Capacitive Body Coupling for Secure Person Identification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing person identification methods, such as secret questions, PIN codes, voice verification, facial recognition, and human-operated image monitoring, are unreliable and prone to circumvention or error, lacking efficient and secure means to confirm identity.
Innovation Solution
A person identification system utilizing a tag with a tamper-evident tether and capacitive coupling to transmit a unique signal through the body, allowing reliable detection and encryption of the identity, preventing unauthorized use and ensuring personal identification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If secret questions or PIN codes are used for identification, then the identification method is simple to implement, but the security is compromised as these can be known or given to unauthorized persons
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical/electronic identification systems (PIN codes, secret questions) with a capacitive coupling system that uses electrical field interaction through the human body. This substitution enables more secure identification by utilizing the body's unique capacitive properties, making it impossible to share or replicate the identification capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the identification parameter from static information (PIN codes, answers to questions) to dynamic electrical characteristics (capacitive coupling properties). By measuring how the body capacitively couples with the tag at different frequencies, the system creates a unique identification signature that cannot be easily replicated or shared.
2Reliability
If voice verification, facial recognition, or fingerprint recognition are used, then the identification can be more secure, but these techniques are unreliable and can fail under certain conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces optical and biometric recognition systems (facial recognition, fingerprint recognition) with an electrical field-based capacitive coupling system. This substitution eliminates the problems associated with visual occlusion (hats, glasses) and environmental factors, providing reliable identification under all conditions where the tag remains attached to the body.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having the identification system actively scan or capture features from the person (as in facial or fingerprint recognition), the system uses passive capacitive coupling where the tag itself generates the identification signal through the body's natural electrical properties. This inversion makes the system more reliable as it doesn't depend on external sensors or controlled environments.
3Reliability
If images are monitored by a human operator, then the identification can be performed, but this technique is slow and prone to human error
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces human visual inspection and manual identification processes with an automated capacitive coupling detection system. The electronic detection of the tag's unique electrical signature through the body provides instant, objective identification without human intervention, eliminating both human error and time delays associated with manual image monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-identification where the tag automatically provides its identification signal through capacitive coupling when the person approaches or touches the monitoring device. This eliminates the need for human operators to manually examine images or verify identities, as the system performs identification autonomously and instantly.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system provides secure and reliable person identification, preventing mix-ups between identical individuals and ensuring that the person interacting with a device is the one wearing the tag, enhancing privacy and security by not transmitting signals through free space.
Implementation Method 1
The tag has a capacitive contact able to capacitively couple the signal into the body of the person
Data Source
AI summary
A person identification device 100 has a tag 110 with a code and a tamper evident tether 120 able to secure the tag 110 to a person having a body. The person identification device also has a signal generator 140 able to generate a signal representing the code. The tag 110 has a capacitive contact 130 able to capacitively couple the signal into the body of the person.