RAINBOW TECHNOLOGY

Rainbow
STORAGE

Dept. of ECE,SITAMS

RAINBOW TECHNOLOGY

1. INTRODUCTION
Rainbow technology, a breakthrough in digital data storage enables us to store up to a
massive 450GB on just a piece of paper. Rainbow Storage is a group of techniques to store
digital data in some colors, color combinations and some symbols known as rainbow format, and
therefore a rainbow picture will be generated. The technique is used to achieve high-density
storage. With the help of Rainbow system we would be watching full-length high-definition
videos from a piece of paper.
The main attraction is the cheap paper. The Rainbow technology is feasible because
printed text, readable by the human eye is a very wasteful use of the potential capacity of paper
to store data. By printing the data encoded in a denser way much higher capacities can be
achieved. Paper is, of course, bio-degradable, unlike CDs or DVDs. And sheets of paper also cost
a fraction of the cost of a CD or DVD.
The computable data printed on a paper can be attached in a tearable sheet and will be
capable of carrying even software programs, or movies, MP3 data or text. The developer is
promoting the theme of disposable storage and says newspapers, magazines and video albums
could benefit from the idea and also distribute their material in this form in order to curtail use of
paper and facilitate the disposal of waste.
The technique is used to achieve high-density storage. With the help of Rainbow
system we would be watching full-length high-definition videos from a piece of paper. The
main attraction is the cheap paper. The Rainbow technology is feasible because printed text,
readable by the human eye is a very wasteful use of the potential capacity of paper to store
data. By printing the data encoded in a denser way much higher capacities can be achieved.
Data from 90 GB to 450 GB can be stored in an RVD(Rainbow Versatile Disk), which
is 131 times the capacity of a normal CD. RVD supports the data in any format like movie
files, MP3 files, picture files, data files etc., Special drives need to be developed in order to
support RVDs. A method called Vertical Lining is applied in RVD.

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RAINBOW TECHNOLOGY
2. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE?

Fig1: Data stored in rainbow format on an ordinary paper.

It uses geometric shapes such as squares and hexagons to represent data patterns,
instead of the usual binary method that uses ones and zeros to represent data. Besides, color is
also used in the Rainbow system, to represent other data elements. Files such as text, images,
sounds and video clips are encoded in "rainbow format" as colored circles, triangles, squares
and so on, and printed as dense graphics on paper at a density of 2.7GB per square inch. An
RVD therefore looks like a print-out of the modern art.
The paper can then be read through a specially developed scanner and the contents
decoded into their original digital format and viewed or played. The Rainbow technology is
feasible because printed text, readable by the human eye is a very wasteful use of the
potential capacity of paper to store data. By printing the data encoded in a denser way much
higher capacities can be achieved. The retrieval of data is done by scanning the paper or the
plastic sheet containing the data into a scanner and later reading it over monitor. Instead of
using 0s and 1s, we use color dots where each color dot can represent minimum 8 bits (1
byte). The rainbow picture will be highly compressed and can be represented in any color
medium. For retrieving the contents from the medium, picture can be captured and data can
be generated from the color combinations. "Although environmental light differences and
Dept. of ECE,SITAMS

RAINBOW TECHNOLOGY
color shading is a problem, it can overcome up to a certain limit by using efficient mapping
functions".
2.1: How its done?
In Rainbow technology, the data in any format termed rainbow format has been
designed in such a way that it can be printed out in the form of images. The data is converted
to rainbow format on the basis of Rainbow Algorithm. Trigonometric forms like circle or
square, certain color combinations and certain other forms are being used. Each trigonometric
form, color combination represents a complete pattern.
Most modern technologies like image processing, pattern matching, etc. are used for the
purpose. The data which gets converted into an image form is then printed on paper or any
other thing. This is how the data storage is made possible. When the steps are reversed, the
rainbow picture is converted into data.
2.2: Absolute Rainbow Dots
Absolute rainbow dots are used to detect errors caused by scratches, and whether any
fading has occurred. Absolute rainbow dots are predefined dots carrying a unique value.
These dots can be inserted in the rainbow picture in pre-specified areas. If fading occurs these
dot values will change accordingly, and at the reproduction stage this can be checked and
corrected. Absolute rainbow dots will be microscopically small so that they occupy very little
space in the rainbow picture. These will be colored differently so that each dot will have its
own fixed unique value.

