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The fundamentals of barriers to reverse engineering and their implementation into mechanical components
Abstract
Reverse engineering is a common design strategy in industry. It is a term that has come to encompass a large array of engineering
and design activities in the literature; however, in its basic form, reverse engineering is simply the process of extracting
information about a product from the product itself. Depending on its use, it may or may not be advantageous to utilize a
reverse engineering strategy. As with any rational decision, reverse engineering is only favorable when the benefits from
its use outweigh the investment. Therefore, a general understanding of the principles that increase the difficulty or investment
required to reverse engineer mechanical products would be helpful for everyone affected by reverse engineering activities.
In this paper, we articulate and explore these fundamental principles after reviewing examples from the literature and from
our own experience. We then use the principles as a basis for the development of a methodology to build barriers to reverse
engineering into new products.
KeywordsReverse engineering–Barrier to reverse engineering–Product imitation
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... There are several examples of RE and cloning of systems throughout history. During World War II, an American B-29 bomber was captured, reverse engineered, and copied by the former Soviet Union [Curtis et al. 2011]. The original and the clone (Tupolev Tu-4 bomber) are shown in Figure 1. ...
... An example of RE from World War II: a U.S. Air Force B-29 bomber (a) and a Soviet Union Tupolev Tu-4 bomber, which is a reverse-engineered copy of the B-29 (b)[Curtis et al. 2011]. ...
The reverse engineering (RE) of electronic chips and systems can be used with honest and dishonest intentions. To inhibit RE for those with dishonest intentions (e.g., piracy and counterfeiting), it is important that the community is aware of the state-of-the-art capabilities available to attackers today. In this article, we will be presenting a survey of RE and anti-RE techniques on the chip, board, and system levels. We also highlight the current challenges and limitations of anti-RE and the research needed to overcome them. This survey should be of interest to both governmental and industrial bodies whose critical systems and intellectual property (IP) require protection from foreign enemies and counterfeiters who possess advanced RE capabilities.
... The Photogrammetry technique is applied in the mechanical field: for deformation measurement [10-12], for quality control and inspection [13][14][15], for components reconstruction geometry [16][17][18]. There are some of reasons to use the reverse engineering process [19]: "to compare products, in preparation for imitating a product, to get technical data that do not exist or the original supplier is no longer willing or able to provide, to shorten market entry times, to enhance existing data, to perform product verification, to aid in product design". Common scanning technologies are Laser scanning and Photogrammetry technique, many of published papers including as a subject the comparison between them [20], [21]. ...
The Reverse Engineering is a reliable technique to convert a real geometry of a part into 3D computer file. One reason for scanning a part may be the lack of the drawings to manufacture a new one that will replace the old part. The paper illustrates the Reverse Engineering of a Francis runner geometry with a diameter of 1160 mm and 19 blades, which, after 50 years of operation, has pronounced wear marks, high porosity surfaces and cracked areas. The geometry will be scanned through Photogrammetry technique and processed with the following software packages: Agisoft Photoscan and Geomagic Design X (formerly Rapidform XOR); finally, the solid geometry and the drawing of the runner were generating using the SolidWorks software.
... Expanded based on the theory of reverse engineering product design tend to be some errors in the collection of the sample characteristics, these errors are mainly due to the precision coordinate measuring instrument as well as the mode of operation of the laboratory personnel misconduct [5]. ...
Gives the method of 3D CAD parametric design under the guidance of the theory of reverse engineering. Describes the application of the method development process of complex-shaped surface mold. Analysis of the mold characteristics, coordinate measuring equipment accurate and efficient access to the basic outline of the data, the integration of CAD software to design mold forms, re-use processing module directly form processing code, complete mold processing and validation.
... This is a continuation of articles [20] and [21]. The established relationships can then be used for direct or reverse engineering such as [22]. In order to connect automotive gearboxes as in case study [23], the results for the torque measurements of these structures [24] and [25], as well as torque based vehicle speed control [26], are used. ...
Robust and Axiomatic design, a property-based approach in design, is applied and integrated into a new methodology for developing Functional Requirements (FR) or Design Parameters (DP). The reliability of the design structure and the elementary reliability of the design components are used as a functional requirement of the automotive gearbox, in relation to the service life and operation conditions, and also as a design constraint in analytical relationships. For this purpose, elementary reliability and allowable stress are defined in a specific way. The automotive gearbox, operating under varying and random operation conditions, is used as a case study. The same design structure has to operate under different operation conditions. In these circumstances, the carrying capacity as a functional requirement is related to the operation conditions and operation regime. The model presented in this paper, as well as a computer program, enable identification of this carrying capacity. This paper discusses an interdisciplinary and multi-methodological integrated approach to the presented task. Experimental data regarding the failure probability of gearbox components and the probability of operation conditions processing, the decomposition of gearbox structure, and the elementary reliability treatment as a component of design property are only some of the methods applied.
... It is a term that has come to encompass a large array of engineering and design activities in the literature; however, in its basic form, reverse engineering is simply the process of extracting information about a product from the product itself. It also can be as conventional as competitive benchmarking or as benign as the dissection of a popular product by a curious consumer [1]. Reverse engineering in the physical environment with the goal of producing highly accurate digital models in the virtual environment that can be further used by CAD/CAM/CAE applications. ...
The non-contact 3D surface measurement theory and CAD technology integration, the reverse engineering means can be three-dimensional entity model accurately obtain irregular products. Application of reverse engineering method to establish CAD model and suitable to finite element analysis, the shape and size of surface reconstruction of entity can be guaranteed, through the component structure design and optimization, the realization of rapid prototyping and quality testing of new products. The point cloud data acquisition products surface using 3D laser scanner, the scanner itself, the measurement process vulnerable to the external environment and the surrounding objects of interference noise, therefore, the research take the suitable method of point cloud data denoising. The key research based on the mathematical model of NURBS curve and surface, revealing the control principle of curve and surface, the shape is easier to achieve the best effect, the completion of surface reconstruction and materialization process in CAD software. The final will be imported into the finite element software reverse molding analysis and optimization of the characteristics of the local, through the analysis of cloud drop test, stress generation, to provide a theoretical basis for the optimization design of structure.
... The files were converted into the point cloud format. In reverse engineering, only the physical object is available, as the CAD model does not exist or inaccessible [17]. In the case described here, the CAD model of the reference geometry is only used for analysis and qualitative evaluation of the scan [18,19]. ...
