Classifying brazilian banknotes (R$) using smartphone image analysis

A new method to identify the authenticity of Brazilian banknotes (R$) is proposed using digital image analysis by a smartphone application, Photometrix®, associated with chemometric tools. Authentic banknotes (n = 4) obtained in local bank and falsified (n = 12) by the author himself by means of three printers (laser-Deskjet®, wax-Color Qube® and inkjet-Deskjet®) were used for the development of the methodology. An experimental planning was performed to evaluate the authenticity of the banknotes determining: the best region (holographic band, tactile region in the lower left and right upper number, effigy microimpressions, lower number left, animal figure, watermark and puzzle); Region of Interest (ROI) (16x16; 32x32 and 64x64 pixels), focal length (8, 12, 15 and 20 cm) and variation of the smartphone (Motorola G5 Plus, Samsung S7 and LG K10). The best regions chosen were effigy microimpressions and round the animal. Promising results were obtained from ROI 16x16 pixels with focal length fixed at 10 cm. Thus, the application presents promising features for analyzing the authenticity of banknotes by digital images making it fast, non-destructive, portable, with low cost, and can be accessed by all society.