 also may include a cooperating module/process
30 505. The cooperating process 505 can be loaded into memory 504 and
executed by the processor 502 to implement functions as discussed herein
and, thus, cooperating process 505 (including associated data structures) can
18
be stored on a computer readable storage medium, e.g., RAM memory,
magnetic or optical drive or diskette, and the like.
The computer 500 also may include one or more input/output devices
506 (e.g., a user input device (such as a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, and
the like), a user output device (such as a display, a speaker, and the like), 5 ), an
input port, an output port, a receiver, a transmitter, one or more storage
devices (e.g., a tape drive, a floppy drive, a hard disk drive, a compact disk
drive, and the like), or the like, as well as various combinations thereof).
It will be appreciated that computer 500 depicted in FIG. 5 provides a
10 general architecture and functionality suitable for implementing functional
elements described herein and/or portions of functional elements described
herein. For example, computer 500 provides a general architecture and
functionality suitable for implementing one or more of computing device 120,
computing device 200, wearable device 130, wearable device 300, or the like.
15 It will be appreciated that the functions depicted and described herein
may be implemented in software (e.g., via implementation of software on one
or more processors, for executing on a general purpose computer (e.g., via
execution by one or more processors) so as to implement a special purpose
computer, and the like) and/or may be implemented in hardware (e.g., using a
20 general purpose computer, one or more application specific integrated circuits
(ASIC), and/or any other hardware equivalents).
It will be appreciated that some of the steps discussed herein as
software methods may be implemented within hardware, for example, as
circuitry that cooperates with the processor to perform various method steps.
25 Portions of the functions/elements described herein may be implemented as a
computer program product wherein computer instructions, when processed by
a computer, adapt the operation of the computer such that the methods
and/or techniques described herein are invoked or otherwise provided.
Instructions for invoking the inventive methods may be stored in fixed or
30 removable media, transmitted via a data stream in a broadcast or other signal
bearing medium, and/or stored within a memory within a computing device
operating according to the instructions.
19
It will be appreciated that the term "or" as used herein refers to a nonexclusive
“or,” unless otherwise indicated (e.g., use of “or else” or “or in the
alternative”).
It will be appreciated that, although various embodiments which
incorporate the teachings presented herein have been shown and describe5 d
in detail herein, those skilled in the art can readily devise many other varied
embodiments that still incorporate these teachings.
20
I/We Claim:
1. An apparatus, comprising:
a processor and a memory communicatively connected to the memory,
the processor configured 5 ed to:
detect an indication that information of an image is to be
protected; and
apply spectral filtering to at least a portion of the image to form a
spectrally-filtered image.
10
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indication that information of the
image is to be protected is detected based on at least one of an indication that
the image includes private information, information indicative of a location of
the apparatus, information indicative of a location of a user of the apparatus,
15 information indicative of a source of information included in the image,
information indicative of application of security to information included in the
image, a program to be used to present the image, or an indication of
availability of a wearable device configured to reverse the spectral filtering
applied to the at least a portion of the image.
20
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indication that information of the
image is to be protected is detected based on information indicative of a
location of the apparatus.
25 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the processor is configured to:
determine the information indicative of the location of the apparatus
responsive to detecting an indication that the image is to be displayed via a
presentation interface of the apparatus.
30 5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the information indicative of the
location of the apparatus comprises information indicative of presence of the
apparatus at a public location.
21
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spectral filtering applied to the at
least a portion of the image comprises multispectral filtering, hyperspectral
filtering, or ultraspectral filtering.
5
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the information of the image that is
to be protected includes private information of a user of the apparatus.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to apply
10 the spectral filtering to the at least a portion of the image to form the
spectrally-filtered image based on a mapping of a set of visible spectral bands
of the image to a set of spectral bands configured to render the at least a
portion of the image distorted or invisible.
15 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the set of spectral bands is selected
randomly.
10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the set of spectral bands is
determined based on information used by a wearable device to independently
20 determine the set of spectral bands.
11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to:
propagate the mapping toward a wearable device.
25 12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to:
propagate, toward a wearable device, information configured for use by
the wearable device in reversing the spectral filtering applied to the at least a
portion of the image.
30 13. A method, comprising:
detecting, via a processor, an indication that information of an image is
to be protected; and
22
applying spectral filtering to at least a portion of the image to form a
spectrally-filtered image.
14. A wearable device, comprising:
a processor and a memory communicatively connected to 5 the
processor, the processor configured to reverse spectral filtering applied to at
least a portion of an image.
15. The wearable device of claim 14, wherein the spectral filtering applied
10 to the at least a portion of the image comprises at least one of multispectral
filtering, hyperspectral filtering, or ultraspectral filtering.
16. The wearable device of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured
to reverse the spectral filtering applied to the at least a portion of the image
15 based on a mapping of a set of visible spectral bands of the image to a set of
spectral bands used to apply spectral filtering to the at least a portion of the
image.
17. The wearable device of claim 16, wherein the processor is configured
20 to derive the mapping locally at the wearable device.
18. The wearable device of claim 16, wherein the processor is configured
to receive the mapping from a computing device configured to apply the
spectral filtering to the at least a portion of the image.
25
19. The wearable device of claim 18, wherein the processor is configured
to support establishment of a communication channel between the wearable
device and the computing device for propagation of the mapping from the
computing device to the wearable device.
30
20. A method, comprising:
23
reversing, via a processor of a wearable device, spectral filtering
applied to at least a portion of an image.