Increase of automation and autonomy of production is the latest trend incorporated into Industry 4.0 objectives. Production autonomy is very desirable in the field of damaged parts replacement. To fulfill this goal numerous reverse engineering systems have been developed that support geometry recognition from the 3D scan data. This study is focused on converting non-parametric geometry representation of shaft-type elements into a CAD model with a rebuilt feature tree. Algorithms are based on the analysis of parallel cross-sections. The proposed system is also capable of identification of additional geometric features typical for 2.5 axes milling such as pockets, islands and outer walls. The proposed algorithms are optimized to increase efficiency of the process. Initial identification parameters are selected with respect to defined criteria, e.g., identification accuracy, computing power and scanning accuracy. Described algorithms can be implemented in reverse engineering systems. © 2021, Editorial Institution of Wrocaw Board of Scientific. All rights reserved.
... La ingeniería a la inversa es una de las técnicas que se pueden utilizar para analizar y observar los atributos físicos de un producto existente, así extrayendo la información de una manera muy precisa [8], esta información recolectada a partir de piezas, modelos o el producto físico posibilita rediseñar un objeto estableciendo oportunidades de mejora, por lo tanto, se pueden crear nuevos diseños y realizar nuevos desarrollos de productos [9]. La Ingeniería Inversa se basa en la utilización de un escáner que captura las dimensiones, forma y aspectos geométricos del producto; ésta información queda digitalizada en un software dónde se puede acceder para examinar el producto y modificar, adaptar o crear nuevos atributos en el objeto [10]. ...
El presente artículo muestra cómo el enfoque sistémico, siendo una herramienta de diseño de productos, puede analizar objetos existentes en cuanto a forma, función y ergonomía, comprendiendo al mismo tiempo los distintos elementos que componen el producto los cuales se convierten en factores integradores del diseño. Convirtiéndolo en una herramienta de posibles mejoras en el producto, dando la oportunidad de un rediseño. El estudio toma en cuenta diversas herramientas que sirven para el rediseño de productos, comparando los métodos con el propuesto. Como unidad de estudio, se tomó un artefacto electrónico -IPod de 7ma generación-, recalcando las características más importantes de éste producto específicamente, relacionándolo con: la geometría exterior e interior, las prestaciones y todas las particularidades de diseño. El principal hallazgo el cual a mencionar es que el enfoque sistémico integra las prácticas de los métodos expuestos, es una metodología completa para el análisis y estudio del artefacto electrónico.
... The reverse engineering technology based on Photogrammetry is used for GIS applications, aerial imagery processing, mining and quarrying, precision agriculture and environmental management, archeology, architecture and cultural heritage documentation and visual effects production [1]. The application references of Photogrammetry in the mechanical field are not so widespread in literature; still we can exemplify the following papers [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]. Photogrammetry is the technique used to extract geometric information from two-dimensional images or videos, by taking multiple overlapping photos and obtaining measurements from them in order to create 3D models of objects or scenes. ...
The paper illustrates the reverse engineering process of a blade, from a Kaplan runner with a diameter of 5400 mm, using the following software packages: Agisoft Photoscan and Geomagic Design X (formerly Rapidform XOR); the next step was to generate the solid geometry of the blade using the SolidWorks software. The last step was to compare, using GOM Inspect software, the geometry of the designed blade with the corresponding geometry obtained using Photogrammetry and finally answer the question if this technique can be used in the mechanical field to get a precise 3D reconstruction of large objects with complex geometries.
... However, now globally, it has become a significant concern and anxiety for different stakeholders since it can be used for different malicious purposes such as cloning, pirating, or counterfeiting a design and developing an attack or inserting a hardware Trojan. The devastating effect of RE is already proven in the history of world war II, and the Vietnam war [5,6]. Currently, we live in the era of industrial revolution 4 (IR4), where automation and artificial intelligence are everywhere. ...
Reverse engineering is a burning issue in Integrated Circuit (IC) design and manufacturing. In the semiconductor industry, it results in a revenue loss of billions of dollars every year. In this work, an area efficient, high-performance IC camouflaging technique is proposed at the physical design level to combat the integrated circuit’s reverse engineering. An attacker may not identify various logic gates in the layout due to similar image output. In addition, a dummy or true contact-based technique is implemented for optimum outcomes. A library of gates is proposed that contains the various camouflaged primitive gates developed by a combination of using the metal routing technique along with the dummy contact technique. This work shows the superiority of the proposed technique’s performance matrix with those of existing works regarding resource burden, area, and delay. The proposed library is expected to make open source to help ASIC designers secure IC design and save colossal revenue loss.
... The end result was a virtually identical copy, requiring the design and manufacture of 105 000 parts (Gorman, 1998). As Curtis, Harston and Mattson (2011) note, reverse engineering of products is fundamentally concerned with information extraction rather than imitation of those products, though imitation (and possibly improvement) may be the motivation and the result. Indeed, reverse engineering is a common strategy for firms that are "market followers" seeking to overcome the advantages of "first-mover" firms (Fitzpatrick and DiLullo, 2006). ...
... The first step is to verify that the original technical documentation matches the current reality of the product. If the original technical documentation is no longer valid, reverse engineering techniques would need to be applied (Urbanic and ElMaraghy 2009;Curtis, Harston, and Mattson 2011). ...
Investment in the productive systems of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector is usually quite limited. For this reason, normal practice is to apply minor developments internally or upgrade equipment as it becomes obsolete to increase their productive capacity and competitiveness at a lower cost. However, the work team, mostly made up of engineers, does not usually have experience in the use of design methodologies but also they are often familiar with the functioning of various design and quality-management tools. This paper presents a clear and simple design methodology that facilitates the development of adaptations to items of equipment that might be considered one-off products. It includes a selection of design tools that are, according to the literature on the subject, the most common and best-known among engineers, and which are also best-suited to the environment of an SME. The design methodology was validated experimentally with the upgrading of a gear-rolling tester installed on the premises of an SME in the sector. The recommended techniques and tools were satisfactory applied opening the possibilities for further application of the methodology in similar machine’s upgrades in the future.
... To summarize, reverse engineering (RE) is a longstanding problem that is of great concern to today's governments, militaries, and various industries due to the following: (1) the attacks and security breaches that could occur through the RE of classified military systems, financial systems, etc.; (2) the safety issues and costs resulting from unintended use of counterfeit products in critical systems and infrastructures; (3) the loss in profits and reputation for IP owners, which can result from the counterfeiting of products through the use of RE; (4) the negative impact that RE has on new product innovations, incentives for research and development, and -by extension -the worldwide job market. ...
