Digital Evidence Data Block Generation and Verification

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing systems for proving an individual's presence, actions, or proximity to others at a specific time and location often infringe on privacy and require reliance on third-party witnesses or surveillance, which can be invasive and unreliable.

Innovation Solution

A system and process that allow individuals to generate and store digital evidence of their presence, actions, and proximity using a device that transmits and receives data blocks containing timestamped location data, action data, and signatures, which can be verified by third-party systems.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If third-party surveillance systems or witnesses are used to prove presence or actions, then reliability of evidence is improved, but privacy of the individual is worsened

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvereliability of evidenceVSAvoidprivacy infringement
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of having third parties surveil and collect evidence about individuals, the system inverts the approach by enabling individuals to autonomously generate and control their own evidence through personal devices. The individual's device becomes the source of truth, eliminating the need for invasive external surveillance while maintaining evidence reliability through cryptographic verification.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The system empowers individuals to self-generate evidence of their presence and actions using their own devices. The individual's device autonomously creates timestamped records, stores them locally, and enables verification without requiring external surveillance infrastructure. This self-service approach maintains privacy while providing reliable evidence when needed.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Measurement precision

If continuous tracking systems like GPS are deployed to prove presence, then accuracy of location data is improved, but loss of information regarding confidentiality is worsened

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvelocation data accuracyVSAvoidconfidentiality loss
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by enabling individuals to proactively activate evidence collection on their own devices only when they anticipate needing proof of presence or action. Rather than continuous tracking, the individual's device is prepared to generate evidence on-demand, maintaining accuracy when needed while preserving confidentiality during normal activities.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies different qualities to different situations: during normal operation, the device maintains confidentiality with no tracking; when evidence is needed, the device locally generates precise location and action data. This local quality approach ensures that sensitive data remains confidential while accurate evidence is available when required.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Reliability

If multiple evidence sources are gathered to strengthen proof, then completeness of evidence is improved, but device complexity is worsened

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecompleteness of evidenceVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system merges multiple evidence types (location data, action data, timestamps, device identifiers) into a single integrated data block structure. Rather than managing separate systems for each evidence type, the individual's device consolidates all evidence elements into one unified format that can be stored, transmitted, and verified as a complete package, reducing overall system complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The individual's device serves multiple functions: it generates location evidence, action evidence, stores evidence locally, transmits evidence when requested, and enables verification. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate specialized devices or systems for each evidence type, reducing complexity while maintaining evidence completeness.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP3981185B1Method and system for acquiring, saving and using evidence data
Publication Date: 2025.04.09 IMPRIMERIE NAT
  • EP3981185B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3981185B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP3981185B1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

The invention relates to a method and a system for generating and saving a set of digital data or evidence associated with an individual, within a system comprising several devices transmitting and receiving evidence and a medium for communication between the devices, comprising: for generating the data constituting the evidence from a device, defining a data block characterising the evidence; on the part of the individual wishing to build an evidence set, adding, to the reception data block, data characterising the evidence, a timestamp parameter, an indicator identifying the device receiving the evidence, an evidence signature, wherein, in order to use the evidence, an individual issues a request containing the evidence proving that he/she is the recipient of said evidence to a third-party system; the third-party system contacts the device issuing the evidence, which re-sends the signature.