Patent Description:
The present disclosure generally relates to an authentication mechanism, in particular, to an authentication method performed through a wallet connection interface, an authentication system, and a computer readable storage medium.

See <FIG>, which shows a scenario of scanning information shown on an electronic device by using a smart device. In some scenarios (e.g., authentications for mobile payment, adding friends on communication applications), the electronic device <NUM> (e.g., a laptop) may show information such as the quick response (QR) code C1 for the user to scan with the smart device <NUM> (e.g., using the camera of the smart device <NUM> to shoot the QR code C1). Since the QR code C1 is shown on the display of the electronic device <NUM>, it would be easy for the user to scan the QR code C1 with the smart device <NUM>, and the smart device <NUM> can use the information in the QR code C1 to perform subsequent operations, such authenticating the user.

However, if the QR code C1 is shown on a particular display which is difficult for the smart device <NUM> to scan, the mechanism in <FIG> cannot be used for the smart device <NUM> to obtain the information in the QR code C1.

See <FIG>, which shows a scenario of providing scannable information on a wearable device. In <FIG>, the wearable device <NUM> may be, for example, a head-mounted display (HMD) using a near eye display to show visual contents (e.g., virtual reality (VR) contents) for the wearer to see. In this case, if the wearable device <NUM> shows the QR code C1 in the provided visual content, it would be difficult for the user to scan the QR code C1 with the smart device <NUM> since the QR code C1 is shown by the near eye display of the wearable device <NUM>.

Therefore, a new mechanism has to be designed for solving the above problem. Attention is drawn to <CIT> describing techniques for secure authentication in virtual reality. A virtual reality application executing on a virtual reality device can provide virtual reality environment. The virtual reality application may communicate with a server that provides a plurality of objects for display in the VR environment. The environment can include an object that, once selected, may initiate an authentication process. Once initiated, an authentication application may be launched on the VR device, so that a private authentication environment may be provided to the user. The user may be prompted to provide a biometric sample using one or more input devices coupled to the VR device. The biometric sample can then be sent to the authentication server, so that an authentication result may be determined from a comparison of the sample to a biometric template established during registration. Further attention is drawn to a paper by <NPL>. The paper describes that authentication with username and password is becoming an inconvenient process for the user. End users typically have little control over their personal privacy, and data breaches effecting millions of users have already happened several times. The authors have implemented a proof of concept decentralized OpenID Connect Provider by marrying it with Self-Sovereign Identity, which gives users the freedom to choose from a very large pool of identity providers instead of just a select few corporations, thus enabling the democratization of the highly centralized digital identity landscape. Furthermore, the authors propose a verifiable credential powered decentralized Public Key Infrastructure using distributed ledger technologies, which creates a straightforward and verifiable way for retrieving digital certificates. Attention is also drawn to <CIT> describing a virtual reality system which includes a first information processing device, a virtual reality headset, a biometric data acquisition device, a first sensor, and a second sensor. The first information processing device creates virtual reality content. The virtual reality headset is worn by the user and displays the virtual reality content received from the first information processing device to the user. The biometric data acquisition device acquires biometric data of the user. The first information processing device adds an image making the user recognize the position and the direction of the biometric data acquisition device to the virtual reality content on the basis of position and direction information created by the first sensor and the second sensor.

Further embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.

Accordingly, the disclosure is directed to an authentication method performed through a wallet connection interface, an authentication system, and a computer readable storage medium, which may be used to solve the above technical problems.

The embodiments of the disclosure provide an authentication method performed through a wallet connection interface, including: in response to determining that an authentication function of an application on a wearable device is triggered by a user, generating, by the wearable device, authentication information related to the wallet connection interface; sending, by the wearable device, the authentication information to a smart device and a server corresponding to the wallet connection interface; in response to receiving the authentication information, providing, by the smart device, wallet information of a wallet application of the smart device to the server, wherein the authentication information and the wallet information are for triggering the server to make a match between the wearable device and the smart device; and in response to the wearable device determining that the wearable device has been matched with the smart device, determining, by the wearable device, that the user has been authenticated.

The embodiments of the disclosure provide an authentication system including a wearable device and a smart device. The wearable device is configured to perform: in response to determining that an authentication function of an application on a wearable device is triggered by a user, generating authentication information related to the wallet connection interface; sending the authentication information to the smart device and a server corresponding to a wallet connection interface. The smart device is coupled to the wearable device and configured to perform: in response to receiving the authentication information, providing wallet information of a wallet application of the smart device to the server, wherein the authentication information and the wallet information are for triggering the server to make a match between the wearable device and the smart device. In response to the wearable device determining that the wearable device has been matched with the smart device, the wearable device determines that the user has been authenticated.

The embodiments of the disclosure provide a computer readable storage medium, the computer readable storage medium recording an executable computer program, the executable computer program being loaded by an authentication system to perform steps of: in response to determining that an authentication function of an application on a wearable device is triggered by a user, generating authentication information related to the wallet connection interface; sending the authentication information to a smart device and a server corresponding to the wallet connection interface; in response to receiving the authentication information, providing wallet information of a wallet application of the smart device to the server, wherein the authentication information and the wallet information are for triggering the server to make a match between the wearable device and the smart device; and in response to determining that the wearable device has been matched with the smart device, determining that the user has been authenticated.

