User authentication system and method

• US 9,811,650 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2015
• Issued: 11/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Todeschini, Erik
• Primary Examiner(s): Pyzocha, Michael
• Application Number:
  US14/983,637
• Publication Number:
  US 20160188861A1
• Time in Patent Office: 678 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/629 to features or functions of an application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/83 input devices, e.g. keyboards, mice or controllers thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/16 Sound input; Sound output speech processing G10L
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/28 Recognition of hand or arm movements, e.g. recognition of deaf sign language static hand signs G06V40/113

Abstract

A user authentication system includes an augmented reality device with a gesture analyzer configured for recognizing a user'"'"'s gestures. The augmented reality device also includes an object renderer in communication with the gesture analyzer. The object renderer is configured for (i) rendering a virtual three-dimensional object for display to the user (ii) modifying the shape of the virtual three-dimensional object based upon the recognized gestures.

Claims

1. A user authentication system for authenticating a user in a computer environment, comprising:

an authentication database for storing an authentication object, the authentication object defined by a first plurality of three-dimensional vertices;

an augmented reality device, comprising;

a gesture analyzer configured to recognize a plurality of gestures performed by a user; and

an object renderer communicatively coupled to the gesture analyzer, the object renderer configured to;

(i) render a virtual three-dimensional object for display to the user;

(ii) modify the shape of the virtual three-dimensional object in any number of ways in a manner associated with each particular gesture performed by the user and render a modified virtual three-dimensional object while the user performs the plurality of gestures; and

(iii) provide a completed modified virtual three-dimensional object defined by a second plurality of three-dimensional vertices for authentication upon receiving a prompt indicating that the user is ready to authenticate the modified virtual three-dimensional object, the shape of the modified virtual three-dimensional object continuing to be modified in any number of ways in a manner associated with each particular gesture until receiving the prompt; and

a verification subsystem communicatively coupled to the augmented reality device and the authentication database, the verification subsystem configured to;

(i) compare the second plurality of three-dimensional vertices to the first plurality of three dimensional vertices; and

(ii) authenticate the user if the second plurality of three-dimensional vertices matches the first plurality of three-dimensional vertices by at least greater than a pre-defined threshold, the threshold level required for a successful authentication varying based at least in part on the number of vertices defining the authentication object and/or the number of vertices defining the modified three-dimensional object.

2. The user authentication system of claim 1, wherein the gesture analyzer is a three-dimensional depth sensor configured for converting a user'"'"'s hand gesture into an associated change in the shape of the virtual three-dimensional object.

3. The user authentication system of claim 1, wherein the gesture analyzer is configured to allow the user to make a plurality of modifications to the shape of the virtual three-dimensional object before the virtual three-dimensional object having a modified shape is transmitted to the verification subsystem.

4. The user authentication system of claim 1, wherein the verification subsystem authenticates the user by transmitting an authentication signal to the computer environment.

5. The user authentication system of claim 1, wherein:

the virtual three-dimensional object comprises a plurality of three-dimensional vertices, each of which is associated with a position;

the authentication object comprises a plurality of three-dimensional vertices, each of which is associated with a position; and

the verification subsystem is configured to determine that the virtual three-dimensional object'"'"'s modified shape matches the authentication object'"'"'s shape if, for each vertex of the authentication object, there is a corresponding vertex of the virtual three-dimensional object vertex having the same position.

6. The user authentication system of claim 1, wherein:

the virtual three-dimensional object comprises a plurality of three-dimensional vertices, each of which is associated with a position;

the authentication object comprises a plurality of three-dimensional vertices, each of which is associated with a position;

the verification subsystem is configured to determine that the virtual three-dimensional object'"'"'s modified shape matches the authentication object'"'"'s shape if, for each of a predetermined percentage of vertices of the authentication object, there is a corresponding vertex of the virtual three-dimensional object having the same position.

7. The user authentication system of claim 1, comprising:

an input device configured for receiving a user identification from the user;

wherein the authentication object is associated with the user identification.

8. The user authentication system of claim 7, wherein the input device is a touchpad.

9. The user authentication system of claim 7, wherein the input device is a microphone.

10. The user authentication system of claim 7, wherein the shape of the virtual three-dimensional object initially rendered by the object renderer depends upon the user identification submitted by the user via the input device.

