We all have cell phones that will lock out unauthorized users. But few of us use this feature because it is a pain in the neck. Who wants to type in a code when you want to make a call?
Thanks to some new software from KDDI R&D Laboratories, you can authenticate with an arm swinging gesture when using your cell phone. The technology activates the acceleration sensor used in some phones to gather biometric data about how the user swings the phone.
You wouldn't think that the way you swing your phone is that distinctive. However, a variety of individual characteristics, including physical factors like the length of your arm and your muscle structure, as well as action patterns such as holding methods and other habits, are reflected in the acceleration signals recorded during arm swinging motion.
This results in a reading of an arm swing pattern that is extremely resistant to spoofing; the authentication is more than 96% accurate. The phone performs a live biometric data capture each time you swing your arm after opening the phone, and then compares it to a stored template.
I really like hand-waving gesture interfaces. And this KDDI system will (according to the company) progress until it becomes possible to open applications and perform other actions on the phone with a recognized and recorded gesture.
Tweet
