ABSTRACT
In this study we report on a field test where we asked if it is feasible to deliver a scalable, commercial-grade solution for brain-based authentication currently given available head wearables. Sixty-two (62) participants living across the United States in autumn 2020 completed four (4) at-home sessions over a single (1) week. In each session there were six (6) authentication events consisting of rapid presentation of images (10Hz) that participants watched for 10 seconds while recording their brain signal with an off-the-shelf brain signal measuring headband. The non-stationary nature of the brain signal, and the fact that the signal results from a superposition of hundreds of simultaneous processes in the brain that respond to context makes the data unique in time, unrepeatable, and unpredictable. Even when a participant watched identical stimuli, we find no two periods of time to be alike (Fig. 4B) and furthermore, no two combinations of time periods are alike. Differences within people (intra-) and across people (inter-participant) from session to session were found to be significant, however stable processes do appear to be underlying the signal complexity and non-stationarity. We show a simplified brain-based authentication system that captures distinguishable information with reliable, commercial-grade performance from participants at their own homes. We conclude that noninvasively measured brain signals are an ideal candidate for biometric authentication, especially for head wearables such as headphones and AR/VR devices.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.