Master Thesis – Secure Video Transport over a MIPI-Like Interface for Thermal Sensors

Category

Physics, Computer Science or Electronic Engineering

Scope

Two Master Thesis students, 30 hp each

Background

Thermal sensors transmit image data to a processing unit over a high-speed, MIPI-like interface. In some applications, protecting this data in transit may be necessary to reduce the risk of unauthorized access or manipulation. This thesis will investigate how cryptographic protection can be added to a MIPI-like video transport path.

Goal

The primary goal is to determine and demonstrate a practical way to encrypt thermal video data as it is transmitted over the MIPI-like interface.

Objectives

• Protect video data in transit: Apply cryptographic protection to the sensor data on the transmission path.
• Preserve real-time operation: Maintain the required data rate and avoid unacceptable latency or dropped or corrupted frames.
• Compare implementation trade-offs: Evaluate candidate approaches in terms of security properties, hardware cost, throughput, latency, and power where measurable.
• Produce a demonstrator: Show that the selected approach can be integrated and tested on a suitable FPGA or other available hardware platform.

Practical Steps

• Survey candidate cryptographic approaches: Review suitable encryption schemes, including their key/nonce requirements, streaming suitability, and hardware cost.
• Develop the design and test strategy: Define encryption placement, frame handling, key/nonce use, and reference test cases.
• Implement and verify: Develop the selected design in Verilog and test it in simulation or on hardware, including frame boundaries and error cases.
• Measure and evaluate: Compare the encrypted design with the unencrypted baseline for throughput, latency, resource use, and power where measurable.

Theory Requirements

• Digital design and Verilog
• Cryptography, including authenticated encryption and key management
• Digital communication protocols and streaming data paths
• FPGA design and verification

Deliverables

• Reference model and test cases: Reproducible test vectors and verification tests for the selected cryptographic design.
• Hardware implementation: Documented Verilog source code and a simulation or hardware demonstrator.
• Evaluation report: Results covering correctness, throughput, latency, resource use, and power were measurable, together with a comparison of design trade-offs and security limitations.

Who are you?

For this thesis proposal we target students with a strong interest in problem solving. Most likely you are studying a Master Program in Computer science or Engineering Physics.

OK, I am interested! What do I do now?

You are valuable to us – how nice that you are interested in one of our proposals! There are a few things for you to keep in mind when applying.

• Applications are accepted in both Swedish and English, and you apply via the proposal advert.
• The announced thesis is open only to students affiliated with a Swedish University/College either directly or via an exchange program.
• When the thesis proposal states that it includes two students working together, we would like you to apply in pairs. In these cases, send one application each but make sure to clearly state in your application who your co-applicant is. If you have any questions regarding this, please do not hesitate to contact us.
• Please attach your CV and University/College grade summary.

Who to contact for any questions regarding the position!

Engineering manager Johannes Svanbäck, Johannes.Svanback@axis.com