Dept. of ECE,SITAMS

RAINBOW TECHNOLOGY

3.CONVERSION PROCEEDURES:
The following steps are used to convert the original data to the data detected by the
rainbow devices.

1) Level-1 Data to DataPicture:

Data to DataPicture conversion takes place in four steps.
chunk of data bits are taken from data source (Normally Binary file), which is known as
a word. The size of the word can vary according to the nature of writers, readers and
storage mediums. The word can be converted into a value that will be unique for each
different combination of bits. Thus a picture will be generated by representing values as
colours. The value then passes through some error checking
producing

some

mechanisms.

After

error correction bits, it will attach to the data picture. Header,

Picture Boundary Mapper (PBM) (for keeping track of the boundary of data picture),
universal Picture Dot (a static value that is used for mapping errors that occurred due to
colour fading), etc will be attached to the picture. Thus the final output

(DataPicture)

will be generated. Now the original data is encoded into DataPicture and it can be now
printed in any printable media.

RAINBOW SYMBOL

TABLE
RRR(RSTSTSRTRR

DATA
FILE

CONVERSION
ALGORITHM

ERROR
HANDLER

SECURITY &
AUTHENTICATION
DATA
FIG2: Conversion Data to Datapicture

Dept. of ECE,SITAMS

RAINBOW
PICTURE

RAINBOW TECHNOLOGY

2) Level-2 DataPicture to Data:

DataPicture to data conversion uses just the reverse process.
DataPicture is taken as an input and the parameters like UPD, PBM, etc are read from
the header. The actual data is generated by picture to value conversion. Some image
processing methods are used for this stage. Value mapping functions are used for mapping
the arrangements done on actual data. Some errors that occur due to colour fading can also
be handled at this stage. The values are passed through some

error

correction

mechanisms. Fault tolerance and automatic repair is also performed at this stage[3].
Then the value to word conversion takes place. The encoded DataPicture is hence
decoded into the result data which will be the original data.

RAINBOW SYMBOL

TABLE

RAINBOW
PICTURE

MAPPING
FUNCTION
HANDLER

CONVERSION
ALGORITHM

SECURITY &
AUTHENTICATION
DATA

FIG3:Conversion of Datapicture to Data

Dept. of ECE,SITAMS

ERROR
HANDLER

DATA
FILE

RAINBOW TECHNOLOGY

4. PROCESS OF STORING DATA:

Fig4: Working process using Rainbow Technology

Printing at 1,200 dots per inch (DPI) leads to a theoretical maximum of 1,440,000
colored dots per square inch. If a scanner can reliably distinguish between 256 unique colors
(thus encoding one byte per dot), the maximum possible storage is approximately 140
megabytes for a sheet of A4 papermuch lower when the necessary error correction is
employed. If the scanner were able to accurately distinguish between 16,777,216 colors (24
bits, or 3 bytes per dot), the capacity would triple, but it still falls well below the media
stories' claims of several hundred gigabytes.
Printing this quantity of unique colors would require specialized equipment to
generate many spot colors. The process color model used by most printers provides only four
colors, with additional colors simulated by a halftone pattern.
At least one of three things must be true for the claim to be valid:
The paper must be printed and scanned at a much higher resolution than 1,200 DPI,

Dept. of ECE,SITAMS

RAINBOW TECHNOLOGY
The printer and scanner must be able to accurately produce and distinguish between
an extraordinary number of distinct color values
The compression scheme must be a revolutionary lossless compression algorithm.
If Rainbow's "geometric" algorithm is to be encoded and decoded by a computer, it
would equally viable to store the compressed data on a conventional disk rather than printing
it to paper or other non-digital medium. Printing something as dots on a page rather than bits
on a disk will not change the underlying compression ratio, so a lossless compression
algorithm that could store 250 gigabytes within a few hundred megabytes of data would be
revolutionary indeed. Likewise, data can be compressed with any algorithm and subsequently
printed to paper as colored dots. The amount of data that can be reliably stored in this way is
limited by the printer and scanner, as described above.

