The UNIPI sensing seat system is an unobtrusive and versatile module for human authentication that can be employed in different scenarios such as truck and car pilots, airplane pilots, plant and office personnel, and, in general, environments where the security is mandatory and a soft seat is available. The sensing seat system is realized by a sensing cover placed between the seat and an external cover that shields the sensing layer from the environment. The sensing cover is equipped with several strain sensors (Conductive Elastomers, CEs) grouped in several patches. The non-commercial sensors used for this application are developed at the laboratories of the University of Pisa and they allow piezoresistive sensing fabrics to be realized. The sensing seat system does not interfere with the mechanical structure of the seat and it is designed as an extension of the seat itself.

The sensing seat system transparently appears as a biometric authenticated sensor able to perform data capture during the enrollment and authentication procedures. During the data capture process, an internal graphical user interface implements the recording protocol and interacts with the human subject.
The first prototype of this system is part of the HUMABIO (Human Monitoring and Authentication Using Biodynamic Indicators and Behavioral Analysis) project for multi-modal human authentication. HUMABIO is a EC co-funded Specific Targeted Research Project (STREP).