Electronics hardware is subject to a number of potential threats such as reverse engineering and counterfeiting. As a result, hardware authentication mechanisms and anti-reverse engineering techniques such as obfuscation and tamper-resistance are essential. In this thesis, we will present methods to approach these problems, and the primary research contributions of this thesis are a Low pass filter PUF for the authentication of PCBs and ICs; Key generation for hardware obfuscation using strong PUFs; and Session key generation using strong PUF modeling. Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) are probabilistic circuit primitives that extract randomness from the physical characteristics of a device. In this work, we propose a novel PUF design based on resistor and capacitor variations for low pass filters (LoPUF). We extract the process variations present at the output of the filter with the use of an inverter to digitize the output and a counter to measure output pulse widths. We have created a process to select RC pairs that can be used to reliably generate authentication IDs. The LoPUF has been evaluated in the context of both printed circuit boards and integrated circuits. As a result of the increased use of contract foundries, IP theft, excess production and reverse engineering are major concerns for the electronics and defense industries. Hardware obfuscation and IP locking can be used to make a design secure by replacing a part of the circuit with a key-locked module. In order to ensure each chip has unique keys, we propose a strong PUF-based hardware obfuscation scheme to uniquely lock each chip that is less area intensive than previous work. Communication with embedded systems can be problematic because they are limited in their capability to implement public key encryption and client-side authentication. In this work, we introduce a session key generation mechanism using PUFs. We propose a novel dynamic key generation method that depends on the ability to model certain PUF circuits using machine learning algorithms. Our proposed method also mitigates tampering attacks as no information is stored between subsequent keys. We have shown the effectiveness of our method with error-correcting capability to keep the outputs of the PUF from noise.
... The end result was a virtually identical copy, requiring the design and manufacture of 105 000 parts (Gorman, 1998). As Curtis, Harston and Mattson (2011) note, reverse engineering of products is fundamentally concerned with information extraction rather than imitation of those products, though imitation (and possibly improvement) may be the motivation and the result. Indeed, reverse engineering is a common strategy for firms that are "market followers" seeking to overcome the advantages of "first-mover" firms (Fitzpatrick and DiLullo, 2006). ...
Policy design efforts are hampered by inadequate understanding of how policy tools and actions promote effective policies. The objective of this book is to address this gap in understanding by proposing a causal theory of the linkages between policy actions and policy effects. Adopting a mechanistic perspective, the book identifies the causal processes that activate effects and help achieve goals. It thus offers a powerful analytical tool to both scholars and practitioners of public policy seeking to design effective policies.
Background and Purpose: The challenges imposed by today’s societies, which demand products and services of quality and of greater technological complexity, require the formation of highly trained human resources, which confront the various problems that arise in industries. Reverse engineering and the direct design are applied to solve problems in companies and universities. These methods, in combination with active methodologies, provide tools that potentiate the teaching of engineering. This article presents a proposal for the definition of reverse engineering and its application, together with the direct design method, in the development of novel procedures oriented toward the teaching of engineering.
Introduction Introduction to Polish Underground Coal Mine Working Conditions Introduction to Technical Hazards Graphical Methods of Technical Hazards Assessment in Underground Mechanical Systems Virtual Prototyping of FOPS Application of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Analyses in Virtual Prototyping of Mining Machines Conclusion References
Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) principles form an established framework used to design products in the modern developed world. These principles are assumed to be universal in the design process; however, they are not universally applicable when designing for the developing world for several reasons. First, because the physical conditions in which a product is manufactured are very different, and second, because things such as culture, traditions, and customs in the developing world affect how the product can be produced. Because of these differences, the standard DFMA principles can be categorized into two groups: those we could find a reasonable counter example for and those we could not. For simplicity of presentation, those principles for which a counter example is found are called contingent, because they are contingent on the context. The principles for which a counter example is not found are called universal. Modifications are given for each of the contingent principles that make their use more appropriate in designing for the developing world. Additional modifications also include alternative interpretations of subjective words used in the traditional DFMA principles. A case study of a pineapple juicer for the Amazon region of Brazil is given that demonstrates the principles, both contingent and universal.
Data processing is a key to reverse engineering, the results of which will directly affect the quality of the model reconstruction. Eliminate noise points are the first step in data processing, The method of using Coons surface to determine the noise in the data point is proposed. To reduce the amount of calculation and improve the surface generation efficiency, data point is reduced. According to the surrounding point coordinate information, the defect coordinates are interpolated. Data smoothing can improve the surface generation quality, data block can simplify the creation of the surface. Auto parts point cloud data is processed, and achieve the desired effect.
Abrasive flow machining (AFM) is a non-traditional surface finishing method by extruding abrasive media through workpieces’ surfaces. It is difficult to implement uniformity and controllability for material removal in AFM, which makes predictions of material removal and its distribution along media flow direction significantly imperative. In this paper, a new predictive model for material removal in AFM is proposed based-on combination of material removal model for single abrasive and statistics model of active abrasives. To validate its applicability, two experiments are conducted to calibrate the material removal model, and another two experiments are carried out to validate the calibrated material removal model. Results show that this model can predict material removal in terms of profile height variation ΔH and variation trend of mass variation ΔM precisely, with predictive error (δerror) of 6.4% and 6.9% achieved in the validation experiments. In the case that the workpiece and flow channel are given, the variation of profile height ΔH on the workpiece surface shows consistent distribution trend with the distribution of the pressure and media flow velocity on the workpiece surface.
The impeller, the core component of pump products, directly decides produit the operation performance and reliability. Nevertheless, some of the impeller type surfaces are extremely complex so it is difficult to directly use the method to mapping its structure and size. If in this case we can realize the parts reconstruct by reverse engineering technology. Reverse engineering, a practical and comprehensive technology, is a pioneering that can realize the real 3D CAD model reconstruction. Using the finite element analysis technique can realize the fluid dynamics analysis of the three-dimensional impeller reconstruction model. And the performance of products can be obtained under the simulation environment, which can provide reliable basis for the impeller products of the further study.
Reverse engineering is the process of extracting information about a product from the product itself. An estimate of the barrier and time to extract information from any product is useful for the original designer and those reverse engineering, as both are affected by reverse engineering activities. The authors have previously presented a set of metrics and parameters to estimate the barrier and time to reverse engineer a product once. This work has laid the foundation for the developments of the current paper, which address the issue of characterizing the reverse engineering time and barrier when multiple samples of the same product are reverse engineered. Frequently in practice, several samples of the same product are reverse engineered to increase accuracy, extract tolerances, or to gather additional information from the product. In this paper, we introduce metrics that (i) characterize learning in the reverse engineering process as additional product samples are evaluated and (ii) estimate the total time to reverse engineer multiple samples of the same product. Additionally, an example of reverse engineering parts from a control valve is introduced to illustrate how to use the newly developed metrics and to serve as empirical validation. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4007918]
To elucidate the mechanism that the software Gemagic Studio and 3D printer have an important role in repairing and copying the ancient cultural relics and the damaged sculpture, we take the damaged sculpture, Sissi, as the example, repaired it based on reverse engineering, 3D scanning technology and modern 3D printing technology. In the process of research, we obtain the point data of it, using reverse engineering software Gemagic Studio for the noise removing, compaction, hole filling, surface repair, error ratio and so on. And then import the 3D printer for 3D printing. At the last, the precise entity model proved that we have a wonderful experiment.
