Method and apparatus for identifying contact on basis of signal similarity

Abstract

The present invention relates to a technology for identifying a contact on the basis of a signal similarity. An apparatus for identifying a contact: receives space-time signal information capable of specifying time and space from a plurality of user terminals and stores the received space-time signal information; extracts space-time signal information of a specific user from the stored space-time signal information; configures the extracted space-time signal information of the specific user as reference space-time signal information; compares a similarity between the reference space-time signal information and the stored other space-time signal information; and determines whether the specific user and another user are in contact with each other on the basis of the similarity.

Description

Method and device for contact identification based on signal similarity

[0001] This specification relates to a technology for preventing and controlling the spread of infectious diseases, and relates to a method and device for determining whether there is contact between terminal users based on the similarity of signals received from the terminal.

[0002] Recently, with the development of transportation and the increase in trade between countries, the need for a national infectious disease management model has emerged due to the frequent occurrence of new infectious diseases transmitted through human contact.

[0003] In particular, COVID-19 is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a new type of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that first emerged in Wuhan, China and has since spread throughout China and around the world. It is transmitted through droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, so it is very important to track the movements of confirmed cases to prevent further spread.

[0004] Currently, handwritten guestbooks or electronic attendance logs using QR codes are used to track and manage infectious disease patients. However, these conventional methods are ineffective in environments where specific individuals reside and move frequently. For example, medical and nursing facilities, public institutions, and other facilities use wireless signals to measure the movements of specific individuals in real time or at short intervals, collecting and storing them in databases. While the database can be used to identify contacts by comparing the time-series movements of each individual, the search volume increases proportionally to the number of registered individuals and the time of day, significantly reducing efficiency when processing big data. Furthermore, the massive amount of data places a significant burden on the system, making it difficult to expect fast processing results and accuracy.

[0005] In addition, although there are various prior technologies that initiate individual movement tracking technology based on conventional location information, there is a problem in that location information, which is personal information, is used to identify the movement of individuals who have come into contact with infectious disease patients in the event of an infectious disease outbreak, and thus, improvement measures are needed.

[0006] The technical challenge addressed by the embodiments of this specification is to overcome the privacy-related issues arising from the use of individual location information to determine whether an individual has been in contact with an infectious disease patient. Furthermore, the present invention aims to improve the accuracy of contact determination by processing only data from various wireless signals, such as WiFi, Bluetooth, LTE, and 5G, received from the user's device. Furthermore, the efficiency of data processing is increased, facilitating the extraction of contact information, thereby contributing to the prevention and containment of the spread of infectious diseases.

[0007] In order to solve the above technical problem, a method for confirming a contact person based on signal similarity according to an embodiment of the present specification includes: a step in which a contact confirmation device receives and stores spatiotemporal signal information capable of specifying time and space from a plurality of user terminals; a step in which the contact confirmation device extracts spatiotemporal signal information of a specific user from the stored spatiotemporal signal information; a step in which the contact confirmation device sets the extracted spatiotemporal signal information of the specific user as reference spatiotemporal signal information and compares the similarity between the reference spatiotemporal signal information and other stored spatiotemporal signal information; and a step in which the contact confirmation device determines whether the specific user is in contact with another user based on the similarity.

[0008] In a contact confirmation method according to one embodiment, the spatiotemporal signal information is a TSF (temporal & spatial fingerprint) that is continuously measured for a certain period of time from at least one sensor in the user's terminal and indicates the state information of space over time, and the TSF may include a signal type of the spatiotemporal signal information measured through the user's terminal, a signal intensity according to the signal type, and a timestamp indicating information about the time at which the signal type and the signal intensity were measured.

[0009] In a contact confirmation method according to one embodiment, the TSF further includes a state value of the environment indicating a change in the environment, wherein the state value of the environment may be at least one or a combination of a characteristic value of air pressure according to a change in air pressure of a space where the user stayed, a characteristic value of sound according to a change in sound of the space, and a characteristic value of temperature according to a change in temperature of the space.

[0010] In a contact confirmation method according to one embodiment, the step of receiving and storing the spatiotemporal signal information may match a user terminal identifier with the spatiotemporal signal information and store it.

[0011] In a method for confirming a contact according to one embodiment, the step of extracting spatiotemporal signal information of the specific user may include selecting spatiotemporal signal information corresponding to the spatiotemporal signal information of the specific user from a plurality of stored spatiotemporal signal information when the specific user is determined to be infected.

