NeTS: Small: Collaborative Research: Realizing Visual and Acoustic Near Field Communication Systems for Smartphones: Performance Optimization and Security Assurance

近场通信（NFC）是一种新兴的无线技术，有望彻底改变一系列移动的应用。然而，NFC的广泛使用受到以下事实的阻碍，即只有有限数量的平台具有内置NFC支持。此外，虽然NFC的短通信范围提供了一定程度的物理保护，但最近的研究结果揭示了NFC对恶意窃听的脆弱性。该项目开发了安全且与传统移动的设备和现有基础设施（例如，POS终端）。这种方法的关键新奇在于利用可见光和声学通道来实现具有强大性能和安全保证的NFC系统。由于窄光束的高方向性，可见光可以实现安全和无干扰的无线链路。类似地，可以调制声学信号以用于紧密接近的NFC通信。与现有的NFC技术相比，这种方法具有几个关键优势。视觉和声学通信通道都可以使用LCD显示器、麦克风和扬声器等流行组件来实现，这导致了纯粹基于软件的解决方案，可以轻松地用NFC功能改造现有基础设施。第二，与RF信道相比，屏幕-摄像头链路的方向和距离是可控的，从而保护了通信隐私和安全。同样，结合物理自干扰技术，声学链路可以实现信息理论安全，而无需预先共享秘密。在该项目中，采用一种新形式的可见光通信（VLC）来实现NFC，其中2D条形码在LCD显示器和摄像头之间传输。一种新的条码设计和几种技术被用来优化屏幕摄像头链路的吞吐量，其中包括代码块自适应和重新排序，以减轻图像模糊的影响，在移动的环境中，和轻量级的图像处理算法，实时解码的条码流。基于几何分析对基于条形码的通信进行了系统的安全性研究，并为智能手机开发了一种新的基于声学的NFC系统，而无需先验知识的安全秘密。新兴的友好干扰技术用于建立NFC的信息理论上安全的通信信道。本项目还将探索先进的编码技术、高级调制方案和其他物理层技术，以进一步提高数据传输速率并确保保密性。本项目是一项多学科的研究工作，融合了视觉/声学通信、自适应自干扰、图像处理和密码学等新技术。这些结果对一系列移动的应用产生了影响，例如支付、访问控制和智能设备配对。PI将把研究成果整合到几门课程中，并利用该项目的有趣性质来接触大学预科学生。

Near-Field Communication (NFC) is an emerging wireless technology that expects to revolutionize a range of mobile applications. However, the widespread use of NFC is hindered by the fact that only a limited number of platforms have built-in NFC support. Moreover, while NFC's short communication range offers some degree of physical protection, recent findings have revealed NFC's vulnerability to malicious eavesdropping. This project develops alternative NFC technologies that are secure and compatible with legacy mobile devices and existing infrastructure (e.g., POS terminals). The key novelty of this approach is to leverage visible light and acoustic channels to realize NFC systems with robust performance and security assurance. Due to the high directionality of narrow light beams, visible light can enable secure and interference-free wireless links. Similarly, acoustic signal can be modulated for NFC communication in close proximity. This approach offers several key advantages over the existing NFC technology. Both visual and acoustic communication channels can be implemented using prevalent components such as LCD displays, microphones, and speakers, which lead to purely software-based solutions that can easily retrofit existing infrastructure with NFC functionality. Second, in contrast to RF channels, the direction and distance of screen-camera link are controllable, preserving the communication privacy and security. Similarly, integrated with physical self-jamming techniques, the acoustic link can achieve information-theoretic security without the need for pre-shared secrets.In this project, a new form of Visible Light Communication (VLC) is employed to implement NFC, where 2D barcodes are streamed between LCD display and camera. A new barcode design and several techniques are used to optimize the throughput of screen-camera link, which include code block adaptation and re-ordering to mitigate the impact of image blur in mobile environments, and lightweight image processing algorithms for real-time decoding of barcode stream. A systematic security study is conducted on barcode-based communication based on geometric analysis and a new acoustics-based NFC system is developed for smartphones without the need of a priori knowledge of security secrets. The emerging friendly jamming techniques are utilized for establishing an information-theoretically secure communication channel for NFC. This project also explores advanced coding techniques, high-level modulation schemes and other physical layer techniques for further improving the data transmission rates and ensuring confidentiality guarantee.This project is a multi-disciplinary research effort that integrates novel technologies from visual/acoustic communication, adaptive self-jamming, image processing, and cryptography. The results have impacts on a range of mobile applications such as payment, access control, and smart device paring. The PIs will integrate research results into several courses, and leverage the intriguing nature of the project for reaching out to pre-college students.