CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 USC § 119(a) of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0057804 filed on May 17, 2019, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Field

The following description relates to an implantable device and an operating method of the implantable device.

Description of Related Art

The use of cryptocurrency is increasing in society, and a value of the cryptocurrency is also growing. However, cryptocurrencies are vulnerable to security risks due to their centralized form. To address these security vulnerability, there have been various attempts, such as, for example, introducing a distributed system and applying methods of security technology such as embodying electronic money in a form of interconnected message, such as a blockchain.

Despite such attempts, hacking incidents are still continuing for cryptocurrencies, and for an electronic wallet, that may store these cryptocurrencies. To safely protect the electronic wallet, a widely used method is a cold wallet which refers to storing the electronic wallet in a separate device such as a universal serial bus (USB) that is not connected to the Internet. However, such cold wallet method may be inconvenient because the separate device needs to be carried around all the time to use a cryptocurrency, and there is a risk of it being lost or stolen.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

In one general aspect, there is provided a method of operating an implantable device, including sensing a neural signal generated in a tissue of a body, recognizing input information to process a cryptocurrency-based financial transaction by analyzing the sensed neural signal, and processing the cryptocurrency-based financial transaction based on the recognized input information.

The neural signal may be generated based on at least one of an intention of a user or a muscular movement based on the intention of the user.

The neural signal may include at least one of an electrical signal in the body including an electroencephalogram (EEG) signal and an electromyogram (EMG) signal, or a chemical signal in the body including a hormone and a neurotransmitter.

The sensing of the neural signal may include sensing the neural signal or a change in the neural signal using a sensor of the implantable device implanted in the tissue of the body.

The sensing of the neural signal may include at least one of sensing a neural signal generated to induce a movement of the tissue based on an intention of a user, sensing a neural signal generated in a portion of the body of the user based on any one or any combination of the intention of the user or a muscular movement based on the intention of the user, sensing a neural signal generated in a pattern based on any one or any combination of the intention of the user or the muscular movement based on the intention of the user, or sensing a neural signal generated in a pattern in at least one portion of the body of the user based on at least one of the intention of the user or the muscular movement based on the intention of the user.

The sensing of the neural signal may include sensing neural signals through channels in the tissue of the body of the user.

The recognizing of the input information may include analyzing whether the neural signal is a first neural signal corresponding to making a payment with a cryptocurrency, a second neural signal corresponding to transferring the cryptocurrency, or a third neural signal corresponding to a financial transaction not involving the cryptocurrency.

The recognizing of the input information may include recognizing the input information as being for controlling the implantable device to make a payment with the cryptocurrency, in response to the neural signal being the first neural signal.

The recognizing of the input information may include recognizing the input information as being for drafting an invoice for a first account address to which the cryptocurrency is to be transferred, in response to the neural signal being the second neural signal.

The processing of the cryptocurrency-based financial transaction may include receiving the account address to which the cryptocurrency is to be transferred, generating the invoice corresponding to the first account address based on cryptocurrency-related information including a second account address of the cryptocurrency of the user and a private key of the user, and performing an electronic signature on the invoice by generating electronic signature information.

The recognizing of the input information may include recognizing the input information as being for processing the financial transaction, in response to the neural signal being the third neural signal.

The processing of the cryptocurrency-based financial transaction may include inputting a password to process the financial transaction, and performing an electronic signature to process the financial transaction by generating electronic signature information.

The method may include generating a stimulus signal to transfer a result of processing the cryptocurrency-based financial transaction to the body of a user, and recognizing the result of processing the cryptocurrency-based financial transaction, in response to the generated stimulus signal.

The generating of the stimulus signal may include at least one of generating a neural stimulus signal associated with an involuntary muscle of the user, generating a neural stimulus signal connected to a portion of the body of the user, generating a neural stimulus signal to induce a movement of a muscle not intended by the user, generating a stimulus signal to induce a movement in a pattern for a muscle not intended by the user, or generating a neural stimulus signal to induce a tactile stimulus not experienced by the user.

The recognizing of the result of the processing of the cryptocurrency-based financial transaction further may include determining whether an amount of information of the result of processing the cryptocurrency-based financial transaction exceeds a processing capacity of the implantable device, and recognizing the result of processing the cryptocurrency-based financial transaction using an external device, in response to a determination that the amount of the information exceeds the processing capacity of the implantable device.

In another general aspect, there is provided an implantable device including at least one sensor configured to sense a neural signal generated in a tissue of a body, and a processor configured to recognize input information to process a cryptocurrency-based financial transaction by analyzing the neural signal, and to process the cryptocurrency-based financial transaction based on the recognized input information.

The at least one sensor may be configured to sense a neural signal generated to induce a movement of the tissue based on an intention of a user, sense a neural signal generated in a portion of the body of the user based on any one or any combination of the intention of the user or a muscular movement based on the intention of the user, sense a neural signal generated in a pattern based on any one or any combination of the intention of the user or the muscular movement based on the intention of the user, or sense a neural signal generated in a pattern in at least one portion of the body of the user based on at least one of the intention of the user or the muscular movement based on the intention of the user.

The processor may be configured to analyze whether the neural signal is a first neural signal corresponding to making a payment with a cryptocurrency, a second neural signal corresponding to transferring the cryptocurrency, or a third neural signal corresponding to a financial transaction not involving the cryptocurrency.

The processor may be configured to recognize the input information as being for controlling the implantable device to make a payment with the cryptocurrency, in response to the neural signal being the first neural signal, recognize the input information as being for drafting an invoice for a first account address to which the cryptocurrency is to be transferred, in response to the neural signal being the second neural signal, and recognize the input information as being for processing the financial transaction, in response to the neural signal being the third neural signal.

The implantable device may include a stimulus generator configured to generate a stimulus signal to transfer a result of processing the cryptocurrency-based financial transaction to the body of a user, and the processor is further configured to recognize the result of processing the cryptocurrency-based financial transaction, in response to the generated stimulus signal.

The stimulus signal may include at least one of a neural stimulus signal associated with an involuntary muscle of the user, a neural stimulus signal connected to a portion of the body of the user, a neural stimulus signal to induce a movement of a muscle not intended by the user, a stimulus signal to induce a movement in a pattern for a muscle not intended by the user, or a neural stimulus signal to induce a tactile stimulus not experienced by the user.

The processor may be configured to determine whether an amount of information of the result of processing the cryptocurrency-based financial transaction exceeds a processing capacity of the implantable device, and recognize the result of processing the cryptocurrency-based financial transaction by further using an external device, in response to a determination that the amount of the information exceeds the processing capacity of the implantable device.

The implantable device may include a memory configured to store cryptocurrency-related information comprising at least one of a private key of the user or an account address of a cryptocurrency of the user.

Other features and aspects will be apparent from the following detailed description, the drawings, and the claims.

