Explore: Written Responses

2 a. Provide information on your computing innovation and computational artifact.

Name the computing innovation that is represented by your computational artifact.
Describe the computing innovations intended purpose and function.
Describe how your computational artifact illustrates, represents or explains the computing
innovations intended purpose, its function or its effect.
(Approximately 100 words)
A man with one hand in his pocket approaches a locked door and places his other hand
on the doorknob. A second later, the deadbolt clicks open, as if by magic, and he lets himself
in1. University of Washington engineers have devised a way to send secure passwords through
the human body using smartphone fingerprint sensors and touchpads rather than over bluetooth
and wifi where they're vulnerable to hacking and obtaining personal information. These
engineers are able to accomplish this by using benign, low-frequency transmissions generated by
fingerprint sensors on consumer devices. "Fingerprint sensors have so far been used as an input
device. These engineers have shown for the first time that fingerprint sensors can be re-purposed
to send out information that is confined to the body2 These "on-body" transmissions give a more
secure way to transmit authentication information between devices that interact with the body.

2 b. Describe your development process, explicitly identifying the computing tools and
techniques you used to create your artifact. Your description must be detailed enough so that a
person unfamiliar with those tools and techniques will understand your process.
(Approximately 100 words)
The program used to create my artifact was a website called Canva. Canva is a tool
loaded with features and functionality that anyone can create a variety of engaging content that
gets shared. This website offers various tools for users to use to create posters, cards, paintings,
presentations, business cards, etc. First, I chose pictures that best represent the innovation,
including the innovation itself from trusted internet sources. These pictures demonstrate the
function of the innovation and how it works. Next, I separated the images into different sections
using borders. I explicitly showed the beneficial and harmful effects by placing images that
represent each of those qualities. After, I placed text boxes over some images to give a
description of that image. Finally, I decided to put the title in the middle of the artifact calling it
Unlock Doors With Smartphones Wirelessly.
.
2 c. Explain at least one beneficial effect and at least one harmful effect the computing
innovation has had, or has the potential to have, on society, economy, or culture. (Approximately
250 words)
A beneficial effect these smartphone sensors bring is the introduction to new security.
"Let's say I want to open a door using an electronic smart lock, said co-lead author Mehrdad
Hessar, a UW electrical engineering doctoral student. I can touch the doorknob and touch the
fingerprint sensor on my phone and transmit my secret credentials through my body to open the
door, without leaking that personal information over the air"3 . With this hands free technology,
the sensors add a new layer of security to doors and preventing unwanted access to rooms. Only
those who have approved fingerprints may unlock the door. In addition, Potential applications
for on-body transmissions include securely sending information to door locks, glucose sensors or
other wearable medical devices2. This technology could also be useful for secure transmissions
to medical devices such as insulin pumps or glucose monitors, which seek to confirm someone's
identity before sending or sharing data. There are also some harmful effects as well. Like any
other body scanning hardware, the technology used may not scan the finger or body correctly
due to dirtyness, scars, burns, etc. Also, when the time comes when you lose the device
,someone can hack it and obtain personal information and your privacy may be leaked as
fingerprint information is tied to personal data.

2d. Using specific details, describe:the data your innovation uses; how the innovation consumes
(as input), produces (as output), and/or transforms data; and at least one data storage concern,
data privacy concern, or data security concern directly related to the computing innovation.
(Approximately 250 words)
This new technology utilizes fingerprint scanners and touchpads to generate signals that
travel through the skin and unlike wireless broadcasts, these on-body transmissions cannot be
intercepted and catched over the air. The research team tested the technique on iPhone and other
fingerprint sensors, as well as Lenovo laptop trackpads and the Adafruit capacitive touchpad. In
tests with 10 different subjects, they were able to generate usable on-body transmissions on
people of different heights, weights and body types. The system also worked when subjects were
in motion including while they walked and moved their arms2. Sensors use these signals to
receive input about your finger. However, the University of Washington engineers devised a
way to use these signals as output that corresponds to data contained in a password or access
code. When entered on a smartphone, data that authenticates your identity can travel securely
through your body to a receiver embedded in a device that needs to confirm who you are. Their
process employs a sequence of finger scans to encode and transmit data. Performing a finger
scan correlates to a 1-bit of digital data and not performing the scan correlates to a 0-bit. One
major concern is that if you lose the system in which you scan your finger, a hacker can breach
into the technology, gaining personal information including fingerprints and identification.

2e. Provide a list of at least three online or print sources used to create your computational
artifact and/or support your responses to the prompts provided in this performance task.
1
Waddell, Kaveh. "How to Send a Password Through Your Body." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media
Company, 16 Oct. 2016. Web. 16 Dec. 2016.
<https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/10/how-to-send-a-passcode-through-your
-body/503897/>.
2
Langston, Jennifer. "Secure Passwords Can Be Sent through Your Body, Instead of Air." UW
Today. University of Washington, 27 Sept. 2017. Web. 16 Dec. 2016.
<http://www.washington.edu/news/2016/09/27/secure-passwords-can-be-sent-through-your-bod
y-instead-of-air/>.

3
University of Washington. "Secure passwords can be sent through your body, instead of air."
ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 27 September 2016.Web. 16 Dec. 2016.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160927134838.htm>.