Trusted hybrid location system

• US 8,370,629 B1
• Filed: 03/09/2011
• Issued: 02/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Ngo, Terry FK Khan, McCarthy, Timothy
• Primary Examiner(s): Lipman, Jacob
• Application Number:
  US13/044,431
• Time in Patent Office: 699 Days
• Field of Search: 713/168
• US Class Current: 713/168
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/05 providing aiding data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0236 Assistance data, e.g. base station almanac
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0242 Determining the position of transmitters to be subsequently used in positioning G01S5/0289 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/10 Integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/63 Location-dependent; Proximity-dependent
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed for determining and sharing of trusted location data. The system includes a network device or application and at least two independent trusted sources of location data/location assistance data, where the at least two independent trusted sources have unique and unalterable ID codes. The network device or application receive and authenticate the location information/location assistance data from the at least two independent trusted sources, and the network device or application calculates a trusted location estimate by comparing the location data of the at least two independent trusted sources. The network device or application is a self-aware device. The trusted location data may be virally shared with other self-aware network devices in the network.

Claims

1. A method for determining a trusted location for a network device or application, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving location information from a first trusted source and a second trusted source, wherein each of the first and second trusted sources includes a unique and unalterable ID code;

authenticating the unique and unalterable ID codes for the first and second trusted sources;

upon authenticating the unique and unalterable ID code for the first trusted source, determining a first location estimate for the network device or application based on the location information received from the first trusted source;

upon authenticating the unique and unalterable ID code for the second trusted source, determining a second location estimate for the network device or application based on the location information received from the second trusted source; and

determining the trusted location of the network device or application by using the second location estimate to verify the first location estimate.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the device or application receives location or location assistance data from the first and second trusted sources.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the authentication is based on non-tamper-proof properties of the device or application.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the non-tamper-proof properties are based on the unique and unalterable ID codes for the first and second trusted sources, wherein public encryption keying is utilized for authentication.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the authentication is based on non-volatile properties of the device.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the non-volatile properties of the device are implemented by a read-only memory.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the first or second trusted sources is either a GPS signal or a trusted network device.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein a trusted network device is either a hybrid WLAN/GPS device, an access point, or a mobile station device.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein once the device or application has the trusted location, the device or application becomes authorized to use location-based materials based on their trusted location.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the location-based materials comprise movies, TV shows and text books.

11. A method for determining a trusted status for a device or application, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving status information from a first trusted source and a second trusted source, wherein each of the first and second trusted sources have includes a unique and unalterable ID code;

authenticating the unique and unalterable ID codes for the first and second trusted sources;

upon authenticating the unique and unalterable ID code for the first trusted source, determining a first status estimate for the network device or application based on the status information received from the first trusted source; and

upon authenticating the unique and unalterable ID code for the second trusted source, determining a second status estimate for the network device or application based on the status information received from the second trusted source; and

determining the trusted status of the device or application by using the second status estimate to verify the first status estimate.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the trusted status comprises at least one of a location, time, near-field communication, or financial status.

13. A system for determining a trusted location comprising:

first trusted source of location data or location assistance data;

a second trusted source of location data or location assistance data, wherein each of the first and second trusted sources have includes a unique and unalterable ID code; and

a network device, wherein the network device is configured to;

receive location information from each of the first and second trusted sources;

authenticate the unique and unalterable ID codes for the first and second trusted sources;

upon authenticating the unique and unalterable ID code for the first trusted source, determine a first location estimate for the network device based on the location information received from the first trusted source;

upon authenticating the unique and unalterable ID code for the second trusted source determine a second location estimate for the network device or application based on the location information received from the second trusted source; and

determine the trusted location of the network device or application by using the second location estimate to verify the first location estimate.

14. The system as in claim 13 wherein the network device is an application.

15. The system as in claim 13 wherein the network device is further configured to receive status information from each of the first and second trusted sources.

16. The system of claim 13 wherein at least one of the first or second trusted sources is either a GPS signal or a trusted WLAN device.

17. The system of claim 13 wherein the device is a self-aware network device.

18. The system of claim 13 wherein authentication is based on non-tamper-proof properties of the device or application.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the non-tamper-proof properties are based on the unique and unalterable ID codes or for the first and second trusted sources, wherein public and private encryption keying is utilized for authentication.

20. The system of claim 13 wherein the authentication is based on non-volatile properties of the device.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein the non-volatile properties of the device are implemented by a read-only memory.