The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

See <FIG>, which shows a schematic diagram of an authentication system according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In <FIG>, the authentication system <NUM> includes a wearable device <NUM> and a smart device <NUM>. In various embodiments, the wearable device <NUM> can be any device that can be worn on the user thereof and show contents (e.g., the user interface) related to an application <NUM> for the user to see, such as augmented reality (AR) glasses and/or the HMD with the near eye display, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the application <NUM> can be a decentralized application (Dapp) operated based on a block chain and can be used by the user to purchase products (e.g., such as Non-fungible token (NFT)), but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the smart device <NUM> can be a smart phone, a tablet or other devices that can run a wallet application <NUM>. In some embodiments, the wallet application <NUM> can be a crypto wallet stored with the corresponding cryptocurrency, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, if the user wants to use the cryptocurrency in the wallet application <NUM> to, for example, purchase the NFT through the Dapp, the Dapp may need to ask the user to do some operation for authenticating the user.

Conventionally, if the Dapp is run on a device such as the electronic device <NUM> in <FIG>, the Dapp can directly show the QR code C1 used for authenticating the user and ask the user to scan with the smart device <NUM>, wherein the QR code C1 may include authentication information for triggering a server <NUM> related to a wallet connection interface to make a match between the electronic device <NUM> and the smart device <NUM> via the wallet connection interface.

However, in the embodiments where the wearable device <NUM> is, for example, the HMD, it would be difficult for the smart device <NUM> to scan the QR code C1, which makes the server <NUM> incapable of making a match between the wearable device <NUM> and the smart device <NUM>. In this case, the user would not be allowed to use the crypto currency in the wallet application <NUM> to, for example, purchase the NFT through the Dapp.

Therefore, the embodiments of the disclosure provide a solution for the wearable device <NUM> and the smart device <NUM> to exchange the authentication information in a novel way, such that the server <NUM> can make a match between the wearable device <NUM> and the smart device <NUM> even if the wearable device <NUM> cannot provide the authentication information in a scannable form. Details would be introduced in the following.

See <FIG>, which shows a flow chart of an authentication method performed through a wallet connection interface according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The method of this embodiment may be executed by the wearable device <NUM> and the smart device <NUM> in <FIG>, and the details of each step in <FIG> will be described below with the components shown in <FIG>. For better explaining the concept of the disclosure, <FIG> would be used as an illustrative example, wherein <FIG> shows an application scenario according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

In the scenario of <FIG>, when the user of the wearable device <NUM> wants to, for example, login the application <NUM> (which may be a Dapp) to purchase products (e.g., NFT), the user may trigger an authentication function of the application <NUM> via selecting an icon <NUM> with, for example, a hand gesture recognized by the wearable device <NUM> or a handheld controller connected to the wearable device <NUM>, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

In step S311, in response to determining that the authentication function of the application <NUM> on the wearable device <NUM> is triggered by the user, the wearable device <NUM> generates authentication information A1 related to the wallet connection interface. In the embodiments of the disclosure, the considered wallet connection interface can be, for example, a WalletConnect interface or other interface capable of connecting the application <NUM> with the wallet application <NUM>, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. For better understanding the disclosure, the WalletConnect would be used as an example of the wallet connection interface in the following embodiments.

In one embodiment, the authentication information A1 may include a unique identifier and a server address of the server <NUM> (e.g., a WalletConnect server), but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

In step S312, the wearable device <NUM> sends the authentication information A1 to the smart device <NUM> and the server <NUM> corresponding to the wallet connection interface.

In one embodiment, the authentication information A1 can transmitted to the smart device <NUM> in a form of a deep link corresponding to the wallet application. In one embodiment, the deep link may be a string started with "wc:" and include data fields corresponding to the authentication information A1 (e.g., the unique identifier and the server address of the server <NUM>), but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, after sending the authentication information A1 to the smart device <NUM> and the server <NUM>, the wearable device <NUM> may wait for the user to provide identification information (e.g., a fingerprint <NUM> of the user) to the smart device <NUM> and show a waiting interface <NUM> while waiting, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

Correspondingly, the smart device <NUM> may receive the authentication information A1 from the wearable device <NUM>. In one embodiment, for facilitating the transmission of the authentication information A1 between the wearable device <NUM> and the smart device <NUM>, the wearable device <NUM> and the smart device <NUM> can be designed with corresponding transmission modules/circuits (which can be understood as corresponding to the box labeled as "Send" in <FIG>). For example, the wearable device <NUM> can be designed with a transmitting circuit (e.g., a Bluetooth module) for transmitting the authentication information A1 in response to the generated authentication information A1. Correspondingly, the smart device <NUM> can be designed with a receiving circuit (e.g., a Bluetooth module, which can be understood as corresponding to the box labeled as "Receive" in <FIG>)) for receiving the authentication information A1 from the wearable device <NUM>, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

Specifically, since the conventionally generated authentication information can be shown in a scannable form (e.g., the QR code C1) for scanning, the device (e.g., the electronic device <NUM>) generating authentication information does not need to additionally send the generated authentication information to, for example, the smart device <NUM>.

