1. A method comprising:
obtaining auxiliary data;
providing a pattern on a metallic surface to represent the auxiliary data,
the pattern conveying the auxiliary data in a steganographic manner, and
where the pattern on the metallic surface provides at least diffuse reflection.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the pattern is provided on the metallic surface with an ink or dye.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the metallic surface comprises a first color and the ink or dye comprises a second color, the second color being chosen to help hide or conceal the ink or dye when provided over the first color.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the pattern conveying the auxiliary data is provided with digital watermarking.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the auxiliary data is redundantly provided on the metallic surface.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein the digital watermarking comprises an orientation component.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the metallic surface comprises a layer in at least one of a compact disc or digital video disc.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the pattern comprises a dull finish.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the metallic surface is provided on a mechanical part.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein the mechanical part comprises an automotive part.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the diffuse reflection approximates Lambertian reflection.
12. A method comprising:
obtaining auxiliary data;
modifying the auxiliary data according to a pseudo-random signal;
providing the modified auxiliary data on a specular surface with an ink or dye that provides a pattern comprising at least diffuse reflection, the pattern being provided in a steganographic manner.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein the pattern is provided on the specular surface with plurality of ink or dye dots.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the specular surface comprises a first color and the ink or dye comprises a second color, the second color being chosen to help hide or conceal the ink or dye when provided over the first color.
15. The method of claim 12 wherein the pattern comprises a grayscale image.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein the image comprises a texture pattern.
17. The method of claim 12 further comprising thresholding the modified auxiliary data prior to providing the modified auxiliary data on the specular surface.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein said act of thresholding comprising selecting a pixel value and discarding pixels with a value at or below the selected pixel value.
19. The method of claim 12 wherein the diffuse reflection approximates Lambertian reflection.
20. A method of steganographically marking a shiny or metallic surface, the shiny or metallic surface including a first coloration and a first finish, said method comprising:
providing auxiliary data; and
arranging a pattern on the shiny or metallic surface to represent the auxiliary data in a steganographic manner, the pattern providing diffuse or Lambertian reflection.
21. The method of claim 20 wherein the pattern is provided with an ink or dye and wherein at least one of a coloration or finish of the ink or dye is selected to hide the ink or dye with respect to at least one of the first coloration or the first finish.
22. The method of claim 20 wherein the shiny surface comprises a metallic surface.
23. The method of claim 20 wherein the shiny surface is provided on a mechanical part.
24. The method of claim 23 wherein the mechanical part comprises an automotive part.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A system for data metrics analysis, the system comprising:
at least one processor and at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is adapted to perform one or more of the following steps:
receiving a request for an anticipatory credit score for an individual;
identifying one or more credit entries for the individual;
accessing a data metrics model for determining anticipatory credit scores;
determining, if applicable, one or more timed credit entries in the one or more credit entries;
calculating the anticipatory credit score for the individual for a set time in the future using, if applicable, the one or more timed credit entries; and
sending the anticipatory credit score.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein one or more credit entries are selected from the group consisting of delinquent tradelines, collection accounts, derogatory public record items, credit inquiries, and combinations thereof.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the calculating further comprises determining a date of origination for each of the one or more timed credit entries, subtracting the date of origination for each of the one or more timed credit entries from the current date to determine an expired time for each of the one or more timed credit entries, and subtracting the expired time from a predetermined drop off value for each of the one or more timed credit entries to determine a remaining time for each of the one or more timed credit entries.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein the predetermined drop off value is determined by regulations.
5. The system of claim 3, further comprising determining whether each of the one or more timed credit entries is used to calculate the anticipatory credit score.
6. The system of claim 5, further comprising comparing the remaining time for each of the one or more timed credit entries to the set time, and if the remaining time for each of the one or more timed credit entries is greater than the set time, using the one or more timed credit entries where the remaining time is greater than the set time.
7. The system of claim 3, wherein the oldest remaining time for the one or more timed credit entries is used to determine a future age of information used to calculate the anticipatory credit score.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more credit entries do not contain delinquent information or delinquent credit inquiries.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the calculating further comprises determining an age of each of the one or more timed credit entries, and increasing the age of each of the one or more timed credit entries by the time between the current date and the set time in the future.
10. The system of claim 9, further comprising using the increased age of each of the one or more timed credit entries to calculate the anticipatory credit score.
11. The system of claim 9, further comprising determining one or more age thresholds associated with each of the one or more credit entries, comparing the increased age of each of the one or more timed credit entries to the one or more age thresholds, and using the comparison with the least amount of time to calculate the anticipatory credit score.
12. The system of claim 11, further comprising returning a value associated with the comparison with the least amount of time with the anticipatory credit score.
13. The system of claim 1, further comprising identifying credit features related to the one or more credit entries that cause a change between the individual’s current credit score and the anticipatory credit score.
14. The system of claim 13, further comprising subtracting an absolute value of each value for each of the one or more credit entries used to calculate the individual’s current credit score from the corresponding one or more credit entries used to calculate the individual’s anticipatory credit score.
15. A system for data metrics analysis, the system comprising:
at least one processor and at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is adapted to perform one or more of the following steps:
receiving a request for an individual’s approximate historical credit score at a selected time;
identifying the individual’s one or more credit entries from the individual’s credit report;
accessing a data metrics model for determining approximate historical credit scores;
determining, if applicable, one or more timed credit entries in the individual’s one or more credit entries;
calculating the individual’s approximate historical credit score using, if applicable, the one or more timed credit entries that were active at the selected time; and
sending the approximate historical credit score.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein one or more credit entries are currently open or currently closed: tradelines, collection accounts, derogatory public records, credit inquiries, and combinations thereof.
17. The system of claim 15, wherein the calculating comprises determining if one or more timed credit entries are currently open, and, if applicable, progressively reducing the current date of the one or more timed credit entries by a set time until a historical age of the one or more timed credit entries is older than an origination date of the one or more timed credit entries or until the selected time is met.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein if the historical age of the one or more timed credit entries is older than the origination date of the one or more timed credit entries, the one or more timed credit entries may be ignored in the calculation.
19. The system of claim 15, wherein the calculating comprises determining if one or more timed credit entries are currently closed, and, if applicable, progressively increasing the current date of the one or more timed credit entries by a set time until a historical age of the one or more timed credit entries is older than an origination date of the one or more timed credit entries or until the selected time is met.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein if the historical age of the one or more timed credit entries is older than the origination date of the one or more timed credit entries, the one or more timed credit entries may be used in the calculation.
21. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more active credit entries at the selected time are used in calculation of the approximate historical credit score, but non-active credit entries are not used in calculation of the approximate historical credit score.