FR2945257A1 - Utilization session e.g. reservation session, opening method for vehicle i.e. taxicab, involves verifying whether verification data and authentication data are identical, and opening utilization session based on verification result - Google Patents

Abstract

The method involves transmitting cryptographic authentication data from a short range communication interface of an electronic authentication entity e.g. station (2100) such as microcomputer, towards a short range communication interface of an electronic verification entity e.g. portable telephone of client. Verification is made by the verification entity to determine whether the verification data and the authentication data are identical. Utilization session of a vehicle (2000) is opened based on the verification result. An independent claim is also included for a system for opening a utilization session of a vehicle.

Description

The invention relates to a method of opening a session of use of a transport vehicle, as well as to an associated system. The use may for example be a rental or a sharing. The problem addressed by the present invention is securing the use (rental, sharing or other): if an applicant has ordered or booked a vehicle including any place, such as his home, his workplace or any address in a building or outdoors during a trip, it is desirable that during its access to the vehicle, an automated and rapid verification of the identity of the applicant is carried out.

Document US Pat. No. 7,366,677 discloses a car rental system involving the use of digital keys. Document US 2003/0177020 also discloses a taxi sharing method based on the communication of personal information relating to users.

None of these documents offers a solution to the problem defined above. The invention aims to solve this problem. For this purpose, it proposes a method of opening a usage session (for example a rental or a sharing) of a vehicle comprising steps of transmitting a cryptographic authentication data item from a communication interface to short range associated with an electronic authentication entity to a short-range communication interface associated with an electronic verification entity, - verification by the electronic verification entity of the existence of a match between a verification data item and the authentication data, - opening the session of use according to the result of the verification. This method makes it possible to open a user session in an automated and rapid manner by using short-range communication interfaces and in a secure manner by using matched verification information with cryptographic authentication information. . According to an advantageous characteristic, the method comprises a preliminary step of transmission from the short-range communication interface associated with the verification electronic entity to the short-range communication interface associated with the electronic authentication entity of a digit generated randomly by the verification entity and constituting the verification data, the cryptographic authentication data being the result of the application of a key to said random digit by the authentication entity. A defi-response process is thus implemented, which has the advantage of being secure and easy to implement. According to another advantageous characteristic, the verification of the existence of a pairing between the verification data and the authentication data is performed by the verification entity by applying said key to the verification data item.

Advantageously, the key is a session key that has been previously generated with a temporary validity for said session and previously provided in a secure manner to the two electronic entities by a remote central server. The use of such a session key allows a simple and secure management of the opening of sessions. Alternatively, the key being a private asymmetric cryptography key, the verification of the existence of a pairing between the verification data and the authentication data is performed by the verification entity by applying the public key associated with said key private to the authentication data, the pair of asymmetric keys having for example been previously generated by the authentication electronic entity (3000), or assigned to it during its personalization.

According to one embodiment, the verification entity is a station associated with the vehicle, and the authentication entity is a mobile phone associated with a client. This allows the driver of the vehicle - or an electronic system embedded in the vehicle - to check that the person who is riding in the vehicle is the expected person. In another embodiment, the authentication entity is a station associated with the vehicle, and the verification entity is a mobile phone associated with a customer. This allows the person who previously ordered the vehicle to verify that it is the expected vehicle.

