Most of the wearables we have focused on here at EyeOnMobility to date have been smartwatches and fitness bands. But this coverage merely scratches the surface of the potential of wearables. Other devices we have covered such as the Kiwi Move and even strange concepts like a dress made up of Lumia smartphones have given us a glimpse at the vast reach wearables could have very soon. Last night, Bionym took to the stage at the latest WeAreWearables event in Toronto to demonstrate their nymi identity bracelet.
The concept behind the nymi is simple. It uses your unique cardiac rhythm (ECG) to authenticate your identity across an ecosystem of devices and systems. Once on your wrist and having authenticated you, it provides a password and key-free way to prove that you are who you are. Bionym describes this as your “persistent identity.”
Bionym’s vision goes far beyond a simple bracelet though. Their ambition is to be the “iPhone of wearables” in that it is supported by a wide and varied ecosystem. As the video below demonstrates, the nymi could be used to unlock your car in the morning, unlock your PC when you get near it, support secure transactions at your local coffee shop and help smart appliances remember your preferences.
The demonstration was conducted by Bionym CEO Karl Martin and president Andrew D’Souza. As is so often the case with demonstrations, things did not go as smoothly as they could have but the promise of the nymi is undeniable.
Setting up the nymi appears straightforward. An enrollment process helps define your identity by capturing a two-minute ECG trace to define your heartbeat template. Every time you put the nymi on, it authenticates you against that template. From there, a combination of sensors including an accelerometer, gyroscope and proximity sensor, will provide the necessary authentication to various devices or services you run across over the span of a day without any further input from you.
In a panel discussion that followed the demonstration, the Bionym team recognized that security is paramount in a device that could end up managing our identities across a wide range of devices and services. In terms of authentication accuracy, the nymi apparently falls just below that of fingerprints. Yevgeniy Vahlis, Nymi’s chief cryptographer, also spoke about how their solution combines both software and hardware to offer a higher-level of security than either on their own. For example, nymi relies solely on its own software. Not only does this leave it unaffected by security breaches that affect software used across a range of solutions (such as the recent Heartbleed security fiasco) but it also allows Bionym to tweak its code should any issues be identified. The hardware component brings with it an additional level of security given that the bracelet is required for authentication to work.
If Bionym can establish a strong ecosystem around the nymi, it may well become the next must-have device for anyone that must remember a password or carry any number of identity cards. Future partnerships could also enhance its functionality well beyond security and authentication.
Bionym will launch the nymi later this year. It is now available for pre-order for CA$79 for the first 25,000 people who preorder. After that, the price will jump to CA$99.
Source : Getnimy