In order to solve irregular product surface quality is difficult to test problems, this paper combined reverse engineering with finite element analysis related technologies, good results have been achieved. Selected the helmet as the research object, introduced the reverse engineering and finite element analysis of the basic methods and ideas. First through the 3D laser scanner for safety helmet surface point cloud data, the data conducted the pretreatment in the Imageware software, and then in UG finished surface reconstruction and materialization process, finally guided the reverse forming helmet entity into Ansys Workbench software to carry on the finite element analysis, through the generation of stress and deformation analysis nephogram to test the sample quality.
The paper presents the main results of scientific and practical research in the field of special design reengineering and counterreengineering of radioelectronic devices. Methods and means of special design reengineering of functional modules of multilayer printed circuit boards and case microcircuits are presented. The basic process design for the reengineering of multilayer printed circuits of radioelectronic products is presented. The design is based on the physical principles of destructive and non-destructive decomposing test: mechanical processing and chemical etching, stereolaser structuring, IR imaging electrothermics and X-ray analysis. The article formulates positions and methodology of the circuit analysis of the basic architecture of electrical circuits and signal processes of radio electronic products by the configuration of the printed circuit, its electronic component base and their connected topologies. The article considers methods and techniques for the reengineering of radiotechnical circuits and signals enabling to reproduce the list of the electronic component base and the essential circuit technique, as well as to study the basic circuit characteristics of the appliance in four main modes: functional, in-circuit, peripheral and identification visualization. The methods and means of authentic performance of radioelectronic devices for a number of constructive and radiotechnical identifiers are considered. Technical methods and solutions for counterreengineering of radioelectronic devices have been developed.
Here explored is a method by which designers can use the tool of topology optimization to numerically improve barriers to reverse engineering. Recently developed metrics, which characterize the time (T) to reverse engineer a product, enable this optimization. A key parameter used in the calculation of T is information content (K). The method presented in this paper pursues traditional topology optimization objectives while simultaneously maximizing K, and thus T, in the resulting topology. New aspects of this paper include algorithms to (1) evaluate K for any topology, (2) increase K for a topology by manipulating macroscale geometry and microscale crystallographic information for each element, and (3) simultaneously maximize K and minimize structural compliance (a traditional topology optimization objective). These algorithms lead designers to desirable topologies with increased barriers to reverse engineering. The authors conclude that barriers to reverse engineering can indeed be increased without sacrificing the desirable structural characteristic of compliance. This has been shown through the example of a novel electrical contact for a consumer electronics product.
Due to globalization, the semiconductor industry has become more susceptible to trust and security issues. For example, devices fabricated in untrusted facilities are vulnerable to the insertion of hardware Trojans, i.e., malicious modifications to integrated circuits (ICs), which can violate the root of trust. Literature shows that, as microscopy and failure analysis tools advance in resolution and capability, physical inspection methods (e.g., reverse engineering and photonic emission) improve as verification tools for device trustworthiness and security. However, such advanced physical inspection methods also offer new opportunities for adversaries to pirate intellectual property (IP) from a system-on-chip (SoC) device or extract sensitive information (e.g., secret keys and device configurations), which compromises confidentiality and integrity. To develop physical inspection as a trustworthy hardware assurance tool, an in-depth understanding of these physical inspection approaches is required. Moreover, identification of potential adversaries in the supply chain is also required to develop comprehensive countermeasures. Therefore, in this chapter, we discuss physical inspection and attack methods using failure analysis tools and identify potential adversaries in the semiconductor supply chain.
Gear drive units are important components of technical systems (TS) and need to be of high quality. Planetary gear units are very compact and efficient mechanical power transformers, but further increase of operating quality level requires the application and development of the new design methodology. The subject of this contribution is presentation of Reliability for design as the new approach of reliability modelling suitable for the new design methodology application, especially for planetary gear units using various kinds of experimental and exploitation data. The methodology follows V-model for TS design which is in this work adapted for gear units design and for presentation of the new methodology based on property based design, axiomatic design and robust design methodology. To this end, the procedure for total reliability of TS decomposition, and methodology for elementary reliability for design of structure components calculation is developed and presented. The reliability for design is established in reverse form of reliability for maintenance which presents common perception of the “reliability” term. This approach is intended to provide further increase of planetary gear unit’s quality and efficient usability of gear unit component resources. The design directions are oriented to providing equal level of elementary reliability of components.
Developing objective measures for evaluating and measuring the complexity of design would facilitate (1) empirical studies that require the use of equivalent but different design problems, (2) the development of design curriculums, and (3) the comparison of computer aided design automation tools. This paper surveys and evaluates different approaches to defining complexity in design for the design problem, process, and product. Three fundamental aspects to complexity are identified, size, coupling, and solvability, and expanded with respect to the three elements of design, problem, process, and product. Alternative methods for measuring these characteristics of the design are based on computational, information, and traditional design views of complexity. A method of measuring size as it relates to complexity is proposed for measuring the information content of design. A second method is proposed for decomposing a graph-based representation of design that provides a measure of the interconnectedness as it relates to complexity. Finally, two methods are proposed for determining the solvability complexity of design based on the effort involved and the degree of freedom of design. These measures are developed specifically for parametric and geometric problems as found in the embodiment design, but these principles may be applied beyond this.
Companies releasing newly designed embedded products typically recoup the cost of development through initial sales, and thus are unlikely to welcome early competition based around rapid reverse engineering of their products. By contrast, competitors able to shorten time-to-market though reverse engineering will gain design cost and market share advantages. Reverse engineering for nefarious purposes appears to be commonplace, and has significant cost impact on industry sales and profitability. In the Embedded Systems MSc programme at Nanyang Technological University, we are aiming to raise awareness of the unique security issues related to the reverse engineering of embedded systems. This effort is largely through devoting 50% of the Secure Embedded Systems course, ES6190 to reverse engineering (the remainder to traditional security concerns). This paper covers the reverse engineering problem scope, and our approach to raising awareness through the Secure Embedded Systems course. A classification of hardware reverse engineering steps and mitigations is also presented for the first time, with an overview of a reverse engineering curriculum. Since the quantity of published literature related to the reverse-engineering of embedded systems lies somewhere between scarce and non-existent, this paper presents a full overview of the topic before descussing educational aspects related to this.
