Bachelor Thesis: Authentification with Earables – Literature Review and Research Platform

Background

Earables are earbuds that are equipped with multiple sensors. Authentification is one of the four big application areas of earables as defined by Röddiger et al. (2022). Although is has been the smallest when the review was published, there was a surge in publications thereafter. This points to the significance and risen interest in authentification.

To better structure the research, a review on authentification in particular is needed to shed a light on the developments and trends in the field. The task of the student will be to set the basis for such a review. This should later be used as a basis for a scientific publication and platform (see below).

A guideline of what the student will be asked for is given below. The tasks will be conducted in close collaboration with the supervisor:

Tasks

  1. Systematically searching the literature from 2021 (after Röddiger et al. (2022)) until 2025 for scientific publications involving earables for authentification.
  2. Identifying descriptive (and evaluative) criteria to describe and rate the studies.
  3. Delivering the results in the format of a matrix-like table as well as a translation into a text-based format describing, commenting on, and interpreting the contents of the table.

The exact scope of the thesis will be dependend on the number of studies identifyied in step 1. Together with the studies already present in Röddiger et al. (2022), the overall number of studies should amount to 30-60 studies. The format of the study should resemble the matrix-like structure like in, e.g., Hummel et al. (2024) or Fischer et al. (2019). If conscientiously delivered, the BA thesis is thought to build the basis of a subsequent scientific publication that will feature the student as one of its authors (most likely second or third). This study will most likely be featured in a prestigious venue and include and interactive, filterable online-table that should act as a platform for research on authentification with earables.

Requirements

  • Interest in scientific literature and the ability to understand literature covering diverse topics.
  • Conscientiousness, diligence, and the ability to structure information (as well as oneself).
  • No programming skills are required for this thesis as it is a pure literature work!

If you are interested in this topic, please contact Jonas Hummel (hummel@teco.edu).