Computing devices, methods, and storage media for a sensor layer and sensor usages in an operating system-absent environment

• US 10,169,047 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2014
• Issued: 01/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Hanebutte, Ulf R., Yao, Jiewen, Zimmer, Vincent J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Prifti, Aurel
• Application Number:
  US14/776,619
• Publication Number:
  US 20160216974A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,652 Days
• Field of Search: 341 20, 714 56, 718100, 706 12, 713 2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/575 Secure boot
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/62 Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4401 Bootstrapping security arrangements therefor G06F21/57

Abstract

Computing devices, computer-readable storage media, and methods associated with providing an operating system (OS)-absent firmware sensor layer to support a boot process are disclosed. A computing device may include a processor and firmware to be operated on the processor. The firmware may include one or more modules and a sensor layer. The sensor layer may be configured to receive, in the OS-absent environment, sensor data produced by a plurality of sensors. The sensor layer may be further configured to selectively provide the sensor data to the one or more modules via an interface of the sensor layer that abstracts the plurality of sensors.

Claims

1. A computing device for computing, comprising:

a processor; and

firmware to be operated by the processor while the computing device is operating without an operating system (OS) that includes one or more modules, including an environmental factor boot module, and a sensor layer,

wherein the sensor layer is to;

receive sensor data produced by a plurality of sensors, wherein the plurality of sensors is of the computing device or operatively coupled with the computing device;

aggregate the sensor data from the plurality of sensors; and

selectively provide the sensor data or the aggregated sensor data to the one or more modules via an interface of the sensor layer that abstracts the plurality of sensors; and

wherein the environmental factor boot module is to selectively instantiate one or more drivers for one or more corresponding sensors of the plurality of sensors, based at least in part on a portion of sensor data or aggregated sensor data associated with one or more environmental factors.

2. The computing device of claim 1, further comprising an operating system to be instantiated on the computing device, wherein the firmware is independent of the operating system.

3. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the environmental factor boot module is to:

receive a portion of sensor data or aggregated sensor data from the sensor layer through the interface of the sensor layer; and

apply one or more policies based at least in part on the portion of sensor data or aggregated sensor data, wherein the portion of sensor data or aggregated sensor data is associated with the one or more environmental factors defined by the one or more policies.

4. The computing device of claim 3, wherein to apply one or more policies is to terminate a boot process, of the computing device, when a determination is made that the one or more policies are violated, based at least in part on the portion of sensor data or aggregated sensor data associated with the one or more environmental factors.

5. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the environmental factors include one or more of temperature, moisture, humidity, altitude, sound pressure level, audio frequency, vibration, velocity, acceleration, or lighting.

6. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the computing device is independent of an operating system and the OS-absent firmware environment is part of a boot process to result in the computing device achieving an OS-absent operational state.

7. The computing device of claim 1, wherein one or more sensors of the plurality of sensors are disposed on the computing device, and operatively coupled with the processor via a bus interface.

8. The computing device of claim 1, wherein one or more sensors of the plurality of sensors are communicatively coupled with the computing device via a human interface device, HID, driver.

9. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the computing device is an internet of things edge device comprising the plurality of sensors.

10. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the computing device is selected from a group consisting of a laptop, a netbook, a notebook, an ultrabook, a smartphone, a tablet, a personal digital assistant, an ultra-mobile personal computer, a mobile phone, a desktop computer, a server, or a set-top box.

11. A method for computing, comprising:

instantiating, by an operating system (OS)-absent firmware environment of a computing device, a sensor layer having an interface that provides an abstraction of a plurality of sensors;

receiving, by the sensor layer in the OS-absent firmware environment, sensor data produced by the plurality of sensors;

aggregating, by the sensor layer in the OS-absent firmware environment, the sensor data;

selectively providing, by the sensor layer, the sensor data or aggregated sensor data to one or more firmware modules via the interface of the sensor layer; and

selectively instantiating one or more drivers for one or more corresponding sensors of the plurality of sensors, based at least in part on a portion of sensor data or aggregated sensor data associated with one or more environmental factors.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more firmware modules include an environmental factor boot module and further comprising:

receiving, by the environmental factor boot module, the portion of sensor data or aggregated sensor data from the sensor layer through the interface of the sensor layer; and

applying, by the environmental factor boot module, one or more policies based at least in part on the portion of sensor data or aggregated sensor data, wherein the portion of sensor data or aggregated sensor data is associated with one or more environmental factors defined by the one or more policies.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more firmware modules include a sensor calibration module and further comprising:

validating, by the sensor calibration module, a sensor of the plurality of sensors based at least in part on the sensor data produced by the sensor;

or

calibrating, by the sensor calibration module, a sensor of the plurality of sensors based at least in part on the sensor data produced by the sensor.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein validating a sensor of the plurality of sensors further comprises verifying to an operating system of the computing device the validity of the sensor data produced by the sensor.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein calibrating the sensor of the plurality of sensors further comprises:

interacting with the sensor layer to cause the sensor data produced by the sensor to match a reference value;

or

manipulating the sensor data to cause the sensor data to match the reference value.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising wherein the OS-absent firmware environment is a unified extensible firmware interface (UEFI) environment of a boot process.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the OS-absent firmware environment is a driver execution environment (DXE) of the UEFI environment.

18. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having a plurality of instructions stored thereon, the plurality of instructions, when executed by a processor of a computing device while the computing device is operating without an operating system (OS), to provide the computing device with a firmware environment that includes one or more modules, including an environmental factor boot module, and a single sensor layer, wherein the single sensor layer is to:

receive sensor data produced by a plurality of sensors, wherein the plurality of sensors is of the computing device or operatively coupled with the computing device; and

selectively provide the sensor data to the one or more modules via an interface of the single sensor layer that abstracts the plurality of sensors; and

wherein the environmental factor boot module is to selectively instantiate one or more drivers for one or more corresponding sensors of the plurality of sensors, based at least in part on a portion of sensor data or aggregated sensor data associated with one or more environmental factors.

19. The computer-readable media of claim 18, wherein the one or more modules includes a data security module to:

receive data to be encrypted;

generate an encryption key based at least in part on sensor local information received from the single sensor layer;

encrypt the data utilizing the encryption key; and

persist the sensor local information in a memory of the computing device as encryption information.

20. The computer-readable media of claim 19, wherein the data security module is to further:

receive a request to decrypt the data;

receive additional sensor local information from the single sensor layer;

retrieve the encryption information;

generate a decryption key based at least in part on the additional sensor local information when the additional sensor local information matches the encryption information; and

decrypt the data utilizing the decryption key.

21. The computer-readable media of claim 19, wherein the sensor local information includes one or more of sensor readings, sensor state, or sensor calibration.

22. The computer-readable media of claim 18, wherein the environmental factor boot module is to:

receive the portion of sensor data from the single sensor layer through the interface of the single sensor layer; and

apply one or more policies based at least in part on the portion of sensor data, wherein the portion of sensor data is associated with one or more environmental factors defined by the one or more policies.

23. The computer-readable media of claim 22, wherein to apply one or more policies is to terminate a boot process, of the computing device, when a determination is made that the one or more policies are violated, based at least in part on the portion of sensor data associated with the one or more environmental factors.