Method to search for affinities between subjects and relative apparatus

• US 8,156,326 B2
• Filed: 12/07/2006
• Issued: 04/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Eurotech S.p.A.
• Original Assignee: Eurotech S.p.A.
• Inventors: Montessoro, Pier Luca, Pierattoni, Davide, Di Giusto, Sandro
• Primary Examiner(s): Srivastava, Vivek
• Assistant Examiner(s): Salehi, Helai
• Application Number:
  US12/096,669
• Publication Number:
  US 20080282085A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,951 Days
• Field of Search: 713/150, 713/155, 380247-250, 380/258
• US Class Current: 713/155
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263

Abstract

A method to search for affinities between subjects comprises registering a user with a certification authority, receiving first information relating to the user, memorizing the first information in a portable electronic device of the user, and synthesizing the first information by transmitting it to a user interface which processes the first information memorized. The method also comprises encrypting the first information and memorizing the first information encrypted in the portable electronic device, disseminating the first encrypted information to other portable electronic devices in geographical proximity, collecting second encrypted information relating to other users, sent from other portable electronic devices in geographical proximity and decrypting the first and second information encrypted at the certification authority. Finally, the method provides for processing and analyzing the first and second decrypted information, in order to identify affinities between them, at the certification authority, and notifying the affinities, by the certification authority.

Claims

1. A method to search for affinities between subjects, comprising the passages of:

providing a certification authority that is able to act as a trustworthy subject in order to control divulgation of personal information of said subjects;

effecting a step of registering at least one user with said certification authority, wherein the registration involves memorizing, by the certification authority, a minimum set of said user'"'"'s personal information which cannot be divulged without authorization from said user himself;

effecting a step of receiving first information relating to said user and memorizing said first information in a portable electronic device of said user;

effecting a step of synthesizing said first information memorized in said portable electronic device by means of transmission to a user interface which provides to process said first memorized information;

effecting a step of encrypting said first information and memorizing said first encrypted information in said portable electronic device;

effecting a step of disseminating said first encrypted information to other portable electronic devices in geographical proximity;

effecting a step of collecting second encrypted information relating to other users registered in said certification authority, sent by other portable electronic devices in geographical proximity;

effecting a step of decrypting said first and second information encrypted, wherein said first and second encrypted information are sent to the certification authority and temporarily memorized therein and wherein the decryption is exclusively effected at said certification authority and wherein the certification authority verifies the authenticity of the data received and the non-falsifiable association with the user who generated said data;

effecting a step of processing and analyzing said first and second decrypted information, in order to identify affinities between said first and second information, at said certification authority;

effecting a step of notifying said affinities, by means of said certification authority, wherein the step of notifying involves signaling the affinity to the users, allowing them to decide whether to reciprocally reveal their identities and wherein the first and second information are canceled and not kept by the certification authority after notification of said affinities.

2. A method as in claim 1, wherein, in the notifying step, the certification authority signals the affinity to the users concerned, maintaining mutual anonymity, until explicit consent is given by at least said one user concerned to divulge the information and authorize to proceed.

3. A method as in claim 1, wherein during said registration step:

said user is equipped with said portable electronic device, with an identification key and with a pair of encrypted keys, public and private;

said user sends his/her own personal information to said certification authority which encodes said personal information in a database.

4. A method as in claim 1, wherein said step of receiving first information comprises one or more sub-steps chosen from a group comprising:

a learning sub-step which comprises the passages of making available a network of electronic TAG devices able to send information, and to send and memorize said first information from said electronic TAG devices to said portable electronic device;

an imprinting sub-step which comprises the passage of inserting said first information manually into said portable electronic device.

5. A method as in claim 1, wherein said decryption step, said step of processing and analyzing said first decrypted information and said notification step are effected exclusively by said certification authority.

6. A method as in claim 1, wherein said first information relates to the movements of said user so as to define an average route, and in that said second information relates to the movements of average routes of said users.

7. A method as in claim 1, wherein said first information and said second information relate to one or more items of information chosen from a group of information comprising:

information relating to health;

professional information;

information relating to work;

information relating to the movements of said users;

information of a personal and/or private nature, such as hobbies, sports, psychological and affective profile, aptitudes and suchlike.

8. An apparatus to perform a method as in claim 1, comprising:

a plurality of portable electronic devices able to receive and memorize uncoded data relating to a specific user, and able to interact with each other in geographical proximity in order to effect an interchange of encrypted information relating to other users;

a plurality of user interfaces, each associated in a selective and bi-univocal manner to each of said portable electronic devices, said user interfaces being able to receive said uncoded data of the specific user and said encrypted information of the other users from the respective portable electronic devices, to encrypt said uncoded data into encrypted information of the specific user and to transfer said encrypted information of the specific user at least to said portable electronic devices and all the encrypted information outside via Internet;

at least a certification authority, that is able to act as a trustworthy subject in order to control the divulgation of the personal information of said subjects, by managing the registration of new users, memorizing a minimum set of said user'"'"'s personal information which cannot be divulged without authorization from said user himself and that is able to receive and only temporarily memorize all the encrypted information from said user interfaces, to selectively decrypt and process said encrypted information, effecting a search for affinities between said information, to verify the authenticity of the data received and the non-falsifiable association with the user who generated said data and also able to notify the results of said search for affinities to said user interfaces, in order to inform said users of said results, and after notification of said affinities, to cancel and not to keep the encrypted information by the certification authority.

9. A method as in claim 3, wherein said step of disseminating said first information and said step of harvesting and memorizing second encrypted information relating to the movements of other users are effected substantially simultaneously by means of an anonymous interchange of said first encrypted information and said second encrypted information between said portable electronic device of said user and other portable electronic devices of said other users in geographical proximity, and corresponding memorization of said first encrypted information and said second encrypted information in each of said portable electronic devices.

10. A method to search for affinities between subjects who use a service for sharing vehicles, or car pooling, comprising the passages of:

providing a certification authority that is able to act as a trustworthy subject in order to control divulgation of personal information of said subjects;

effecting a registration of each user with the certification authority wherein the registration involves memorizing, by the certification authority, a minimum set of said user'"'"'s personal information which cannot be divulged without authorization from said user himself;

defining the user'"'"'s average route or datatrip and memorizing the route defined in a portable electronic device of each user;

transferring uncoded the defined route, relating to a specific user, from the specific user'"'"'s portable electronic device to a user interface, again of the specific user, connected via Internet to said certification authority;

encrypting, uncoded, the specific user'"'"'s route, by means of said user interface;

transmitting the encrypted route from the user interface to the relative portable electronic device of the specific user and subsequently from the latter to other portable electronic devices of other users, registered in said certification authority, in geographic proximity;

transmitting and sharing, due to proximity, the encrypted routes among the portable electronic devices of the users in geographic proximity;

transmitting the encrypted route of the specific user from the user interface to the certification authority, via Internet, and the encrypted routes received from said other users from the portable electronic device of the specific user to the user interface of the same user and from this to the certification authority, again via Internet, wherein the encrypted routes are temporarily memorized in said certification authority;

decrypting the encrypted routes, exclusively at the certification authority, both of the specific user and of the other users, and processing and evaluating potential compatibility of datatrips and vehicle pooling, wherein the certification authority verifies the authenticity of the data received and the non-falsifiable association with the user who generated said data;

notifying users of the existence of potential compatibility of datatrips and vehicle pooling, based on the previous evaluation of potential compatibility;

effecting a step of specific consent or dissent from the user interested in sharing his/her personal information with the users for whom the potential datatrip compatibility has been verified;

canceling the decrypted routes memorized at the certification authority.