For example, the vehicle is a taxi. It may be a taxi to be shared between at least a first and a second customer, the departure address of the first customer being different from the departure address of the second customer. In addition, the invention addresses the problem of improving the management of vehicles used in a fleet of vehicles, for example in the context of a co-use program for motor vehicles, for example co-use of taxis. a fleet of taxis or co-use of vehicles from a fleet of self-service vehicles. In such a program, the reliability of fleet fleet availability and location information is required to properly manage program resources (vehicle availability for customers, fuel consumption, waiting times, and travel times). If users give information about the use they want to make of vehicles and then change their minds, it results in a cost to the user community (fuel consumption, waiting times), and lower availability cars. That is why the invention also relates to a method comprising a preliminary step of transmitting to a remote server a route provided for the vehicle, to at least one destination address provided for the vehicle, the sender of said route being authenticated by personal information provided by a personalized microcircuit card associated with the vehicle or the driver of the vehicle, in the case of a chauffeur-driven vehicle, such as a taxi. This aspect of the invention is independent, but may be advantageously combined with the aspects of the invention previously presented. It encourages the user of the vehicle to respect the itinerary announced since his identity has been authenticated, and his responsibility would be incurred in case of non-compliance with the itinerary, which would penalize other users of the vehicle fleet who should wait too long to get a vehicle. Preferably, the method further comprises a preliminary step of transmitting to a remote server a starting address and an arrival address associated with the customer wishing to rent a vehicle, the sender of said addresses being authenticated by personal information provided. by a personalized microcircuit card associated with the pedestrian client. This aspect of the invention is also independent, but may be advantageously combined with the aspects of the invention previously presented. It encourages the customer ordering the vehicle to actually wait for it because his identity has been authenticated, and his responsibility would be engaged in case of change of opinion, which would penalize other users of the vehicle fleet by immobilizing or hijacking a vehicle for no reason. According to another aspect of the invention, it proposes a system for opening a usage session (for example a rental or a sharing) of a vehicle comprising means for transmitting a data item. authentication from a short-range communication interface associated with an authentication electronic entity to a short-range communication interface associated with an electronic verification entity, 25 - verification by the electronic verification entity of the existence of a pairing between a verification datum and the authentication datum, - opening of the usage session according to the result of the verification. The system moreover advantageously comprises means for carrying out the process steps presented above in connection with the method which is the subject of the invention.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of opening a session of use (for example a rental or sharing) of a vehicle by a customer equipped with an electronic device, characterized by the following steps: - exchange of data via a mobile telephone network so that an electronic entity of the vehicle and the electronic device of the client respectively store a first data and a second paired data; - Exchange of at least one data between the electronic entity of the vehicle and the electronic device of the customer via a short-range communication interface; checking on the basis of said at least one datum of the pairing between the first datum stored in the electronic entity of the vehicle and the second datum stored in the electronic device of the client; - opening the session of use in case of positive verification. It is specified that the characteristics of this aspect of the invention can be combined with the advantageous characteristics presented in connection with the definition of the preceding method.

It is also proposed a system for opening a use session (for example a rental or sharing) of a vehicle by a customer equipped with an electronic device, comprising means for: - exchanging data via a a mobile telephone network such that an electronic entity of the vehicle and the electronic device of the customer respectively store a first datum and a second paired datum; exchanging at least one piece of data between the electronic entity of the vehicle and the electronic device of the customer via a short-range communication interface; - Check on the basis of said at least one data of the pairing between the first data stored in the electronic entity of the vehicle and the second data stored in the electronic device of the customer; - open the session of use in case of positive verification. The features of this aspect of the invention can be combined with the advantageous features presented in connection with the previously presented system definition.

The invention will now be described in connection with the following figures. Figure 1 shows a verification entity according to one embodiment of the invention, as well as the associated central server. Figure 2 shows an authentication entity according to an embodiment similar to the previous one. According to one embodiment, a vehicle comprises on board a station 2100 comprising a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) 2130 microcircuit card. The vehicle can be part of a fleet of vehicles, for example a taxi fleet or a fleet pay-for-use vehicles, or a fleet of passenger cars participating in a vehicle co-use program (car pooling, for example). Each vehicle in the fleet has been equipped previously with a personalized SIM card. The station 2100 can be a fixed device such as a microcomputer permanently installed in the vehicle, or a portable device such as a telephone or personal assistant (PDA for Personal Digital Assistant), which the driver of the vehicle brings with him when he gets into the vehicle. The device can be dedicated specifically to the application, or be multifunctional. For the vehicles concerned, the conditions of use have been defined based on the opening of user sessions, for example when the vehicle is removed from its parking space, a new customer comes on board, or when a new customer route is decided, for example because an order has been received and recorded from a remote customer to be picked up at his or her starting address, the vehicle being initially unoccupied, or a first customer already present in the vehicle, as part of a sharing or co-location.

