Next generation could use lip-reading technology to unlock smartphones

Computers that get unlocked by recognising lip-movements might soon become a thing after a new study has found that every person moves his lips differently when speaking. Research shows that electrical signals are produced when using your jaw muscles when speaking, even without making any audible sound. Lip-reading technology measures these signals, which can have several applications involving user authorisation - for example, as a password for unlocking smartphones. Ahmad Hassanat at the University of Mu’tah in Jordan has developed a new software which looks for patterns in lip and mouth movements associated with different words as people speak at a camera. For example, how many teeth are shown in any given video frame. After capturing a video of the user, the software then decodes the signals into text. However, the software might not be completely accurate at this stage. During the tests, Hassanat found an error rate of 7.63% to 20.51% in worst case scenarios, which means, though the software has tremendous potential, it still requires work. It can be used in combination with usernames and passwords to make it more effective. From mouth movements alone, the system correctly identified the words being said nearly 80 per cent of the time, ‘New Scientist’ reported. Hassanat evaluated the software using a video database of 20 different speakers (10 women and 10 men), and 15 more men in another video database with different experiment sets. Even the best actor would find it impossible to exactly duplicate someone else’s lip movements, Hassanat said. This means that visual passwords can become a form of biometric security tool, even allowing people to log on to computers simply by speaking to them. The risk of having your password hacked would also be low, as it would be nearly impossible to replicate one’s lip movements.