NEC has announced a new biometric identification technology that uses the ear canal to verify identity. This is done through the resonance of sound, determined by the shape of a person's ear cavity. The company says that the shape and size of the ear canal is unique for each person, and hence, its acoustic signature can be used to identify individuals. The company claims that this technique only takes about one second to measure the acoustic characteristic of the ear, and offers an accuracy greater than 99%. The technology uses an earphone with a built-in microphone to collect sound that resonates in the ear cavity.
Shigeki Yamagaya, General Manager, Information and Media Processing Laboratories at NEC Corporation said, “Since the new technology does not require particular actions such as scanning a part of the body over an authentication device, it enables a natural way of conducting continuous authentication, even during movement and while performing work, simply by wearing an earphone with a built-in microphone to listen to the sounds within ears.” The company plans to introduce the technology in the market by 2018, and says that it can be utilized in a number of operations related to safety and security. One of these applications was ensuring the identity of a person during telephone calls.