Apparatus, system and method for exchanging encrypted communications with an eye-mountable device

• US 9,854,437 B1
• Filed: 04/28/2015
• Issued: 12/26/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2014
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Verily Life Sciences LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verily Life Sciences LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Yeager, Daniel J., Morrison, Timothy D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zand, Kambiz
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wyszynski, Aubrey
• Application Number:
  US14/698,471
• Time in Patent Office: 973 Days
• Field of Search: 380270
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 7/04 Contact lenses for the eyes disinfection or sterilisation of contact lenses A61L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 7/041 bifocal; multifocal
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 7/049 Contact lenses having special fitting or structural features achieved by special materials or material structures
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 7/083 Electrooptic lenses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/24 Key scheduling, i.e. generating round keys or sub-keys for block encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0819 Key transport or distribution, i.e. key establishment techniques where one party creates or otherwise obtains a secret value, and securely transfers it to the other(s) network architectures or network communication protocols for key distribution in a packet data network H04L63/062
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/03 Protecting confidentiality, e.g. by encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]

Abstract

Techniques and mechanisms for exchanging encrypted communications wirelessly with an accommodation-capable eye-mountable device (EMD). In an embodiment, a controller of the EMD is configured to encrypt data to be sent from the EMD to an auxiliary device or to decrypt data received by the EMD from the auxiliary device. Cryptographic operations to securely exchange the communications are based on a key value and a vector determined at the EMD. In another embodiment, the auxiliary device operates as a master, and the EMD operates as a slave, at least with respect to enablement of a functionality of the EMD to change an association of a cryptographic key value with a vector.

Claims

1. An eye-mountable device (EMD), comprising:

an enclosure material;

an accommodation actuator disposed within the enclosure material, wherein the accommodation actuator is coupled to adjust a level of accommodation of the EMD;

a controller disposed on a substrate within the enclosure material, wherein the controller includes one or more integrated circuits with associated logic that when executed by the controller causes the controller to perform operations including;

exchanging a wireless communication between the EMD and an auxiliary device via communication logic while the enclosure material is in direct contact with an eye of a user; and

performing a cryptographic operation via cryptographic logic to encrypt or decrypt data included in the wireless communication, wherein the data included in the wireless communication includes information describing the level of accommodation provided to the EMD by the accommodation actuator.

2. The EMD of claim 1, wherein the cryptographic operation is based on a symmetric private key cryptography scheme that includes cryptographic key and a vector, and wherein the cryptographic key is a symmetric key.

3. The EMD of claim 2, wherein the cryptographic logic includes a lock mode register to set permissions for changing an association of the cryptographic key with the vector, wherein the auxiliary device operates as a master to change the permissions set by the lock mode register, and the EMD is to operate as a slave to adjust the association of the cryptographic key with the vector based on a command from the auxiliary device.

4. The EMD of claim 1, wherein the cryptographic operation further includes:

generating a cipher based on a cryptographic key and a vector; and

performing an exclusive OR (XOR) operation based on a word of data and a portion of the cipher.

5. The EMD of claim 3, wherein the wireless communication includes a command to change the permissions set by the lock mode register, wherein the permissions fix the association of the cryptographic key with the vector.

6. The EMD of claim 1, wherein the cryptographic operation is compatible with an Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) specification.

7. The EMD of claim 6, wherein the cryptographic operation is based on 128-bit AES calculations.

8. The EMD of claim 2, wherein the EMD includes a random number generator to generate a random number, and wherein the vector is based on the random number.

9. The EMD of claim 1, further comprising an electrochemical sensor disposed on the substrate and including a working electrode and a reference electrode, the electrochemical sensor configured to generate a signal indicating a detection, with the working electrode and the reference electrode, of an analyte in a fluid disposed on the EMD.

10. The EMD of claim 1, wherein the data included in the wireless communication includes a command received from the auxiliary device to set the accommodation actuator to a specified accommodation level.

11. The EMD of claim 10, wherein the cryptographic operation includes decrypting the command with a cryptographic key and a vector, and in response changing the accommodation actuator to the specified accommodation level.

12. A method comprising:

exchanging a wireless communication between an eye-mountable device (EMD) and an auxiliary device via communication logic while the EMD is in direct contact with an eye of a user; and

performing a cryptographic operation via cryptographic logic to encrypt or decrypt data included in the wireless communication, wherein the data included in the wireless communication includes information describing a level of accommodation provided to the EMD by an accommodation actuator disposed within an enclosure material.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the cryptographic operation is based on a cryptographic key and a vector, wherein the cryptographic logic includes a lock mode register to set permissions for changing an association of the cryptographic key with the vector, wherein the auxiliary device operates as a master to set the permissions of the lock mode register, and the EMD is to operate as a slave to adjust the association of the cryptographic key with the vector based on a command from the auxiliary device.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the cryptographic operation further includes:

generating a cipher based on a cryptographic key and a vector; and

performing an exclusive OR (XOR) operation based on a word of data and a portion of the cipher.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the wireless communication includes a command to set the permissions of the lock mode register, wherein the permissions fix the association of the cryptographic key with the vector.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the cryptographic operation is compatible with an Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) specification.

17. A system comprising:

a reader device;

an eye-mountable device (EMD), comprising;

an enclosure material;

an accommodation actuator, having multiple accommodation states, disposed within the enclosure material, wherein each of the multiple accommodation states provides a level of accommodation of the EMD;

a controller disposed on a substrate within the enclosure material, wherein the controller includes one or more integrated circuits with associated logic that when executed by the controller causes the controller to perform operations including;

exchanging a wireless communication between the EMD and the reader device via communication logic while the enclosure material is in direct contact with an eye of a user; and

performing a cryptographic operation via cryptographic logic to encrypt or decrypt data included in the wireless communication, wherein the data included in the wireless communication includes information describing the level of accommodation provided to the EMD by the accommodation actuator.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the cryptographic operation is based on an association that includes a cryptographic key and a vector, wherein the cryptographic logic includes a lock mode register to set permissions for changing the association of the cryptographic key with the vector, wherein the reader device operates as a master to set the permissions of the lock mode register, and the EMD is to operate as a slave to adjust the association of the cryptographic key with the vector based on a command from the auxiliary device.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the cryptographic operation further includes:

generating a cipher based on a cryptographic key and a vector; and

performing an exclusive OR (XOR) operation based on a word of data and a portion of the cipher.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the cryptographic operation is based on 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard calculations.

21. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by one or more processing units, cause the one or more processing units to perform a method comprising:

exchanging a wireless communication between an eye-mountable device (EMD) and an auxiliary device via communication logic while the EMD is in direct contact with an eye of a user; and

performing a cryptographic operation via cryptographic logic to encrypt or decrypt data included in the wireless communication, wherein the data included in the wireless communication includes information describing a level of accommodation provided to the EMD by an accommodation actuator disposed within an enclosure material.

22. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 21, wherein the cryptographic operation is based on a cryptographic key and a vector, wherein the cryptographic logic includes a lock mode register to set permissions for changing an association of the cryptographic key with the vector, wherein the auxiliary device operates as a master to set the permissions of the lock mode register, and the EMD is to operate as a slave to adjust the association of the cryptographic key with the vector based on a command from the auxiliary device.

23. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 21, wherein the cryptographic operation further includes:

generating a cipher based on a cryptographic key and a vector; and

performing an exclusive OR (XOR) operation based on a word of data and a portion of the cipher.

24. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 21, wherein the cryptographic operation is based on 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard calculations.