DETECTION OF FALSE VEHICLE-TO-VEHICLE EMERGENCY BRAKE LIGHT MESSAGES

• US 20150200957A1
• Filed: 01/14/2014
• Published: 07/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Zhang, Tao, Chan, Douglas, Antunes, Helder
• Granted Patent: US 9,344,856 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/163 involving continuous checking
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/46 for vehicle-to-vehicle communication [V2V]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

The trustworthiness of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) messages received from one or more associated vehicles in the vicinity of a subject vehicle is determined autonomously by a false signal detection system of the subject vehicle. Physical evidence relating to the associated vehicles is collected, and a statistical model is used to perform an analysis of the collected data. A V2V message is received by the system from a first one of the associated vehicles and a trustworthiness level of the message is determined in accordance with a correlation between the received V2V message and the result of the analyzed physical data relating to the first associated vehicle. The correlation may be a comparison of data contained in the received V2V message relative to a result of a stochastic analysis of the physical data. The received V2V message may be any V2V safety message including Emergency Electronic Brake Light (EEBL) messages.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a wireless receiver configured to receive a first signal from an associated first vehicle, wherein the first signal comprises a first message representative of a relative safety condition between the associated first vehicle and the apparatus; and

message trustworthiness logic operatively coupled with the wireless receiver and operable to obtain data representative of a physical condition of the associated first vehicle, the message trustworthiness logic determining a trustworthiness level of the first message received by the wireless receiver in accordance with a statistical modeling of the data representative of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle;

the message trustworthiness logic selectively generating a safety alert signal responsive to the determining of the trustworthiness level of the first message.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the wireless receiver is configured to receive the first signal from the associated first vehicle, wherein the first signal comprises an emergency electronic brake light (EEBL) message;

the message trustworthiness logic obtains data representative of a radio power level of the first signal as the data representative of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle; and

the message trustworthiness logic is configured to determine the trustworthiness level of the EEBL message in accordance with the statistical modeling of the data representative of the radio power level of the first signal over time.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

the message trustworthiness logic determines, in accordance with the statistical modeling, one or more changes in the data representative of the radio power level of the first signal over time;

the message trustworthiness logic comprises a correlation module operatively coupled with the wireless receiver, the correlation module determining a time-wise correlation value between the one or more changes in the data representative of the radio power level of the first signal and the wireless receiver receiving the EEBL message; and

the message trustworthiness logic selectively generates the safety alert signal responsive to the determining of the time-wise correlation value.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein:

the message trustworthiness logic determines, in accordance with a Wiener Process as the statistical modeling, the one or more changes in the data representative of the radio power level of the first signal over time;

the correlation module determines the time-wise correlation value between the one or more changes in the data representative of the radio power level of the first signal and the wireless receiver receiving the EEBL message; and

the message trustworthiness logic selectively generates the safety alert signal responsive to the determining of the time-wise correlation value.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the wireless receiver is configured to receive the first signal from the associated first vehicle, wherein the first signal comprises an emergency electronic brake light (EEBL) message;

the message trustworthiness logic obtains radar signal data representative of a relative distance between the associated first vehicle and the apparatus as the physical condition of the associated first vehicle; and

the message trustworthiness logic is configured to determine the trustworthiness level of the EEBL message in accordance with the statistical modeling of the radar signal data representative of the relative distance between the associated first vehicle and the apparatus over time.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the message trustworthiness logic is operable to obtain data representative of a functional characteristic of the associated first vehicle;

the message trustworthiness logic is operable to generate modified data representative of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle by adjusting the data representative of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle in accordance with the data representative of the functional characteristic of the associated first vehicle; and

the message trustworthiness logic determines the trustworthiness level of the first message received by the wireless receiver in accordance with the statistical modeling of the modified data representative of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the message trustworthiness logic comprises a sampling circuit configured to obtain plural samples of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle over time;

the message trustworthiness logic is configured to determine a rolling mean value of the plural samples of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle over time;

the message trustworthiness logic is configured to determine a mean value of k most recent samples relative to the wireless receiver receiving the first signal from the associated first vehicle;

the message trustworthiness logic is configured to determine the trustworthiness level of the first message in accordance with a comparison of the mean value of k most recent samples with the rolling mean value of the plural samples of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle over time.

8. A method comprising:

receiving by a wireless receiver a first signal from an associated first vehicle, the first signal comprising a first message representative of a relative safety condition between the associated first vehicle and the apparatus;

obtaining by message trustworthiness logic operatively coupled with the wireless receiver data representative of a physical condition of the associated first vehicle;

determining by the message trustworthiness logic a trustworthiness level of the first message received by the wireless receiver in accordance with a statistical modeling of the data representative of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle; and

selectively generating by the message trustworthiness logic a safety alert signal responsive to the determining of the trustworthiness level of the first message.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein:

the receiving the first signal from the associated first vehicle comprises receiving an emergency electronic brake light (EEBL) message;

the obtaining data representative of a physical condition of the associated first vehicle comprises obtaining data representative of a radio power level of the first signal as the physical condition of the associated first vehicle; and

the determining the trustworthiness level of the EEBL message comprises determining the trustworthiness level of the EEBL message using the statistical modeling of the data representative of the radio power level of the first signal over time.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein:

the obtaining data representative of the radio power level of the first signal comprises determining one or more changes in the data representative of the radio power level of the first signal over time;

the determining the trustworthiness level of the EEBL message comprises determining a time-wise correlation value between the one or more changes in the data representative of the radio power level of the first signal and the wireless receiver receiving the EEBL message; and

the selectively generating the safety alert signal comprises selectively generating the safety alert signal responsive to the determining of the time-wise correlation value.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein:

the determining the trustworthiness level of the message comprises determining the trustworthiness level of the message in accordance with a Wiener Process as the statistical modeling the one or more changes in the data representative of the radio power level of the first signal over time;

the determining the time-wise correlation value comprises determining the time-wise correlation value between the one or more changes in the data representative of the radio power level of the first signal and the wireless receiver receiving the EEBL message; and

the selectively generating the safety alert signal comprises selectively generating the safety alert signal responsive to the determining of the time-wise correlation value.

