Methods and Systems for Determining a User Identity by Analysis of Reflected Radio Frequency Signals Received by an Antenna Array

• US 20160042169A1
• Filed: 08/07/2014
• Published: 02/11/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Polehn, Donna L.
• Granted Patent: US 9,378,353 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/35 communicating wirelessly
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/77 for interrogation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0613 using simultaneous transmission H04B7/0686 takes precedence

Abstract

An exemplary method includes a user identification system associated with a computing device transmitting a radio frequency (“RF”) signal from a transmitting antenna, receiving a plurality of reflected RF signals that are each a reflection of the transmitted RF signal from an external surface of a user, each of the plurality of reflected RF signals received at a separate one of a plurality of sensing antennas, determining an RF signature based on the plurality of reflected RF signals, and determining whether the RF signature matches a reference RF signature. Corresponding methods and systems are also described.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

transmitting, by a user identification system associated with a computing device, a radio frequency (“

RF”

) signal from a transmitting antenna;

receiving, by the user identification system, a plurality of reflected RF signals that are each a reflection of the transmitted RF signal from an external surface of a user, each of the plurality of reflected RF signals received at a separate one of a plurality of sensing antennas;

determining, by the user identification system, an RF signature based on the plurality of reflected RF signals; and

determining, by the user identification system, whether the RF signature matches a reference RF signature.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensing antennas are mounted in the computing device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of sensing antennas are each disposed outside an image display region of the computing device.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of sensing antennas are each disposed behind a display panel of a display screen of the computing device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of antennas are arranged in substantially the same plane.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the RF signature matches the reference RF signature comprises determining whether the RF signature matches the reference RF signature to at least a threshold degree of certainty.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the reference RF signature is associated with a user identifier.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the external surface of the user comprises at least a portion of a face of the user and the RF signature is determined to match the reference RF signature, and wherein the method further comprises:

granting, by the user identification system, access to the computing device by the user in response to the determination that the RF signature matches the reference RF signature.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the reference RF signature is associated with at least one user profile.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising directing, by the user identification system, the computing device to operate in accordance with a personal mode of operation associated with the at least one user profile in response to a determination that the RF signature matches the reference RF signature.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing, by the user identification system, the RF signature when the RF signature does not match a reference RF signature; and

associating, by the user identification system, the RF signature with a new user identifier.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the reference RF signature is representative of at least a portion of a user'"'"'s bodily profile that includes the external surface of the user.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the RF signature based on the plurality of reflected RF signals comprises combining the plurality of reflected RF signals to generate the RF signature.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the combining the plurality of reflected RF signals to generate the RF signature comprises combining data corresponding to the plurality of reflected RF signals using a summation equation.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein waveforms of at least some of the plurality of reflected RF signals differ from a waveform of the transmitted RF signal in at least one of phase and amplitude.

16. The method of claim 1, embodied as computer-executable instructions on at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium.

17. A method comprising:

transmitting, by a user identification system associated with a computing device, an RF signal from a transmitting antenna;

receiving, by the user identification system, a plurality of reflected RF signals that are each a reflection of the transmitted RF signal from an external surface of a portion of a user'"'"'s bodily profile, each of the plurality of reflected RF signals received at a separate one of a plurality of sensing antennas;

determining, by the user identification system, a surface map of the portion of the user'"'"'s bodily profile based on the plurality of reflected RF signals; and

determining, by the user identification system, whether the surface map matches a reference surface map.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the surface map comprises a three-dimensional rendering of the portion of the user'"'"'s bodily profile.

19. The method of claim 17, embodied as computer-executable instructions on at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium.

20. A system comprising:

a physical computing device that;

transmits an RF signal from a transmitting antenna;

receives a plurality of reflected RF signals that are each a reflection of the transmitted RF signal from an external surface of a user, each of the plurality of reflected RF signals received at a separate one of a plurality of sensing antennas;

determines an RF signature based on the plurality of reflected RF signals; and

determines whether the RF signature matches a reference RF signature.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the reference RF signature is associated with at least one user identifier.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the external surface of the user comprises at least a portion of a face of the user and the RF signature is determined to match the reference RF signature;

wherein the physical computing device grants access to the physical computing device by the user in response to the determination that the RF signature matches the reference RF signature.