Live GPS Signal Validation Through Satellite Broadcast Checksums
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Solution Overview
Problem
GPS receivers are vulnerable to receiving corrupted or spoofed satellite positioning data, which can lead to undesirable outcomes such as incorrect navigation and potential malicious control of vehicles, without human supervision.
Innovation Solution
Utilize a secondary communication channel, such as a digital television broadcast satellite, to provide validation data through encrypted entitlement messages, allowing receivers to verify the authenticity of GPS signals using checksums or hashes, leveraging existing conditional access systems for security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If GPS satellites transmit positioning signals unencrypted for commercial use, then the signals are easily accessible and usable for navigation, but the receiver becomes vulnerable to receiving corrupted or spoofed positioning data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary validation mechanism where a reference signal is transmitted through a separate communication channel (such as a television distribution network) and compared with the GPS positioning signals. This intermediary reference acts as a mediator to verify the authenticity of the GPS data without preventing its use, thus maintaining accessibility while improving reliability through cross-channel verification
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously comparing the received GPS positioning signals with the reference signal obtained through the intermediary channel. When discrepancies are detected between the two channels, the system can identify potential spoofing or corruption, providing feedback that enhances the reliability of positioning data while maintaining the open accessibility of the GPS signals
2Reliability
If validation data is transmitted through a separate communication channel, then the authenticity of GPS signals can be verified, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages existing multi-functional communication infrastructure, such as television distribution networks or other broadcast systems, to carry the reference signal. By making the validation system utilize already-deployed communication channels for their secondary purpose, the system achieves verification capability without adding dedicated new infrastructure, thus limiting the increase in overall system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a copy of the positioning data through a different communication channel. Instead of building entirely new verification infrastructure, the patent copies the essential validation function by transmitting reference signals through existing broadcast networks, thereby achieving authenticity verification while avoiding the complexity of completely new system architecture
Data Source
AI summary
A pay television satellite broadcast includes validation data that can be used to validate authenticity of live global positioning system (GPS) data. The validation data may be included within entitlement messages and encrypted for security and selective reception by authorized receivers. A navigation system may compute checksums of received live GPS data and compare with the validation data for a match. A decision about whether or not to use the live GPS data may be taken based on whether or not the computed checksums match the validation data received via the pay television satellite broadcast signals.