Chord authentication via a multi-touch interface

• US 8,873,147 B1
• Filed: 12/08/2011
• Issued: 10/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Rhodes, Bradley James, Johnson, Michael Patrick, Starner, Thad Eugene, Thrun, Sebastian
• Primary Examiner(s): SAHLE, MAHIDERE S
• Application Number:
  US13/315,225
• Time in Patent Office: 1,055 Days
• Field of Search: 359/13, 359/630, 359/632, 345/156, 345/157, 345/173
• US Class Current: 359/630
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/014 comprising information/image processing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0176 characterised by mechanical features
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/36 by graphic or iconic representation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

Exemplary methods and systems involve chord-based authentication on a touch-based interface. An exemplary method may involve: (a) providing a user-interface on a touch-based interface of a computing device, wherein the user-interface comprises a plurality of input regions; (b) receiving input data corresponding to a plurality of touch interactions on the touch-based interface; (c) determining a sequence of chords from the input data, wherein each chord is defined by touch interaction with a certain combination of one or more of the input regions; (d) determining that the sequence of chords substantially matches a predetermined chord authentication sequence; and (e) responsive to the match, causing a computing device to make at least one function accessible.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

providing a user-interface on a touch-based interface of a computing device, wherein the user-interface comprises a plurality of input regions;

receiving input data corresponding to a plurality of touch interactions on the touch-based interface, wherein each touch interaction is detected upon receipt of input data corresponding to removal of at least one finger from the touch-based interface;

determining a sequence of chords from the input data, wherein each chord is defined by a touch interaction with a certain combination of one or more of the input regions, wherein at least one chord in the sequence is defined by a touch interaction that comprises touch input at two or more input regions at substantially the same time;

determining that the sequence of chords substantially matches a predetermined chord authentication sequence; and

responsive to the match, causing a computing device to make at least one function accessible.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of input regions comprises three horizontally-arranged input regions.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

initially detecting a first touch interaction at a first location on the touch-based interface; and

using the first location as a basis for determining a display location for the user-interface on the touch-based interface, wherein the user-interface is provided on the touch-based interface at the display location.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first touch interaction is a first chord from the predetermined chord authentication sequence.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first chord from the predetermined chord authentication sequence comprises touch interaction with all of the input regions.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing feedback corresponding to the sequence of chords.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is carried out by a wearable computing device comprising a head-mounted display (HMD), wherein the HMD comprises a side-mounted touchpad interface.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the method further comprising:

causing the HMD to display a graphic representation of each of the input regions in the HMD, wherein each graphic representation indicates in real-time whether or not a touch interaction is detected in the corresponding input region of the touch-based interface.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the sequence of chords from the input data comprises determining each chord in the sequence by:

determining from the input data a touch indication that indicates that a touch interaction is occurring in a first input region;

subsequently detecting from the input data that a touch indication that indicates that a touch interaction that was occurring in a given input region is no longer occurring in the given input region; and

defining the chord based on the touch indication that indicates that the touch interaction is occurring in a first input region and the touch indications for the other input regions immediately prior to detecting the touch indication that indicates that the touch interaction that was occurring in a given input region is no longer occurring.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises:

after defining a given chord in the sequence of chords, waiting for touch indications from all of the input regions to indicate that no touch interaction is occurring before determining a next chord in the sequence.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is carried out by a wearable computing device, and wherein causing the computing device to make at least one function accessible comprising the wearable computing device unlocking itself.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the touch interactions comprise one or more edge-touch interactions.

14. The system of claim 3, further comprising program instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by at least one processor to:

initially detect a first touch interaction at a first location on the touch-based interface; and

use the first location as a basis for determining a display location for the user-interface on the touch-based interface, wherein the user-interface is provided on the touch-based interface at the display location.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the first touch interaction is a first chord from the predetermined chord authentication sequence.

13. A wearable-computing-device system comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium; and

program instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by at least one processor to;

provide a user-interface on a touch-based interface, wherein the user-interface comprises a plurality of input regions;

receive input data that corresponds to a plurality of touch interactions on the touch-based interface, wherein each touch interaction is detected upon receipt of input data corresponding to removal of at least one finger from the touch-based interface;

determine a sequence of chords from the input data, wherein each chord is defined by a touch interaction with a certain combination of one or more of the input regions, and wherein at least one chord in the sequence is defined by a touch interaction that comprises touch input at two or more input regions at substantially the same time;

determine that the sequence of chords substantially matches a predetermined chord authentication sequence; and

responsive to the match, cause a computing device to make at least one function accessible.

16. The system of claim 13, further comprising program instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by at least one processor to provide feedback corresponding to the sequence of chords.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the system is implemented in a wearable computing device comprising a head-mounted display (HMD), wherein the HMD comprises a side-mounted touchpad interface.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising program instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by at least one processor to:

cause the HMD to display a graphic representation of each of the input regions in the HMD, wherein each graphic representation indicates in real-time whether or not a touch interaction is detected in the corresponding input region of the touch-based interface.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein the program instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by at least one processor to determine the sequence of chords from the input data comprises program instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by at least one processor to:

determine from the input data a touch indication that indicates that a touch interaction is occurring in a first input region;

subsequently detect from the input data that a touch indication that indicates that a touch interaction that was occurring in a given input region is no longer occurring in the given input region; and

define the chord based on the touch indication that indicates that the touch interaction is occurring in a first input region and the touch indications for the other input regions immediately prior to detecting the touch indication that indicates that the touch interaction that was occurring in a given input region is no longer occurring.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising program instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by at least one processor to:

after defining a given chord in the sequence of chords, wait for touch indications from all of the input regions to indicate that no touch interaction is occurring before determining a next chord in the sequence.

21. A system comprising:

means for providing a user-interface on a touch-based interface, wherein the user-interface comprises a plurality of input regions;

means for receiving input data corresponding to a plurality of touch interactions on the touch-based interface wherein at least one chord in the sequence is defined by a touch interaction with two or more input regions at substantially the same time;

means for determining a sequence of chords from the input data, wherein each chord is defined by a touch interaction with a certain combination of one or more of the input regions, and wherein at least one chord in the sequence is defined by a touch interaction that comprises touch input at two or more input regions at substantially the same time;

means for determining that the sequence of chords substantially matches a predetermined chord authentication sequence; and

means for responsive to the match, causing a computing device to make at least one function accessible.