Machinery Fingerprinting via Mobile Sensor Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for verifying the type and condition of machinery, such as vehicles, are costly and complicated, often requiring specialized sensors that may deter users due to added expenses and potential impact on vehicle performance or resale value.
Innovation Solution
A fingerprinting application utilizing common mobile device sensors to collect audio, accelerometer, and location data, generating profiles for pattern matching to identify and verify machinery types, eliminating the need for proprietary sensors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If specialized sensors are used to verify machinery type and condition, then verification accuracy is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by using a mobile device's existing multi-functional sensors (microphone, accelerometer, GPS) that serve both their primary purposes and machinery verification functions. This eliminates the need for specialized single-purpose sensors, reducing device complexity while maintaining verification accuracy through pattern recognition algorithms that process data from these universal sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates acoustic and vibration fingerprints that serve as digital copies or signatures of machinery characteristics. Instead of directly measuring physical properties with specialized sensors, the system captures audio and vibration patterns, processes them into unique fingerprint profiles, and compares these digital representations to verify machinery type and condition, thereby reducing hardware complexity.
2Reliability
If specialized sensors are installed in machinery, then verification capability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to installation complexity and potential impact on vehicle performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages universal sensors already present in mobile devices (microphone, accelerometer, GPS) that require no installation in the machinery. These sensors naturally capture audio, vibration, and location data during normal device operation, eliminating installation complexity while maintaining verification capability through software-based pattern recognition.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile device's existing sensors automatically capture the necessary data during normal operation without requiring separate verification equipment or installation procedures. The device serves itself by using its own computational resources and existing sensor array to perform machinery verification, eliminating the need for additional installed components.
3Measurement precision
If proprietary sensors are used for machinery verification, then measurement precision is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses universally available mobile device sensors (microphone, accelerometer, GPS) that are already present in smartphones and tablets, eliminating the need for expensive proprietary sensors. The verification accuracy is achieved through sophisticated software algorithms that process data from these low-cost universal sensors, significantly reducing overall system cost while maintaining identification precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates digital fingerprint copies of machinery acoustic and vibration signatures, which can be stored and compared without requiring expensive physical measurement equipment. This digital copying approach enables accurate machinery identification using only the mobile device's existing low-cost sensors, avoiding the need for costly proprietary sensing hardware.
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
This approach reduces costs and complexity by using existing mobile device sensors to accurately verify machinery, enabling efficient identification and condition monitoring without impacting vehicle performance or resale value.
Implementation Method 1
obtain an audio pattern from the audio data
Implementation Method 2
obtain a vibration pattern from the accelerometer data
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are various embodiments for a fingerprinting application. Data and optionally additional metadata for an operational automobile are captured by an application executed on a mobile device inside the automobile. An fingerprinting application matches the data to known data profiles to confirm the identity or type of the automobile. Diagnostics of the automobile can be determined by variations in the data with respect to a defined standard. The data can include one or more of audio data, accelerometer data, vibration, data and orientation data.