Most manufacturing enterprises focus on the delivery of increased productivity with high quality products through integration of computer aided design (CAD)/computer aided manufacturing (CAM) with computer aided engineering (CAE) tools. When this concept is applied to reverse engineering (RE), the challenge lies in quickly editing and modifying point cloud data collected from scanning the object to design of a three dimensional (3D) CAD model for rapid manufacturing purposes. This paper presents an RE scenario to show how CAD and CAE systems are overlaid on product design to realize the goals of better quality and productivity of scanned CAD models used for inspection purposes. The primary objective of this paper is to outline, through a case study, how various scanning parameters will affect the data editing stage involved in the construction of the CAD model for the RE process. Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) is used as a validation tool for comparison of the CAD models generated from scanned data.
Indigenous product development using conventional means involves a relatively long lead-time and cost, especially for replacing worn-out and broken parts. This paper presents methodologies and technologies for computer-aided reverse engineering, illustrated by a real-life case study of an aluminium-alloy separator body of a hydraulic filter assembly for a special army vehicle. It involved reconstruction of part geometry using 3D scanning, material identification using spectrometry, casting process optimisation using simulation software, and fabrication of prototype and tooling using rapid prototyping systems. It was found that the fabrication of wax patterns directly from reverse engineered CAD data in a suitable RP system (such as Thermojet), followed by conventional investment casting, gives a reliable and economic route for rapid development of one-off intricate parts for replacement purpose.
This chapter introduces readers to the term reverse engineering (RE), and to the associated techniques that can be used for
scanning physical parts. In addition, the chapter presents the process of reverse engineering and the strategy for scanning
and converting the scanned data into a 3-D surface or solid model.
The purpose of this paper is to describe a new approach to process the data points measured from turbine blade airfoils in
order to make a valid shape via reverse engineering method. Currently, preliminary B-rep models can be created by fitting
surfaces to point clouds using a 3D laser scanner. In case of a turbine blade, due to high shape complexity, the resulting
model is often unsuitable in practice. A small change in blade geometry can lead to a large change in turbine performance.
Therefore, control of the blade shape is critical to the design process. Authors believe that the only way to capture the
valid shape of a blade airfoil out of the many manufacturing deviations is to incorporate design key-points during reverse
engineering. Implementation of the new method using segmentation and constrained fitting algorithm (SCFA) on a heavy-duty
industrial gas turbine blade has been reported and discussed.
As computing becomes pervasive, concerns about data protection have taken on new urgency. What makes securing digital data so difficult is that it is rarely static-rather, data is manipulated by software, often in a networked environment. Software is increasingly being distributed as mobile code in architecture-independent formats. Using reverse engineering, malicious parties can steal the intellectual property associated with such code with relative ease. Three promising techniques under development-tamper proofing, obfuscation, and watermarking-offer hope for providing more efficient and effective mechanisms for protecting software.
The US aircraftthe B-29 Superfortressmade history on August 6, 1945, when it dropped an atomic weapon on Hiroshima. The Soviet aircraft went on display on Aug. 3, 1947 at the annual Tushino air show. Visitors in Moscow that day witnessed a stunning flyover: the debut of the Tu-4 bomber. The Tu-4s gave the Soviet Air Force a strategic air arm that posed a genuine threat to the Free World. By 1950, more than 270 Tu-4s were deployed in Soviet Long-Range Aviation regiments. NATO gave the bomber the code name Bull, and by the Korean War, there were enough available for the Soviets to put them in the service of the People's Republic of China. The B-29 was at the time the heaviest bomber ever built, dwarfing the B-17, Avro Lancaster, and Heinkel He 177. Manufacturing contributed to the B-29 program's size. There were four main factories, three modification centers, and the largest subcontracting program in Boeing history for equipment and subassemblies.
This article addresses the issues of competitive advantage and competitor imitation. It is argued that tacitness, complexity, and specificity in a firm's skills and resources can generate causal ambiguity in competency-based advantage, and thus raise barriers to imitation. Reinvestment in causally ambiguous competencies is necessary to protect the advantage. Without reinvestment, attritional effects of continued competitive action will cause decay in the barriers to imitation. From this theorizing, research propositions are suggested, which, ultimately, will lead to an improved understanding of competitive advantage sustainability.
Reverse engineering to extract knowledge about products has a long history as a lawful practice. A legal rule permitting reverse engineering is economically sound as long as this activity takes enough time or is costly enough that innovators can recoup their research and development costs. In recent years, several restrictions on reverse engineering have been proposed or adopted. This Article assesses the economic impact of those restrictions in four industrial contexts: traditional manufacturing industries, the semiconductor chip industry, the computer software industry, and the digital entertainment product industry. We view reverse engineering as one of the important policy levers of intellectual property law, along with rules governing term and scope of protection, and summarize our conclusions in this light. The most obvious settings for the reverse engineering lever are "on" and "off." This study, however, reveals five additional strategies for regulating reverse engineering: (1) regulating a particular means of reverse engineering; (2) adopting a "breadth" requirement for subsequent products; (3) permitting reverse engineering for some purposes but not others; (4) regulating tools for reverse engineering; and (5) restricting dissemination of the resulting information. We conclude that some restrictions on the act of reverse engineering, or on what a reverse engineer can do with the resulting information, may be necessary to ensure adequate incentives to invest in innovation. But in some cases, the restrictions have gone too far. The Article also considers policy responses when innovators seek to prevent the exercise of reverse engineering rights by contract or by technical obfuscation.
Reverse engineering is the process of discovering the technological principles of an object or component through analysis of its structure and function. Such analysis can then be used to redesign the object very quickly using computer-aided design in concert with rapid-manufacturing processes to produce small numbers of components adapted to the needs of a particular customer. This way of working has huge benefits of speed and flexibility over traditional mass-production-based design and manufacturing processes.
This edited collection of essays from world-leading academic and industrial authors yields insight into all aspects of reverse engineering:
• The methods of reverse engineering analysis are covered, with special emphasis on the investigation of surface and internal structures.
• Frequently-used hardware and software are assessed and advice given on the most suitable choice of system.
• Rapid prototyping is introduced and its relationship with successful reverse engineering is discussed.
• Importantly, legal matters surrounding reverse engineering are addressed as are other barriers to the adoption of these techniques.
• Applications of reverse engineering in three significant areas: automotive; aerospace; and medical engineering are reported in depth.
Reverse Engineering is a "must have" title for anyone working with advanced modern manufacturing technologies, either with a view to researching and improving them further or to making their company leaner and more agile in a competitive manufacturing marketplace.
The Springer Series in Advanced Manufacturing publishes the best teaching and reference material to support students, educators and practitioners in manufacturing technology and management. This international series includes advanced textbooks, research monographs, edited works and conference proceedings covering all subjects in advanced manufacturing. The series focuses on new topics of interest, new treatments of more traditional areas and coverage of the applications of information and communication technology in manufacturing.
