Location Authentication Using Public Device Sensor Matching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing location-based authentication methods using GPS coordinates or IP addresses are vulnerable to spoofing, making them unreliable for determining a user's legitimate physical location.
Innovation Solution
A determination system that includes a processor and memory, which acquires location data from user devices and matches it with measurement data from public devices equipped with similar sensors at known locations, using a security server to authenticate the user based on the matching data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If GPS coordinates or IP address are used for location-based authentication, then the authentication process is simple and fast, but the reliability is low because these data can be spoofed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a public device as an intermediary between the user device and the authentication server. This public device captures sensor data from the physical environment, which serves as a mediator to verify the user's actual location without directly relying on spoofable GPS or IP data. The public device acts as a trusted third party that provides environmental context to validate location claims.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical/location-based authentication system (GPS coordinates, IP addresses) with a sensor-based environmental verification system. Instead of relying on positional data from satellites or network infrastructure, the system uses sensor data (accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, barometer) to capture and verify physical environmental characteristics, substituting one verification mechanism with another that is harder to spoof.
2Measurement precision
If sensor data from public devices is used to verify user location, then the measurement precision and anti-spoofing capability are improved, but the device complexity and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the public device multi-functional by equipping it with multiple sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, barometer) that can capture various environmental parameters. This universal device serves multiple purposes: location verification, environmental characterization, and spoofing detection, all through a single integrated system rather than requiring separate specialized devices for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by having the public device pre-capture and store sensor data from the physical environment before the authentication process begins. This pre-captured environmental data serves as a reference that can be quickly compared against user device data during authentication, reducing real-time processing requirements and enabling faster verification.
Data Source
AI summary
A determination system includes: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory and programmed to execute a process comprising: acquiring location data representing a location of one or more user devices including a first sensor; searching for one or more public devices that is at a location corresponding to the location of the user device and that includes a second sensor having a same function as that of the first sensor included in the user device; requesting the user device to measure using the first sensor to acquire measurement data of the first sensor; acquiring measurement data of the second sensor included in the public device; and determining whether a user of the user device is legitimate based on a result of matching the measurement data of the first sensor with the measurement data of the second sensor.