Invented by PONS BORDES; Pablo, FASOLI; Gianpaolo, GENTLES; Tyler, KINDARJI; Bruno, KOSTKA; Petr, NARULA; Rohit, SILVER; David W., SYKORA; Libor, YANG; Ka

Digital identification is quickly becoming a part of everyday life. From unlocking a door or buying a coffee, to proving who you are at the airport, digital IDs are everywhere. The patent application described above is about making digital identification easier, safer, and more user-friendly. In this article, we will look at the background and market for digital IDs, the science and technology behind the invention, and finally, the new features and improvements this patent brings to the table.

Background and Market Context

For many years, plastic ID cards, like driver’s licenses or student cards, were the main way to prove who you are. These cards list your name, birthday, address, and other details. You use them to get into buildings, buy things, and do lots of other daily tasks. But these cards can get lost, stolen, or copied. If you lose your wallet, you lose all your IDs, and replacing them is a hassle.

Today, more and more people use phones and smartwatches for daily tasks. Many want to carry less in their pockets and keep everything digital. Banks, governments, and schools are all looking at ways to move IDs to our devices. Apple, Google, and other big companies are working hard to make digital IDs safe and easy to use. But there are still problems: digital IDs must be very secure to stop bad actors from stealing your information. They must also be easy to use for everyone, from kids to seniors.

Another big problem is making sure that only you can use your digital ID. If someone picks up your phone, they should not be able to pretend to be you. So, digital IDs often use things like fingerprint scanners or face recognition. But not every device has these sensors. What if your watch can’t scan your face, but your phone can? How can these devices work together to keep you safe and make things easy?

Battery life is also important. If your phone or watch runs out of power, you might get locked out of places or be unable to prove who you are. So, the process of using digital IDs must be quick and not use much energy. Long or confusing steps waste your time and your device’s battery, making people less likely to use digital IDs.

All these challenges—security, ease of use, saving power, and working with different devices—are driving new inventions in the digital ID space. This patent application aims to solve those problems and make digital identification fast, secure, and simple for everyone.

Scientific Rationale and Prior Art

Digital identification is not new. For years, computers and phones have used things like passwords, PINs, or fingerprint scanners to keep data safe. The idea is simple: only the real owner can unlock the device or access certain information. Later, biometric methods, like face or fingerprint recognition, made things even more secure and quicker.

But older systems have limits. Many require complex steps to use your digital ID, especially if you need to use more than one device. For example, if you keep your digital ID on your phone but want to use your watch to show it, you may have to enter several passwords or use both devices at once. This can be confusing and slow, especially for kids or older adults.

Some earlier solutions make you repeat steps over and over. For example, you might have to unlock your phone, open an app, find your ID, and then scan your face—every single time you want to use your digital ID. This uses up battery power and can get annoying. Also, if one device does not have a fingerprint or face scanner, it can’t be used to show your digital ID at all.

Other systems try to make things easier by storing your ID information in a special “secure element” inside your device. This is a locked part of your phone or watch where only trusted software can get to your data. But you still need a way to make sure only you can use that information, and you want to do it without jumping through lots of hoops or draining your battery.

There have also been attempts to let one device use the security of another. For instance, your watch might ask your phone to scan your face before letting you use your digital ID. But these systems often have confusing steps, do not always show clear feedback, or do not work well if devices get out of sync.

What’s missing in older inventions is a smooth, fast way for different devices to work together. The system should make sure you are who you claim to be, no matter which device you are using, and should only show your ID if all the right checks have been done. It should also let you know, in a clear and simple way, what the system is doing and when you can use your ID.

This patent builds on all these ideas. It creates a way for devices like your phone and watch to talk to each other and share the job of keeping you safe. It also makes the process simpler and gives you clear feedback, all while saving battery power and keeping your information locked down.

Invention Description and Key Innovations

Let’s break down what this patent brings to the table in a way that’s easy to understand. Imagine you have a phone and a watch. Your digital ID—maybe your driver’s license—is stored in the secure element of your phone. You want to use your watch to show this ID to a digital reader (like at the airport or to buy something age-restricted), but your watch doesn’t have a fingerprint sensor or camera. How can you do this safely and quickly?

Here’s how the new system works:

When you try to use your watch to send your digital ID, your watch first checks if all the right security steps have been done. If not, it asks your phone to help out. For example, it might ask your phone to scan your face or fingerprint. Once you complete that scan on your phone, your phone sends a special “token” to your watch. This token means “the right person has unlocked the phone with the right face or finger.” Now your watch knows it’s okay to go ahead.

The watch then tries to make a secure connection to the digital ID reader, like a device at a store or airport. This connection is private and cannot be easily hacked. It can be done over WiFi, Bluetooth, or NFC. If the connection is successful, your watch shows a clear visual signal—maybe a green checkmark or a message saying, “Secure connection made.” This lets you know everything is working as it should.

If the connection does not work, or if you did not finish the security steps, your watch will not show the green checkmark. It might show a warning instead. This makes it clear to you that your ID is not being shared yet, and you need to finish the steps first.

Once all the checks are done and the secure connection is in place, your watch can send your digital ID over to the reader. Only the needed information is shared, and you can see exactly what will be sent. For example, the system can show you that only your name and birthday are being sent—not your address or photo—if that’s all that’s needed. You can then approve the sharing with a simple action, like pressing a button on your watch.

The patent also covers ways to make the system even safer. For example, the watch can only use the security token from your phone for a limited time, or only while you are wearing it. If you take off your watch or it gets locked, the token becomes invalid. This stops anyone else from using your watch to pretend to be you.

The system is smart about saving power. It only does the security checks and data sharing when you actually need them. The steps are streamlined, so you don’t have to repeat the same actions over and over. This means your watch and phone battery last longer.

Finally, the system is flexible. It works with many types of devices, not just watches and phones. It can be used with tablets, computers, or even special devices that don’t have their own cameras or sensors. As long as they can talk to another device that does have the right hardware, they can use this system.

In summary, the main innovations are:

– Devices like watches can use the security features of other devices (like phones) to safely share your digital ID.
– The process is quick and clear, with easy-to-understand feedback.
– Only the right information is shared, and you can see and control what’s being sent.
– Security tokens are used to prove you finished the right steps, and they expire if things change (like if you take off your watch).
– The entire system is designed to use less battery and be simple enough for anyone to use.

Conclusion

This patent application takes a big step forward in making digital identification safe, simple, and practical for everyone. By letting devices work together, using security tokens, and giving you clear feedback, it solves many of the problems that have held back digital IDs in the past. Whether you are a busy traveler, a parent trying to keep your kids’ IDs safe, or just someone who wants less hassle in daily life, these new methods can make using digital IDs as easy as showing a card—only much safer and smarter.

As digital IDs become more common, systems like these will be key to building trust and making sure everyone can use them without worry. This patent points the way to a future where your identity is always in your hands—safe, private, and ready when you need it.

Click here https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/ and search 20250217466.