Product imitating, which is usually preceded by reverse engineering, is defined as the process of replicating the performance of an existing product in one or more of its performance areas and is a common industry practice. Imitating is often chosen as a design path to reduce investment costs and quickly enter a growing market. This paper presents metrics that can be used to quantify the barrier and time to market entry for a competitor pursuing an imitation design path. The market entry of a competitor releasing an imitation product to the masses can occur only after the process of reverse engineering and imitating. Therefore, a Barrier to Market Entry is the summation of the reverse engineering and imitation barriers. Products that have been reverse engineered, imitated, and released to the masses can greatly reduce the market share of the original developer. The approach presented in this paper is designed to facilitate the creation of products that protect themselves against reverse engineering and imitating. The presented approach balances the cost to develop such products against prolonged market share by introducing barriers to market entry. Through the use of unique materials, by the original developer, the time it takes for an imitator to release an imitation to the masses can be greatly delayed. The metrics presented are coupled with a numerical optimization technique in order to maximize the return on investment of the innovator. A simple structural example is used to illustrate the approach.
A structured design recovery framework has been designed to meet the challenges associated with creating a robust engineering model for mechanical components. To assist with the testing and verification phase of the design recovery process, a matrix based modified failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) has been developed, which targets tolerance variations, in order to diagnose potential problems. The information within the design recovery framework is extracted for the modified FMEA analysis. From the FMEA results, testing strategies are suggested based 011 the component characteristics. An example illustrates the modified FMEA methodology and highlights its merits.
Reverse engineering is the process of extracting information about a product from the product itself. An estimate of the barrier and time to extract information from any product is useful for the original designer and those reverse engineering, as both are affected by reverse engineering activities. The authors have previously presented a set of metrics and parameters to estimate the barrier and time for product reverse engineering. This work has laid the foundation for the developments of the current paper, which address the issue of tolerance extraction during reverse engineering. Under the developments presented herein, measurement and statistical analysis of the variation between multiple samples of a product are required to reverse engineer its tolerances. When reconstruction is the reason reverse engineering activities are carried out, this level of reverse engineering can be critical, as tolerances ensure that products function properly and consistently. In this paper, we introduce metrics that (i) characterize how the flow of information from a product during reverse engineering changes as additional product samples are evaluated, and (ii) estimate the total barrier and time to reverse engineer the tolerances of a product. Additionally, a simple example is introduced to illustrate how to use the newly developed metrics and to serve as empirical validation.
This chapter presents a study of the barriers to adopting reverse engineering technology. Previous literature suggests that
various factors play a role in adopting technology; however, there is little research into the factors affecting the adoption
of RE technology in particular. This chapter investigates the forms of barriers that affect the adoption of RE technology
in manufacturing firms. A three-phase factor analysis approach (FAA) is used to investigate these “critical” factors.
Reverse engineering, defined as extracting information about a product from the product itself, is a common industry practice for gaining insight into innovative products. Both the original designer and those reverse engineering the original design can benefit from estimating the time and barrier to reverse engineer a product. This paper presents a set of metrics and parameters that can be used to calculate the barrier to reverse engineer any product, as well as the time required to do so. To the original designer, these numerical representations of the barrier and time can be used to strategically identify and improve product characteristics so as to increase the difficulty and time to reverse engineer them. As the metrics and parameters developed in this paper are quantitative in nature, they can also be used in conjunction with numerical optimization techniques, thereby enabling products to be developed with a maximum reverse engineering barrier and time-at a minimum development cost. On the other hand, these quantitative measures enable competitors who reverse engineer original designs to focus their efforts on products that will result in the greatest return on investment.
A structured design recovery framework has been designed to meet the challenges associated with creating a robust engineering model for mechanical components. To assist with the testing and verification phase of the design recovery process, a matrix based modified failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) has been developed, which targets tolerance variations, in order to diagnose potential problems. The information within the design recovery framework is extracted for the modified FMEA analysis. From the FMEA results, testing strategies are suggested based on the component characteristics. An example illustrates the modified FMEA methodology and highlights its merits.
This paper presents a method for treating material microstructure (crystallographic grain size, orientation, and distribution) as design variables that can be manipulated-for common or exotic materials to identify the unusual material properties and to design devices that are difficult to reverse engineer. A practical approach, carefitlly tied to proven manufacturing strategies, is used to tailor the material microstructures by strategically orienting and laminating thin anisotropic metallic sheets. The approach, coupled with numerical optimization, manipulates the material microstructures to obtain the desired material properties at designer-specified locations (heterogeneously) or across the entire part (homogeneously): A comparative study is provided, which examines various microstructures for a simple fixed geometry. These cases show how the proposed approach can provide hardware with enhanced mechanical performance in a way that is disguised within the microscopic features of the material microstructure. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4001874]
In the engine of a four passenger, private aircraft, the amount of air and fuel supplied to the engine is controlled by a carburetor butterfly valve. This valve consists of a round, thin steel disk attached to a steel shaft which in turn is mounted in steel bushings near each end of the shaft. The pilot adjusts the positioning of the butterfly valve by means of a throttle control. At the time of the 2000h overhaul the shaft and bushings are inspected, and if overly worn they are replaced. In the present case, it was found that the shaft and bushings were in need of replacement. However, the original manufacturer of the butterfly valve had gone out of business, and a second manufacturer supplied the replacement parts. The second manufacturer used a process known as reverse engineering in manufacturing the parts. That is, he attempted to copy in detail the characteristics of the original shaft and bushings. However, the importance of proper heat treatment was overlooked, and a result the butterfly valve malfunctioned in flight and the plane crashed. The cause of the malfunction is described in greater detail in the paper.
[amazon 2006:]newline Treating such contemporary design and development issues as identifying customer needs, design for manufacturing, prototyping, and industrial design, "Product Design and Development, 3/e", by Ulrich and Eppinger presents in a clear and detailed way a set of product development techniques aimed at bringing together the marketing, design, and manufacturing functions of the enterprise. The integrative methods in the book facilitate problem solving and decision making among people with different disciplinary perspectives, reflecting the current industry trend to perform product design and development in cross-functional teams.
The accelerating rate at which new materials are appearing, and transforming the engineering world, only serves to emphasize the vast potential for novel material structure and related performance. Microstructure Sensitive Design for Performance Optimization (MSDPO) embodies a new methodology for systematic design of material microstructure to meet the requirements of design in optimal ways. Intended for materials engineers and researchers in industry, government and academia as well as upper level undergraduate and graduate students studying material science and engineering, MSDPO provides a novel mathematical framework that facilitates a rigorous consideration of the material microstructure as a continuous design variable in the field of engineering design. Presents new methods and techniques for analysis and optimum design of materials at the microstructure level. Authors' methodology introduces spectral approaches not available in previous texts, such as the incorporation of crystallographic orientation as a variable in the design of engineered components with targeted elastic properties. Numerous illustrations and examples throughout the text help readers grasp the concepts.
