User Authentication Method for Hearables Using Sound Leakage Signals

We propose a novel biometric authentication method that leverages sound leakage signals from hearables that are captured by an external microphone. A sweep signal is played from hearables, and sound leakage is recorded using an external microphone. This sound leakage signal represents the acoustic characteristics of the ear canal, auricle, or hand. Then, our system analyzes the echoes and authenticates the user. The proposed method is highly adaptable to hearables because it leverages widely available sensors, such as speakers and external microphones. In addition, the proposed method has the potential to be used in combination with existing methods. In this study, we investigate the characteristics of sound leakage signals using an experimental model and measure the authentication performance of our method using acoustic data from 16 people. The results show that the balanced accuracy (BAC) scores were in the range of 87.0%–96.7% in several scenarios.