The need for more passwords that our feeble human brains struggle to remember can make it feel like we work for the machines instead of the other way around. Wearable, and even embeddable, login storage has emerged has a possible solution.
After Google researchers floated the idea of a USB stick or a ring that would generate login keys, it appeared the Web giant would lead the way. But a UK project recently closed a $380,000 Kickstarter campaign, promising delivery of 61,000 password-bearing rings in September.
The company, NFC Ring, makes a simple silver ring with two near-field communication transmitters inside it, storing access information that can potentially be used to unlock phones, cars or houses or even to log in to websites.
One transmitter faces out and stores information that the user may want to share, such as his or her contact information. (The Android operating system allows users to share data via NFC.) The other faces inward and stores more private information, such as the home-unlocking passcode. The transmitter must come within a millimeter of an NFC reader to transmit its data.
Users won’t have to charge or update the rings because the transmitters are passive.
The ring’s wide range of possible uses drives much of the enthusiasm about it. Out of the box, the ring can be used to unlock doors and smartphones. NFC-driven door locks are already commercially available, and NFC Ring provides an app that allows the ring to unlock Android smartphones that support near-field communication.