Multimodal authentication

• US 20070005988A1
• Filed: 06/29/2005
• Published: 01/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kong, Yuan, Zhang, Zhengyou, Williams, David, Liu, Zicheng, Kurlander, David, Sinclair, Mike
• Granted Patent: US 8,079,079 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/186
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/256 of results relating to different input data, e.g. multimodal recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/811 the classifiers operating on different input data, e.g. multi-modal recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/10 Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0861 using biometrical features, e.g. fingerprint, retina-scan cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using biological data H04L9/3231

Abstract

A multimodal system that employs a plurality of sensing modalities which can be processed concurrently to increase confidence in connection with authentication. The multimodal system and/or set of various devices can provide several points of information entry in connection with authentication. Authentication can be improved, for example, by combining face recognition, biometrics, speech recognition, handwriting recognition, gait recognition, retina scan, thumb/hand prints, or subsets thereof. Additionally, portable multimodal devices (e.g., a smartphone) can be used as credit cards, and authentication in connection with such use can mitigate unauthorized transactions.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates authentication, comprising:

a sensing component that concurrently receives a plurality of sensed inputs and outputs sensing data; and

an authentication component that processes the sensing data and performs the authentication process.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensing component outputs at least one of face recognition related information and handwriting recognition related information.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensing component outputs at least one of speech recognition related information and gait recognition related information.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensing component outputs at least one of a retinal scan related information and handprint/thumbprint related information.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensing component outputs biometric related data.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the authentication component authenticates a user to a portable wireless device.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the authentication component authenticates a portable wireless device to a remote system.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising an artificial intelligence component that employs a probabilistic and/or statistical-based analysis to prognose or infer an action that a user desires to be automatically performed.

9. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for carrying out the system of claim 1.

10. A portable wireless device that employs the system of claim 1.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising an act of transmitting the output data to a remote location for the authentication processing.

11. A computer-implemented method of authenticating an entity, comprising:

providing a plurality of sensed inputs which facilitate user interaction;

receiving sensed input data from a subset of the plurality of sensed inputs based on the user interaction;

processing the sensed input data to output data for authentication processing;

comparing the output data with predetermined user authentication data and generating authentication results; and

controlling user access based on the authentication results.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising an act of reducing the user access based on the authentication results.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising an act of automatically imposing a level of authentication processing based on user context.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the level of authentication processing is a higher level that employs a greater number of the plurality of sensed inputs for the authentication processing.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the level of authentication processing is a higher level that employs a more reliable sensed input of the plurality of sensed inputs for the authentication processing.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising an act of automatically selecting a default set of the plurality of sensed inputs based on authentication criteria received from a remote authentication system.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising at least one act of:

performing face recognition as one of the plurality of sensed inputs for authentication processing;

performing speech recognition as one of the plurality of sensed inputs for authentication processing;

performing gait recognition as one of the plurality of sensed inputs for authentication processing;

performing handwriting recognition as one of the plurality of sensed inputs for authentication processing;

performing retinal scan recognition as one of the plurality of sensed inputs for authentication processing;

performing biometrics processing as one of the plurality of sensed inputs for authentication processing; and

performing handprinting recognition as one of the plurality of sensed inputs for authentication processing.

19. A system that facilitates authentication of an entity, comprising:

means for sensing user aspects as sensed data, in a portable wireless device;

means for processing the sensed data concurrently and outputting authentication data;

means for comparing the authentication data with predetermined authentication data and generating authentication results; and

means for controlling access based on the authentication results.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the user aspects include physical characteristics of the user as measured and processed into the authentication data, at least one of the physical characteristics includes a facial feature, a voice characteristic, a finger feature, a hand feature, and an eye feature.