Detection technology for vehicular and other security applications

• US 20070229307A1
• Filed: 03/31/2006
• Published: 10/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Samson, Larry, Pawlenko, Ivan
• Application Number:
  US11/395,988
• Publication Number:
  US 20070229307A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/933
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/412 based on a comparison between measured values and known or stored values
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/017 identifying vehicles G08G1/015, G08G1/054 take precedence

Abstract

An apparatus and method are provided for detecting whether a vehicle has been altered to conceal contraband. The invention involves receiving a detected signature of sensors embedded in a vehicle, in which the detected signature is a function of i) a distinctive characteristic of the sensors embedded in areas of the vehicle, ii) a number of the sensors embedded in areas of the vehicle, and iii) locations of the sensors in the vehicle. Afterwards, the detected signature is compared to a stored reference signature to determine whether there exists at least one difference between the stored reference signature and the detected signature. If a difference exits, then an alert is produced to notify inspectors that a detailed search is required in a specific area of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A method of inspecting a vehicle, comprising the steps of:

receiving a detected signature of sensors embedded in the vehicle, wherein the detected signature is a function of a) a distinctive characteristic of the sensors embedded in areas of the vehicle, b) a number of the sensors embedded in areas of the vehicle, and c) locations of the sensors in the vehicle; and

comparing the detected signature to a stored reference signature to determine whether there exists at least one difference between the stored reference signature and the detected signature.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the sensors are embedded in areas of the vehicle selected from the group consisting of:

a) at least one inside door of the vehicle, b) a fuel compartment of the vehicle, c) at least one seat of the vehicle, d) an engine compartment of the vehicle, and e) a trunk of the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the sensors are at least one of the group consisting of:

i) at least one programmable chip device, ii) piece parts composed of a predetermined material, and wherein the piece parts are arranged in a particular pattern, and iii) harmless chemical substances not perceivable by a human sense of smell.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of comparing the detected signature to the stored reference signature further comprises the steps of:

obtaining an identifier of the vehicle; and

obtaining the stored reference signature from a database as a function of the identifier.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the identifier is selected from the group consisting of:

i) a license plate number, ii) a vehicle identification number (VIN), iii) year, make and model information, iv) radio frequency identification (RFID) tag data, and v) bar code data.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the vehicle is selected from the group consisting of a) an automobile, b) an airplane, c) a train, and d) a boat.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of producing an alert that a detailed searched of the vehicle is required when it is determined that the at least one difference exists.

8. A method of operating a system for inspecting a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, with a detector, a signal from a transponder installed in the vehicle, wherein the signal carries locations of at least two programmable devices embedded in different areas in the vehicle;

comparing, with a processor, the locations of the at least two programmable devices received from the detector to stored reference locations of the at least two programmable devices; and

determining, with the processor, whether there exists at least one difference between the received locations and the stored reference locations.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising the step of producing an alert that a detailed searched of the vehicle is required when the result of the determining step is that there exists the at least one difference.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising the step of displaying the at least one difference to a human being.

11. An apparatus, comprising:

means for comparing a detected signature of sensors embedded in a vehicle to a stored reference signature to determine whether there exists at least one difference between the reference signature and the detected signature;

wherein the detected signature is a function of a) a distinctive characteristic of the sensors embedded in areas of the vehicle, b) a number of the sensors embedded in areas of the vehicle, and c) locations of the sensors in the vehicle.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the sensors are embedded in areas of the vehicle selected from the group consisting of:

a) at least one inside door of the vehicle, b) a fuel compartment of the vehicle, c) at least one seat of the vehicle, d) an engine compartment of the vehicle, and e) a trunk of the vehicle.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the sensors are at least one of the group consisting of:

i) at least one programmable chip device, ii) piece parts composed of a predetermined material, and wherein the piece parts are arranged in a particular pattern, and iii) harmless chemical substances not perceivable by a human sense of smell.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the means for comparing is a processor performing a signature matching process.

15. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the reference signature is stored in a data base.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the reference signature is specified by an identifier of the vehicle.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the identifier is at least one of the group consisting of:

i) a license plate number, ii) a vehicle identification number (VIN), iii) year, make and model information, iv) a radio tag identifier number, and v) a bar code.

18. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the vehicle is selected from the group consisting of a) an automobile, b) an airplane, c) a train, and d) a boat.

19. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising means for producing an alert that a detailed searched of the vehicle is required when it is determined that the at least one difference exists.

20. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising means for displaying the at least one difference to a human being.