October 19, 2005—Finnish scientists have created a security system for mobile phones, laptops and other electronic devices, based on identifying the owners’ walking styles.
The new technology is being tested by Helsinki-based VTT Technical Research Centre, according to CNN. Its creators say it could be commercially available within three years, and may prevent millions of portable appliances from being stolen every year.
Research professor Heikki Ailisto told CNN that the system involves fitting electronic devices with sensors, which monitor their owners’ walking styles. Because devices such as mobile phones and PDAs are often kept in pockets or on belt clips, the sensors actively monitor the way the owner walks when the device is used for the first time.
Previous security systems that used a person’s movements to identify them had involved closed circuit television monitors, whereas the Finnish system was based on advanced computation, Ailisto said.
For more on VTT, visit the company Web site.