[0012] In one embodiment, in a contact confirmation method, the step of comparing the similarity may include: performing a first similarity check to search for spatiotemporal signal information having timestamp information similar to timestamp information of the reference spatiotemporal signal information among a plurality of stored spatiotemporal signal information; performing a second similarity check to search for spatiotemporal signal information having a signal type and signal intensity similar to the signal type and signal intensity of the reference spatiotemporal signal information among spatiotemporal signal information searched as a result of the first similarity check; and performing a third similarity check to search for spatiotemporal signal information having a state value of an environment similar to the state value of an environment of the reference spatiotemporal signal information when the spatiotemporal signal information searched as a result of the second similarity check includes a state value of an environment indicating a change in the environment.

[0013] In a method for confirming a contact according to one embodiment, the step of determining whether there is contact may include confirming a user terminal identifier that measures spatiotemporal signal information similar to the reference spatiotemporal signal information of the specific user, and classifying the user as a contact or non-contact.

[0014] Furthermore, the following provides a computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the contact confirmation method described above on a computer.

[0015] In order to solve the above technical problem, a signal similarity-based contact confirmation device according to one embodiment of the present specification includes: a communication module for receiving spatiotemporal signal information from a plurality of user terminals; and a processor for storing the spatiotemporal signal information, extracting spatiotemporal signal information of a specific user from the stored spatiotemporal signal information, setting the extracted spatiotemporal signal information of the specific user as reference spatiotemporal signal information, comparing the similarity between the reference spatiotemporal signal information and other stored spatiotemporal signal information, and determining whether the specific user has come into contact with another user based on the similarity.

[0016] In a contact confirmation device according to one embodiment, the processor matches and stores a user terminal identifier and the spatiotemporal signal information, wherein the spatiotemporal signal information is a TSF (temporal & spatial fingerprint) that is continuously measured for a certain period of time from at least one sensor in the user's terminal and represents the state information of space over time, and the TSF may include a signal type of spatiotemporal signal information measured through the user's terminal, a signal intensity according to the signal type, and a timestamp that represents information about the time at which the signal type and the signal intensity were measured.

[0017] In a contact identification device according to one embodiment, when the specific user is determined to be infected, the processor may select spatiotemporal signal information corresponding to the spatiotemporal signal information of the specific user from a plurality of stored spatiotemporal signal information.

[0018] In a contact confirmation device according to one embodiment, the processor may perform a first similarity check to search for spatiotemporal signal information having similar timestamp information to timestamp information of the reference spatiotemporal signal information among a plurality of stored spatiotemporal signal information, perform a second similarity check to search for spatiotemporal signal information having similar signal type and signal intensity to the signal type and signal intensity of the reference spatiotemporal signal information among spatiotemporal signal information searched as a result of the first similarity check, and, if the spatiotemporal signal information searched as a result of the second similarity check includes a state value of an environment indicating a change in the environment, perform a third similarity check to search for spatiotemporal signal information having a state value of an environment similar to the state value of an environment of the reference spatiotemporal signal information.

[0019] In a contact confirmation device according to one embodiment, the processor can identify a user terminal identifier that has measured spatiotemporal signal information similar to the reference spatiotemporal signal information of the specific user, and classify the user as a contact or non-contact.

[0020] In a contact identification device according to one embodiment, the processor may transmit a message recommending infectious disease testing to infected persons based on the determined contact.

[0021] According to the embodiments of the present specification described above, a technique is proposed to identify a user's movements by comparing the similarity between signals received from the user's terminal. Since the proposed technique only compares the similarity of the signals themselves, it does not use any user location information. Therefore, it is free from privacy concerns that arise when determining whether a user has been in contact with an infectious disease patient. Furthermore, it is economical because it does not require resources to calculate location information, and the ease of extracting contact information facilitates a rapid response to the spread of infectious diseases.

[0022] FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method for identifying a contact based on signal similarity according to one embodiment.

[0023] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating different signal patterns received by a user's terminal depending on the space.

[0024] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating changes in pressure measured by a pressure sensor in a user's terminal according to space.

[0025] Figure 4 is a diagram comparing the performance of a contact verification device with or without preprocessing using a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) model.

[0026] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a device for performing signal similarity-based contact verification according to one embodiment.

