| CPC G06K 19/0614 (2013.01) [B05D 5/06 (2013.01); B05D 7/52 (2013.01); G06K 7/12 (2013.01)] | 20 Claims |

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1. A coating system configured to enable detection of a concealed pattern, comprising:
a first coating layer comprising a pattern disposed over at least a portion of the substrate, wherein the first coating layer forms the pattern in a shape of a machine-readable image, barcode, or QR code using a plurality of regions using a combination of near-IR absorptive and near-IR emissive material; and
a second coating layer applied over the first coating layer, the second coating layer comprising a visibly opaque layer that is substantially free of TiO2, the visibly opaque layer being near-IR transparent, the visibly opaque layer comprising an infrared transparent pigment disposed over the pattern,
wherein the emissivity and/or absorbance of infrared electromagnetic radiation by the pattern at a wavelength in the range of 700 to 1100 nm differs from the emissivity and/or absorbance by the contrasting regions of the pattern of the first coating layer at the wavelength using regions of near-IR absorptive and near-IR emissive material;
wherein the visibly opaque layer is substantially free of an infrared absorbing pigment and/or an infrared emissive pigment, such that the combination of near-IR absorptive and near-IR emissive material beneath the second coating layer is detectable through the second coating layer at the wavelength;
wherein the near-IR emissive material comprises an infrared fluorescent pigment.
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