Connected Device Sensor Anonymization via Blurring Noise
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Solution Overview
Problem
Connected devices with embedded sensors face challenges in anonymizing data due to unique sensor characteristics, which can reveal the device's identity, making them vulnerable to malicious identification through signal processing.
Innovation Solution
A connected device generates and adds a blurring noise to its measurement signal, uncorrelated with the structural noise inherent to the sensor, to obscure its identity while maintaining a high signal-to-noise ratio for accurate data transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sensor data is transmitted directly without modification, then measurement accuracy is maintained, but device identity can be identified through unique sensor characteristics
Solution Approach 1:
A blurring noise generator acts as an intermediary component that processes the sensor output signal by adding uncorrelated noise. This mediator preserves the essential measurement information while obscuring the unique sensor characteristics that could identify the device, thus protecting anonymity without completely destroying data usability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the signal parameters by adding controlled noise with specific statistical properties (uncorrelated with structural noise). This parameter change transforms the signal to remove identifying characteristics while maintaining the underlying measurement information through careful noise calibration
2Reliability
If blurring noise is added to the measurement signal, then device anonymity is improved, but signal quality may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of adding excessive noise that would completely obscure the signal, the patent applies partial action by calibrating the blurring noise to achieve the minimum necessary level for anonymization. The noise is tuned to mask sensor characteristics while preserving measurement precision through controlled application
3Adaptability or versatility
If structural noise from sensors is used for identification, then device uniqueness is achieved, but security against malicious identification is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of structural noise (which enables identification) into a beneficial feature by using knowledge of the noise characteristics to generate compensating blurring noise. The previously harmful identifying characteristic becomes the basis for creating protective anonymity measures
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a connected device (110) comprising at least one sensor (101) adapted to measure at least a physical quantity (100) and to report a measure of this physical quantity (100) to a remote device (106), the at least one sensor system (101) providing an output Z which is then digitized (102) in order to provide an output signal Y comprising a first and a second component, the first component being representative of the measured physical quantity X (100) and the second component being representative of the structural noise R introduced by the at least one sensor (101), wherein the connected device also comprises a noise generator (104) configured to: generate (104) using as an input at least one parameter representative of the structural noise R a blurring noise V which is uncorrelated with said structural noise R; combine the digital output signal Y with the blurring noise V in order to generate a signal Y'; transmit (105) signal Y' to the remote device (106).