[0027] Before describing the embodiments of this specification in detail, we will introduce the goals that appear in the field of technology for preventing and preventing the spread of infectious diseases or contagious diseases in which the embodiments of this specification are implemented, and the technical means and configurations that can be considered to solve the goals.

[0028] Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in December 2019 and its global spread, much research has been conducted to prevent and contain the spread of infectious diseases. For example, numerous technologies and studies exist to track the movements and contacts of infected individuals. For example, one technology utilizes multiple identification scanners installed in multiple locations to acquire personal ID (identifier) ​​information from individual devices, stores the time and location of the positioning, and uses this information to track infected individuals and their contacts. Furthermore, a technology has emerged that deploys an Internet of Things (IoT)-based sensor network within a specific facility to collect information on all close-range contacts that pose a risk of infection. In addition to mobile IoT sensors, fixed IoT sensors are deployed in areas at risk of infection to track the possibility of infection.

[0029] However, all of the above-described technologies require complex computations and can be expensive, as they continuously store data estimating the locations of all personnel. Furthermore, if an infected person is identified in the future, location information could be used to determine whether personnel whose paths overlapped with those of the infected person had come into contact. User location information is a critical personal information issue. The Location Information Act distinguishes between "location information" and "personal location information" and treats them differently under different legal frameworks. Furthermore, the concept of "location information" is defined very broadly. Ultimately, the use of location information can lead to various issues, as it is more closely tied to an individual's human rights than to their personal identification.

[0030] The contact identification technology based on signal similarity described herein does not use any location-related information or data to determine whether an individual has been in contact with an infected individual. Therefore, this contact identification technology is relatively free from privacy concerns compared to the aforementioned technologies. Furthermore, it offers the advantage of being low-cost, requiring signal similarity comparisons only when an infected individual is identified.

[0031] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present specification will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, detailed descriptions of well-known functions or components that may obscure the gist of the embodiments in the following description and the attached drawings will be omitted. Additionally, throughout the specification, the term "including" a component does not exclude other components, unless specifically stated otherwise, but rather implies the inclusion of other components.

[0032] Additionally, while terms such as "first" and "second" may be used to describe various components, these components should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be used to distinguish one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of this specification, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, a second component may also be referred to as a first component.

[0033] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this application, it should be understood that the terms "comprise" or "have" indicate the presence of a described feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof, but do not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0034] Unless specifically defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which this specification pertains. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted to have a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined herein.

[0035] FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method for identifying a contact based on signal similarity according to one embodiment.

[0036] In step S110, the contact verification device receives and stores spatiotemporal signal information that can identify time and space from multiple user terminals. During this process, the user terminal identifiers and the spatiotemporal signal information can be matched and stored. The user terminals are not limited to mobile communication terminals, but may also include wearable devices capable of wireless communication.

[0037] In step S130, the contact confirmation device extracts spatiotemporal signal information of a specific user from the stored spatiotemporal signal information. During this process, if the specific user is identified as infected, spatiotemporal signal information corresponding to the specific user can be selected from the multiple stored spatiotemporal signal information.

[0038] In step S150, the contact confirmation device sets the extracted spatiotemporal signal information of the specific user as reference spatiotemporal signal information, and compares the similarity between the reference spatiotemporal signal information and other stored spatiotemporal signal information. In this process, a first similarity test may be performed to search for spatiotemporal signal information having timestamp information similar to timestamp information of the reference spatiotemporal signal information among a plurality of stored spatiotemporal signal information, a second similarity test may be performed to search for spatiotemporal signal information having a signal type and signal intensity similar to the signal type and signal intensity of the reference spatiotemporal signal information among spatiotemporal signal information searched as a result of the first similarity test, and if the spatiotemporal signal information searched as a result of the second similarity test includes an environmental state value indicating a change in the environment, a third similarity test may be performed to search for spatiotemporal signal information having an environmental state value similar to the environmental state value of the reference spatiotemporal signal information. At this time, the similarity can be interpreted as a correlation coefficient, and the method of comparing the similarity can use the correlation coefficient, which is an indicator that shows what changes occur when one variable changes in the other variable, and the likelihood as a measure that can evaluate various possible hypotheses based on the results shown.

[0039] In step S170, the contact confirmation device determines whether the specific user has come into contact with another user based on the similarity. In this process, a user terminal identifier that measures spatiotemporal signal information similar to the reference spatiotemporal signal information of the specific user is identified, and the user can be classified as a contact or non-contact user.

