Philips

About: Philips is a company organization based out in Vantaa, Finland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Signal & Layer (electronics). The organization has 68260 authors who have published 99663 publications receiving 1882329 citations. The organization is also known as: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. & Royal Philips Electronics.

Web-based, biometric authentication system and method

Abstract: A Web-based authentication system and method, the system comprising at least one Web client station, at least one Web server station and an authentication center. The Web client station is linked to a Web cloud, and provides selected biometric data of an individual who is using the Web client station. The Web server station is also linked to the Web cloud. The authentication center is linked to at least one of the Web client and Web server stations so as to receive the biometric data. The authentication center, having records of one or more enrolled individuals, provides for comparison of the provided data with selected records. The method comprises the steps of (i) establishing parameters associated with selected biometric characteristics to be used in authentication; (ii) acquiring, at the Web client station, biometric data in accordance with the parameters; (iii) receiving, at an authentication center, a message that includes biometric data; (iv) selecting, at the authentication center, one or more records from among records associated with one or more enrolled individuals; and (v) comparing the received data with selected records. The comparisons of the system and method are to determine whether the so-compared live data sufficiently matches the selected records so as to authenticate the individual seeking access of the Web server station, which access is typically to information, services and other resources provided by one or more application servers associated with the Web server station.

Blue-enriched white light in the workplace improves self-reported alertness, performance and sleep quality.

Abstract: Objectives Specifications and standards for lighting installations in occupational settings are based on the spectral sensitivity of the classical visual system and do not take into account the recently discovered melanopsin-based, blue-light-sensitive photoreceptive system. The authors investigated the effects of exposure to blue-enriched white light during daytime workhours in an office setting. Methods The experiment was conducted on 104 white-collar workers on two office floors. After baseline assessments under existing lighting conditions, every participant was exposed to two new lighting conditions, each lasting 4 weeks. One consisted of blue-enriched white light (17 000 K) and the other of white light (4000 K). The order was balanced between the floors. Questionnaire and rating scales were used to assess alertness, mood, sleep quality, performance, mental effort, headache and eye strain, and mood throughout the 8-week intervention. Results Altogether 94 participants [mean age 36.4 (SD 10.2) years] were included in the analysis. Compared with white light (4000 K), blue-enriched white light (17 000 K) improved the subjective measures of alertness (P<0.0001), positive mood (P=0.0001), performance (P<0.0001), evening fatigue (P=0.0001), irritability (P=0.004), concentration (P<0.0001), and eye discomfort (P=0.002). Daytime sleepiness was reduced (P=0.0001), and the quality of subjective nocturnal sleep (P=0.016) was improved under blue-enriched white light. When the participants’ expectation about the effect of the light treatments was entered into the analysis as a covariate, significant effects persisted for performance, alertness, evening fatigue, irritability, difficulty focusing, concentrating, and blurred vision. Conclusions Exposure to blue-enriched white light during daytime workhours improves subjective alertness, performance, and evening fatigue.