VERIFYING THE AUTHENTICITY OF A LIGHTING DEVICE

• US 20150263861A1
• Filed: 09/12/2013
• Published: 09/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Philips Lighting BV (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Inventors: Kumar, Sandeep Shankaran, Keoh, Sye Loong, Feri, Lorenzo, Morchon, Oscar Garcia, Denteneer, Theodorusb Jacobus Johannes
• Application Number:
  US14/433,071
• Publication Number:
  US 20150263861A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/116 Visible light communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 1/00 Secret communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/32 including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system or for message authentication, e.g. authorization, entity authentication, data integrity or data verification, non-repudiation, key authentication or verification of credentials
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3271 using challenge-response
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/185 via power line carrier transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/195 the transmission using visible or infrared light

Abstract

The present invention relates to verification of the authenticity of a lighting device. There is provided a lighting device which is capable of emitting coded light. The lighting device has a challenge receiver, arranged to receive a challenge, and a response transmitter, arranged to generate and transmit a response to the challenge. The response is generated by means of the challenge and a secret key in combination. Furthermore, there is provided a corresponding verification device generating the challenge and providing it to the lighting device, and analyzing the response in order to check the authenticity of the lighting device.

Claims

1. A lighting device comprising:

at least one light emitter;

a receiver arranged to receive a challenge via a first communication channel; and

a response transmitter arranged to generate a response to the challenge, and to transmit the response via a second communication channel by coding the light emitted by said at least one light emitter, wherein the response is based on at least a secret key, provided in advance in the lighting device, and the challenge.

2. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the response transmitter is arranged to encrypt the challenge with the secret key, and wherein the response comprises the challenge encrypted with the secret key.

3. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the response transmitter is arranged to generate an authentication code, wherein the response comprises the authentication code.

4. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the first communication channel comprises a switch, which is arranged to be operated for providing the challenge to the lighting device.

5. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the first communication channel comprises a sensor.

6. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the response further comprises a key identifier.

10. A verification system for verifying the authenticity of a lighting device, the system comprising a lighting device according to claim 1.

14. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the first communication channel involves the power supply to the lighting device.

7. A verification device arranged to verify the authenticity of a lighting device, which is arranged to transmit information by coding its output light, comprising:

a challenge generator arranged to generate a challenge for the lighting device;

a challenge transmitter arranged to transmit the challenge to the lighting device via a first communication channel;

a response receiver arranged to receive a response to the challenge from the lighting device via a second communication channel using light coding; and

an authenticity verifier arranged to determine the authenticity of the lighting device by comparing the response with a reference, wherein the response is based on at least a secret key, provided in advance in the verification device, and the challenge.

8. The verification device according to claim 7, wherein the challenge transmitter comprises a signal actuator arranged to transmit a signal.

9. The verification device according to claim 7, wherein the challenge transmitter comprises an operator interface, and is arranged to provide an operator with instructions for controlling a power switch of the lighting device.

15. The verification device according to claim 7, comprising a sound sensor arranged to sense click sounds from a power switch of a lighting device.

11. A method of verifying the authenticity of a lighting device, which is able to transmit information by coding its light output, comprising:

generating a challenge with a verification device;

providing the challenge to a lighting device via a first communication channel;

receiving a response to the challenge at the verification device via a second communication channel involving said coding of the light output of the lighting device; and

verifying the authenticity of the lighting device by comparing the response with a reference, wherein the response is based on a combination of a secret key, provided in advance in both the lighting device and the verification device, and the challenge.

12. The method according to claim 11, said providing a challenge to a lighting device comprising transmitting the challenge wirelessly to the lighting device.

13. The method according to claim 11, said providing a challenge to a lighting device comprising prompting a user to input an on-off sequence of a particular duration to the lighting device;

the method further comprising measuring the duration at the lighting device;

transmitting the measured duration to the verification device; and

checking, at the verification device, that the measured duration corresponds, within a predefined margin, to the particular duration.