[0040] The above spatiotemporal signal information will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 below.

[0041] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating different signal patterns received by a user's terminal depending on the space.

[0042] Figure 2 (A) illustrates a long term evolution (LTE) signal pattern, which is one of the wireless communication types, (B) illustrates a WiFi signal pattern, and (C) illustrates a Bluetooth signal pattern. The signal patterns can be interpreted as signal strength. While the signals (A), (B), and (C) are received by the server, the measurement interval is set to 30 seconds, and only representative patterns among the signal patterns received every 30 seconds are extracted and displayed as signal patterns stored in the server. This saves a portion of the signal rather than storing the received signal information itself, thereby reducing the cost used for signal processing and storage.

[0043] With respect to (A) of Fig. 2, when the spatiotemporal signal information is a wireless communication signal, in the process of receiving and storing the spatiotemporal signal information, which is step S110 of Fig. 1, the wireless communication signal may be stored including the type of communication company and the communication standard. In addition, in the process of comparing the similarity between the spatiotemporal signal information, which is step S150 of Fig. 1, the similarity between the wireless communication signals of the reference spatiotemporal signal information and each of the other stored spatiotemporal signal information may be compared, targeting spatiotemporal signal information that matches at least one or a combination of the type of communication company and the communication standard.

[0044] With respect to (B) of Fig. 2, if the spatiotemporal signal information is WiFi, in the process of receiving and storing the spatiotemporal signal information, which is step S110 of Fig. 1, the WiFi AP (access point) identifier, frequency, and channel may be stored. In addition, in the process of comparing the similarity between the spatiotemporal signal information, which is step S150, the similarity between the WiFi signals of the reference spatiotemporal signal information and each of the other stored spatiotemporal signal information may be compared, targeting spatiotemporal signal information in which at least one or a combination of the WiFi AP (access point) identifier, frequency, and channel matches.

[0045] With respect to (C) of Fig. 2, if the spatiotemporal signal information is Bluetooth, in the process of receiving and storing the spatiotemporal signal information, which is step S110 of Fig. 1, the Bluetooth identifier may be included and stored. In addition, in the process of comparing the similarity between the spatiotemporal signal information, which is step S150, the similarity between the Bluetooth signals of the reference spatiotemporal signal information and each of the other stored spatiotemporal signal information may be compared, targeting spatiotemporal signal information having the same Bluetooth identifier.

[0046] Depending on the type of spatiotemporal signal information described above, storage items can be differentiated based on the characteristics of each signal information, making it easier to identify spatiotemporal signal information. Furthermore, since storage items vary depending on the type of spatiotemporal signal information, full scanning of all data in the table where the spatiotemporal signal information is stored is no longer necessary, making it possible to quickly determine whether users have been in contact with an infected person.

[0047] Figure 3 is a diagram showing the change in pressure measured by the pressure sensor in the user's terminal over time according to space.

[0048] The above-mentioned pressure change measurement value can be measured as one of the spatial status values ​​through a pressure sensor built into the user's terminal. In this case, the pressure sensor may be at least one of a GPS altimeter, a location-based altimeter, and a pressure altimeter, or a combination thereof. There are various factors that can change the atmospheric pressure in the space. For example, such factors may include, but are not limited to, whether the heater is on, the strength of the door opening when an individual enters or leaves the room, and the presence of ventilation. The factors may include various variable factors that can be measured while changing the atmospheric pressure.

[0049] Based on this, if you look at Figure 3, you can see that the user's terminal is graphing the measured pressure change values, 310, 330, and 350. The user's terminal that measured 310 was in a different space from the user's terminals that measured 330 and 350, and in fact, if you look at the change patterns of the measured values ​​of 310 and the change patterns of the measured values ​​of 330 and 350, you can see that they are different. In addition, if you look at the change patterns of the measured values ​​of 330 and 350, you can see that the shapes of the graphs are the same. In other words, you can see that the user's terminal that measured 330 and the user's terminal that measured 350 were in the same space.

[0050] Moreover, the closer the 330 and 350 measurements are, the closer the users' terminals were to each other in the same space. For example, if the terminal that measured 330 is the terminal of an infected person, the closer the 350 measurement is to the 330 measurement, the more likely it is that they came into contact with each other, so the user of the terminal that measured 350 can be classified as a close contact. Conversely, the farther away the measurement is from the 330 measurement, the more likely the user of the terminal that measured 350 can be classified as a simple contact or non-contact.