At the beginning of a session of use the driver of the vehicle or his passenger enters on the Human-Machine Interface of station 2100 the arrival point of the planned race, and possibly, if necessary, the starting point of it. This information is referred to as basic route information. This basic route information is transmitted to the microcircuit card 2130. The microcircuit card 2130 sends the basic route information to a GPS device 2110 (Global Positioning System) comprising a route calculator. This GPS 2110 device may be inside station 2100 or outside of station 2100 in the vehicle. The GPS 2110 always knows the current location of the vehicle. The GPS 2110 device calculates and displays a detailed route, based on the start and finish points of the race, or the current location of the vehicle and the finish point of the race, or generally the information of the race. basic route and current location. This is furthermore done from the information stored in memory by the device 2110, and possibly updated information obtained by the information networks (traffic report on the road network, for example). The driver (or passenger) validates this detailed itinerary, if it suits him. If the route is not suitable for the driver, it indicates it to the device 2110, which calculates another route, and displays it for validation by the driver. The destination entry and route validation operation may be repeated several times, if the user wants a route through several successive addresses. The GPS device optionally manages the order in which the vehicle must pass through the addresses. This completed information defining the validated route is grouped in the form of a message, which is signed by the microcircuit card 2130.

To perform this signature, the card 2130 produces a condensate of the message using a hash function F, then applies the private key kch of the driver, stored in memory of the card 2130.

The message and the condensate in its encrypted form are sent to the central server of the taxi company 1000, which is located in a remote fixed room, via the mobile telephone network 4000. In one embodiment, the message includes only the destination address, preferably, but not necessarily other information defining the route of the vehicle. Optionally, the public key of the driver Kch is also transmitted to the central server. Alternatively, the central server may already have this public key.

The server 1000 applies the driver's public key Kch to the encrypted condensate and applies the hash function F to the message. He compares the two results, and if they are identical, he concludes that the message was sent by the driver. Thus, the route is signed which allows to certify the commitment of the driver to follow the route. This applies regardless of the type of use of the vehicle, for example the rental of a taxi, or the sharing of a vehicle in co-leasing or carpooling. The server stores the destination address in a route database I, preferably with other information defining the route of the vehicle.

In an advantageous embodiment, this other information may be the current position of the vehicle, updated regularly. To obtain this update, the GPS 2110 obtains the current position, transmits it to the microcircuit card 2130 which sends it to the central server 1000, possibly in a secure manner. The update can be done periodically, or according to a predefined update rule. Alternatively, the other information defining the route of the vehicle is its starting address, for example transmitted during the last logon. If the planned route is a complex route through several addresses, the route base can advantageously store several destination addresses with the order in which it is expected that the vehicle reaches them.

Moreover, a potential customer sends with his mobile phone 3000 a transport request with a starting address Ad and an arrival address Av. The customer also indicates his willingness to share the transport (Boolean information noted Val) or, according to a more complex embodiment, it indicates the reduction rate Tx from which it wishes to participate in a transport sharing program. This information is entered with the HMI interface of the pedestrian 3000 mobile phone.

The information defining the customer's request (Ad, Av, Val, Tx) is grouped in the form of a message, which is signed by the microcircuit card 3100 of the telephone 3000. It is specified that each mobile phone is provided with a message. SIM card with personalized microcircuit specific to the phone holder.

To perform this signature, the card 3100 produces a condensate of the message using a hash function G, then applies the private key kci of the client, kept in memory of the card 3000. The message and the condensate in its form The encrypted code is sent to the central server of the taxi company 1000 via the mobile telephone network 4000. Optionally, the public key of the client Kci is also transmitted to the central server. Alternatively, the central server may already have this public key. The server 1000 applies the public key of the client Kci to the encrypted condensate and applies the hash function G to the message. He compares the two results, and if they are identical, he concludes that the message was sent by the client. Thus, the route is signed which makes it possible to certify the will of the pedestrian user to use the vehicle, whether the use is a sharing, co-rental or carpooling, or a rental of a vehicle rent. The server searches in the route database I that best corresponds to the customer's request, among the routes followed at this time by the various taxis of the fleet.

The server 1000 informs the corresponding driver (who is identified by his telephone number or his Internet address) by sending a message to the station 2100 of the driver via the mobile phone network 4000.

