Nitesh Saxena, a scientist of Indian origin, together with his team is adapting sensors which could revolutionize the way you use your smartphone, laptops and other devices. With his innovations, your device might become futuristic and be able to sense your mood, protect information about your financial transactions and eliminate passwords, points out the youngster.
Saxena who heads the “SPIES lab” at the University of Alabama in Birmingham is presently collecting all data from accelerometers, Global Positioning System (GPS) chips, gyroscopes and proximity sensors that go into these devices to study the gestures a user usually makes while using his smart device. That could be while clicking a picture, a selfie, answering a phone call or searching your contacts.
The software being developed at the “Spies lab” will be able to learn the moves made by the user while performing the basic functions. Once the software gets the hang of these basic gestures, it might even be able to lock or freeze the device when someone else other than the owner tries to use it. Or unlock it automatically when the user picks it up next time.
With phones that can now measure and record temperature, humidity and even barometric pressure, using a combination of these readings could do away with the need to fill in and remember passwords while offering a secure way of logging in to the computer.
“A system that taps into user interactions with multiple connected devices such as Google Glass or the new Apple Watch, would be even more secure,” said Saxena.
These “zero-interaction” authentication systems uses Bluetooth and other signals given out by a smartphone to grant access to the user. The system will collect readings given out by all sensors like GPS hips, gyrometer, temperature, audio, altitude, etc and then comprehend this data before proceeding forth to analyze it. The system will also pick up signals given out by WiFi hotspots and their signal strengths in the vicinity and short snippets of audio conversations of the users.
They then go on to unlock laptops, smartphones and other devices whenever users get within their range much in the same manner as keyless entry and ignition system in some cars.
Together, the team at Spies Labs has developed an Android-based app called BlueProximity++ which will collect all signals emanated by laptops and other devices and thus do away with the need for passwords while thwarting relay attacks as well.
Unlike the near-field communications (NFC) technology in which the reader compares notes with the phone to make sure that the signals match before authorizing a payment, the technology being proposed by Saxena and his team have developed a measure to verify that the payment request is actually coming from a user in the same location as the reader.
At a time when “Make in India” initiative is going full throttle, products “Made by Indians” outside our shores are grabbing attention too!
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