[0051] Although Fig. 3 exemplifies measurements based on changes in air pressure within a space, measurements based on changes in sound or temperature within a space, as well as other spatial status values, can be used to determine contact with an infected individual. In this case, the sensor measuring changes in sound within a space may be a built-in sound sensor within the terminal, and the sensor measuring changes in temperature within a space may be a built-in temperature sensor within the terminal.

[0052] As described above with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the spatiotemporal signal information is a TSF (temporal & spatial fingerprint) that is continuously measured for a certain period of time from at least one sensor in the user's terminal and indicates the state information of the space according to the passage of time, and the TSF includes a signal type of the spatiotemporal signal information measured through the user's terminal, a signal intensity according to the signal type, and a timestamp indicating information about the time at which the signal type and the signal intensity were measured, and further includes a state value of the environment indicating a change in the environment, and the state value of the environment may be at least one of a characteristic value of air pressure according to a change in air pressure of a space where the user stayed, a characteristic value of sound according to a change in sound of the space, and a characteristic value of temperature according to a change in temperature of the space, or a combination thereof.

[0053] Figure 4 is a diagram comparing the performance of a contact verification device with or without preprocessing using a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) model.

[0054] The Accuracy column in Figure 4 indicates the probability of accurately identifying actual contacts as contacts and non-contacts as non-contacts in a sample. The Precision column indicates the probability that the individuals identified as contacts in the sample are actually contacts. The Recall column indicates the probability of identifying actual contacts. The key to contact detection in this field is ensuring that no contacts are missed. Therefore, designing devices to maximize Recall is crucial. As shown in Figure 5, the Recall, the probability of identifying actual contacts as contacts, was estimated to be 99.8%. In other words, virtually all contacts can be identified. Furthermore, by comparing only signal characteristics, the movement of contacts could be identified within approximately 10 minutes. This process verified that no location information was used. Because the specific contact locations are unknown, the system is free from privacy concerns and minimizes the risk of innocent victims being harmed by providing contact information.

[0055] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a device for performing multiple question generation according to one embodiment, and is a reconstruction of the signal similarity-based contact verification method according to one embodiment of FIG. 1 from the perspective of hardware configuration.

[0056] The contact verification device (500) may include a communication module (510) and a processor (530).

[0057] The above communication module (510) receives spatiotemporal signal information from a plurality of user terminals (100).

[0058] The processor (530) stores the spatiotemporal signal information, extracts spatiotemporal signal information of a specific user from the stored spatiotemporal signal information, sets the extracted spatiotemporal signal information of the specific user as reference spatiotemporal signal information, compares the similarity between the reference spatiotemporal signal information and other stored spatiotemporal signal information, and determines whether the specific user is in contact with another user based on the similarity.

[0059] The above processor (530) matches and stores the user terminal identifier and the spatiotemporal signal information, and the spatiotemporal signal information is a TSF (temporal & spatial fingerprints) that is continuously measured for a certain period of time from at least one sensor in the user's terminal (100) and represents the state information of space according to the passage of time, and the TSF may include a signal type of the spatiotemporal signal information measured through the user's terminal (100), a signal intensity according to the signal type, and a timestamp that represents information about the time at which the signal type and the signal intensity were measured.

[0060] The above processor (530) can select spatiotemporal signal information corresponding to the spatiotemporal signal information of the specific user from a plurality of stored spatiotemporal signal information when the specific user is determined to be infected.

[0061] The processor (530) may perform a first similarity check to search for spatiotemporal signal information having similar timestamp information to timestamp information of the reference spatiotemporal signal information among a plurality of stored spatiotemporal signal information, perform a second similarity check to search for spatiotemporal signal information having similar signal type and signal intensity to the signal type and signal intensity of the reference spatiotemporal signal information among spatiotemporal signal information searched as a result of the first similarity check, and, if the spatiotemporal signal information searched as a result of the second similarity check includes a state value of an environment indicating a change in the environment, perform a third similarity check to search for spatiotemporal signal information having a state value of an environment similar to the state value of an environment of the reference spatiotemporal signal information.

[0062] The above processor (530) can identify a user terminal identifier that has measured spatiotemporal signal information similar to the reference spatiotemporal signal information of the specific user, and classify the user as a contactor or a non-contactor.

