Communicating RF fingerprint-based geofences

• US 9,414,193 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2013
• Issued: 08/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Li, Xintian, Shang, Ning, Ische, Marc Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): Traore, Fatoumata
• Application Number:
  US14/056,788
• Publication Number:
  US 20150023502A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,027 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02526 using non-dedicated equipment, e.g. user equipment or crowd-sourcing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0864 Round trip delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/086 using security domains
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• 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 4/022 with dynamic range variability
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

Systems, apparatus and methods for communicating and using a geofence while maintaining privacy are presented. A geofence is based on at least one RF fingerprint. The RF fingerprints include absolute information that is transformed into a one-way matrix (A) by application of a one-way function. The absolute information may identify a transmitter (e.g., by location, address or the like). An equation 0=Ax (where 0 is a zero vector, A is the one-way matrix and x is a signature vector) is solved to reveal one possible solution for the signature vector (x). This signature vector (x) is communicated rather than the RF fingerprints themselves, thus obscuring the absolute information and maintaining privacy.

Claims

1. A method for communicating a geofence, the method comprising:

obtaining the geofence defined with reference to a plurality of transmitters, including obtaining transmitter information from the plurality of transmitters, wherein the transmitter information comprises both absolute information and relative information;

applying a one-way function to the absolute information for each transmitter of the plurality of transmitters to form a one-way matrix (A), wherein the one-way function is not applied to the relative information;

solving an equation for a signature vector (x) from the one-way matrix (A); and

transmitting the signature vector (x) for a mobile device to use for determining a breach of the geofence by the mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the absolute information comprises a cellular identifier (Cell ID).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the absolute information comprises a Bluetooth identifier (Bluetooth ID).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the absolute information comprises a media access control address (MAC address).

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the relative information comprises distance information.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the distance information comprises a round-trip time (RTT).

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the distance information comprises a received signal strength indicator (RSSI).

8. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the one-way function to the absolute information for each transmitter of the plurality of transmitters to form the one-way matrix (A) comprises:

executing the one-way function on the absolute information to form a resulting one-way value for each transmitter;

subdividing the resulting one-way value for each transmitter into a plurality of matrix elements; and

forming, for each transmitter, a row of the one-way matrix (A) with the plurality of matrix elements.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one-way function is a hash function.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the signature vector (x) for the mobile device to use the geofence comprises transmitting the signature vector (x) without the absolute information.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the signature vector (x) for the mobile device to use the geofence comprises transmitting the signature vector (x) without the one-way matrix (A).

12. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

forming a key from the absolute information;

encrypting the relative information with the key to form encrypted relative information; and

transmitting the encrypted relative information for the mobile device to use.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein encrypting the relative information with the key to form the encrypted relative information comprises using an authenticated encryption algorithm (AE algorithm).

14. The method of claim 12, wherein forming the key from the absolute information comprises using a key derivation function (KDF).

15. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the signature vector (x) for the mobile device to use comprises transmitting by a first mobile device.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the signature vector (x) for the mobile device to use comprises transmitting by a distribution server.

17. A device for communicating a geofence defined with reference to transmitter information from a plurality of transmitters, wherein the transmitter information comprises both absolute information and relative information, the device comprising:

a processor comprising;

a one-way function module comprising;

an input port configured to receive the absolute information;

a one-way function configured to convert the absolute information to a one-way value, wherein the relative information is not converted to the one-way value; and

an output port configured to obtain the one-way value;

a solving module coupled to the one-way function module to solve for a signature (x) from the one-way value, wherein the solving module comprises;

an input port configured to receive the one-way value;

and

an output port configured to provide the signature (x); and

a transmitter coupled to the processor and configured to transmit the signature (x) for a mobile device to use for determining a breach of the geofence by the mobile device.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the solving module solves for the signature (x) from the one-way value from an equation Ax=0.

19. The device of claim 17, wherein the processor further comprises an encryption module configured to convert the relative information to encrypted relative information using a key derived from the absolute information, wherein the encryption module comprises:

an input port configured to receive the relative information;

an output port configured to provide the encrypted relative information;

wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit the encrypted relative information.

20. A device for communicating a geofence, the device comprising:

means for obtaining the geofence defined with reference to a plurality of transmitters, including obtaining transmitter information from the plurality of transmitters, wherein the transmitter information comprises both absolute information and relative information;

means for applying a one-way function to the absolute information for each transmitter of the plurality of transmitters to form a one-way matrix (A) wherein the one-way function is not applied to the relative information;

means for solving an equation for a signature vector (x) from the one-way matrix (A); and

means for transmitting the signature vector (x) for a mobile device to use for determining a breach of the geofence by the mobile device.

