Ear and Voice Biometric Authentication With Reverberation Scoring

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing biometric authentication methods, such as voice and ear authentication, suffer from reduced accuracy due to background noise and improper earphone placement, leading to delayed authentication times when combined.

Innovation Solution

A biometric authentication device that integrates ear and voice authentication by reproducing a sound, acquiring ear and voice features, and calculating scores to provide a combined authentication result, allowing for quick and accurate verification.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If voice authentication and ear authentication are performed independently, then authentication accuracy is maintained under specific conditions, but authentication fails when background noise is large or earphone adhesion is insufficient

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveauthentication accuracyVSAvoidauthentication robustness

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines voice authentication and ear authentication into a unified authentication system that performs both methods simultaneously or sequentially. The authentication result is determined by integrating results from both authentication methods, thereby maintaining high accuracy while improving robustness against background noise and improper earphone placement.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

2Reliability

If voice authentication and ear authentication are simply combined, then authentication accuracy becomes higher, but authentication time becomes longer as the sum of times required for both approaches

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveauthentication accuracyVSAvoidauthentication time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs ear authentication first by outputting a sound through the earphone and capturing the reverberation, while simultaneously or subsequently capturing the user's voice. By preparing and processing ear authentication data in advance and overlapping the authentication processes, the system reduces total authentication time while maintaining the accuracy benefits of combined authentication.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Device complexity

If authentication is performed sequentially without overlap, then processing simplicity is maintained, but user waiting time increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveauthentication process complexityVSAvoiduser waiting time

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements continuous authentication processing by overlapping the voice authentication and ear authentication processes. The sound output for ear authentication is captured along with the user's voice input in a continuous manner, allowing both authentication processes to proceed without idle gaps. This maintains processing simplicity while significantly reducing user waiting time through parallel execution of authentication tasks.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #20Continuity of useful action

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 device achieves high accuracy and reduces authentication time by integrating ear and voice authentication scores, ensuring swift access to secure functions.

Implementation Method 1

a replay means reproducing a sound

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectSound reproduction: Sound

Implementation Method 2

acquiring a reverberation sound of the sound output from the replay means in an ear of a user to be authenticated

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectReverberation: Reverberation

Data Source

PatentUS12562170B2Biometric authentication device, biometric authentication method, and recording medium

Publication Date: 2026.02.24 NEC CORP

AI summary

A biometric authentication device is provided with: a replay unit for reproducing a sound; an ear authentication unit for acquiring a reverberation sound of the sound in an ear of a user to be authenticated, extracting an ear acoustic feature from the reverberation sound, and calculating an ear authentication score by comparing the extracted ear acoustic feature with an ear acoustic feature stored in advance; a voice authentication unit for extracting a talker feature from a voice of the user that has been input, and calculating a voice authentication score by comparing the extracted talker feature with a talker feature stored in advance; and an authentication integration unit for outputting an authentication integration result calculated based on the ear authentication score and the voice authentication score. After the sound is output into the ear, a recording unit inputs the voice of the user.