Dept. of ECE,SITAMS

RAINBOW TECHNOLOGY

5. IMPLEMENTATION REQUIREMENTS

Discs can now be developed from plastic paper too which will be able to hold
450 GB of data.
In order to read the Rainbow prints, all that is required is a scanner and specialized
software. Smaller scanners could fit inside laptop computers or mobile phones, and read SIM
card-sized RVD's containing 5GB of data.

The recording media could be either paper or plastic sheets. The piece of paper or even
plastic sheet storing the data has just to be scanned in the scanner and read over the monitor. A
scanning drive based on the Rainbow software has simultaneously been developed which will
come in smaller sizes to be initially carried with the laptops and later to fit into their bodies.

The developer is simultaneously moulding the technology into 'Rainbow Cards' which
will be of SIM card size and store 5 GB of data equivalent to three films of DVD quality.
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RAINBOW TECHNOLOGY

As 'Rainbow Cards' will become Popular, Rainbow Card Readers will replace CD
drives of mobile phone and computer notebooks and will enable more data in portable forms
for mini digital readers. Large scale manufacture of the Rainbow card will bring down its cost
to just 50 paise

Principle I
Every color or color combinations can be converted in to some values and from the
values the colors or color combinations can be regenerated.

Principle II
Every different color or color combinations will produce different values.
6. COMPARISON WITH OTHER STORAGE DEVICES:

Fig5:
CD, DVDs a thing of past.
Currently, of the several options available for data storage, DVDs are the best mode,
but are yet expensive. CD or DVD consumes 16gms of polycarbonate, which is a petroleum
by-product.
While a CD costs Rs. 15, his paper or plastic-made RVD will cost just about Rs. 1.50
and will even have 131 times more storage capacity.

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RAINBOW TECHNOLOGY
Using this technology an A4 sheet of paper could store 256GB of data. In comparison,
a DVD can store 4.7GB of data.

Paper is, of course, bio-degradable, unlike CDs or DVDs. And sheets of paper also
cost a fraction of the cost of a CD or DVD.

7. PRODUCTS FROM TECHNOLOGY

By using Rainbow Storage, we can develop many kinds of products. They include
1) Disposable storage
2) RVD
3) Rainbow cards
4) Data centres
1) Disposable storage:
Rainbow storage can be used to achieve Disposable storage. We can store any
kind of data in any kind of media that can represent colour. It can be used as one time
storage. We can use bio degradable materials here (because it is not intended for long
time). This category of products can be used for distribution of files, documents, etc.
Here we can use even printers, scanners, cameras and so on as input and output devices.
2) RVD:
RVD (Rainbow Versatile Disk) is another product that can be developed by using
Rainbow Storage. We need to develop specific drives for reading and writing. It can hold
huge amount of data and it will be very cheap enough to reduce storage price
dramatically. The technique Vertical lining is used in RVD to ensure high density.
Storage capacity will vary according to the nature of the mediums used.

3) Rainbow Cards:
Rainbow

cards

can

be constructed as a cheap secondary storage medium for

PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant) and other small digital devices. They can be constructed
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RAINBOW TECHNOLOGY
in many standards and sizes. The size can vary from visiting card size to the size of a
SIM card. Specific readers need to be attached with such devices.
4) Data Centres:
Datacenters are the static storage servers that can hold Peta Bytes of data. It will
be a sequential access storage system that can be used for secondary storage of data.
We can construct a data centre with a cost of around 35 lakhs.

