Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Wearables
  3. News

This bracelet uses your heart rate to confirm your identity

By

bionym wearable uses heart rate for id nymi band
Fingerprint sensors may be in vogue for use in mobile payments, security, and identifying users, but a Canadian startup thinks it has a better idea. Bionym created a wearable ID bracelet that uses your unique heartbeat pattern to determine your identity. It can be used to unlock phones, in place of passwords, and other scenarios where security is paramount.

Just like your fingerprint, the rhythm produced by your heartbeat is unique to you. Bionym says its Nymi Band uses an electrocardiogram sensor to get a ECG reading of your overall heart beat wave. To measure your ECG with the Nymi Band, all you have to do is strap it on your wrist, touch a sensor that’s located on the top of the device, and make sure the band is touching your wrist. Once the band has determined the shape of your heartbeat wave, it sends the info via Bluetooth to a companion app on your smartphone.

Recommended Videos

The main advantage of using someone’s cardiac rhythm instead of their fingerprint is that it’s more difficult to reproduce or copy. After all, nearly every fingerprint sensor that’s been placed on smartphones from the likes of Samsung and Apple has been hacked within weeks of the product’s release. According to Bionym, the other huge benefit is that you don’t have to re-read your heartbeat every time you want to log into an account or unlock a device. Once the band and app know your heartbeat wave, you’re good to go.

Related

The Nymi Band also has an accelerometer and gyroscope onboard to read gestures and your proximity to objects. Theoretically, the Nymi Band could be used to unlock more than just accounts and devices — it could also unlock car doors, locks, and other locked objects.

Never having to carry keys or remember passwords again sounds great, but naturally, the Nymi Band raises many concerns about the privacy and security of users’ personal data. In an interview with TechCrunch, the CEO and co-founder Karl Martin assured the publication that there is a cryptographic chip embedded in the band, which keeps your data safe from prying eyes. Other apps will have to ask permission from the user before gaining access to the ECG reading.

The Nymi Band will be compatible with iOS, Android, Windows PCs, and OS X Macs. The company has an SDK for developers and hopes to see many apps embrace its technology. Recently, the company gained $14 million in funding from investors. Among those interested in the Nymi Band are MasterCard and Salesforce, which hints that it may be a viable solution for mobile payments.

The Nymi Band is available for preorder on Bionym’s website for $80. The company says it will ship the bands later this fall.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Malarie Gokey
Malarie Gokey
Former Digital Trends Contributor
As DT's Mobile Editor, Malarie runs the Mobile and Wearables sections, which cover smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and…
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 vs. Fitbit Sense
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 smartwatch, worn on a person's wrist.

The Galaxy Watch 4 is Samsung's take on a modern, hi-tech wearable that doesn't imitate an old-school analog wristwatch. It eschews the classic design of its predecessors for a sleeker, more streamlined look, while also providing some excellent hardware and features. These include a Super AMOLED touchscreen, 16GB of internal storage, generous battery life, and some great health-tracking software.

It's certainly one of the best smartwatches out there, but in a market saturated by Apple Watches and various Android equivalents, it certainly isn't without competitors. One of these is the Fitbit Sense, which in 2020 emerged to offer a premium version of the core Fitbit experience, replete with an ECG sensor, a choice of virtual assistants, and a wealth of fitness features.

Read more
This $4,000 titanium beauty is the ultimate square G-Shock
The G-Shock MRG-B5000B.

Do you want the very best Casio offers in manufacturing, design, and technology from your new G-Shock, all wrapped up in that highly recognizable square case? In other words, the ultimate version of a truly classic G-Shock watch? If so, the new MRG-B5000B is exactly the model you will want, provided cost is no object. We’ve been wearing it.
What makes MR-G so special?
Although Casio is best known for tough watches that won’t break the bank, Casio also has decades of watchmaking experience, and it showcases its talents most effectively in its highly exclusive MR-G family of watches. These models, its most luxurious, are assembled by hand on Casio’s Premium Production Line located in the Yamagata factory in Japan, where only the company’s most experienced, specially certified technicians work on the top MT-G and MR-G models.

The square G-Shock is one of the most popular models, having been around since the G-Shock brand first started in the early 1980s, and bringing it to the luxury MR-G range is going to see a lot of people reaching for their wallets. What makes it so special? It’s the first time the classic, beloved square G-Shock has been given the MR-G treatment, with most other MR-G models over the past few years featuring an analog dial. There's a huge section of an already large fan base waiting for this.

Read more
Fitbit recalls Ionic smartwatch after several burn reports
best walmart deals on apple watch garmin and fitbit ionic smartwatch adidas edition ice gray silver

Fitbit Ionic smartwatch users need to stop using their devices right now. The company has recalled its Ionic wearable after over 150 reports of the watch’s lithium-ion battery overheating, and 78 reports of burn injuries to the users. It will offer a refund of $299 to the Fitbit Ionic smartwatch users who return the device.

Fitbit has received at least 115 reports in the United States and over 50 reports internationally about the Ionic smartwatch's battery overheating. It is recalling the device as there are two reports of third-degree burns and four reports of second-degree burns out of the 78 total burn injuries report.

Read more