# US 12,183,138 B2 · System and method for authenticating identity of a person wearing an earpiece > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,183,138 B2 - Document ID: US12183138B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/853,043 - Filed: 2022-06-29 - Published: 2023-01-05 - Granted: 2024-12-31 - Earliest claimed: 2021-06-30 - Assignees: KYOCERA AVX Components Corporation - Applicants: Kyocera AVX Components Corporation - Inventors: Laurent Desclos - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12183138B2 ## CPC - G07C 9/00563: {using personal physical data of the operator, e.g. finger prints, retinal images, voicepatterns} - G07C 9/37: using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition - G06V 10/40: Extraction of image or video features - G06V 10/764: using classification, e.g. of video objects - G06V 40/10: Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands - G06V 40/173: {face re-identification, e.g. recognising unknown faces across different face tracks} - G07C: TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE - G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING ## Abstract A person authentication system is provided. The person authentication system includes one or more image capture devices. The person authentication system includes a computing system. The computing system includes one or more computing devices. The computing system is configured to obtain data indicative of a unique identifier associated with an earpiece worn by a person. The computing system is configured to obtain image data of an ear of the person via the one or more image capture devices. The computing system is configured to authenticate an identity of the person based, at least in part, on the image data and the data indicative of the unique identifier. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A person authentication system comprising: one or more image capture devices; and a computing system comprising one or more computing devices, the computing system configured to perform operations comprising: obtaining data indicative of a unique identifier associated with an earpiece worn by a person, the unique identifier obtained from a beacon signal from a modal antenna of the earpiece, the modal antenna of the earpiece comprises a driven element, one or more parasitic elements, and one or more tuning elements coupled to the one or more parasitic element, the modal antenna of the earpiece configurable in one of a plurality of modes based, at least in part, on a channel quality indicator, each of the plurality of modes having a distinct radiation pattern; obtaining image data of an ear of the person via the one or more image capture devices; and authenticating, by the computing system, an identity of the person based, at least in part, on the image data, and the data indicative of the unique identifier. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The person authentication system of claim 1, wherein the image data comprises one or more images of an outer ear and an inner ear, the inner ear being closer to an entrance of a canal of the ear than the outer ear. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The person authentication system of claim 2, wherein the operation of authenticating the identity of the person comprises authenticating the identity of the person based, at least in part, on one or more anatomical features of the outer ear and one or more anatomical features of the inner ear. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The person authentication system of claim 1, wherein the operation of authenticating the identity of the person comprises: determining one of a plurality of persons as a person associated with the earpiece based, at least in part, on the data indicative of the unique identifier; and determining whether the person is the person associated with the earpiece based, at least in part, on the image data. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The person authentication system of claim 4, wherein determining whether the person is the person associated with the earpiece comprises: comparing image data of the ear of the person to image data of an ear of the person associated with the earpiece; and authenticating the identity of the person when the image data of the ear of the person corresponds to the image data of the ear of the person associated with the earpiece. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The person authentication system of claim 1, wherein the one or more image capture devices are positioned at an entrance to a restricted area. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The person authentication system of claim 6, wherein obtaining data indicative of the unique identifier associated with the earpiece comprises obtaining one or more signals from the earpiece when the person is within a predetermined proximity of the entrance of the area. ### Claim 8 A method of authenticating a person, the method comprising: obtaining, by a computing system comprising one or more computing devices, data indicative of a unique identifier associated with an earpiece worn by a person, the unique identifier obtained from a beacon signal from a modal antenna of the earpiece, the modal antenna of the earpiece comprises a driven element one or more parasitic elements, and one or more tuning elements coupled to the one or more parasitic elements, the modal antenna of the earpiece configurable in one of a plurality of modes based, at least in part, on a channel quality indicator, each of the plurality of modes having a distinct radiation pattern; obtaining, by the computing system, image data of an ear of the person; and authenticating, by the computing system, an identity of the person based, at least in part, on the image data, and the data indicative of the unique identifier. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein obtaining image data of the ear of the person comprises obtaining, by the computing system, one or more images of an outer ear. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein obtaining image data of the ear of the person comprises obtaining, by the computing system, one or more images of an inner ear, the inner ear being closer to an entrance of a canal of the car than an outer ear. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein obtaining image data of the ear of the person comprises obtaining, by the computing system, one or more images of an outer ear and an inner car, the inner ear being closer to an entrance of a canal of the ear than the outer ear. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, wherein authenticating the identity of the person comprises authenticating, by the computing system, the identity based, at least in part, on one or more anatomical features of the outer ear and one or more anatomical features of the inner ear. ### Claim 13 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein obtaining data indicative of a unique identifier associated with an earpiece worn by a person comprises obtaining, by the computing system, one or more signals from a near-field communication circuit located in the earpiece. ### Claim 14 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein authenticating the identity of the person comprises: determining, by the computing system, one of a plurality of persons as a person associated with the earpiece based, at least in part, on the data indicative of the unique identifier; and determining, by the computing system, whether the person is the person associated with the earpiece based, at least in part, on the image data. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein determining whether the person is the person associated with the earpiece comprises: classifying, by the computing system, the image data of the ear to determine an image classification; and authenticating, by the computing system, the identity of the person based on the image classification. ### Claim 16 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein the unique identifier comprises a medium access control (MAC) address. ### Claim 17 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein obtaining image data of an ear of the person occurs when the person is at an entrance to an area. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17, further comprising: responsive to authenticating the identity of the person, determining, by the computing system, whether the person is permitted to access an area based, at least in part, on the identity of the person. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The method of claim 18, further comprising: providing, by the computing system, a notification indicative of whether the person is permitted to access the area.