Next-level security: A smart keyboard that identifies users by the way they type

Coming on the heels of the many recent headline grabbing news stories about hacking and fraud comes a new keyboard device that is able to identify users by the way they type, and will lock up should it detect an unauthorized user.

Oh, and this keyboard is able to clean and power itself.

The smart keyboard was first reported in the journal ACS Nano . In it, Zhong Lin Wang and colleagues note that password protection is far and away the most common way today’s computer user logs onto a device. The team found this a bit disconcerting given the recent spate of large-scale data hacks that have taken place, and so set out to find a more secure, yet cost-effective and user-friendly, way of safeguarding the contents on one’s computers.

The device they wound up creating is a keyboard that can sense typing patterns, including the pressure applied to keys and speed, and do so with a level of accuracy that allows it to distinguish individual users from one another.

An example of how this may be useful: Person B knows the password to get on to Person A’s computer, but will not be able to type it in because the keyboard will not recognize Person B’s typing pattern (that is, of course, assuming person B is not an authorized user of the computer). As a result, Person B will not be able to access the content saved to Person A’s computer.

Now, while the sensor technology built into the keyboard is certainly impressive, equally noteworthy is the fact that this keyboard does not need to be cleaned nor does it need to be charged. That’s because it has a special coating on it that repels dirt and grime, and it harnesses the energy generated from typing to either power itself or another small device. 

The researchers conclude that the keyboard is not the be-all, end-all to security risks and concerns; rather, it’s meant to act as an additional layer of protection that boosts the overall security of one’s computer systems.

Below is the team’s abstract. You can download the full study here.

Abstract:
The computer keyboard is one of the most common, reliable, accessible, and effective tools used for human–machine interfacing and information exchange. Although keyboards have been used for hundreds of years for advancing human civilization, studying human behavior by keystroke dynamics using smart keyboards remains a great challenge. Here we report a self-powered, non-mechanical-punching keyboard enabled by contact electrification between human fingers and keys, which converts mechanical stimuli applied to the keyboard into local electronic signals without applying an external power. The intelligent keyboard (IKB) can not only sensitively trigger a wireless alarm system once gentle finger tapping occurs but also trace and record typed content by detecting both the dynamic time intervals between and during the inputting of letters and the force used for each typing action. Such features hold promise for its use as a smart security system that can realize detection, alert, recording, and identification. Moreover, the IKB is able to identify personal characteristics from different individuals, assisted by the behavioral biometric of keystroke dynamics. Furthermore, the IKB can effectively harness typing motions for electricity to charge commercial electronics at arbitrary typing speeds greater than 100 characters per min. Given the above features, the IKB can be potentially applied not only to self-powered electronics but also to artificial intelligence, cyber security, and computer or network access control.