PCBA Image Validation Across Shipping and Installation Stages
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The integrity of multi-tier printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) is compromised during production, transportation, and assembly due to environmental and optical setup variations, leading to vulnerabilities in cyber and physical security, which existing authentication methods fail to adequately address.
Innovation Solution
A computer vision system utilizing golden and silver templates, captured under different optical setups, compares images of PCBAs at various stages to detect anomalies by performing image-to-image and image-to-data comparisons, ensuring integrity validation across multiple tiers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing authentication methods are used to verify PCBA integrity, then the process is simple, but the security against cyber and physical threats is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication process is segmented into multiple independent verification tiers: first image capture at initial location, second image capture at final location, template generation, and multi-stage comparison. Each tier addresses specific security concerns independently, collectively providing comprehensive security without requiring a single complex authentication mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
A first image of the PCBA is captured and stored as a reference template before the PCBA is shipped or transferred. This preliminary action establishes a baseline for later comparison, enabling anomaly detection without requiring complex real-time authentication during transportation or assembly processes.
2Measurement precision
If multiple images are captured at different locations and times, then anomaly detection accuracy is improved, but the impact of environmental and optical setup variations increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of requiring identical optical setups at different locations, the system creates a digital copy (first image) of the PCBA at the initial location and compares it with the second image captured at the final location. This copying approach eliminates the need to replicate complex optical environments, focusing comparison on structural anomalies rather than environmental variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary comparison process that accounts for expected variations due to different optical setups and environmental conditions. The system identifies and filters out variations attributable to imaging differences, allowing genuine anomalies to be detected despite environmental and optical variations between capture locations.
3Reliability
If comprehensive multi-stage image comparison is performed, then integrity validation is improved, but the processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The validation process is segmented into distinct phases: first image capture and template storage, second image capture, template generation from the first image, and comparison execution. This segmentation allows processing to be distributed and optimized at each stage, reducing overall processing time while maintaining comprehensive validation.
Solution Approach 2:
The first image is captured and stored as a template in advance, before the actual validation comparison is needed. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for complex real-time processing during the validation phase, as the reference data is already prepared and can be quickly compared against the second image.
Data Source
AI summary
The system stores a first template which comprises an image of a first validated printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) and stores a first image of an unvalidated PCBA captured prior to shipping of the unvalidated PCBA from a first site to a second site. The system generates a second template which comprises an image of a second validated PCBA corresponding to the first validated PCBA. The system captures a second image of the unvalidated PCBA subsequent to arrival at the second location and a third image prior to installation into a computer system. The system detects an anomaly associated with the unvalidated PCBA based on comparisons between one or more of: the first template and the second template; the first image and the first template; the second image and the second template; the third image and the second template; the first image, the second image, and the third image.