Arkami’s biometric password management drive makes a splash on Kickstarter

With just less than a month to go, California-based Arkami, Inc. has raised nearly half of its $150,000 goal, having found 700 backers (and counting) on Kickstarter for its myIDkey voice-activated and fingerprint-secured bluetooth password management drive.

Addressing a growing consumer pain point – lost or forgotten passwords – Arkami’s new device operates with either a USB or bluetooth connection and stores passwords locally using “military grade encryption.” The idea behind this device is that users can either authenticate and view password information on the thumbdrive-sized device’s display screen or can connect it via USB or bluetooth to your device and have it enter all of your passwords securely for you.

Featuring a small swipe sensor and touch-sensitive surface, users can authenticate themselves using just their fingerprint, or they can also create a tap sequence as a second form of authentication. After multiple failed attempts to access password information on the device, myIDkey automatically erases all stored data, though users can retrieve this information from cloud servers if their key has been lost or stolen.

Though the myIDkey is voice-operated to allow for local searching on the device, it does not appear to offer any sort of speaker recognition capabilities.

According to the company, the device’s bluetooth or USB connectivity options allow it to operate on a wide array of devices, including support for both Android and iOS systems. At CES 2013, the myIDkey took home three awards respectively in computer accessories, personal electronics and computer peripherals categories.

It should also be mentioned that since beginning to write this article today, the number of backers for the company’s Kickstarter campaign has risen from 679 to 700.

According to the company’s Kickstarter campaign, myIDkey designs are complete, patents have been filed, components suppliers have been selected and the first production run and shipment is expected in August 2013.

Article Topics

authentication  |  biometrics  |  consumer electronics  |  fingerprint verification  |  myIDkey  |  passwords  |  patents  |  voice authentication