Kind of a silly personal anecdote, but growing up, my father had a unique "strained" nostril breathing pattern and bad sleep apnea + COPD. I became 'hyper aware' of people's breathing patterns - to the point where people at work had fun with it - standing behind me breathing normally. I could identify who it was > 90% of the time (they were not trying to breathe quietly or differently). I often thought of people's breathing signature as sort of factor to identify them by. I certainly didn't think I was the first person to note this.
More interestingly, I'm also able to pick out people who have early signs of "decreased health" based on their breathing pattern at rest - I don't think it's overly difficult.
This study appears to cover both aspects - creating a breathing fingerprint and estimating BMI. I certainly wasn't aware of breathing differences associated with cognitive state. Bravo to the researchers for formalizing all of this - hope some positive interventional techniques are driven by these findings.
Today it requires wearing a mask to effectively capture the data. I wonder if we will see this done acoustically or via some other non-intrusive, remote method.
I once went to see a doctor because of anxiety, and they had me try some simple breathing exercises. That was when I first noticed how much my breathing pattern changes depending on my state. Now whenever I feel tense, I consciously slow down my breathing and it actually helps me feel more in control. After reading this article, the idea of a breathing fingerprint makes a lot of sense to me. It probably reflects not just physical traits but also your current state.
Not very practical when they have to record the sample for several hours with a mask. I'm sure in 10 years they'll be able to do it with a 10 second sample as you walk by, though.
In the future, US citizens wanting to exercise their 4th amendment right against unlawful seziure of their biometrics will do so by ceasing to breathe.
Because you can't require a warrant for biometrics that you impart to the (public) environment around you, like fingerprints on a door handle, saliva on a discarded cigarette, or in this case... air.
Humans have nasal respiratory fingerprints
(cell.com)68 points by srameshc 21 hours ago | 26 comments
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More interestingly, I'm also able to pick out people who have early signs of "decreased health" based on their breathing pattern at rest - I don't think it's overly difficult.
This study appears to cover both aspects - creating a breathing fingerprint and estimating BMI. I certainly wasn't aware of breathing differences associated with cognitive state. Bravo to the researchers for formalizing all of this - hope some positive interventional techniques are driven by these findings.
Because you can't require a warrant for biometrics that you impart to the (public) environment around you, like fingerprints on a door handle, saliva on a discarded cigarette, or in this case... air.