Methods and systems for detecting infrared security marks embedded in a document

1 . A method for detecting a mark embedded in a document, the method comprising:

receiving the document comprising a region of interest (ROI), wherein the ROI corresponds to a ROI location in the document;

generating an array of counters corresponding to the ROI;

identifying, based on the array of counters, a transition point corresponding to the ROI including the mark;

calculating, using the transition point, a size of the mark;

comparing the calculated size with a pre-defined size; and

based on the comparison, detecting the mark in the document.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the mark comprises:

an infrared (IR) mark.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the mark comprises:

a security mark.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the ROI location comprises:

a pre-defined location.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining the ROI location automatically or manually.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the ROI comprises:

a data collection region.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the data collection region comprises:

at least one of a long-line, a short-line-1 and a short-line-2.

8 . The method of claim 6 , wherein generating the array of counters comprises:

selecting a plurality of sample pixels from a plurality of rows of pixels in the data collection region;

comparing values of the selected plurality of sample pixels with neighboring pixels; and

updating, based on the comparison, a counter value associated with a row or a column including the plurality of sample pixels.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying, based on the array of counters, the transition point comprises:

selecting a set of data elements from the array of counters, wherein the set comprises at least four data elements; and

calculating, from the set, at least one of a sum_of_4_low value and a sum_of_4_high.

10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

comparing the calculated sum_of_4_low value with a pre-defined white-count value to determine at least one of a black-to-white transition point or a point corresponding to a white portion.

11 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

comparing the calculated sum_of_4_high value for the set with a pre-defined black-count value to determine at least one of a white-to-black transition point or a point corresponding to a black portion.

12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

segmenting the received document into a plurality of tiles.

13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

processing the plurality of tiles in parallel.

14 . A computer system for detecting a mark embedded in a document, the computer system comprising:

a hardware processor;

a non-volatile storage medium storing instructions that when executed by the hardware processor perform operations comprising:

receiving the document comprising a region of interest (ROI), wherein the ROI corresponds to a ROI location in the document;

generating an array of counters corresponding to the ROI;

identifying, based on the array of counters, a transition point corresponding to the ROI including the mark;

identifying, using the transition point, coordinates of the mark;

calculating a size of the mark based on the coordinates;

comparing the calculated size with a pre-defined size; and

based on the comparison, detecting the mark in the document.

15 . The computer system of claim 14 , wherein the mark comprises:

an infrared (IR) mark.

16 . The computer system of claim 14 , wherein the mark comprises:

a security mark.

17 . The computer system of claim 14 , wherein the ROI location comprises:

a pre-defined location.

18 . The computer system of claim 14 , wherein the operations further comprise:

segmenting the received document into a plurality of tiles; and

assigning one or more worker threads to process one or more tiles of the plurality of tiles.

19 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the operations further comprise:

analyzing one or more portions of the ROI covered by one or more data collection regions, wherein the one or more data collection regions includes at least one of a long-line, a short-line-1 and a short-line-2;

selecting a plurality of sample pixels from a plurality of rows of pixels covered by the one or more data collection regions;

comparing color values of the selected sample pixels with neighboring pixels; and

based on the comparison, updating a counter value associated with a row or a column including the sample pixel,

wherein analyzing the plurality of arrays of counters includes:

selecting a plurality of sets from each array of counters, wherein each set comprises four data elements;

calculating a sum_of_4_low value and a sum_of_4_high value for each set;

comparing the calculated sum_of_4_low value for each set with a pre-defined white-count value to determine at least one of a black-to-white transition point or a point corresponding to a white portion; and

comparing the calculated sum_of_4_high value for each set with a pre-defined black-count value to determine at least one of a white-to-black transition point or a point corresponding to a black portion.

20 . A computer program product for detecting a mark embedded in a document, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a computing device to cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving the document comprising a region of interest (ROI), wherein the ROI corresponds to a location in the document;

generating an array of counters corresponding to the ROI;

identifying, based on the array of counters, a transition point corresponding to the ROI including the mark;

calculating, using the transition point, a size of the mark;

comparing the calculated size with a pre-defined size; and

based on the comparison, detecting the mark in the document.