SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IDENTIFYING A USER OF AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE
Systems and methods for identifying a user of an electronic device are disclosed. An example method includes capturing a physical characteristic of a hand of a user via a sensor on a computing device. The characteristic is captured as the user touches the computing device for a purpose different from user identification. The example method includes determining an identifier associated with the user based on the captured characteristic.
1 . A method of identifying a user comprising:
capturing a characteristic of a hand of a user via a sensor on a computing device, the characteristic being captured as the user touches the computing device for a purpose different from user identification;
determining an identifier associated with the user based on the captured characteristic; and
exporting the identifier to a collection site.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the characteristic of the user is a physical characteristic, and the characteristic comprises at least one of a fingerprint, a palm print, a shape of one end of a finer, a size of one end of a finger, a shape of a fingertip, or a size of a fingertip.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the computing device comprises at least one of a mobile device, a tablet computer, a touchscreen device or a touchless touchscreen device.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the sensor comprises a camera.
5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
collecting measurement data via the computing device, the measurement data being representative of the user's activity on the mobile device; and
exporting the measurement data to the collection site.
6 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising associating the measurement data with the identifier of the user.
7 . A system to identify a user comprising:
a sensor to capture a characteristic of a hand of a user, the characteristic being captured as the user touches a computing device for a purpose different from user identification; and
a user identifier to determine an identifier associated with the user based on the characteristic.
8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the characteristic of the user is a physical characteristic, and the characteristic comprises at least one of a fingerprint, a palm print, a shape of one end of a finer, a size of one end of a finger, a shape of a fingertip, or a size of a fingertip.
9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the computing device comprises at least one of a mobile device, a tablet computer, a touchscreen device or a touchless touchscreen device.
10 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the sensor comprises a camera.
11 . The system of claim 8 , further comprising:
an activity data collector to collect measurement data via the computing device, the measurement data being representative of the user's activity on the computing device.
12 . The system of claim 11 , further comprising an exporter to export the measurement data to a collection site.
13 . The system of claim 11 , further comprising a database to associate the measurement data with the identifier of the user.
14 . A tangible computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a computing device to at least:
capture a characteristic of a hand of a user via a sensor on a computing device, the characteristic being captured as the user touches the computing device for a purpose different from user identification;
determine an identifier associated with the user based on the captured characteristic; and
export the identifier to a collection site.
15 . The computer-readable medium of claim 14 , wherein the characteristic of the user is a physical characteristic, and the characteristic comprises at least one of a fingerprint, a palm print, a shape of one end of a finer, a size of one end of a finger, a shape of a fingertip, or a size of a fingertip.
16 . The computer-readable medium of claim 14 , wherein the computing device comprises at least one of a mobile device, a tablet computer, a touchscreen device or a touchless touchscreen device.
17 . The computer-readable medium of claim 14 , wherein the sensor comprises a camera.
18 . The computer-readable medium of claim 14 , further comprising instructions that cause the computing device to:
collect measurement data via the computing device, the measurement data being representative of the user's activity on the mobile device; and
export the measurement data to the collection site.
19 . The computer-readable medium of claim 18 , further comprising instructions that cause the computing device to associate the measurement data with the identifier of the user.