Titulo Estágio
Accessibility of Multimodal Authentication Techniques for People with Progressive Neurodegenerative Diseases
Local do Estágio
DEI-FCTUC
Enquadramento
Authentication systems have been evolving to resort to multiple technologies. These afford users different authentication alternatives that can be adjusted to the device (e.g., mobile vs. computer) and to the different levels of abilities of each user. In addition to the more conventional systems, based on the knowledge of a specific challenge (e.g. login and password), other solutions, based on biometrics, have been emerging, presenting themselves as promising alternative solutions for user identification and authentication. These technologies are generally robust and accurate, being equally difficult to imitate, forge, steal and forget.
The various authentication techniques have led to the development of multimodal models that allow authentication through different mechanisms (e.g., gestures, codes, facial recognition, voice, etc.), creating usage scenarios that increasingly simplify the authentication task, without compromising the essential objective of the system security. Conversely, despite this evolution, there are numerous systems and situations where these multimodal models are yet not available, or where people's physical abilities or health conditions compromise their full use. Furthermore, while research tends to focus mainly on the authentication stage, there are other stages, such as the authentication setup itself, which can be equally frustrating.
This dissertation will explore the accessibility of authentication techniques with a focus on people with progressive neurodegenerative diseases, such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson's Disease (PD). ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Its symptoms can vary significantly from person to person, but its progression generally involves a combination of symptoms. Over time signs become more noticable and this might mean an inability to move one or more members, dialect impediment, reduced ability to chew and swallow and respiratory difficulties. Parkinson's disease is a progressive nervous system disorder that affects movement. Much like the latter, its symptoms start gradually and progressively get worse. The condition can combine different symptoms such as tremors, slowed movement, rigid muscles, impaired posture and balance, loss of automatic movements, speech changes and writing changes. In short, examples such as ASL and PD show that not all people are able to interact with a system in the same way, namely when some sort of motor or speech disability is experienced by the person. This renders mainstream authentication methods useless for these people, depriving them from simple things such as having an email or bank account protected.
Objetivo
The objective of this dissertation project is to evaluate the accessibility of a set of authentication technologies in particular usage scenarios (e.g., smartphones, computers, applications, web portals, physical spaces), depending on the user's functional profile, with a special focus on movement and speech disability.
This will require exploring and conducting preliminary tests with both common authentication methods, such as passwords, PINs and biometric methods, as well as less common ones, namely eye-gaze tracking. These different technologies/methods will be taken into account when reviewing the different stages of authentication processes and their customization.
Having reviewed and tested current authentication methods, the student will choose and focus on a specific part of the authentication process to then explore and propose alternative accessible authentication solutions that would adapt to the needs of people with progressive neurodegenerative diseases, in particular those related with movement and speech disorders. The outcome should be an artifact that can serve as a proof of concept for an accessible authentication method that allows the user to retain security, without compromising the ease one should get while interacting with personal devices.
Plano de Trabalhos - Semestre 1
- Study and understand the changing movement and speech characteristics of progressive neurodegenerative diseases,
- Review the state-of-the-art on authentication mechanisms, as well as devices and usage scenarios.
- Conduct testing of currently available alternatives to credential verification with-end users
- Synthesise and compare results highlighting and discussing the application of multiple authentication systems in different accessibility scenarios.
- Intermediate dissertation document writing.
Plano de Trabalhos - Semestre 2
- Proposal and development of a use case for a particular accessibility condition (e.g. neuromuscular conditions, compromised speech abilities).
- Validation and discussion of results.
- Dissertation writing and scientific article writing.
Condições
The student should be comfortable or interested in developing skills/understanding:
- Human-Computer Interaction, accessibility, and ethnographic-based approaches
- English language, from reading, writing and speaking
- Interest in understanding the issues of people with different levels of abilities
- Good social skills for interacting with participants
Orientador
Paula Alexandra Silva
paulasilva@dei.uc.pt 📩