Acoustic Tamper Detection

About

Time-Reversal Acoustic (TRA) uses propagation of time-reversed acoustic waves that interact with the structural features of an asset within its environment to indicate a tamper event. Sandia researchers performed numerical modeling to demonstrate the viability of time-reversal acoustics as a means of tamper detection. They successfully developed a prototype using a multi-transducer system that detected subtle component modifications on printed circuit boards in air. In addition to using TRA to detect tampering events at the room-level in air, the researchers also demonstrated tamper indication for containers stored underwater and in much harsher conditions, such as high radiation. The TRA prototype can detect tampering events and the location of the event. The cryptographic strength of this prototype has been measured to be 3300 bits per meter; TRA scales with wavelength relative to the size of the environment. There are no other TRA devices on the market to date using this technology. Most tamper detection technologies are based on optical measurements, using videos and data processing to track changes. Those systems scale with the number of cameras and their lifetime in their environment, thus adding up to be more expensive with scale and time. Comparatively, TRA is ten times (10x) less expensive, and it can be sustainable in harsh environments as well. This transformational technology possesses a great potential to become the market leader in tamper detection for safeguarding high value assets such as enclosures, materials, and storage containers.