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Ear Noise May Carry Innate Password

By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff

Posted Apr 13, 2009 6:32 PM CDT

(Newser) – One day people may access bank accounts by picking up a phone and letting their ear do the talking, the New Scientist reports. Researchers in England are developing a new biometric technique that elicits the sound ear hairs create when ruffled by noise. If each person's "ear sound" is unique, and stays the same over time, it could become a high-tech password to access accounts and cellphones.

Predicted in the 1940s but only confirmed with ultralow-noise microphones in the 1970s , ear-generated sound is evoked with a series of clicking noises. Anecdotally, experts say they can differentiate one ear from another, but it "has to be able to reliably recognize people over long time periods," one scientist said. "For example, a fingerprint taken from a 20-year-old is still valid when they are 60."

An emerging technology may allow us to access bank accounts and locked cellphones solely with the sound of our ears.
An emerging technology may allow us to access bank accounts and locked cellphones solely with the sound of our ears.   (Shutterstock)
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COMMENTS
Showing 2 of 2 comments
Jojo
Apr 14, 2009 12:10 PM CDT
At some point you have to wonder if this is needed and how much money they will spend making it happen. Can't they incorporate a retina scanner in most devices and use that as a password instead? Do we need to spend billions on ear hair when we already have retina scan technology?
Mad
Apr 14, 2009 6:53 AM CDT
Illness can change the fundus, The fundus is the interior surface of the eye. Diabetes, hypertention, and other diseases can render retina scans unreliable

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