PUF Watermarking for Secure Electronic Device Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current electronic device tracking systems are insecure and inaccurate due to the ease with which globally unique indicia can be removed, copied, or placed on another device, making them unsuitable for secure identification, authentication, and control within supply chains and the life cycle of electronic devices.
Innovation Solution
The integration of strong physical unclonable function (PUF) technology with cryptographic protocols to create a unified approach for secure identification, authentication, tracking, and control of electronic devices, using watermarks and digital signatures to bind information and objects to specific devices, ensuring authenticity and accountability throughout their life cycle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If external globally unique indicia (QR codes, numbers) are applied to electronic devices for tracking, then device identification and auditing capability is improved, but security and accuracy deteriorate because the indicia can be removed, copied, or placed on another device
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical/visual external indicia (QR codes, stickers) with an optical field-based identification system. The electronic device emits or modulates optical signals (light, electromagnetic radiation) that encode unique device identifiers. This substitution eliminates the physical vulnerability of external marks while maintaining identification capability through optical detection and verification protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the identification parameter from static external visual marks to dynamic optical field characteristics. Device identifiers are encoded in optical signal properties (frequency, modulation pattern, polarization, intensity) rather than physical markings. This parameter transformation makes identification data harder to replicate and easier to verify through optical measurements.
2Ease of operation
If simple external markings are used for device tracking, then ease of operation and implementation is improved, but security and anti-cloning capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces simple mechanical marking systems with optical field-based identification. Instead of applying physical stickers or etching codes, the system uses optical signals (visible light, infrared, other electromagnetic radiation) to encode and transmit device identifiers. This maintains operational simplicity through automated optical detection while fundamentally improving security against cloning.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces optical fields as an intermediary between the device and the tracking system. Rather than direct visual inspection of external marks, the system uses optical signals as a mediator to convey device identity information. This intermediary layer enables secure verification through optical properties that are difficult to replicate.
Data Source
AI summary
Generally discussed herein are systems, devices, and methods for device verification. A method can include providing, by test equipment (TE), electrical stimulus consistent with a challenge of a challenge response pair (CRP) to a physical unclonable function (PUF) of a device under test (DUT), receiving, by the TE and from the DUT, a response to the electrical stimulus, comparing, by the TE, the provided response to responses to CRPs in a database including PUF CRPs associated with a device identification and a device type, and validating the identity of the DUT when the response of the PUF to the electrical stimulus matches the response of the CRP or invalidating the identity of the electrical device when the response of the PUF does not match the response of the CRP.