GPS Co-location Verification for Set-Top Box Piracy Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing billing practices for Pay Television (TV) are vulnerable to abuse, where subscribers order additional set-top boxes (STBs) and provide them to neighbors, allowing the latter to receive premium services at a reduced rate, thereby avoiding full payment.
Innovation Solution
A method and system using GPS and other technologies to confirm the co-location of multiple STBs within a geographic area, canceling out errors in GPS sensing, and triggering actions if STBs are not within the designated zone, such as disabling TV services.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If reduced billing rates are offered for additional STBs to encourage service adoption, then service penetration and customer satisfaction improve, but the system becomes vulnerable to piracy where STBs are shared with neighbors
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors GPS location data from STBs and provides feedback to the authorization server. When an STB's location deviates from the registered dwelling, the system detects this through comparing current GPS coordinates with authorized location parameters, triggering service disruption to prevent piracy while maintaining reduced rates for legitimate multi-STB usage.
Solution Approach 2:
GPS technology serves as an intermediary mechanism between the STB and the authorization server. The GPS receiver in each STB provides location information that acts as a mediator to verify whether the STB is physically present at the authorized dwelling, enabling automated piracy detection without direct human intervention.
2Reliability
If GPS monitoring is implemented to detect STB location and prevent piracy, then billing security improves, but GPS sensing errors may cause false positives and spurious alarms
Solution Approach 1:
The system combines GPS location data from multiple STBs and merges it with authorized location parameters stored in the authorization server. By evaluating whether the STB's current location falls within the authorized geographic boundaries of the registered dwelling, the system achieves more reliable location verification than single-point GPS measurements alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-defines authorized location parameters and geographic boundaries for each dwelling before GPS monitoring begins. These beforehand-established parameters create a tolerance buffer that accommodates normal GPS measurement variations and minor location drift, preventing spurious alarms while maintaining security against actual piracy.
3Ease of operation
If multiple STBs are authorized at a single dwelling to enable family usage, then customer convenience improves, but the risk of service sharing with neighbors increases
Solution Approach 1:
The authorization server performs preliminary location verification by comparing each STB's GPS coordinates against the registered dwelling's geographic boundaries before authorizing service. This preliminary check ensures that only STBs physically located at the authorized dwelling receive service, preventing neighbors from obtaining unauthorized access while allowing multiple STBs to be configured for legitimate family members.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively prevents piracy by ensuring that additional STBs are used within the subscriber's home, reducing errors in GPS positioning, and enhancing the accuracy and sensitivity of GPS signals for precise location determination.
Implementation Method 1
A GPS receiver provided with the client device receives a GPS satellite signal
Data Source
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AI summary
A method and system to confirm co-location of multiple devices within a geographic area, while filtering spurious alarms, is provided. An example method comprises processing first GPS data obtained from a first GPS sensor and second GPS data obtained from a second GPS sensor. A sensing data evaluator compares a sensing error from the first GPS data and a sensing error from the second GPS data. Based on the result of the comparing, the sensing data evaluator determines whether the sensing errors are to be ignored. An approach where an alarm that otherwise would be generated is disabled or canceled may be termed as filtering spurious alarms.