Abstract: Recently, according to patently Apple, a U.S. website that has long tracked the progress of Apple's patent applications, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced a patent application for Apple's "Ear Canal Biometric Device", mainly through the sound waves reflected by the user's ear canal to identify users and prevent AirPods from being stolen.
Recently, according to patently Apple, a U.S. website that has long tracked the progress of Apple's patent applications, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced a patent application for Apple's "Ear Canal Biometric Device", mainly through the sound waves reflected by the user's ear canal to identify the user and prevent AirPods from being stolen.
According to the report, Apple filed this new patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on January 27, local time in the United States, and the patent application pointed out that the AirPods currently connected to the iPhone can provide anyone to wear, but the traditional system cannot identify whether the user wearing the headset is authorized to use the device, so it can issue instructions to the voice assistant Siri, and even obtain personal information through the microphone, there is a security risk.
However, Apple's new patent application does not mention AirPods, which seems to mean that the technology may be applied to other headphone devices named after other new names, and this new form of biometric technology, similar to Touch ID or Face ID unlocking, but mainly through sound waves to identify the user's ear canal, reflecting from the surface of the skin, producing a unique echo associated with the user.
Apple's patent application also indicates that Apple may also make AirPods that can detect the user's gait, such as through the user's walking, running style, or the number of steps, steps, and stride characteristics, and then identify the user's identity as an alternative or supplement to "ear canal biometric technology".
Editor: Xin ZhiXun - Lin Zi