IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,596,817
Granted Patent B2
US 12,596,817 · App. 18/533,592 · Granted Apr 7, 2026

Secure remote controls package for semi-autonomous systems

Inventors: Daniel Watson (College Station, TX); Pavel Tsvetkov (College Station, TX)
Assignee: The Texas A&M University System
G06F21/602G06F21/606G06F21/72
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,596,817
App. No.
18/533,592
Granted
Apr 7, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A secure system for sending and receiving remote signals that control semiautonomous critical systems and infrastructure. The secure system includes a plurality of independent operator stations to provide command signals to the remote critical systems and infrastructure by means of wired and/or wireless communications. Decoupling of the secure system from raw signals is performed by a data broker that serves to check for time-dependent and signal-dependent corroboration between the raw signals and then provide limited-scope instructions to the secure system controller. Further security is afforded to the secure system through encryption of the incoming command signals, convoluting the encrypted command signals within data structures, and padding with erroneous information with the implementation of a synthesized command signal that renders successfully decrypted and deconvoluted command signals neither readable by humans or machines. The final method of data security is appropriated through the synthesis of transmitter/receiver unique “languages” that serve to translate decrypted and unconvoluted signals into their final human/machine readable instructions.

Claims (84)

1 . A secure system for sending and receiving command signals that control semiautonomous critical systems and infrastructure, the system comprising:

a plurality of operator stations wherein each operator station is configured to encrypt and transmit a command signal by

translating the command signal from a first format to a second format,

translating a timestamp from a first format to a second format,

embedding the translated timestamp into the translated command signal,

encrypting, with a first cryptographic algorithm, the embedded command signal into a first binary sequence,

convoluting the first binary sequence within an image file,

encrypting, with a second cryptographic algorithm, the image file into a second binary sequence, and

sending the second binary sequence over a communication link;

a plurality of field receivers wherein each field receiver configured to receive and decrypt the command signal by

receiving a signal containing the command signal over the communication link, wherein the communication link is established by the operator station and the field receiver,

decrypting, with the second cryptographic algorithm, the received signal,

deconvoluting the decrypted signal from an image file to retrieve an embedded data including the command signal,

decrypting, with the first cryptographic algorithm, the embedded data, and

recovering the command signal and timestamp from the decrypted embedded data; and

a data broker configured to

connect with the plurality of field receivers with a supervised circuit, wherein the supervised circuit comprises a plurality of resistors associated with the plurality of field receivers, a plurality of bus gates associated with the plurality of resistors, and a plurality of redundant communication buses associated with the plurality of bus gates,

receive a plurality of recovered command signals from the plurality of field receivers, and

process the plurality of recovered command signals by using a majority rule.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein

encrypting and decrypting with the first cryptographic algorithm is optional;

encrypting and decrypting with the second cryptographic algorithm is optional; and

the first cryptographic algorithm and the second cryptographic algorithm are selected from at least one of the cryptographic algorithms used in secret key cryptography, public key cryptography, quantum cryptography, and hash function.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first format is a human-readable format and the second format is a human-unreadable format with no observable and translatable relationship to the command signal.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each operator station is further configured to

pad erroneous data that includes human-readable subterfuges in at least one of the command signal, the translated command signal, the embedded command signal, the first binary sequence; the image file, and the second binary sequence; and

store the command signal across one or more locations within the image file wherein the one or more locations are changed in each convolution.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each operator station is further configured to

embed one or more tokens

within the command signal; and

across one or more locations within the image file.

6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein each field receiver is further configured to

close its onboard switch to introduce a measurable resistance in the supervised circuit upon the receipt of the one or more tokens within the command signal; and

connect, via the plurality of bus gates, to the plurality of redundant communication buses for command propagation.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein sending the second binary sequence over a communication link further comprises:

converting the binary sequence to an analog signal; and

sending the analog signal over the communication link.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein receiving a signal containing the command signal over the communication link further comprises:

receiving an analog signal over the communication link; and

converting the analog signal to a digital signal.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of resistors has a unique value.