8.ADVANTAGES:
Data can be stored on an ordinary paper.
Huge data banks can be constructed out of Rainbow-based storage medium.
Larger amount of data can be had on lesser space.
The extremely low-cost technology will drastically reduce the cost of storage and provide
for high speed storage too.
Files in any format like movie files, songs, images, text can be stored using this
technology.
He biodegradable nature of the storage devices would do away with the e-waste pollution.
The four main storage devices made using this technology are RVD, Disposable storage,
Data Banks, Rainbow cards, and answer to the storage problems faced by the computer
world.
With the help of disposable storage, a high density data storage is made possible even on
paper or plastic sheets, any type of computer files can be stored and distributed this way,
so instead of giving cds with the computer magazines, its content can be printed in a
page, video albums, software etc. Can be distributed at a very low cost with the help
disposable storage
Rainbow cards can be used in mobile devices in place of DVDs & VCDs. In a square
inch sized rainbow cards, (equivalent to the size of sim card) more than 5GB data can be
stored. A major crisis faced in the design of the small digital devices is the huge size of
the CD/DVD drives. The rainbow cards can solve this problem. Un-authorized copies of
the films can be controlled to a certain limits using these cards. A UK-based company has
already evinced interest in making rainbow cards
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RAINBOW TECHNOLOGY
Another theme put forward by rainbow technology is the Data Banks; it is huge server
with a high storage capacity. As per a research project done in US in 2003 to store the
available static data films, songs, tutorials presentations etc the server required will cost
$500 crores (23000 crores). But by using data banks, a similar server can be made with
Rs.35 lacks. All the available films and other static data can be used by paying cash with
the internet. Almost 125.603 PB data storage is possible in a Data Bank.
Un-authorized copies of the films can be controlled to a certain limit using these cards.

9.DISADVANTAGES
The paper has the tendency to fade away hence the data loss may occur.
Since it is made of paper, it can be easily destroyed.
A scanner can reliably distinguish 256 unique colors and the scanner which can
distinguish 1,440,000 colors is costly.

Figure 6: Picture of a wall post containing hidden data in its eyes

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RAINBOW TECHNOLOGY

Figure 7: Zoomed view of Fig 6

10.CONCLUSION:

Once the Rainbow technology is in, soon we would be watching full-length highdefinition videos from a piece of paper! With the popularity of the Rainbow Technology,
computer or fashion magazines in future need not carry CDs in a pack.
One of the major advantages of the Rainbow system is the fact that it should cost a lot
less to produce than the typical polycarbonate DVDs, CDs and now Blu- rays. Huge data
banks can be constructed out of Rainbow-based storage medium.
Technologies like these will lure us more towards it. In future, we will see RVDs
replacing DVDs and Blu Ray Disks as the major future storage device. To do that, it has to
overcome its shortcomings. Lets hope this environment friendly technology comes into our
everyday computing life.

11.FUTURE:

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RAINBOW TECHNOLOGY
The in the mere future the following technologies may be developed making use of
Rainbow Technology :

Rainbow Communication.

Rainbow Computing.

Rainbow Micro Storage.

16.BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1. "Data Can Now Be Stored on Paper" by M. A. Siraj, Arab News (published November
18, 2006; accessed November 29, 2006)
2. Paper storage man misunderstood The Inquirer article, 12 December 2006 (retrieved
15 December 2006.
3. "Store 256GB on an A4 sheet" by Chris Mellor, Techworld (published November 24,
4

2006; accessed November 29, 2006)

IT Soup: Scam of Indian student developing technology to store 450 GB of data on a

sheet of paper By IT Soup (published November 25, 2006; accessed November 25, 2006)
"Can you get 256GB on an A4 sheet? No way!" By Chris Mellor, Techworld (published
November 24, 2006; accessed November 29, 2006)

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