This would allow a person to hold a smartphone up to the side of the face to unlock it.
Amazon has now received a new mobile security patent that would make it possible for smartphone users to unlock their devices simply by holding them up in order to scan the shape of their ears.
The patent is for a type of technology that will allow the device to scan the ear through the camera.
The concept of the ear scanning mobile security is not unlike that of a fingerprint scanner. It uses the device’s front facing camera to scan the person’s ear and then conduct a comparison to an image of the owner’s ear that has already been placed on file. The fact is that an individual’s ear is just as unique as his or her fingerprint, which means that aside from the case of identical twins, this can be a method that is just as secure as fingerprint scanning. The exception is in the case of identical twins because they may have the same ears, but their fingerprints differ.
This new mobile security technology would also make it possible to perform a number of other tasks, as well.
For example, the ability to scan for a person’s ear can also make it possible for a device to adjust its speaker volume, based on how close it is to the individual. By being able to recognize that it is getting closer or farther away from a person’s ear, it becomes possible to make the speaker volume louder or more quiet as appropriate.
Amazon hasn’t yet stated whether or not it has any intentions to use the new ear scanning patent within any of its upcoming devices, such as the next generation of its Fire smartphone. That said, it is also not known exactly how helpful this mobile technology will be to a user as the majority of devices will allow someone to answer an incoming call without having to unlock it. Speaking on the device is the only behavior that actually requires it to be held up to the ear, which means that in most other cases, it is just as easy to use a fingerprint scan for the purpose of unlocking the device.
It will be interesting to find out what Amazon has up its sleeve for this mobile security feature, as the company has always been an innovator in technology.
