Secret Sharing for Secure 3D Design Collaboration

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Solution Overview

Problem

Collaborative design in computer-aided manufacturing often involves sharing sensitive information among competitors, posing a risk of intellectual property leakage, as existing methods lack secure mechanisms to protect design processes and manufacturing insights.

Innovation Solution

A system for secure collaborative graphical design using secret sharing, where a secret owner device generates graphical secret shares containing only partial features of a three-dimensional design, which are then transmitted to contributor devices, allowing modifications while preventing reconstruction of the original design.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If complete three-dimensional graphical design is shared among collaborators, then design collaboration efficiency is improved, but intellectual property security deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedesign collaboration efficiencyVSAvoidintellectual property security
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the complete three-dimensional graphical design into multiple secret shares, where each share contains only a portion of the design features. Collaborators receive different secret shares rather than the complete design, enabling them to work on their respective portions without accessing the full design. This segmentation allows design collaboration to proceed efficiently while preventing any single collaborator from obtaining the complete design and compromising intellectual property security.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Loss of information

If design features are hidden from collaborators, then intellectual property security is improved, but design collaboration capability deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveintellectual property securityVSAvoiddesign collaboration capability
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a secret sharing mechanism as an intermediary between the complete design and the collaborators. The secret shares act as intermediaries that contain sufficient information for collaborators to perform their specific design tasks while withholding the complete design information. This intermediary structure enables design collaboration capability to function effectively without revealing the full design to collaborators, thus maintaining intellectual property security.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Reliability

If graphical secret shares are generated using distinct three-dimensional graphical forms, then design security is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedesign securityVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates copies of the design information in a transformed format. Instead of working with the original complete design, the system generates multiple secret share copies, each representing a portion of the design embedded within distinct three-dimensional graphical forms. These copied and transformed representations enable secure design collaboration while managing system complexity through standardized copying and transformation processes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentUS11176730B2Systems for secure collaborative graphical design using secret sharing
Publication Date: 2021.11.16 DESPREZ LLC
  • US11176730B2 patent drawing
  • US11176730B2 patent drawing
  • US11176730B2 patent drawing

AI summary

Systems and methods are disclosed for secret sharing for secure collaborative graphical design. Graphical secret shares are generated from a three-dimensional graphical design and distributed to one or more contributor devices. Contributor graphical designs modifying graphical secret shares may be received from contributor devices. Various corresponding and related systems, methods, and software are described.