21. The device of claim 20, wherein the means for applying the one-way function to the absolute information for each transmitter of the plurality of transmitters to form the one-way matrix (A) comprises:

means for executing the one-way function on the absolute information to form a resulting one-way value for each transmitter;

means for subdividing the resulting one-way value for each transmitter into a plurality of matrix elements; and

means for forming, for each transmitter, a row of the one-way matrix (A) with the plurality of matrix elements.

22. The device of claim 20, wherein the means for transmitting the signature vector (x) for the mobile device to use the geofence comprises means for transmitting the signature vector (x) without the absolute information.

23. The device of claim 20, wherein the means for transmitting the signature vector (x) for the mobile device to use the geofence comprises means for transmitting the signature vector (x) without the one-way matrix (A).

24. The device of claim 20, the device further comprising:

means for forming a key from the absolute information;

means for encrypting the relative information with the key to form encrypted relative information; and

means for transmitting the encrypted relative information for the mobile device to use.

25. A non-transient computer-readable storage medium including program code stored thereon for communicating a geofence by a device, comprising program code to:

obtain the geofence defined with reference to a plurality of transmitters, including obtaining transmitter information from the plurality of transmitters, wherein the transmitter information comprises both absolute information and relative information;

apply a one-way function to the absolute information for each transmitter of the plurality of transmitters to form a one-way matrix (A), wherein the one-way function is not applied to the relative information;

solve an equation for a signature vector (x) from the one-way matrix (A); and

transmit the signature vector (x) for a mobile device to use for determining a breach of the geofence by the mobile device.

26. A method for using a geofence by a mobile device, the geofence defined with reference to a plurality of transmitters, the method comprising:

receiving a signature vector (x) at the mobile device, wherein the signature vector (x) is computed using absolute information associated with the plurality of transmitters that define the geofence without reference to relative information associated with the plurality of transmitters, wherein the signature vector is used for determining a breach of the geofence by the mobile device;

scanning for a signal of a transmitter, wherein the signal comprises absolute information of the transmitter;

applying a one-way function to the absolute information to form a one-way vector (h), wherein the one-way function is not applied to any relative information; and

in response to determining that a product of the signature vector (x) and the one-way vector (h) indicates that the absolute information of the transmitter was used to create the signature vector (x), determining that the transmitter is one of the plurality of transmitters referenced in the definition of the geofence.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the relative information comprises distance information.

28. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

receiving encrypted relative information for the mobile device to use;

forming a key from the absolute information; and

decrypting the encrypted relative information with the key to form the relative information.

29. A mobile device for using a geofence defined with reference to a plurality of transmitters, the mobile device comprising:

a receiver configured to;

receive a signature vector (x) at the mobile device, wherein the signature vector (x) is computed using absolute information associated with the plurality of transmitters that define the geofence without reference to relative information associated with the plurality of transmitters; and

scan for a signal of a transmitter, wherein the signal comprises absolute information of the transmitter; and

a processor coupled to the receiver and configured to use the signature vector for determining a breach of the geofence by the mobile device by being configured to;

apply a one-way function to the absolute information to form a one-way vector (h), wherein the one-way function is not applied to any relative information; and

in response to determining that a product of the signature vector (x) and the one-way vector (h) indicates that the absolute information of the transmitter was used to create the signature vector (x), determine the transmitter is one of the plurality of transmitters referenced in the definition of the geofence.

30. A mobile device for using a geofence, the geofence defined with reference to a plurality of transmitters, the mobile device comprising:

means for receiving a signature vector (x) at the mobile device, wherein the signature vector (x) is computed using absolute information associated with the plurality of transmitters that define the geofence without reference to relative information associated with the plurality of transmitters, wherein the signature vector is used for determining a breach of the geofence by the mobile device;

means for scanning for a signal of a transmitter, wherein signal comprises absolute information of the transmitter;

means for applying a one-way function to the absolute information to form a one-way vector (h), wherein the one-way function is not applied to any relative information; and

means for determining that the transmitter is one of the plurality of transmitters referenced in the definition of the geofence, in response to determining that a product of the signature vector (x) and the one-way vector (h) indicates that the absolute information of the transmitter was used to create the signature vector (x).

31. A non-transient computer-readable storage medium including program code stored thereon for using a geofence by a mobile device, the geofence defined with reference to a plurality of transmitters, comprising program code to:

receive a signature vector (x) at the mobile device, wherein the signature vector (x) is computed using absolute information associated with the plurality of transmitters that define the geofence without reference to relative information associated with the plurality of transmitters, wherein the signature vector is used for determining a breach of the geofence by the mobile device;

scan for a signal of a transmitter, wherein signal comprises absolute information of the transmitter;

apply a one-way function to the absolute information to form a one-way vector (h), wherein the one-way function is not applied to any relative information; and

in response to determining that a product of the signature vector (x) and the one-way vector (h) indicates that the absolute information of the transmitter was used to create the signature vector (x), determine that the transmitter is one of the plurality of transmitters referenced in the definition of the geofence.