Nymi Smart Wristband Gets Your Heart's Electrical Activity, Replaces Your Keys

Wouldn't it be convenient to be free of keys, cards, remote controls, and such and simply open doors or appliances with a wave of a hand? Wouldn't it be great if you could do that without the need to leave your fingerprint everywhere? That may soon be a reality with this new wristband from Bionym that will let you unlock doors or devices but without the potential security risk of a fingerprint-based system.

The convenience and security offered by Nymi is based on the principle of a heartbeat. Aside from the usual heart rate, the heart also has an electrical activity measured by an electrocardiogram, more commonly known as ECG. The ECG of a person is as unique to that person as his or her fingerprint, which Bionym proposes as a more secure identification system. Unlike a fingerprint, an ECG cannot be lifted or copied.

The company is taking this idea and transforming it into a portable and convenient biometric system. In essence, the Nymi will be able to do everything that keys, passwords, or fingerprint scanners can do and more. The user only needs to clasp Nymin on their wrist to authenticate, and the user remains authenticated until the wristband is taken off. The proximity and motion sensors are then used to determine what the user is trying to do to which target.

The applications for Nymi are quite numerous. Anything and anywhere that needs secure authentication would be a fit for the smart wristband. Unlocking car doors can be done with a simple swiping gesture. Devices and hotel room doors can also be unlocked by simply moving the wristband close. Food and drinks can also be paid for on compatible counters. Even appliances such as smart TV's can be controlled with Nymi.

The Nymi smart wristband is currently available for pre-order at a special $79 introductory price, which will go up to $99 once the first batch of 25,000 units get sold. Bionym will also soon be launching a developer program and an SDK to help build Nymi-compatible biometric applications for Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac OS X.

Thanks for the tip, Nathan!

SOURCE: Nymi