Systems and methods for automatically extracting a graphical bar code (i.e.,
an image that contains inconspicuous graphical modulations that encode embedded
information) are described. In accordance with this automatic extraction scheme,
a graphical bar code may be isolated from a composite image in a way that preserves
the information-containing graphical modulations encoding the embedded information
and avoids corrupting artifacts, such as markings contained in the composite image.
The resulting extracted graphical bar code readily may be processed into a format
that is tailored to the requirements of a decoding system that may be particularly
sensitive to noise, such as extraneous markings and image corruption. In addition,
this automatic extraction scheme robustly handles missed and incorrect detections.
