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，有望给一系列移动应用带来革命性的变化。然而，只有有限数量的平台具有内置的NFC支持，这一事实阻碍了NFC的广泛使用。此外，虽然NFC的短通信范围提供了一定程度的物理保护，但最近的发现揭示了NFC对恶意窃听的脆弱性。该项目开发安全且与传统移动设备和现有基础设施(例如，POS终端)兼容的替代NFC技术。这种方法的主要创新之处在于利用可见光和声学通道来实现具有稳健性能和安全保证的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，可以为近距离的NFC通信调制声信号。与现有的NFC技术相比，这种方法具有几个关键优势。视觉和声音通信渠道都可以使用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，可以轻松地使用NFC功能改造现有基础设施。第二，与射频通道相比，屏幕-摄像头链接的方向和距离是可控的，保护了通信的隐私和安全。同样，与物理自干扰技术相结合，声学链路可以在不需要预先共享秘密的情况下实现信息论安全。在该项目中，采用了一种新的形式的可见光通信(VLC)来实现NFC，其中2D条形码在LCD显示器和摄像头之间传输。采用了一种新的条形码设计和多种技术来优化屏幕-摄像机链路的吞吐量，其中包括用于缓解移动环境中图像模糊的码块自适应和重新排序，以及用于实时解码条形码流的轻量级图像处理算法。对基于几何分析的条形码通信进行了系统的安全性研究，提出了一种新的基于声学的智能手机NFC系统，该系统不需要事先知道安全秘密。利用新兴的友好干扰技术为NFC建立了一种信息论安全的通信信道。该项目还探索了先进的编码技术、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和确保机密性。该项目是一项综合了视/声通信、自适应自干扰、图像处理和密码学等新技术的多学科研究成果。结果对支付、访问控制和智能设备配对等一系列移动应用程序产生了影响。PIS将把研究成果整合到几门课程中，并利用该项目的耐人寻味的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.