It seems that soon you will not have to enter four -digit passwords or use special sensors to scan fingerprint or iris of the eyes. Amazon has patented a new system for unlocking smartphones, which can distinguish the shape of users ears (according to previously conducted research, the ear of each person is also unique and has no repetitions in nature). The main element of the developed system is not a special sensor, but the front camera of the smartphone. In addition to authentication, the method will quickly change the volume level of the dynamics without the participation of the traditional “swing”. So, the system knows how to monitor the distance between the ear and the smartphone itself, depending on which the volume will be adjusted. Although the feasibility of using this method of unlocking the device is under a big question. After all, the IOS and Android OS allow you to respond to incoming calls without actual unlocking a smartphone, and in other situations the need to bring the device to the head for identification is unlikely to be convenient.
It is worth noting that Yahoo Labs has a similar development, but, unlike Amazon, it relies on the possibilities of sensory displays, which act as a biometric scanner for the ears and other parts of the human body.
Source: Slashgear.com