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Updated: Jan 24, 2026

Recording Brain Activity with Ear-Electroencephalography
Published on: March 31, 2023
One-Step, Three-Factor Passthought Authentication With Custom-Fit, In-Ear EEG
Nick Merrill1, Max T Curran1, Swapan Gandhi2
1BioSENSE, School of Information, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States.
Abstract:
In-ear EEG offers a promising path toward usable, discreet brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) for both healthy individuals and persons with disabilities. To test the promise of this modality, we produced a brain-based authentication system using custom-fit EEG earpieces. In a sample of N = 7 participants, we demonstrated that our system has high accuracy, higher than prior work using non-custom earpieces. We demonstrated that both inherence and knowledge factors contribute to authentication accuracy, and performed a simulated attack to show our system's robustness against impersonation. From an authentication standpoint, our system provides three factors of authentication in a single step. From a usability standpoint, our system does not require a cumbersome, head-worn device.
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