Navigation System Security via Segmented Recording Medium

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing navigation systems with rewritable recording media, such as flash memory, face security challenges due to easy copying of map data, allowing unauthorized updates and illegal distribution, which can lead to unauthorized use and data integrity issues.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a navigation system where during the first data access, updating right information and medium identification information are written to the navigation unit's memory, then deleted from the recording medium, and a password lock function is used to prevent unauthorized access, along with hash values to verify the legitimacy of map data updates.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If map data are stored in a rewritable recording medium such as flash memory, then map data can be updated easily without removing the navigation unit, but the recording medium can be easily copied allowing unauthorized use

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveease of map data updatingVSAvoidsecurity against unauthorized copying
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The recording medium is divided into a management area (non-rewritable, stores medium identification information) and a data area (rewritable, stores map data). This segmentation ensures that while map data can be updated, the core identification information remains protected and cannot be copied or modified.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

A determination unit acts as an intermediary between the recording medium and the map data updating process. It verifies whether the medium identification information matches the navigation unit's identification before allowing updates, preventing unauthorized copying while enabling legitimate updates.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If individual ID is added to map data for updating in the recording medium, then unauthorized use can be prevented, but the system becomes vulnerable if the individual ID is read in advance

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprevention of unauthorized map data useVSAvoidsecurity vulnerability through ID reading
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The medium identification information is extracted from the recording medium and stored in the navigation unit's memory during first data access. This extracted information is then used for verification without being stored back in the recording medium, eliminating the vulnerability of storing sensitive IDs in the copyable medium.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The determination of whether the medium identification information matches the navigation unit's identification is performed in advance during the first data access, before any map data updates occur. This preliminary verification prevents unauthorized updates while allowing legitimate ones.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Productivity

If the recording medium allows repeated writing and reading, then map data can be updated constantly to reflect road changes, but data integrity cannot be ensured against illegal copying

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefrequency of map data updatesVSAvoiddata integrity against copying
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

By segmenting the recording medium into management area and data area with different write permissions, the system enables frequent updates of map data in the data area while protecting the integrity of the medium identification information in the management area, thus maintaining both update frequency and data integrity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP2526383B1Navigation system
Publication Date: 2020.02.26 AISIN AW CO LTD
  • EP2526383B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2526383B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2526383B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

At the first data access by a navigation unit to a recording medium that records updating right information necessary for updating map data in a rewritable data area in which map data are recorded, the updating right information is read from the data area and is deleted from the data area, and a map updating due date created based on the read updating right information is written in a memory of the navigation unit together with the medium identification information read from a non-rewritable management area.