Method of unlocking an electronic device based on motion recognitions, motion recognition unlocking system, and electronic device including the same

A method of unlocking an electronic device based on motion recognition, the method comprising:

• generating motion information by optically detecting motion created by a user in a field of view of the device;
• calculating optical flows, of the motion created by the user in the field of view of the device, by performing an operation on the motion information, wherein each of the calculated optical flows contains information of a direction in which the motion is proceeding at a respective point in time;
• converting the optical flows into a code by sorting and grouping the optical flows based on a set of reference directions defined by spatial coordinates in the field of view, wherein optical flows containing similar information are grouped together;
• generating a comparison result indicating whether the code is consistent with a predetermined password by comparing the code with the password;
• and
• determining whether to unlock the electronic device based on the comparison result,
• wherein the password corresponds to information in which the reference directions are arranged in a sequence of times, and
• wherein converting the optical flows into the code includes:
• assigning sub-codes to the optical flows based on the reference directions;
• and
• sorting and grouping the sub-codes including by temporally correlating the sub-codes, by spatially correlating the sub-codes, or by temporally and spatially correlating the sub-codes, and sorting and grouping the sub-codes including by sequentially arranging the correlated sub-codes individually along a timeline.

A motion recognition unlocking system comprising:

• a sensor unit comprising an optical sensor having a field of view, and configured to generate motion information by detecting motion created by a user in the field of view;
• an optical flow calculation unit configured to calculate optical flows, of the motion created by the user in the field of view of the optical sensor, by performing an operation on the motion information such that each of the calculated optical flows contains information of a direction in which the motion is proceeding at a respective point in time;
• a code generation unit configured to convert the optical flows into a code by sorting and grouping the optical flows based on a set of reference directions defined by spatial coordinates in the field of view, including by grouping optical flows containing similar information together;
• a password storage unit configured to store a password corresponding to information in which the reference directions are arranged along a timeline;
• a comparison unit configured to generate a comparison result indicating whether the code is consistent with the password by comparing the code with the password;
• and
• a control signal generation unit configured to output an unlocking control signal based on the comparison result, the unlocking control signal indicating whether to unlock an electronic device,
• wherein the code generation unit assigns sub-codes to the optical flows based on the predetermined reference directions,
• temporally correlates the sub-codes, spatially correlates the sub-codes, or temporally and spatially correlates the sub-codes, and
• arranges the correlated sub-codes along a timeline.