On the contrary, since the wearable device <NUM> may not characterize the authentication information A1 in a scannable form, the wearable device <NUM> can send the authentication information A1 to the smart device <NUM> via the transmitting circuit in response to the authentication function and/or the authentication information A1. That is, the wearable device <NUM> provides the authentication information A1 to the smart device <NUM> in a novel way.

In step S321, in response to receiving the authentication information A1, the smart device <NUM> provides wallet information B1 of the wallet application <NUM> of the smart device <NUM> to the server <NUM>. In one embodiment, the wallet information B1 may include a public address of the wallet application <NUM> of the smart device <NUM>.

In one embodiment, the smart device <NUM> may send the wallet information B1 of the wallet application <NUM> to the server <NUM> based on the unique identifier and the server address of the server <NUM>.

In one embodiment, before providing the wallet information B1 of the wallet application <NUM> of the smart device <NUM> to the server <NUM>, the smart device <NUM> may requesting the user to provide identification information to the smart device <NUM>. For example, the smart device <NUM> may request the user to input a biometric identification (e.g., the fingerprint <NUM>) to the smart device <NUM>, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

In response to determining that the identification information has been verified, the smart device <NUM> can provide, the wallet information B1 of the wallet application <NUM> of the smart device <NUM> to the server <NUM>. On the other hand, in response to determining that the identification information has not been verified, the smart device <NUM> may not provide the wallet information B1 of the wallet application <NUM> of the smart device <NUM> to the server <NUM> and inform the user that the authentication has failed, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, the authentication information A1 and the wallet information B1 can trigger the server <NUM> to make a match between the wearable device <NUM> and the smart device <NUM>. In the embodiment where the server <NUM> is a WalletConnect server, the details of the operations of making a match between the wearable device <NUM> and the smart device <NUM> can be referred to the specification of WalletConnect, and the details of the required authentication information A1 and the wallet information B1 can be also referred to the specification of WalletConnect, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, the server <NUM> may inform the wearable device <NUM> that the wearable device <NUM> has been matched with the smart device <NUM> via, for example, signed messages defined in the specification of WalletConnect.

Accordingly, in step S313, in response to determining that the wearable device <NUM> has been matched with the smart device <NUM>, the wearable device <NUM> determines that the user has been authenticated.

In one embodiment, after receiving, for example, the signed messages defined in the specification of WalletConnect from the server <NUM>, the wearable device <NUM> may determine that the wearable device <NUM> has been matched with the smart device <NUM>, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, once the user has been authenticated, the wearable device <NUM> may allow the user to, for example, login the application <NUM> to perform a transaction via the wallet application <NUM>. For example, the wearable device <NUM> may allow the user to purchase products such as NFT in the user interface <NUM> of the application <NUM>, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, the method in <FIG> can be performed whenever the user wants to purchase products via the application <NUM>. For example, when the user determines to checkout with the selected products, the wearable device <NUM> may show the icon <NUM> in the user interface of the application <NUM>. Once the user triggers the icon <NUM>, the steps in <FIG> can be executed again for authenticating the user. After determining that the user has been authenticated, the user can be allowed to use the cryptocurrency in the wallet application <NUM> to pay for the selected products in the application <NUM>, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

The disclosure further provides a computer readable storage medium for executing the authentication method. The computer readable storage medium is composed of a plurality of program instructions (for example, a setting program instruction and a deployment program instruction) embodied therein. These program instructions can be loaded into the wearable device <NUM> and the smart device <NUM> and executed by the same to execute the authentication method and the functions of the wearable device <NUM> and the smart device <NUM> described above.

In summary, the embodiments of the disclosure provide a solution for the wearable device to send the authentication information to the smart device in response to determining that the authentication function of the application (e.g., a Dapp) has been triggered. Accordingly, the authentication information can be successfully provided to the smart device even if the authentication information cannot be characterized in a scannable form (e.g., a QR code).

Claim 1:
An authentication method performed through a wallet connection interface, comprising:
in response (S311) to determining that an authentication function of an application (<NUM>) on a wearable device (<NUM>) is triggered by a user, generating, by the wearable device, authentication information (A1) related to the wallet connection interface;
sending (S312), by the wearable device, the authentication information (A1) to a smart device (<NUM>) and a server (<NUM>) corresponding to the wallet connection interface;
in response (S321) to receiving the authentication information, providing, by the smart device, wallet information (B1) of a wallet application (<NUM>) of the smart device to the server, wherein the authentication information and the wallet information are for triggering the server to make a match between the wearable device and the smart device; and
in response (S313) to the wearable device determining that the wearable device has been matched with the smart device, determining, by the wearable device, that the user has been authenticated;
wherein the authentication information comprises a unique identifier and a server address of the server; and
wherein the step of providing the wallet information of the wallet application of the smart device to the server comprises:
sending, by the smart device, the wallet information of the wallet application to the server based on the unique identifier and the server address of the server.