[0063] The above processor (530) can transmit a message recommending infectious disease testing to infected people based on the determined contact.

[0064] According to the embodiments of the present specification described above, a technique is proposed to identify a user's movements by comparing the similarity between signals received from the user's terminal. Since the proposed technique only compares the similarity of the signals themselves, it does not use any user location information. Therefore, it is free from privacy concerns that arise when determining whether a user has been in contact with an infectious disease patient. Furthermore, it is economical because it does not require resources to calculate location information, and the ease of extracting contact information facilitates a rapid response to the spread of infectious diseases.

[0065] Embodiments according to the present specification may be implemented by various means, for example, hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. In the case of hardware implementation, an embodiment of the present specification may be implemented by one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, etc. In the case of firmware or software implementation, an embodiment of the present specification may be implemented in the form of a module, procedure, function, etc. that performs the capabilities or operations described above. Software code may be stored in a memory and executed by a processor. The memory may be located inside or outside the processor and may exchange data with the processor by various means already known in the art.

[0066] Meanwhile, the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented as computer-readable codes on a computer-readable recording medium. Computer-readable recording media include all types of recording devices that store data that can be read by a computer system. Examples of computer-readable recording media include ROMs, RAMs, CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical data storage devices, etc. Furthermore, the computer-readable recording media can be distributed across network-connected computer systems, so that the computer-readable codes can be stored and executed in a distributed manner. In addition, functional programs, codes, and code segments for implementing the embodiments can be easily inferred by programmers in the technical field to which the present disclosure pertains.

[0067] The present disclosure has been described above, focusing on various embodiments thereof. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various embodiments may be modified without departing from the essential characteristics of the present disclosure. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should be considered illustrative rather than restrictive. The scope of the present disclosure is set forth in the claims, not the foregoing description, and all differences within the scope equivalent thereto should be construed as being encompassed by the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A step in which a contact confirmation device receives and stores spatiotemporal signal information capable of specifying time and space from multiple user terminals; A step of extracting spatiotemporal signal information of a specific user from the spatiotemporal signal information stored by the contact confirmation device; A step of setting the spatiotemporal signal information of the specific user extracted by the contact confirmation device as reference spatiotemporal signal information, and comparing the similarity between the reference spatiotemporal signal information and other stored spatiotemporal signal information; and A contact confirmation method, comprising: a step of determining whether the contact confirmation device has come into contact with the specific user and another user based on the similarity; 2. In paragraph 1, The above spatiotemporal signal information is, TSF (temporal & spatial fingerprints) is a data that continuously measures information about the state of space over time from at least one sensor in the user's terminal. The above TSF is, A contact confirmation method comprising a signal type of spatiotemporal signal information measured through a user's terminal, a signal intensity according to the signal type, and a timestamp indicating information about the time at which the signal type and the signal intensity were measured.

3. In paragraph 2, The above TSF is, Include additional environmental status values ​​that indicate changes in the environment, A contact confirmation method wherein the state value of the above environment is at least one or a combination of the following: a characteristic value of air pressure according to a change in air pressure of the space where the user stayed, a characteristic value of sound according to a change in sound of the space, and a characteristic value of temperature according to a change in temperature of the space.

4. In paragraph 1, The step of receiving and storing the above spatiotemporal signal information is: A contact confirmation method that matches and stores the user terminal identifier and the spatiotemporal signal information.

5. In paragraph 1, The step of extracting the spatiotemporal signal information of the above specific user is as follows: A contact confirmation method for selecting spatiotemporal signal information corresponding to spatiotemporal signal information of the specific user from a plurality of stored spatiotemporal signal information when the specific user is found to be infected.

6. In paragraph 1 The step of comparing the above similarity is: A step of performing a first similarity check to search for spatiotemporal signal information having timestamp information similar to timestamp information of the reference spatiotemporal signal information among a plurality of stored spatiotemporal signal information; A step of performing a second similarity test to search for spatiotemporal signal information having a signal type and signal intensity similar to the signal type and signal intensity of the reference spatiotemporal signal information among spatiotemporal signal information searched as a result of the first similarity test; and A contact confirmation method, comprising: a step of performing a third similarity test for searching for spatiotemporal signal information having a state value of an environment similar to the state value of an environment of the reference spatiotemporal signal information, when the spatiotemporal signal information searched as a result of the second similarity test includes a state value of an environment indicating a change in the environment.