A sharing management application 2120 executed by the station 2100 sends a request to the GPS and route calculator 2110. It calculates a modified route on the basis of the route followed by the taxi and on the basis of the information Ad and Av, for example that the new route passes through the places Ad and Av before the end of the race, or in an extension of the race, after this one. Station 2100 then displays this modified route. If the change of itinerary is accepted by the driver and the customer present in the car, the driver accepts the new sharing customer via the Human Machine Interface of the 2100 station. If the modified itinerary is suitable for the driver, this one valid also the new route. In a simplified embodiment, validation of the new route can be combined with acceptance of the new customer. The station 2100 then sends an IAc acceptance information to the central server 1000.

The central server 1000 generates a session key Cs. This key is a temporary key specific to the session of use (rental or sharing, for example). The server 1000 then encrypts this key Cs with the public key of the driver Kch (which he has as explained above, either in advance, or because the driver has communicated to him at the beginning of the process) and sends it to the station 2100 taxi in this first encrypted form. The central server 1000 also encrypts this session key Cs with the public key of the client Kci (which it has, either in advance, or because the client communicated to it at the beginning of the process, as explained above) and the sends to the phone 3000 in this second encrypted form. The central server 1000 also sends the IAc acceptance information to the phone 3000.

The 2130 circuit microcircuit card 2100 of the taxi decrypts the session key Cs with the private key of the driver kch present in his memory. The microcircuit card 3100 decrypts Cs with the private key of the client kci present in its memory.

When the new customer gets into the taxi, he approaches his mobile phone 3000 from station 2100. The mobile phone 3000 contains an NFC interface (Near Field Communication), and enters into local communication with the station 2100, which also includes an NFC 2140 interface. The two NFC interfaces each include an antenna. For example, the 2140 and 3200 short-range interfaces are compliant with ISO14443 or Mifare. The transmission range is preferably less than 20 cm.

The phone 3000 then communicates with the station 2100 in order to identify itself. The transmission is carried out using the short-range interface 3200 and the short-range interface 2140. Its purpose is to verify that the person who rides in the taxi is the customer having made the order, that is that is to say the customer having previously issued a taxi order request, or more precisely here a taxi sharing request. The station 2100 here plays the role of verification entity, and the authentication entity phone 3000. The verification is carried out by a challenge-response protocol. The microcircuit card 2130 of the taxi generates a random digit A, which serves as verification data, and sends it to the microcircuit card 3100 of the client, via the short-range interfaces. The microcircuit card 3100 of the client encrypts the random digit A with the session key Cs. The result of this encryption step is called authentication data. The telephone 3000 sends this authentication data to the 2130 microcircuit card 2100 station via the short-range interfaces. The microcircuit card 2130 has also encrypted the random digit (that is, the verification data) with the session key Cs.

The microcircuit card then compares the result thus obtained with the authentication data received by the short-range interface, and if these values are identical, the station 2100 indicates to the driver that the pedestrian is the intended customer. This can be done by a light signal, a sound signal, or any other means of communication. A different signal is possibly provided in case of negative result. Indeed, only the pedestrian having previously made the order request of the taxi has the session key Cs. A new billing calculation of the race (or use) is then started by sharing the costs between the customer who was present in the taxi and the new customer. Other cryptographic authentication protocols known to those skilled in the art may be used in place of the challenge-response method. Alternatively, the session key Cs is replaced by a cryptographic certificate, or other equivalent means. It can be a couple of keys of asymmetric cryptography, in particular. In an alternative embodiment, the pedestrian's mobile phone has a verification function, which allows the customer to verify that he is riding in the taxi he has ordered. It is then the telephone 3000 that performs the checks and authenticates the vehicle station 2100, by a method similar to that described above. Both functions can also be combined. In this case, the taxi station checks that the pedestrian is the expected customer, and the customer verifies that the taxi is the one he ordered. In order to do this, each can engage, for example, a challenge-response operation vis-à-vis the other, simultaneously or successively. The invention also applies to a taxi control without sharing for which it implements a method similar to that described in the embodiment (the taxi can be stopped without a customer).

According to another application of the invention, a fleet of self-service vehicles is provided with 2100 stations in each vehicle. Subscriber users are provided with 3000 phones, and share the vehicles indicating their route wishes. The invention also applies to obtaining a self-service car or two-wheel vehicle, self-service automobile type or self-service bicycle. The verification of the identity of the customer, who has previously booked the vehicle with a central server, authorizes access to the vehicle.

