Wearable authentication device for transparent login in nomadic applications environment

This paper describes a wearable authentication device for continuous user authentication and transparent login procedure in nomadic applications environment, where users are mobile and current authentication methods are not applicable. The wearable authentication device is a wristband in which the user authentication is done by using the fingerprint and to ensure that the person is wearing the device, it measures continuously his vital signs (skin temperature and heart rate) along with body capacitance and acceleration. By wearing the authentication device, the user can login transparently to any computer simply by approaching it. The prototype of the wearable authentication device was implemented and demonstrated successfully. The user was authenticated with the fingerprint and his presence could be verified continuously by using the skin temperature and the body capacitance. In addition, the heart rate of the user could be obtained from the pulse oximeter output. The received signal strength of the wireless connection offered an inexpensive and simple way to implement the transparent login by estimating the range between the user and a terminal.