Vibrational Insights: Exploring Applications in Sensing and Authentication
Dr Brian Lim Youliang, Associate Professor, School of Computing
COM1 Level 2
SR7, COM1-02-07
Abstract:
Vibration, a fundamental physical phenomenon inherent in human activities and biological processes, offers unique opportunities for secure authentication and non-invasive physiological sensing. This thesis explores the potential of body-based vibrations to advance both authentication technologies and health monitoring systems. By examining how vibrations are generated and propagated within the human body, the research bridges theoretical principles with practical implementations across three studies: device co-presence detection, earable-based silent speech authentication, and heartbeat monitoring using repurposed massage chair motors.
The first study develops a method for device co-presence detection by analyzing body-conducted vibrations to establish secure connections between paired smart devices. The second study investigates earable IMU–based silent speech authentication, introducing preprocessing and feature extraction methods and demonstrating reliable performance in both voiced and voiceless conditions. The third study repurposes massage chair motors to sense heartbeat-induced vibrations, evaluating their feasibility as a cost-effective alternative for cardiac monitoring while addressing challenges such as noise, posture, and hardware limitations.
Together, these studies demonstrate that body vibrations encode both user-specific and physiology-linked patterns that can be effectively harnessed with practical hardware. The findings highlight the feasibility of vibration-based sensing for real-world applications in authentication, healthcare, and fitness, while also pointing to future opportunities in multimodal fusion and wearable system design.