An experiment for the analysis of brand-name fragrances and fragrance "impressions" by GC–MS is described. Fragrances represent an enormous chemical industry, with a global market value of almost $20 billion. Since fragrances are also of interest to most students, the experiment provides them a "real-world," consumer-product analysis. The complexity of most perfume samples helps students understand the power of capillary GC as a separation technique. Furthermore, the minimal sample preparation required for this experiment enables students to spend significantly more time becoming familiar with GC–MS hardware and software. After performing the experiment students should be familiar with the operation of a modern GC–MS, headspace sampling, data analysis using GC–MS software tools, and mass spectral library searching. This experiment is currently designed as an introduction to the capabilities of GC–MS instrumentation, but could readily be adapted for use in other courses: in a quantitative analysis course, students could quantify the odorous components of brand-name and imposter fragrances; in a physical chemistry laboratory, students could determine a Henry's law constant for any volatile component in the fragrance; in an organic course, students could focus more on molecular structures and related fragmentation patterns. Keywords (Audience): Second-Year Undergraduate
The article describes an applied research project in which existing theory from the policy and organization theory literature was used to develop a rationale for estimating response times of competitors to easily imitated new products. A specific study of commercial banking product introductions is reported.
Those who solve more of a given type of problem tend to get better at it---which suggests that problems of any given type should be brought to specialists for a solution. However, in this paper we argue that agency-related costs and information transfer costs ("sticky" local information) will tend drive the locus of problem-solving in the opposite direction---away from problem-solving by specialist suppliers, and towards those who directly benefit from a solution and who have difficult-to-transfer local information about a particular application being solved, such as the direct users of a product or service. We examine the actual location of design activities in two fields in which custom products are produced by "mass-customization" methods: application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and computer telephony integration (CTI) systems. In both, we find that users rather than suppliers are the actual designers of the application-specific portion of the product types examined. We offer anecdotal evidence that the pattern of user-based customization we have documented in these two fields is in fact quite general, and we discuss implications for research and practice.
This chapter will define the concept of reverse engineering systems that are typically utilized in design and manufacturing
environments. We will also develop a taxonomy of reverse engineering systems. Differences between contact and non-contact
methods for reverse engineering will be detailed. Commonly used non-contact systems, including active and passive systems,
will be detailed. Our focus will be on techniques such as laser scanning and 3D cameras.
One of the most challenging goals in digital shape reconstruction is to create a high-quality surface model from measured
data with a minimal amount of user assistance. We present techniques to automate this process and create a digital model that
meets the requirements in mechanical engineering CAD/CAM/CAE. Such a CAD model is composed of a hierarchy of different types
of surfaces, including primary surfaces, connecting features and vertex blends at their junctions, and obey a well-defined
topological structure that we would like to reconstruct as faithfully as possible. First, combinatorially robust segmentation
techniques, borrowed from Morse theory, are presented. This is followed by an algorithm to create a so-called feature skeleton,
which is a curve network on the mesh that represents the region structure of the object. The final surface structure comprises
the optimally located boundaries of edge blends and setback vertex blends, which are well aligned with the actual geometry
of the object. This makes the surface structure sufficient for an accurate, CAD-like surface approximation including both
quadrangular and trimmed surface representations. A few representative industrial objects reconstructed by Geomagic systems
illustrate the efficiency and quality of the approach.
Keywordsdigital shape reconstruction-segmentation-combinatorial Morse theory-curve tracing-vertex blends
Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are increasingly used in system designs, but their vulnerability to reverse engineering could lead to lost profits or security breaches. Thus, high FPGA design security is needed with low performance penalties and low realization and maintenance costs. Using a novel circuit modification method, common circuits were augmented with decoy circuits for protection. Security values for the original and modified circuits were calculated, and the original and modified circuits' execution times, power consumptions, and resource usages were collected from simulations. For the modified circuits, security improved by six orders of magnitude, yet execution times, power consumption, and resource usage increased by less than one order of magnitude. The proposed algorithm has demonstrated the potential for substantial increases in FPGA design security at a low cost, and could also be applied to application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)
Components of previous security systems were designed independently from one another and were often difficult to integrate. Described is the recently available IBM Transaction Security System. It implements the Common Cryptographic Architecture and offers a comprehensive set of security products that allow users to implement end-to-end secure systems with IBM components. The system includes a mainframe host-attached Network Security Processor, high-performance encryption adapters for the IBM Personal Computer and Personal System/2® Micro Channel®, an RS-232 attached Security Interface Unit, and a credit-card size state-of-the-art Personal Security™ card containing a high-performance microprocessor. The application programming interface provides common programming in the host and the workstation and supports all of the Systems Application Architecture™ languages except REXX and RPG. Applications may be written to run on Multiple Virtual Storage (MVS) and PC DOS operating systems.
The paper identifies the steps involved in the reverse-engineering process. The procedure begins with the division of the whole array of measurement data points into regions, according to shape-change detection. In each region, points are parameterized, and knots are selected. Smooth parametric surface approximation is obtained by the least-square fitting of B-splines. Nonlinear least-square minimization is applied for parameter optimization with simple bounds on the parameter values. The objective function minimized is the explicit error expression for the sum of the squares of error values at the data points.
A reverse engineering based approach for product form design is addressed in this article. In this method, the designer makes 3D product models based on his/her ideas with polyurethane or polystyrene foam first. The data points on the surface of the product are then measured using a non-contact 3D scan device, and the point clouds for 30 cross-sections of these products are obtained based on the measured information. New shapes are further generated with two different product models using four shape blending/morphing techniques. In this manner, the designer can generate creative product that fits user’s demand in a shorter time.
In many areas of industry, it is desirable to create geometric models of existing objects for which no such model is available. This paper reviews the process of reverse engineering of shapes. After identifying the purpose of reverse engineering and the main application areas, the most important algorithmic steps are outlined and various reconstruction strategies are presented. Pros and cons of various data acquisition techniques are described with related problems of boundary representation model construction. Specific issues addressed include characterization of geometric models and related surface representations, segmentation and surface fitting for simple and free-form shapes, multiple view combination and creating consistent and accurate B-rep models. The limitations of currently known solutions are also described, and we point out areas in which further work is required before reverse engineering of shape becomes a practical, widely-available engineering tool.