11. A user authentication system for authenticating a user in a computer environment, comprising:

an augmented reality device, comprising;

a gesture analyzer configured for recognizing a user'"'"'s gestures;

an object renderer in communication with the gesture analyzer, the object renderer configured for (i) rendering a virtual three-dimensional object for display to the user (ii) modifying the shape of the virtual three-dimensional object in any number of ways based upon the recognized gestures and rendering a modified virtual three-dimensional object while the user performs the gestures;

an input device configured for receiving a user identification from the user;

an authentication database for storing an authentication object; and

a verification subsystem in communication with the augmented reality device, the input device, and the authentication database, the verification subsystem configured for (i) receiving the virtual three-dimensional object having a modified shape from the object renderer, (ii) receiving the authentication object from the authentication database, (iii) comparing the virtual three-dimensional object having a modified shape to the authentication object, and (iv) authenticating the user if the virtual three-dimensional object'"'"'s modified shape matches the authentication object'"'"'s shape;

wherein the authentication object is associated with the user identification;

wherein the gesture analyzer is configured to allow the user to make a plurality of modifications to the shape of the virtual three-dimensional object before the virtual three-dimensional object having a modified shape is transmitted to the verification subsystem;

wherein the virtual three-dimensional object having a modified shape is transmitted to the verification subsystem upon receiving a prompt indicating that the user is ready to authenticate the virtual three-dimensional object having a modified shape;

wherein the virtual three-dimensional object comprises a plurality of three-dimensional vertices, each of which is associated with a position;

wherein the authentication object comprises a plurality of three-dimensional vertices, each of which is associated with a position; and

wherein the verification subsystem is configured to determine that the virtual three-dimensional object'"'"'s modified shape matches the authentication object'"'"'s shape if, for each of a predetermined percentage of vertices of the authentication object, there is a corresponding vertex of the virtual three-dimensional object having the same position, the predetermined percentage of vertices varying based at least in part on the number of positions.

12. A method of authenticating a user in a computer environment, comprising:

providing an authentication object defined by a first plurality of three-dimensional vertices;

rendering a virtual three-dimensional object for display to the user via an augmented reality device'"'"'s object renderer;

recognizing a plurality of gestures performed by the user using the augmented reality device'"'"'s gesture analyzer;

modifying the shape of the virtual three-dimensional object in any number of ways in a manner associated with each particular gesture performed by the user and rendering a modified virtual three-dimensional object while the user performs the plurality of gestures;

providing a completed modified virtual three-dimensional object defined by a second plurality of three-dimensional vertices upon receiving a prompt indicating that the user is ready to authenticate the modified virtual three-dimensional object, the shape of the modified virtual three-dimensional object continuing to be modified in any number of ways in a manner associated with each particular gesture until receiving the prompt;

comparing, via a verification subsystem, the second plurality of three-dimensional vertices to the first plurality of three dimensional vertices; and

authenticating the user if the second plurality of three-dimensional vertices matches the first plurality of three-dimensional vertices by at least greater than a pre-defined threshold, the threshold level required for a successful authentication varying based at least in part on the number of vertices defining the authentication object and/or the number of vertices defining the modified three-dimensional object.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the gesture analyzer is a three-dimensional depth sensor configured for converting a user'"'"'s hand gesture into an associated change in shape of the virtual three-dimensional object.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein modifying the shape of the virtual three-dimensional object based upon the recognized gesture comprises making a plurality of modifications to the shape of the virtual three-dimensional object.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein:

the virtual three-dimensional object comprises a plurality of three-dimensional vertices, each of which is associated with a position; and

the authentication object comprises a plurality of three-dimensional vertices, each of which is associated with a position.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the verification subsystem is configured to determine that the virtual three-dimensional object'"'"'s modified shape matches the authentication object'"'"'s shape if, for each vertex of the authentication object, there is a corresponding vertex of the virtual three-dimensional object vertex having the same position.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the verification subsystem is configured to determine that the virtual three-dimensional object'"'"'s modified shape matches the authentication object if a pre-determined percentage of authentication object positions are the same as the virtual three-dimensional object positions.

18. The method of claim 12, comprising:

receiving a user identification via an input device;

wherein the authentication object is associated with the user identification.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the input device is a touchpad.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the input device is a microphone.