Location Attestation Node Verifies Wireless Device Position
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wireless communication networks face challenges in verifying the geographic location of wireless user devices, especially when they report locations over unverifiable public networks, leading to issues with transparency, confidence, and availability of location data.
Innovation Solution
A wireless communication system that includes an access node receiving signaling from a wireless user device containing its identity, geographic location, satellite, and terrestrial signal characteristics. This signaling is transferred to a location attestation node, which determines known signal characteristics for the reported location, compares them, and generates a location-attestation score. The system uses a distributed ledger node to store and manage this information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If wireless user devices report geographic location over public networks, then location data availability is improved, but location verification reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a location attestation node as an intermediary between the wireless communication network and user devices reporting locations over public networks. This mediator receives location data, verifies it against known signal characteristics, and provides attestation scores, thereby enabling reliable verification even when devices use unverifiable public networks for reporting
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by comparing reported signal characteristics against known characteristics for the reported location and generating an attestation score. This feedback mechanism allows the network to assess the reliability of location data and determine whether to trust or reject the reported location, resolving the contradiction between availability and reliability
2Reliability
If sector identifiers or triangulation are used to confirm geographic locations, then location verification reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables user devices to self-verify their locations by comparing their own signal characteristics (satellite and terrestrial) against known characteristics stored in the network. This self-service approach allows devices to perform verification independently without requiring complex network-side triangulation infrastructure, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses copying by storing known signal characteristics for various locations and comparing them against reported characteristics. Instead of performing complex real-time triangulation, the network copies and compares signal characteristic patterns, simplifying the verification process while maintaining reliability through pattern matching
Data Source
AI summary
A wireless communication network attests to a geographic location of a wireless user device. An access node receives signaling transferred by the wireless user device that indicates the wireless user device, the geographic location, satellite signal characteristics for the geographic location, and terrestrial signal characteristics for the geographic location. The network access node transfers the signaling to a location attestation node. The location attestation node determines known signal characteristics for the geographic location. The location attestation node compares the known signal characteristics to the satellite signal characteristics and the terrestrial signal characteristics. The location attestation node generates a location-attestation score based on the comparison. The location attestation node transfers information that indicates the wireless user device, the geographic location, and the location-attestation score. The location attestation node may comprise a distributed ledge node.