Measurement authentication

• US 20040203868A1
• Filed: 08/14/2002
• Published: 10/14/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Eidson, John C.
• Application Number:
  US10/218,320
• Publication Number:
  US 20040203868A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 9/005 Solid-state data loggers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/805 Lightweight hardware, e.g. radio-frequency identification [RFID] or sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3263 involving certificates, e.g. public key certificate [PKC] or attribute certificate [AC]; Public key infrastructure [PKI] arrangements network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3297 involving time stamps, e.g. generation of time stamps

Abstract

A system with methods and apparatus for authenticating measurements that resist human errors and attempts to render or present fraudulent measurements. A system according to the present teachings obtains a measurement and substantially contemporaneously determines a set of one or more space/time parameters for the measurement. The system includes methods and apparatus for generating a certificate in response to the measurement and the space/time parameters such that the certificate enables a determination of whether a set of alleged data is the measurement obtained according to the space/time parameters.

Claims

1. A method for authenticating a measurement, comprising the steps of:

obtaining the measurement and substantially contemporaneously determining a set of one or more space/time parameters for the measurement;

generating a certificate in response to the measurement and the space/time parameters such that the certificate enables a determination of whether a set of alleged data corresponds to the measurement and the space/time parameters.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining the space/time parameters comprises the step of determining a location for the measurement substantially contemporaneously with the step of obtaining the measurement.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining the space/time parameters comprises the step of generating a time stamp substantially contemporaneously with the step of obtaining the measurement.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating a certificate comprises the step of applying a cryptographic signature to the measurement and the space/time parameters.

5. A system for authenticating a measurement, comprising:

measurement device that obtains the measurement;

means for determining a set of one or more space/time parameters for the measurement;

authentication entity that generates a certificate in response to the measurement and the space/time parameters such that the certificate enables a determination of whether a set of alleged data corresponds to the measurement and the space/time parameters.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the means for determining a set of one or more space/time parameters comprises means for determining a location of the measurement device.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the means for determining a location comprises means for wireless telephone communication between the measurement device and the authentication entity.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the authentication entity determines the location during a wireless telephone call to the measurement device.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the means for determining a location comprises a GPS receiver.

10. The system of claim 5, wherein the means for determining a set of one or more space/time parameters comprises means for generating a time stamp for the measurement.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the means for generating a time stamp comprises a real-time clock in the measurement device.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the authentication entity determines the time stamp during a wireless telephone call to the device.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the means for generating a time stamp comprises a real-time clock associated with the authentication entity.

14. A measurement device, comprising:

means for obtaining a measurement;

means for providing the measurement and a set of one or more space/time parameters associated with the measurement to an authentication entity.

15. The measurement device of claim 14, wherein the means for providing includes a wireless telephone transceiver.

16. The measurement device of claim 15, wherein the means for providing transfers the measurement to the authentication entity on the fly during a wireless phone call.

17. The measurement device of claim 14, wherein the means for providing includes a GPS receiver.

18. The measurement device of claim 17, wherein the means for providing includes a real-time clock.