Patent ID: 11968305
Assignee: SONY GROUP CORPORATION
Field: Digital communication (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  G | IPC H

Claim 0:
1. A method comprising:
calculating a challenge and an answer that is a function of the challenge,
wherein the challenge is a nonce and the function is non-reversible;
generating and storing in a blockchain, a commitment including an identity of a user, an identity of the device, a pre-specified location associated with the user, a start time of usage of the device, an end time of usage of the device, and the calculated challenge,
wherein the commitment is generated to verify that the user is committed to using the device as specified;
generating a visual code of the device to carry the answer;
encrypting the generated visual code with a public key of the device, wherein the encrypted visual code may only be decrypted with a private key of the device;
storing the encrypted visual code in the blockchain;
transferring the encrypted visual code to the device;
decrypting, by the device, the encrypted visual code using the private key of the device;
displaying an image of the visual code on a display of the device;
capturing the image of the visual code using a camera device;
extracting, by the camera device, the visual code that carries the answer corresponding to the challenge;
generating, by the camera device, a message including the commitment with a location of the camera device, the identity of the device obtained from the extracted visual code, and a current time;
transmitting, by the camera device, the message; and
verifying, using the message including the commitment, that the user is using the device at the pre-specified location between the start time and the end time.