10 . A method of securely sending command signals, the method comprising:

translating, by an operator station, a command signal from a first format to a second format;

translating, by the operator station, a timestamp from a first format to a second format;

embedding, by the operator station, the timestamp into the translated command signal;

encrypting, by the operator station, the embedded command signal into a first binary sequence with a first cryptographic algorithm;

convoluting, by the operator station, the first binary sequence within an image file;

encrypting, by the operator station, the image file into a second binary sequence with a second cryptographic algorithm; and

sending, by the operator station, the second binary sequence over a communication link, wherein the communication link is established by the operator station and a field receiver.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the first format is a human-readable format and the second format is a human-unreadable format with no observable and translatable relationship to the command signal.

12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein

encrypting the embedded command signal into the first binary sequence with the first cryptographic algorithm is optional;

encrypting the image file into the second binary sequence with a second cryptographic algorithm is optional; and

the first cryptographic algorithm and the second cryptographic algorithm are selected from at least one of the cryptographic algorithms used in secret key cryptography, public key cryptography, quantum cryptography, and hash function.

13 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

padding erroneous data that includes human-readable subterfuges in at least one of the command signal, the translated command signal, the embedded command signal, the first binary sequence; the image file, and the second binary sequence; and

store the command signal across one or more locations within the image file where the one or more locations are changed in each convolution.

14 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising embedding one or more tokens

within the command signal; and

across one or more locations within the image file.

15 . The method of claim 10 , wherein sending, by the operator station, the second binary sequency further comprising:

converting the second binary sequence to an analog signal; and

sending the analog signal over the communication link.

16 . A method of receiving and decrypting command signals, the method comprising:

receiving, by a field receiver, a signal containing a command signal over a communication link, wherein the communication link is established by an operator station and the field receiver;

decrypting, by the field receiver, the received signal with a first cryptographic algorithm;

deconvoluting, by the field receiver, the decrypted signal from an image file to retrieve an embedded data including the command signal;

decrypting, by the field receiver, the embedded data with a second cryptographic algorithm wherein the decrypted embedded data is in human-unreadable format; and

recovering, by the field receiver, the command signal and timestamp in human-readable format from the decrypted embedded data.

17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

connecting a plurality of field receivers to a data broker with a supervised circuit, wherein the supervised circuit comprises a plurality of resistors associated with the plurality of field receivers, a plurality of bus gates associated with the plurality of resistors, and a plurality of redundant communication buses associated with the plurality of bus gates;

receiving, at the data broker, a plurality of recovered command signals from the plurality of field receivers; and

processing, at the data broker, the plurality of recovered command signals by using a majority rule.

18 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

recovering, at each field receiver, one or more tokens embedded within the command signal and the image file;

closing each field receiver's onboard switch to introduce a measured resistance in the supervised circuit upon confirmation of the legitimacy of the one or more tokens; and

connecting, via the plurality of bus gates, to the plurality of redundant communication buses for command propagation.

19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein each of the plurality of resistors has a unique value.

20 . The method of claim 16 , wherein

decrypting the received signal with the first cryptographic algorithm is optional;

decrypting the embedded data with the second cryptographic algorithm is optional;

the first cryptographic algorithm used in the field receiver is the same as the second cryptographic algorithm used in the operator station;

the second cryptographic algorithm used in the field receiver is the same as the first cryptographic algorithm used in the operator station; and

the first cryptographic algorithm and the second cryptographic algorithm are selected from at least one of the cryptographic algorithms used in secret key cryptography, public key cryptography, quantum cryptography, and hash function.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 15, 2023
From: WATSON, DANIEL; TSVETKOV, PAVEL
To: THE TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
Reel/Frame 065883/0059 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20250190590A1 · Jun 12, 2025
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