12. The method according to claim 8, wherein:

the receiving the first signal from the associated first vehicle comprises receiving an emergency electronic brake light (EEBL) message;

the obtaining data representative of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle comprises obtaining radar signal data representative of a relative distance between the associated first vehicle and the apparatus as the physical condition of the associated first vehicle; and

the determining the trustworthiness level of the EEBL message comprises determining the trustworthiness level of the EEBL message in accordance with the statistical modeling of the radar signal data representative of the relative distance between the associated first vehicle and the apparatus over time.

13. The method according to claim 8, wherein:

the obtaining data comprises obtaining data representative of a functional characteristic of the associated first vehicle;

the determining the trustworthiness level of the first message received by the wireless receiver comprises generating modified data representative of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle by adjusting the data representative of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle in accordance with the data representative of the functional characteristic of the associated first vehicle; and

the determining the trustworthiness level of the first message received by the wireless receiver comprises determining the trustworthiness level of the first message received by the wireless receiver in accordance with the statistical modeling of the modified data representative of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle.

14. The method according to claim 8, wherein:

the obtaining the data representative of a physical condition of the associated first vehicle comprises obtaining the data representative of the physical condition by a sampling circuit configured to obtain plural samples of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle over time;

the determining the trustworthiness level of the first message received by the wireless receiver comprises;

determining a rolling mean value of the plural samples of the physical condition over time;

determining a mean value of k most recent samples relative to the wireless receiver receiving the first signal from the associated first vehicle;

determining the trustworthiness level of the first message in accordance with a comparison of the mean value of k most recent samples with the rolling mean value of the plural samples of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle over time.

15. Logic encoded in one or more tangible non-transient computer readable media for execution by an associated processor and when executed by the associated processor the logic being operable to:

receive by a wireless receiver a first signal from an associated first vehicle, the first signal comprising a first message representative of a relative safety condition between the associated first vehicle and an apparatus;

obtain by message trustworthiness logic operatively coupled with the wireless receiver data representative of a physical condition of the associated first vehicle;

determine by the message trustworthiness logic a trustworthiness level of the first message received by the wireless receiver in accordance with a statistical modeling of the data representative of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle; and

selectively generate by the message trustworthiness logic a safety alert signal responsive to the determining of the trustworthiness level of the first message.

16. The logic according to claim 15, wherein:

the receiving the first signal from the associated first vehicle comprises receiving an emergency electronic brake light (EEBL) message;

the obtaining data representative of a physical condition of the associated first vehicle comprises obtaining data representative of a radio power level of the first signal as the physical condition of the associated first vehicle; and

the determining the trustworthiness level of the EEBL message comprises determining the trustworthiness level of the EEBL message using the statistical modeling of the data representative of the radio power level of the first signal over time.

17. The logic according to claim 16, wherein:

the obtaining data representative of the radio power level of the first signal comprises determining one or more changes in the data representative of the radio power level of the first signal over time;

the determining the trustworthiness level of the EEBL message comprises determining a time-wise correlation value between the one or more changes in the data representative of the radio power level of the first signal and the wireless receiver receiving the EEBL message; and

the selectively generating the safety alert signal comprises selectively generating the safety alert signal responsive to the determining of the time-wise correlation value.

18. The logic according to claim 17, wherein:

the determining the trustworthiness level of the message comprises determining the trustworthiness level of the message in accordance with a Wiener Process as the statistical modeling the one or more changes in the data representative of the radio power level of the first signal over time;

the determining the time-wise correlation value comprises determining the time-wise correlation value between the one or more changes in the data representative of the radio power level of the first signal and the wireless receiver receiving the EEBL message; and

the selectively generating the safety alert signal comprises selectively generating the safety alert signal responsive to the determining of the time-wise correlation value.

19. The logic according to claim 15, wherein:

the receiving the first signal from the associated first vehicle comprises receiving an emergency electronic brake light (EEBL) message;

the obtaining data representative of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle comprises obtaining radar signal data representative of a relative distance between the associated first vehicle and the apparatus as the physical condition of the associated first vehicle; and

the determining the trustworthiness level of the EEBL message comprises determining the trustworthiness level of the EEBL message in accordance with the statistical modeling of the radar signal data representative of the relative distance between the associated first vehicle and the apparatus over time.

20. The logic according to claim 15, wherein:

the obtaining data comprises obtaining data representative of a functional characteristic of the associated first vehicle;

the determining the trustworthiness level of the first message received by the wireless receiver comprises generating modified data representative of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle by adjusting the data representative of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle in accordance with the data representative of the functional characteristic of the associated first vehicle; and

the determining the trustworthiness level of the first message received by the wireless receiver comprises determining the trustworthiness level of the first message received by the wireless receiver in accordance with the statistical modeling of the modified data representative of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle.

21. The logic according to claim 15, wherein:

the obtaining the data representative of a physical condition of the associated first vehicle comprises obtaining the data representative of the physical condition by a sampling circuit configured to obtain plural samples of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle over time;

the determining the trustworthiness level of the first message received by the wireless receiver comprises;

determining a rolling mean value of the plural samples of the physical condition over time;

determining a mean value of k most recent samples relative to the wireless receiver receiving the first signal from the associated first vehicle;

determining the trustworthiness level of the first message in accordance with a comparison of the mean value of k most recent samples with the rolling mean value of the plural samples of the physical condition of the associated first vehicle over time.