Finding design intent embodied as high-level geometric relations between a CAD model’s sub-parts facilitates various tasks such as model editing and analysis. This is especially important for boundary-representation models arising from, e.g., reverse engineering or CAD data transfer. These lack explicit information about design intent, and often the intended geometric relations are only approximately present. A novel solution to this problem is presented based on detecting approximate local incomplete symmetries, in a hierarchical decomposition of the model into simpler, more symmetric sub-parts. Design intent is detected as congruencies, symmetries and symmetric arrangements of the leaf-parts in this decomposition. All elementary 3D symmetry types and common symmetric arrangements are considered. They may be present only locally in subsets of the leaf-parts, and may also be incomplete, i.e. not all elements required for a symmetry need be present. Adaptive tolerance intervals are detected automatically for matching inter-point distances, enabling efficient, robust and consistent detection of approximate symmetries. Doing so avoids finding many spurious relations, reliably resolves ambiguities between relations, and reduces inconsistencies. Experiments show that detected relations reveal significant design intent.
Advances in computer speed, memory capacity, and hardware graphics acceleration have made the interactive manipulation and visualization of complex, detailed (and therefore large) three-dimensional models feasible. These models are either painstakingly designed through an elaborate CAD process or reverse engineered from sculpted prototypes using modern scanning technologies and integration methods. The availability of detailed data describing the shape of an object offers the computer vision practitioner new ways to recognize and localize free-form objects. This survey reviews recent literature on both the 3D model building process and techniques used to match and identify free-form objects from imagery.
One of the most challenging goals in digital shape reconstruction is to create high-quality surface models from measured data with a minimal amount of user assistance. We present techniques to meet the requirements of mechanical engineering CAD/CAM/CAE. The reconstructed models are composed of a hierarchy of surfaces, including primary surfaces, connecting features, (e.g. fillets) and vertex blends, and obey a well-defined topological structure. First, combinatorially robust segmentation techniques borrowed from Morse theory are presented. This is followed by computing a “feature skeleton” on the mesh that determines the primary regions of the object. The final surface structure comprises the optimally located boundaries of the connecting features and setback type vertex blends, which are faithfully aligned with the actual geometry of the object. This CAD-like surface structure is sufficient for high-quality surface approximations. A few representative objects reconstructed by Geomagic systems illustrate the efficiency and quality of the approach.
There are various segmentation and surfacing methods to create CAD models from measured data. First the difficulties of creating
a good surface structure over a polygonal mesh are investigated, followed by investigating the most important approaches according
to the amount of user interaction, computational efficiency and surface quality. References to commercial systems are also
added. The focus of the paper is to present (i) automatic surfacing and (ii) functional decomposition. New demands and emerging
technologies are also identified to trace out current trends in digital shape reconstruction.
Reverse engineering, the process of obtaining a geometric CAD model from measurements obtained by scanning an existing physical model, is widely used in numerous applications, such as manufacturing, industrial design and jewellery design. In this work we propose a framework for reverse engineering objects of freeform design to obtain a fully editable feature-based CAD model that can be reproduced or modified before production. We focus on the process of detecting features on a cloud point and we present a fast method for analyzing the morphology of the surface defined by the point cloud. We compute a point wise characteristic called point concavity intensity and we use this quantity to detect regions that are then refined to object features. The proposed algorithm takes overall O(nlogn) time, where n is the cardinality of the point cloud.
This article presents a method of reverse engineering applied to the particular case of a cam in order to recover the form and dimensions of the design of the original piece, which take into account: design intent, general knowledge of the problem, different geometric and dimensional restrictions, and the digitized point cloud. Rather than by employing complex mathematical algorithms, a fit is achieved by drawing a parametric outline that complies with the design intent, and by adjusting the different parameters through successive approximations using commercial CAD software commands.
Intuition suggests that licensing has socially beneficial ex post effects, and that it encourages innovation (ex ante) by increasing the rewards to the patentee. Research joint ventures also appear to have socially, if not privately, beneficial effects upon ex post dissemination, but it is not clear offhand what effect RJVs have on development incentives. Finally, one expects that imitation will have socially favorable ex post effects, but will tend to discourage or retard innovation. This paper indicates how the intuition expressed in the previous paragraph stands up under closer analysis. The factors that appear most important in determining both the pattern of dissemination of innovations, and the social and private effects of such dissemination are discussed. The effects of patent licensing are emphasized, touching upon joint ventures and imitation along the way. The analysis is conducted in the context of an oligopolistic industry. An oligopolistic setting is the natural one on which to focus, as patents, by their very nature, create market power, and as many progressive industries have concentrated market structures. 10 references.
Physical security technology is being used more often to protect
the integrity of computing systems and the assets they contain. A
physical security rating system is defined in terms of the difficulty of
mounting a successful physical attack against it, quality assurance
documentation and system testing. An evaluation system is presented for
determining adequate physical security, as a function of the environment
in which the system is placed and the value of the assets resident in
the system
Some of the measures that need to be adopted to protect software from reverse engineering attacks, are discussed. Software developers need to use various anti-reverse engineering strategies, to protect intellectual property rights of their software programs and prevent them from being duplicated. Software developers can use the latest malware and some other strategies, to protect their software programs against malicious attacks. Two of the most common strategies that are adopted to protect against reverse engineering, include encryption and obfuscation. An encrypted program's sensitive sections are visible, when the code executes, effectively reducing the vulnerability window. Obfuscation adopts a different approach and significantly increases a program's complexity, by intentionally convoluting control flow and data representations.
In today's supply chain environment, electronic equipment manufacturers and Government users must be vigilant in order to avoid counterfeit electronic components. The vast majority of counterfeit cases reported are associated with purchases through independent distributors. The most effective approach to avoiding counterfeit electronic components is to purchase product directly from the original component manufacturer, or from a distributor, reseller or aftermarket supplier who is franchised or authorized by the original manufacturer. Because many components needed to produce and support defense electronics are no longer in current production, independent distributors are often used to fill this gap. While independent distributors provide a necessary function within the electronic component supply chain, they are not all created equal. Electronic equipment manufacturers and Government users need to understand the independent distributor's operations and business processes. When considering purchases through independent distributors, electronic equipment manufacturers and Government users should also apply mitigation methods and strategic approaches, such as those discussed in this paper, to reduce the potential for acquiring counterfeit parts
Reverse engineering of mechanical parts requires extraction of
information about an instance of a particular part sufficient to
replicate the part using appropriate manufacturing techniques. This is
important in a wide variety of situations, since functional CAD models
are often unavailable or unusable for parts which must be duplicated or
modified. Computer vision techniques applied to three-dimensional (3-D)
data acquired using noncontact, 3-D position digitizers have the
potential for significantly aiding the process. Serious challenges must
be overcome, however, if sufficient accuracy is to be obtained and if
models produced from sensed data are to be truly useful for
manufacturing operations. The paper describes a prototype of a reverse
engineering system which uses manufacturing features as geometric
primitives. This approach has two advantages over current practice. The
resulting models can be directly imported into feature-based CAD systems
without loss of the semantics and topological information inherent in
feature-based representations. In addition, the feature-based approach
facilitates methods capable of producing highly accurate models, even
when the original 3-D sensor data has substantial errors