FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to methods and techniques of generating passwords for access controlled devices and identifying users based on unique neurological responses.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The use of biometric features is well known in the field of passwords to access and encrypt access controlled devices. While not as ubiquitous as alphanumeric passwords, the use of fingerprints and facial recognition for user recognition and device access has increased exponentially. A clear example is the use of fingerprint sensors on laptops and other mobile devices. Other technologies have attempted to use other biometric features as the basis for user identification. For instance, voice recognition systems are based on comparing the syntactical and phonological traits from a previously recorded expression from the user with a current expression attempting to duplicate the previously recorded expression. These systems are consistently undermined by using reproductions of the validated user's vocal expressions.

Equally, early facial recognition systems were based on comparing a pre-existing image or set of images assigned to a specific user and a new image or set of images at the time the user was requesting access to the device. Improvements on this system used measurements of physical features, such as the distance and size of the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth to generate a more nuanced security profile of the user.

More recently, the industry has seen the introduction of additional hardware to complement facial recognition systems with infrared based measurements. These systems project a predetermined infrared pattern on the users face and use the user facing camera to create a depth map of the user's face. These systems represent a significant improvement in the field of biometric recognition but are not without their drawbacks. For instance, in the case of image-only facial recognition, a mere picture of the user can be enough to induce a positive identification of the user. In the more complex systems, sculptures and 3D printed facemasks have been used to gain access to the devices. Additionally, the IR based systems increase hardware and software requirements that ultimately impact the cost and the performance of the device. Fundamentally, these technologies are all susceptible to subversion by duplicating the user's patent physical feature by either electronical or physical means. Thus, there remains an unmet need for an authentication method that is difficult to be subverted through mimicking or duplication of physical features.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides systems and methods for authenticating user access to an access controlled device through the measurement of neurological inputs of a user when responding to a visual stimulus. Analysis of unique neurological responses to stimuli for distinguishing humans has largely been ignored in biometric authentication systems. When explaining the mechanics of the eyes Alexander Crum Brown noted “[w]e fancy that we can move our eyes uniformly, that by a continuous motion like that of a telescope we can move our eyes along the sky-line in the landscape or the cornice of a room, but we are wrong in this. However determinedly we try to do so, what actually happens is, that our eyes move like the seconds hand of a watch, a jerk and a little pause, another jerk and so on; only our eyes are not so regular, the jerks are sometimes of greater, sometimes of less, angular amount, and the pauses vary in duration, although, unless we make an effort, they are always short. During the jerks we practically do not see at all, so that we have before us not a moving panorama, but a series of fixed pictures of the same fixed things, which succeed one another rapidly.” Alexander Crum Brown, THERELATIONBETWEENTHEMOVEMENTSOFTHEEYEANDTHEMOVEMENTSOFTHEHEAD4-5 (May 13, 1895). Additionally, the authentication method can augment existing facial recognition technology for added security without additional hardware. An example of how this augmentation can be incorporated is looking at the changes in micro-expressions of facial features in how a user responds to a reading which would be recorded at similar points in the reading. The amount of matching micro-expressions recorded by the facial recognition algorithm can be an additional layer of secondary authentication. By leveraging each person's unique reading mechanics, a much more significant level of protection can be achieved.

