Mode switch for partial integrity security operations

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12568372-B2
Application number	US-202318188652-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 23, 2023
Priority date	Mar 23, 2023
Publication date	Mar 3, 2026
Grant date	Mar 3, 2026

Abstract

A processing circuit is coupled to imaging devices through multiple data communication links. Each data communication link couples at least one imaging device with the processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to determine when a change is required in a first data protection configuration that protects first image data transmitted over a first data communication link, and determine a second data protection configuration to be used when second image data is transmitted from a first imaging device over the first data communication link to an image processing circuit. The first data protection configuration or the second data protection configuration provides a partial integrity mode of data protection for frames of image data transmitted over the first data communication link. The partial integrity mode protects some, but not all frames of image data transmitted over the first data communication link using a message authentication code.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A sensor management system, comprising:
a plurality of imaging devices deployed within a vehicle; a processing circuit comprising a controller; and a plurality of data communication links, each data communication link coupling at least one of the plurality of imaging devices with the processing circuit, wherein the processing circuit is configured to:
determine that a change is required in a first data protection configuration that protects first image data transmitted over a first data communication link according to a first security variant; and
select a second data protection configuration to be used when second image data is transmitted from a first imaging device in the plurality of imaging devices over the first data communication link to an image processing circuit, wherein the second data protection configuration provides a level of data security according to a second security variant, and wherein the second data protection configuration is selected based on a probability of data loss associated with a partial integrity mode defined by the second security variant,
wherein the partial integrity mode defined by the second security variant provides data protection for frames of image data transmitted over the first data communication link.

2 . The sensor management system of claim 1 , wherein the second data protection configuration provides a full integrity mode of data protection for the frames of image data transmitted over the first data communication link.

3 . The sensor management system of claim 2 , wherein the second data protection configuration causes the frames of image data to be encrypted before transmission over the first data communication link.

4 . The sensor management system of claim 1 , wherein the partial integrity mode of data protection protects a first portion of the frames of image data transmitted over the first data communication link using a message authentication code (MAC), and wherein a second portion of the frames of image data transmitted over the first data communication link are not protected by a MAC.

5 . The sensor management system of claim 4 , wherein the first portion of the frames of image data is defined by a stride pattern that specifies lines of image data to be protected by the MAC.

6 . The sensor management system of claim 4 , wherein the first portion of the frames of image data is defined by a stride pattern that specifies blocks of pixels in image data to be protected by the MAC.

7 . The sensor management system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:
determine the second data protection configuration based on computational capacity of the sensor management system, a power consumption budget or a thermal budget defined for the sensor management system, or to accommodate a change in operational mode of the vehicle.

8 . The sensor management system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:
determine that the change is required in the first data protection configuration after detecting an increase in temperature or power consumption caused by the sensor management system or after detecting a high-value camera scene or scene fragment in the first image data.

9 . The sensor management system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:
use an artificial intelligence agent to determine that the change is required in the first data protection configuration.

10 . The sensor management system of claim 9 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:
train the artificial intelligence agent using measurements of power or heat obtained for a plurality of operating conditions; retrain the artificial intelligence agent using real-time system feedback; and determine the change that is required in the first data protection configuration based on inferences or predictions received from the artificial intelligence agent.

11 . A method for managing a plurality of imaging devices deployed within a vehicle, comprising:
determining that a change is required in a first data protection configuration that protects first image data transmitted over a first data communication link according to a first security variant; and selecting a second data protection configuration to be used when second image data is transmitted from a first imaging device in the plurality of imaging devices over the first data communication link to an image processing circuit, wherein the second data protection configuration provides a level of data security according to a second security variant, and wherein the second data protection configuration is selected based on a probability of data loss associated with a partial integrity mode defined by the second security variant, wherein the partial integrity mode defined by the second security variant provides data protection for frames of image data transmitted over the first data communication link.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the second data protection configuration provides a full integrity mode of data protection for the frames of image data transmitted over the first data communication link.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the second data protection configuration causes the frames of image data to be encrypted before transmission over the first data communication link.

14 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the partial integrity mode of data protection protects a first portion of the frames of image data transmitted over the first data communication link using a message authentication code (MAC), and wherein a second portion of the frames of image data transmitted over the first data communication link are not protected by a MAC.

15 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising:
defining a stride pattern that specifies lines of image data in the first portion of the frames of image data that are to be protected by the MAC.

16 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising:
defining a stride pattern that specifies blocks of pixels in the first portion of the frames of image data that are to be protected by the MAC.

17 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
determining the second data protection configuration based on computational capacity of a sensor management system, a power consumption budget or a thermal budget defined for the sensor management system, or to accommodate a change in operational mode of the vehicle.

18 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
determining that the change is required in the first data protection configuration after detecting an increase in temperature or power consumption or after detecting a high-value camera scene or scene fragment in the first image data.

19 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
using an artificial intelligence agent to determine that the change is required in the first data protection configuration.

20 . The method of claim 19 , further comprising:
training the artificial intelligence agent using measurements of power or heat obtained for a plurality of operating conditions; retraining the artificial intelligence agent using real-time system feedback; and determining the change that is required in the first data protection configuration based on inferences or predictions received from the artificial intelligence agent.

21 . A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising code that, when executed by a processing circuit, causes the processing circuit

Assignees

• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Wietfeldt Richard Dominic
• Hawkes Philip Michael
• Whyte William
• Petit Jonathan

Classifications

• H04W4/38

  for collecting sensor information · CPC title

• G01S15/931

  of land vehicles · CPC title

• G01S17/931

  of land vehicles · CPC title

• G01S13/931

  of land vehicles · CPC title

• G01S7/003

  Transmission of data between radar, sonar or lidar systems and remote stations · CPC title