Patent ID: 7269271
Filing Date: 2007-09-11
Classification: G06T

Abstract:
1. A method of combining a first digital image and a second digital image into a combined digital image to authenticate and reconstruct said first digital image, the method comprising the steps of: a) transforming said first digital image into a second digital image; b) combining at least one bit of a first pixel associated with said first digital image with at least one second bit of a corresponding second pixel associated with said second digital image to form a corresponding output pixel of the combined digital image; c) distributing a difference value between said first pixel and said output pixel among a plurality of pixels located proximate said first pixel; and d) repeating steps b) and c) for each of the pixels of said first digital image and said second digital image, said combined digital image having the same digital image as said first digital image, wherein a copy of the combined digital image is processed to determine if the copy is altered relative to the first digital image, and if the copy is determined to be altered, a copy of the second digital image is extracted from the altered copy and transformed into a reconstructed version of the first digital image that is substantially identical to the first digital image.