Get Ready to Be Identified by Your Ear

Last year, the United States Customs and Border Protection rolled out a recognition pilot program that uses biometric recognition tools like face and iris scanners. The program will snag “imposters” using a fake passport at airports, and what’s more, reduce wait times at security checkpoints. But what might identify individuals even more conclusively and speed travelers on their way more swiftly is another kind of biometrics, based on the ear.

Scientists have taken note that the curves of the cartilage, the protrusions of the auricle, and the hollow of the concha cava are all, like fingerprints, features distinctive to each person. The way noise bounces within the back in 2009. The sounds are “different from person to person,” he said, “which gives us a really nice biometric tool” in a wide range of fields, from computer logins to bank accounts.