You Could Soon Log In With Your Skull

Currently, biometric-based authentication systems use fingerprint and iris scans in order to authenticate a user. But now, a new feature, of skull signatures, has been added.

Researchers from the University of Stuttgart, University of Saarland and the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, are creating a new technology called SkullConduct that uses unique skull structure to help them log into smart devices. They can replace passwords as well as personal identification numbers (PINs).

"We present SkullConduct, a biometric system that uses bone conduction of sound through the user's skull as well as a microphone readily integrated into many of these devices, such as Google Glass," the study writes 

Amazingly, as every human being's skull is unique, just like a fingerprint, the sound waves within the walls of the skull is also unique. Hence, a reconfigured smart eyeglass device, just like Google Glass, can act as a bone conduction speaker as well as receiver microphone.

This device tends to emit a second-long subtle audio tone through one side of a person's head. It will just keep bouncing through the skull.

It results in a number of sound bits or waves that can be received by the integrated microphone in front of the glass, which determines if the user has the authentication to get access to a device such as a smartphone.

A closed experimental study that involved 10 persons enabled the researchers to arrive at a workable device that worked 97 percent of the time.

The flaws of the device involved background noise impacting the quality of the sound, even as a person's diverse weight pattern may lead to "inconsistent sound waves."

The results of the study will be presented by the experts at the upcoming Conference for Human-Computer Interaction in San Jose, California, from May 7 to 12.