Claims (14)

REVENDICATIONS1. A method of opening a vehicle usage session (2000) comprising steps of - transmitting cryptographic authentication data from a short-range communication interface associated with an authentication electronic entity (3000 2100) to a short-range communication interface associated with an electronic verification entity (2100; 3000); - verification by the electronic verification entity (2100; 3000) of the existence of a match between a data item of verification and the authentication data, - opening of the session according to the result of the verification. 2. Method according to claim 1 characterized in that the method comprises a prior step of transmission from the short-range communication interface associated with the electronic verification entity (2100; 3000) to the short-range communication interface. associated with the electronic authentication entity (3000; 2100) a digit generated randomly by the verification entity (2100; 3000) and constituting the verification data, the cryptographic authentication data being the result of the applying a key (Cs) to said random digit by the authentication entity. 3. Method according to claim 2 characterized in that the verification of the existence of a pairing between the verification data and the cryptographic authentication data is performed by the verification entity (2100; 3000) by applying said key (Cs) to the verification data. 4. Method according to claim 2 or claim 3, characterized in that said key (Cs) is a session key which has been previously generated with a temporary validity for said session and provided securely to the two electronic entities (2100, 3000 ) by a remote central server (1000). 5. Method according to one of claims 1 to 4 characterized in that the verification entity (2100) is a station associated with the vehicle, and the authentication entity (3000) is a mobile phone associated with a customer. . 6. Method according to one of claims 1 to 4 characterized in that the authentication entity (2100) is a station associated with the vehicle, and the verification entity (3000) is a mobile phone associated with a customer. . 7. Method according to one of claims 1 to 6 characterized in that the vehicle forming part of a fleet of vehicles, the method further comprises a preliminary step of transmitting to a remote server at least one destination address provided for the vehicle, the sender of the at least one destination address being authenticated by personal information provided by a personalized microcircuit card associated with the vehicle. 8. Method according to one of claims 1 to 7 characterized in that, the vehicle forming part of a fleet of vehicles, the method further comprises a preliminary step of transmitting to a remote server a starting address and an address of arrival associated with a customer wishing to use the vehicle, the sender of said addresses being authenticated by personal information provided by a personalized microcircuit card associated with said customer. 9. Method according to one of claims 1 to 8 characterized in that the use is a lease. 30 10. Method according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the vehicle is a taxi. 11. Method according to one of claims 1 to 10 characterized in that the use is a sharing between at least a first and a second user, the starting address of the first user is different from the starting address of the second. user. 12. System for opening a session for using a vehicle (2000) comprising means for transmitting authentication data from a short-range communication interface associated with an electronic authentication entity (3000; 2100) to a short-range communication interface associated with an electronic verification entity (2100; 3000); - verification by the verification electronic entity (2100; 3000) of the existence of a match between a verification data and authentication data, - opening of the session according to the result of the verification. 13. A method of opening a session of use of a vehicle (2000) by a customer equipped with an electronic device (3000), characterized by the following steps: - exchange of data via a mobile telephone network ( 4000) such that an electronic entity (2100) of the vehicle and the electronic device (3000) of the client respectively store first data and second paired data; exchanging at least one piece of data between the electronic entity (2100) of the vehicle and the electronic device (3000) of the client via a short-range communication interface (2140, 3200); checking on the basis of said at least one datum of the pairing between the first datum stored in the electronic entity of the vehicle and the second datum stored in the electronic device of the client; - opening the session of use in case of positive verification. 14. System for opening a session of use of a vehicle (2000) by a customer equipped with an electronic device (3000), comprising means for: exchanging data via a mobile telephone network (4000) ) so that an electronic entity (2100) of the vehicle and the electronic device (3000) of the client respectively store a first data and a second paired data; - Exchange at least one data between the electronic entity (2100) of the vehicle and the electronic device (3000) of the customer via a short-range communication interface (2140, 3200); - Check on the basis of said at least one data of the pairing between the first data stored in the electronic entity of the vehicle and the second data stored in the electronic device of the customer; - open the session of use in case of positive verification.