Systems and methods for biometric identification using the acoustic properties of the ear canal
First Claim
1. A system for verifying/recognizing the identity of an individual by characterizing the acoustic properties of the ear canal as a biometric, said system comprising:
- enrollment means for enrolling the individual by characterizing the acoustic properties of an ear canal of the individual; and
verification means for verifying the identity of the individual by determining whether the individual has previously been enrolled during said step of enrolling the individual.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention teaches systems and methods for verifying or recognizing a person'"'"'s identity based on measurements of the acoustic response of the individual'"'"'s ear canal. The system comprises an acoustic emission device, which emits an acoustic source signal s(t), designated by a computer, into the ear canal of an individual, and an acoustic response detection device, which detects the acoustic response signal f(t). A computer digitizes the response (detected) signal f(t) and stores the data. Computer-implemented algorithms analyze the response signal f(t) to produce ear-canal feature data. The ear-canal feature data obtained during enrollment is stored on the computer, or some other recording medium, to compare the enrollment data with ear-canal feature data produced in a subsequent access attempt, to determine if the individual has previously been enrolled. The system can also be adapted for remote access applications.
239 Citations
57 Claims
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1. A system for verifying/recognizing the identity of an individual by characterizing the acoustic properties of the ear canal as a biometric, said system comprising:
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enrollment means for enrolling the individual by characterizing the acoustic properties of an ear canal of the individual; and verification means for verifying the identity of the individual by determining whether the individual has previously been enrolled during said step of enrolling the individual. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for verifying/recognizing the identity of an individual by characterizing the acoustic properties of the ear canal as a biometric, said method comprising the steps of:
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enrolling the individual by characterizing the acoustic properties of an ear canal of the individual a first time; and verifying the identity of the individual by characterizing the acoustic properties of the ear canal of the individual a second time and by determining whether the individual has previously been enrolled during said step of enrolling the individual. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A system for biometric identification, said system comprising means for determining the identification of an individual by analyzing the acoustic properties of an ear canal of the individual, said means comprising a computer adapted to incorporate analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog capability running a computer program that instructs the computer to acquire data from the ear canal of the individual;
- extract reference features;
store the reference features in a storage medium, and read the reference features from the storage medium to determine the identity of the individual.
- extract reference features;
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43. A method for biometric identification, said method comprising the steps of:
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enrolling an individual to obtain reference data; transmitting signals s(t) into an ear canal of the individual; detecting response signals f(t) from the ear canal of the individual in response to the transmitting signals step; and comparing the response signals f(t) with the previously obtained signals emitted from the ear canal of the individual to verify the identity of the individual. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46)
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47. A system for biometric identification, said system comprising:
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acquisition means for storing biometric information from an ear canal of an individual; source means for transmitting source signals into an ear canal of the individual; recording means for recording response signals emitted from the ear canal of the individual; and verification means for verifying that the response signals match the biometric information from the ear canal of the individual to verify the identity of the individual. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49)
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50. A method for verifying/recognizing the identity of an individual by characterizing the acoustic properties of the ear canal as a biometric, said method comprising the steps of:
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enrolling the individual by characterizing the acoustic properties of an ear canal of the individual, wherein said enrolling step comprises the steps of; acquiring reference data from the ear canal of the individual by emitting source signals s1 (t) as a function of time t into the ear canal of the individual and detecting response signals f1 (t) as a function of time that are generated in response to the source signals s(t); extracting reference feature vector data from the reference data; and storing the reference feature vector data; and verifying the identity of the individual by determining whether the individual has previously been enrolled during said step of enrolling the individual, wherein said verifying step comprises the steps of; acquiring newly-acquired data from the ear canal of the individual by emitting source signals s2 (t) as a function of time t into the ear canal of the individual and detecting response signals f2 (t) as a function of time that are generated in response to the source signals s2 (t); extracting newly-extracted feature vector data from the newly-acquired data; and recognizing a pattern in the newly-extracted feature vector data to determine if the individual has previously been enrolled. - View Dependent Claims (51)
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52. A system for characterizing an individual by characterizing the acoustic properties of the ear canal as a biometric, said system comprising:
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transmitting means for transmitting a first signal into the ear canal of the individual; receiving means for receiving a second signal characteristic of an individual in response to the first signal; and means for characterizing the individual by characterizing the acoustic properties of the ear canal as a biometric based on the second signal. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54)
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55. A system for remote access biometric identification, said system comprising:
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enrollment means, located at a first location, for enrolling the individual by characterizing the acoustic properties of an ear canal of the individual and for generating and transmitting source signals s(t) into an ear canal of an individual; receiving means, located at a second location, for receiving said source signals s(t) and for detecting and transmitting response signals f(t) to the first location, the response signals f('"'"'t) being generated in response to source signals s(t); and verifying means, located at the first location, for receiving response signals f(t) and for verifying the identity of the individual. - View Dependent Claims (56)
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57. A system for remote access biometric identification, said system comprising:
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source means, located at a first location, for emitting source signals s(t) into an ear canal of an individual, the ear canal generating response signals f(t) in response to source signals s(t); detecting means, located at the first location, for detecting the response signals f(t); extracting means, located at the first location, for extracting features from the response signals f(t); transmitting means, located at the first location, for transmitting the features to a second location; and comparing means, located at the second location, for receiving the features and for comparing the features against reference features that characterize the individual.
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Specification