InPhysible: Camouflage Against Video-Based Physiological Measurement

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Computer Vision
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Imaging photoplethysmography (iPPG) enables physiological monitoring (heart rate, blood flow, respiration, oxygen levels, stress) using low-cost webcams.
• The widespread use of iPPG raises privacy concerns due to its unobtrusive measurement capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate InPhysible, the first camouflage system designed to counteract video-based physiological measurements.
• To protect individuals from unwanted physiological data collection via iPPG technology.

Main Methods:

• InPhysible utilizes an infrared system embedded in eyewear (e.g., glasses) to disrupt iPPG signal acquisition.
• The system is designed to be imperceptible to the human eye.
• It can simulate realistic pulse signals to interfere with heart rate measurements.

Main Results:

• The prototype's design is presented.
• A user study was conducted to validate the system's efficacy in disrupting iPPG measurements.
• The system successfully hinders the measurement of physiological signals from video.

Conclusions:

• InPhysible offers a viable solution for privacy protection against iPPG surveillance.
• The research discusses the limitations of the system and its broader implications for data privacy and security.