Tracking Confirmed Cases with 'Smartphone Blackbox'... Protecting Privacy

On the 8th, confirmed patients are being transported to Seoul Medical Center in Jungnang-gu, Seoul, as the aftermath of the cluster outbreak of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) spreading in the metropolitan area continues. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] A smartphone black box that can track the movement paths of confirmed COVID-19 patients or detect whether quarantined individuals have left their isolation spaces without revealing personal information has been developed. It is expected to elevate the globally renowned level of K-quarantine, which gained fame for preventing the spread of COVID-19, to a new level.

On the 10th, the research team led by Professor Dongsu Han of the Intelligent Service Integration Laboratory, Department of Computer Science at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), announced the development of a 'COVID-19 Spread Prevention System' in the form of a smartphone app and web platform.

Tracking Movement Paths While Protecting Privacy with Smartphone Black Box

This system was developed in three app versions and two web formats. Its most notable feature is that it is based on a smartphone black box that stores signal information from built-in sensors such as GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and inertial sensors, enabling accurate location information of confirmed patients or quarantined individuals to be identified. This system can acquire precise location information even when inside buildings.

In particular, since the system determines location through smartphone signal information, personal identity is not revealed. The information stored in the black box is deleted after two weeks, eliminating the possibility of data leakage.

Even when disclosing the movement paths of confirmed patients, the system releases signal information rather than location details expressed in text, thus protecting the privacy of the confirmed individuals. Previously, concerns about human rights violations due to privacy exposure were continuously raised during the disclosure of confirmed patients’ movement paths through broad access to personal information such as credit card usage records.

Real-Time Confirmation of Virus Exposure

Just as an aircraft black box records the flight data of an aircraft, a smartphone black box records the movement path of the smartphone.

This system is broadly divided into a 'Virus Exposure Self-Diagnosis System' for the general public, a 'Confirmed Patient Epidemiological Investigation System' for infectious disease management agencies, and a 'Quarantine Management System' that notifies whether quarantined individuals have left their isolation spaces.

The virus exposure diagnosis system notifies users of their exposure status by analyzing the movement path information of confirmed patients contained in the app. It calculates and informs the likelihood of virus exposure by integrating the user’s smartphone black box data with confirmed patient movement path information (such as text messages).

The confirmed patient epidemiological investigation system displays the signals recorded in the confirmed patient’s smartphone black box on a map. Epidemiologists within quarantine authorities can easily track the movement paths of confirmed patients. Notably, the research team applied a self-developed integrated indoor-outdoor positioning system to track movement paths regardless of whether the patient is inside or outside buildings.

The quarantine management system analyzes transmitted signals in real time to verify whether quarantined individuals have left their isolation spaces. By using not only GPS signals but also wireless LAN signals, it can monitor isolation breaches both outdoors and indoors, enabling more accurate management of quarantined individuals compared to existing methods.

Developed for Use Regardless of Smartphone Type

KAIST President Shin Sung-chul is visiting the 'COVID-19 Infectious Disease Spread Prevention System' demo room at the Daejeon main campus, encouraging Professor Han Dong-su and the researchers.

Professor Dongsu Han stated, "Currently, about 30 different types of smartphones are in use, and since the types of sensors embedded in each smartphone vary greatly, our research team is working on porting and testing the developed system across various smartphones."

Shinseong Chul, President of KAIST, also emphasized, "By utilizing this system, the efforts and time of medical staff and quarantine workers struggling with the resurgence of COVID-19 can be drastically reduced. It enables rapid and accurate epidemiological investigations without privacy infringement controversies, serving as an opportunity to once again showcase the excellence of K-quarantine to countries around the world."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.