Functional Biometrics – Using body-reflections as a novel class of biometric authentication systems

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Stefan Schneegass
• Subject Area: Image and Language Processing, Computer Graphics and Visualisation, Human Computer Interaction, Ubiquitous and Wearable Computing
• Term: from 2019 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 426052422

• Final Report Year: 2024

Final Report Abstract

The Functional Biometrics project introduces a new category of biometrics that uses body reflections to identify users. Unlike traditional biometrics, functional biometrics relies on how the body responds to external stimuli, such as sound, heat, visuals, or electric signals. These responses are in return analyzed and interpreted as a biometric that depends on the user’s body as well as the provided stimuli. Thus, with a change of the stimuli, the biometric can be changed which is a significant advancement compared to traditional biometrics such as fingerprints. At the same time, the idea of functional biometrics is to be implicit and not burden the user with the additional task of logging in. The potential for functional biometrics to replace traditional password-based systems is particularly compelling, as it addresses security and usability in a world increasingly reliant on digital interactions. In this project, we developed multiple prototypes that explored the suitability of various stimuli and sensing methods as biometrics. These include sound waves traveling through the body, heat propagation, and reactions to electric muscle stimulation, demonstrating how functional biometrics could be applied. In addition to the on-skin prototypes, the project also focused on functional biometrics including cognitive aspects. For example, users’ gaze behavior and head movements are unique biometric traits that are controlled by visual stimuli they see (e.g., a flying object in virtual reality).

Publications

• Gaze-based Authentication in Virtual Reality. ACM Symposium on Eye Tracking Research and Applications, 1-2. ACM.
  Liebers, Jonathan & Schneegass, Stefan
  
• Introducing Functional Biometrics: Using Body-Reflections as a Novel Class of Biometric Authentication Systems. Extended Abstracts of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1-7. ACM.
  Liebers, Jonathan & Schneegass, Stefan
  
• Understanding User Identification in Virtual Reality Through Behavioral Biometrics and the Effect of Body Normalization. Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1-11. ACM.
  Liebers, Jonathan; Abdelaziz, Mark; Mecke, Lukas; Saad, Alia; Auda, Jonas; Gruenefeld, Uwe; Alt, Florian & Schneegass, Stefan
  
• Using Gaze Behavior and Head Orientation for Implicit Identification in Virtual Reality. Proceedings of the 27th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology, 1-9. ACM.
  Liebers, Jonathan; Horn, Patrick; Burschik, Christian; Gruenefeld, Uwe & Schneegass, Stefan
  
• Identifying Users by Their Hand Tracking Data in Augmented and Virtual Reality. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 40(2), 409-424.
  Liebers, Jonathan; Brockel, Sascha; Gruenefeld, Uwe & Schneegass, Stefan
  
• Single-Sign-On in Smart Homes using Continuous Authentication. Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia, 270-272. ACM.
  Liebers, Jonathan; Wittig, Nick; Janzon, Simon; Golkar, Pedram; Moruf, Hakeem; Wakeu, Kontchipo Wilfried Forentin; Gruenefeld, Uwe & Schneegass, Stefan
  
• Exploring the Stability of Behavioral Biometrics in Virtual Reality in a Remote Field Study: Towards Implicit and Continuous User Identification through Body Movements. 29th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology, 1-12. ACM.
  Liebers, Jonathan; Burschik, Christian; Gruenefeld, Uwe & Schneegass, Stefan
  
• Introduction to Authentication using Behavioral Biometrics. Extended Abstracts of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1-4. ACM.
  Liebers, Jonathan; Gruenefeld, Uwe; Buschek, Daniel; Alt, Florian & Schneegass, Stefan
  
• Kinetic Signatures: A Systematic Investigation of Movement-Based User Identification in Virtual Reality. Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1-19. ACM.
  Liebers, Jonathan; Laskowski, Patrick; Rademaker, Florian; Sabel, Leon; Hoppen, Jordan; Gruenefeld, Uwe & Schneegass, Stefan
  
• Useckit: An Open-Source Deep-Learning Toolkit Bundling State-Of-The-Art Algorithms for Evaluating Behavioral Biometrics. 2024 IEEE International Joint Conference on Biometrics (IJCB), 1-10. IEEE.
  Liebers, Jonathan; Kley, Tristan; Liebers, Carina; Gruenefeld, Uwe & Schneegass, Stefan