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An Improved Physical ZKP for Nonogram

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Combinatorial Optimization and Applications (COCOA 2021)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNTCS,volume 13135))

Abstract

Nonogram is a logic puzzle consisting of a rectangular grid with an objective to color every cell black or white such that the lengths of blocks of consecutive black cells in each row and column are equal to the given numbers. In 2010, Chien and Hon developed the first physical zero-knowledge proof for Nonogram, which allows a prover to physically show that he/she knows a solution of the puzzle without revealing it. However, their protocol requires special tools such as scratch-off cards and a machine to seal the cards, which are difficult to find in everyday life, making the protocol impractical. Their protocol also has a nonzero soundness error. In this paper, we propose a more practical physical zero-knowledge proof for Nonogram that uses only a deck of regular paper cards and also has perfect soundness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematical and Computing Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan

    Suthee Ruangwises

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  1. Suthee Ruangwises
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA

    Ding-Zhu Du

  2. University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada

    Donglei Du

  3. Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin, China

    Chenchen Wu

  4. Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China

    Dachuan Xu

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Ruangwises, S. (2021). An Improved Physical ZKP for Nonogram. In: Du, DZ., Du, D., Wu, C., Xu, D. (eds) Combinatorial Optimization and Applications. COCOA 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 13135. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92681-6_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92681-6_22

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-92680-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-92681-6

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