7. In paragraph 1, The step of determining whether or not there is contact is as follows: A contact confirmation method for identifying a user terminal identifier that measures spatiotemporal signal information similar to the reference spatiotemporal signal information of the specific user, and classifying the user as a contact or non-contact.

8. In paragraph 1, If the above spatiotemporal signal information is a wireless communication signal, The step of receiving and storing the above spatiotemporal signal information is: Stores the type of communication company and communication standard of the above wireless communication signal, The step of comparing the similarity between the above spatiotemporal signal information is: A contact confirmation method for comparing the similarity between wireless communication signals of the reference spatiotemporal signal information and other stored spatiotemporal signal information, targeting spatiotemporal signal information that matches at least one or a combination of the above-mentioned communication company type and the above-mentioned communication standard.

9. In paragraph 1, If the above spatiotemporal signal information is WiFi, The step of receiving and storing the above spatiotemporal signal information is: Store the above WiFi AP (access point) identifier, frequency and channel, The step of comparing the similarity between the above spatiotemporal signal information is: A contact confirmation method for comparing the similarity between WiFi signals of each of the reference spatiotemporal signal information and other stored spatiotemporal signal information, targeting spatiotemporal signal information that matches at least one or a combination of the AP (access point) identifier, frequency, and channel of the above WiFi.

10. In paragraph 1, If the above spatiotemporal signal information is Bluetooth, The step of receiving and storing the above spatiotemporal signal information is: Store the identifier of the above Bluetooth, The step of comparing the similarity between the above spatiotemporal signal information is: A contact confirmation method for comparing the similarity between the Bluetooth signals of the reference spatiotemporal signal information and each of the other stored spatiotemporal signal information, targeting spatiotemporal signal information having a matching Bluetooth identifier.

11. In one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing one or more instructions, Receive and store spatiotemporal signal information that can specify time and space from multiple user terminals, Extracting spatiotemporal signal information of a specific user from the stored spatiotemporal signal information, By setting the extracted spatiotemporal signal information of the specific user as the reference spatiotemporal signal information, the similarity between the reference spatiotemporal signal information and other stored spatiotemporal signal information is compared, A computer-readable medium for determining whether a specific user has come into contact with another user based on the similarity.

12. A communication module that receives spatiotemporal signal information from multiple user terminals; and A contact confirmation device comprising a processor that stores the spatiotemporal signal information, extracts spatiotemporal signal information of a specific user from the stored spatiotemporal signal information, sets the extracted spatiotemporal signal information of the specific user as reference spatiotemporal signal information, compares the similarity between the reference spatiotemporal signal information and other stored spatiotemporal signal information, and determines whether the specific user is in contact with another user based on the similarity.

13. In paragraph 12, The above processor, Match the user terminal identifier with the above spatiotemporal signal information and store it, The above spatiotemporal signal information is, TSF (temporal & spatial fingerprints) is a data that continuously measures information about the state of space over time from at least one sensor in the user's terminal. The above TSF is, A contact confirmation device including a signal type of spatiotemporal signal information measured through a user's terminal, a signal intensity according to the signal type, and a timestamp indicating information about the time at which the signal type and the signal intensity were measured.

14. In paragraph 12, The above processor, A contact confirmation device that selects spatiotemporal signal information corresponding to the spatiotemporal signal information of the specific user from a plurality of stored spatiotemporal signal information when the specific user is found to be infected.

15. In paragraph 12, The above processor, A contact confirmation device that performs a first similarity check to search for spatiotemporal signal information having similar timestamp information to timestamp information of the reference spatiotemporal signal information among a plurality of stored spatiotemporal signal information, performs a second similarity check to search for spatiotemporal signal information having similar signal type and signal intensity to the signal type and signal intensity of the reference spatiotemporal signal information among spatiotemporal signal information searched as a result of the first similarity check, and performs a third similarity check to search for spatiotemporal signal information having a similar environmental state value to the environmental state value of the reference spatiotemporal signal information when the spatiotemporal signal information searched as a result of the second similarity check includes an environmental state value indicating a change in the environment.

16. In paragraph 12, The above processor, A contact confirmation device that identifies a user terminal identifier that measures spatiotemporal signal information similar to the reference spatiotemporal signal information of the specific user, and classifies the user as a contact or non-contact user.

17. In paragraph 12, The above processor, A contact identification device that sends a message recommending infectious disease testing to infected people based on whether they have been in contact.

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