A research team at University at Buffalo, the State University of New York (UB) has developed a computer security system using the dimensions of your heart as your identifier.

The system takes about 8 seconds to scan a heart the first time, and thereafter the monitor can continuously recognise that heart. The system uses the geometry of the heart, its shape and size, and how it moves to make an identification. It uses a low-level Doppler radar to measure your heart, and then continually monitors it to make sure no one else will step in to run your computer.

According to Wen-yao Xu, PhD, the study’s lead author and Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering in UB's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the system is a safe and potentially more effective alternative to passwords and other biometric identifiers, as the signal strength of the system's radar is much less than Wi-Fi that is in daily use and does not pose any health threat. The reader is about 5 milliwatts, less than 1 percent of the radiation from smartphones.

The new system has a number of advantages over current biometric tools, such as fingerprints and retinal scans. Firstly, the users are not bothered with authenticating themselves whenever they log in since it is a passive, non-contact device. In addition, it monitors users constantly so that the computer will not operate if a different person stands in front of it. Therefore, people do not have to remember to log off when they are getting away from their computers.

The researchers plan to miniaturise the system and have it installed onto the corners of computer keyboards. It may eventually be used for smartphones and at airport screening barricades, as this device could monitor a person up to 30 metres away.