Two-Level QR Code for Private Message Sharing and Document Authentication

Abstract— The quick response (QR) code was designed for storage information and high-speed reading applications. We present a new rich QR code that has two storage levels and can be used for document authentication. This new rich QR code, named two-level QR code, has public and private storage levels. The public level is the same as the standard QR code storage level; therefore, it is readable by any classical QR code application. The private level is constructed by replacing the black modules by specific textured patterns. It consists of information encoded using q -ary code with an error correction capacity. This allows us not only to increase the storage capacity of the QR code, but also to distinguish the original document from a copy. This authentication is due to the sensitivity of
the used patterns to the prin t-and-scan (P&S) process. The pattern recognition method that we use to read the second-level information can be used both in a private message sharing and in an authentication scenario. < final year projects >