New Keyboards to Identify the Users' Unique Typing Pattern
Researchers of the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed an innovative keyboard that can identify users by their typing patterns. When a user begins typing a text, the keyboard detects his or her unique keystroke style and after that provides access to the system.
As the developers have put it, the main aim of adopting such technology is strengthening the security level. New identification method could be much more reliable than the use of common passwords which can be easily hacked.
So, how does this new 'intelligent' keyboard work? The keyboard has got four layers of transparent film. Two layers act as electrodes and are separated by a layer of PET plastic (the material we use to make soda bottles). At the top of the electrodes, there is a layer of FEP plastic. It gets static charges from our skin as fingers touch and leave each key, producing electricity via the triboelectric effect. Thus, the keyboard registers a complex electrical signal for each key press. After being processed and analysed, the signals are structured into patterns that serve as a distinctive signature for each user.
Moreover, the innovative keyboard might please its users by some extra features. Firstly, the device does not require an external power supply for its functioning; secondly, it is wireless (supports a Bluetooth connection with a computer); finally, it is completely resistant to water and dirt.
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The use of 'intelligent' keybord implies the availability of specific software installed on your PC. Both the keyboard and the software program make the technology work. If you change the keyboard, some technical problems might occur.
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In order to provide access to the system, the 'intelligent' keyboard needs to detect the 'correct' electrical signal for each key press (that's a unique typing pattern of each of us) but not the 'correct' fingerprint of a user. So, as the keyboard hasn't been designed for getting fingerprints, we can't go through this procedure.