Wireless Client Location Tracking via Signed AP Signal Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing client-based location tracking systems rely on clients reporting access point signal strengths to servers, which may lead to tampered data and require direct communication with each access point, making it unreliable and impractical in many scenarios.
Innovation Solution
A system where a wireless client sends probe frames to access points, which respond with signal strength data encrypted with a certificate, allowing a location-based server to validate the data and determine the client's location without direct communication with each access point, ensuring data integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If clients report access point signal strengths to servers for location determination, then location tracking can be implemented, but the data may be tampered with and direct communication with each access point is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces access points as intermediaries that digitally sign location measurement data. Instead of clients directly reporting to servers, the access points act as trusted mediators that verify and authenticate the measurement data through digital signatures, ensuring data integrity without requiring direct server-AP communication.
Solution Approach 2:
The access points perform self-authentication by digitally signing their own measurement data with their private keys. This self-service mechanism allows the access points to independently verify and authenticate their own data, eliminating the need for the server to directly communicate with or trust each access point individually.
2Loss of information
If clients directly communicate with each access point to report signal strengths, then location data can be collected, but the system complexity increases and direct access point-server communication is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the authentication and verification functions from the server and places them in the access points. The server only needs to validate digital signatures rather than manage complex direct communications with each access point, significantly simplifying the overall system architecture while maintaining complete location data collection.
3Reliability
If the server validates each access point directly, then data authenticity can be ensured, but direct communication between server and each access point is necessary
Solution Approach 1:
The access points perform preliminary authentication by digitally signing their measurement data before transmitting it to the server. This preliminary action ensures data authenticity is established in advance, allowing the server to simply validate signatures without requiring complex direct communication protocols with each access point.
Data Source
AI summary
In an example embodiment, a wireless client sends a probe request frame and waits for responses to the probe frame. The responses to the probe request from comprise encrypted data representative of the signal strength of the client as measured by the respondent that are digitally signed by the respondent's certificate. The client aggregates the responses and forwards them to a location based server.