Electronic transaction authentication based on sound proximity

• US 9,082,413 B2
• Filed: 11/02/2012
• Issued: 07/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Edison Vault, LLC
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Herring, Dean F., Holder, Ethan G., Johnson, Brad M. III, Rodriguez, Adrian X., Smith, Jeffrey J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lerner, Martin
• Application Number:
  US13/667,686
• Publication Number:
  US 20140129231A1
• Time in Patent Office: 984 Days
• Field of Search: 704/231, 704/270, 704/275, 704/273, 455/456.1, 455/456.3, 455/456.6, 705/67
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3272 using an audio code
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/401 Transaction verification
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/51 for comparison or discrimination
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0492 by using a location-limited connection, e.g. near-field communication or limited proximity of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication

Abstract

A computer program product comprises computer usable program code for receiving data describing a proposed electronic transaction between first and second communications devices. Additional computer usable program code is provided for generating a first audio signal by sound detected by a first microphone of the first communications device, and for generating a second audio signal by sound detected by a second microphone that is part of the second communications device. Still further computer usable program code provides for authenticating that the first communications device and the second communications device are in the same proximity in response to determining that the first and second audio signals were produced by the same sound event, and for completing the proposed electronic transaction between the first and second communications device in response to authenticating that the first and second communications devices are in close proximity.

Claims

1. A computer program product including computer usable program code embodied on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, the computer program product comprising:

computer usable program code for receiving data describing a proposed electronic transaction between a first mobile communications device and a second communications device;

computer usable program code for generating a first audio signal by sound detected by a first microphone that is part of the first mobile communications device;

computer usable program code for generating a second audio signal by sound detected by a second microphone that is part of the second communications device;

computer usable program code for authenticating that the first mobile communications device and the second communications device are in the same proximity in response to determining that the first audio signal and the second audio signal were produced by the same sound event;

computer usable program code for completing the proposed electronic transaction between the first mobile communications device and the second communications device in response to authenticating that the first mobile communications device and the second communications device are in close proximity; and

computer usable program code for causing at least one of the first microphone and the second microphone to detect a first sound and a second sound so that at least one of the first mobile communications device and the second communications device can detect changes in sound pressure at the nodes or anti-nodes of the first and second sounds, wherein the first mobile communications device has a first speaker that generates the first sound and the second communications device has a second speaker that generates the second sound, and wherein the first and second sounds have different frequencies.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, further comprising:

computer usable program code for receiving a first location of the first mobile communications device as determined using a satellite navigation system;

computer usable program code for receiving a second location of the second mobile communications device as determined using a satellite navigation system; and

computer usable program code for determining that the first location and the second location are within a predetermined distance of separation.

3. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein completing the proposed electronic transaction between the first mobile communications device and the second mobile communications device is further in response to determining that the first location and the second location are within a predetermined distance of separation.

4. The computer program product of claim 3, further comprising:

computer usable program code for determining a distance between the first mobile communications device and the second communications device by measuring a time delay between the sound detected at the first microphone and the sound detected at the second microphone.

5. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the proposed electronic transaction is completed between an application running on the first mobile communications device and an application running on the second communications device without involving a third party communications device.

6. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the proposed electronic transaction includes a payment.

7. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the proposed electronic transaction is a transfer of data.

8. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the proposed electronic transaction is a transfer of a music file.

9. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the second communications device is a mobile communications device.

10. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the proposed electronic transaction is completed via a direct wireless communication between the first mobile communications device and the second communications device.