Design and implementation of an authentication and authorization system based on a haptic touchscreen and a force sensor

Abstract

In today’s society, an incredible amount of systems include an authentication process before a user can access requested services ranging from logging into a computer system or webpage, gaining access to secure buildings, or performing online operations. Authentication has become the foundation that every secure system is built upon. In the last few years, authentication systems based on biometrics have been gaining ground at the expense of other methods. It seems that biometrics provides the solution to ensure that services are accessed only by a legitimate user and no one else. This report studies the use of haptics as a new approach to authentication. The project describes the design and implementation of a new two-factor authentication system. First, tactile feelings provided by a haptic touchscreen are used to create a personal sensations code. Next, a force sensor is used as a mechanism to extract behavioural features that define a biometric verification system. In order to access the system is not enough to introduce just the right sensations, which itself is difficult to duplicate, but it must match the authentic user’s features. With the purpose of testing this new idea, two experiments were conducted. The first experiment was designed to test the capability of human minds to successfully remember tactile feelings. The second experiment was engineered to test the capability of the system to verify users from their force signatures. After subjecting several volunteers to these experiments, results were conclusive that the human mind is capable of remembering tactile sensations despite the need for some training in some cases. It was also demonstrated that a distinctive biometric feature could be extracted from a force signature, although the verification algorithm presented in this report is just a first approximation to this possibility. This reports concludes by suggesting options to improve the algorithm and enhance the tactile authentication system.