Vehicle Multi-Factor Authentication via Remote Device
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle security systems face challenges in authenticating users effectively, particularly in shared vehicle scenarios, as they often rely on costly and vulnerable in-vehicle hardware, which can be compromised by security attacks.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a multi-factor authentication system that uses user devices to perform authentication, where a vehicle security server instructs the device to perform authentication based on knowledge, possession, and biometric factors, ensuring only authorized users access the vehicle or its functionalities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If in-vehicle security hardware (e.g., biometric sensors, keypads, RFID readers) is installed for user authentication, then authentication capability is provided, but system cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a remote electronic device (such as a smartphone) as an intermediary to perform authentication operations. Instead of installing complex authentication hardware in the vehicle, the system uses the user's existing electronic device with camera and sensor capabilities to capture biometric data and perform verification, thereby providing authentication capability without increasing vehicle system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces physical authentication hardware (mechanical keypads, RFID readers, biometric sensors) with a software-based authentication system running on remote electronic devices. The authentication functionality is implemented through applications on smartphones rather than through dedicated vehicle-mounted hardware, substituting mechanical/electrical systems with software-based solutions
2Reliability
If fixed-function security hardware (e.g., keypads, RFID readers) is installed in vehicles, then authentication functionality is provided, but system flexibility to implement different authentication techniques is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the authentication system universal by using remote electronic devices that users already possess and that can perform multiple authentication functions. The same device can implement various authentication techniques (biometric, knowledge-based, possession-based) without requiring different hardware components, thereby providing both authentication functionality and system flexibility
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a dynamic authentication system where the authentication method can be changed and adapted through software updates on remote devices. Unlike fixed hardware solutions, the system can dynamically switch between different authentication techniques (e.g., switching from fingerprint to facial recognition or to password-based authentication) based on security requirements and user preferences
3Reliability
If in-vehicle security hardware is used for user authentication, then access control is achieved, but vulnerability to security attacks (e.g., hacking) increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the authentication functionality from the vehicle's security system and places it in the user's remote electronic device. By taking out the authentication hardware from the vehicle, the system eliminates the security vulnerabilities associated with in-vehicle hardware while maintaining access control capability through the user's personally controlled device
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the remote electronic device as a copy or replacement of traditional authentication hardware. Instead of installing vulnerable authentication hardware in the vehicle, the system creates a virtual copy of authentication functionality in the user's smartphone, which they already trust and control, thereby maintaining security without introducing new vulnerability points
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4
AI summary
A method for controlling access to a vehicle is disclosed. The method includes: receiving, from a communication subsystem of the vehicle, a first request to authenticate a user requesting access to the vehicle; sending, to an electronic device associated with the vehicle, an instruction to perform a multiple-factor authentication of a first user of the electronic device; receiving, from the electronic device, a first message indicating that an identity of the first user of the electronic device has been verified based on at least the multiple-factor authentication; and in response to receiving the first message, sending, to the communication subsystem of the vehicle, a second message indicating successful authentication of the first user.