Title: A comparison of human brainwaves-based biometric authentication systems

Authors: Shikah J. Alsunaidi; Nazar Abbas Saqib; Khalid Adnan Alissa

Addresses: Department of Computer Science, College of Computer Sciences and Information Technology, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia ' Department of Computer Science, College of Computer Sciences and Information Technology, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia ' Department of Computer Science, College of Computer Sciences and Information Technology, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia

Abstract: Several decades ago, attention was directed to biometrics as an alternative to passwords that can be discovered or 'shoulder surfing' by others. Various authentication methods have been provided that rely on the user's biometrics, such as a fingerprint of a face, iris, voice, and others. Unfortunately, ways were found to imitate these visible fingerprints for using them in penetrations. Therefore, many researchers were interested in studying the possibility of using brainwaves for authentication purposes, as relying on hidden vital features increases the difficulty of breaking and imitation. This paper presents an analytical study of the proposed brainwave-based biometric authentication systems. It provides a comparison of signal acquisition methods for the brainwave-based authentication system. Also, the paper classifies brainwaves using its relevant features. It also presents the phases of the brainwave-based authentication system. Finally, it provides a detailed discussion of several factors that affect the accuracy of the brainwave-based authentication system results, and evaluate the compatibility level of the brainwave with the biometric requirements.

Keywords: authentication; biometrics; brainwave; brain-computer interface; BCI; acquisition methods; electrocorticography; ECoG; electroencephalogram; EEG; magnetoencephalography; MEG; functional magnetic resonance imaging; fMRI; functional near-infrared spectroscopy; fNIRS.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBM.2020.110814

International Journal of Biometrics, 2020 Vol.12 No.4, pp.411 - 429

Received: 17 Dec 2019
Accepted: 29 Feb 2020

Published online: 29 Oct 2020 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article