If you still think fingerprint identification is pretty high-tech sci-fi stuff, wrap your mind around this: The next generation of biometric identification will scan the unique pattern of veins in your finger to identify you. Hitachi announced on Thursday that the finger vein scanner they have sold in Japan since October will be coming to the Europe, North America and Asia in July.
The device works using an infrared LED that can pass light through the surface of the skin to the vein structure beneath, and a camera that can capture the unique pattern. An algorithm processes the image into a compact string of data that can be stored and retrieved to confirm your match at a later time.
Unlike other biometric identification systems that use facial recognition or fingerprints, a person’s vein structure can’t be copied without their knowledge and duplicated. In Japan, the finger vein scanner has already achieved widespread adoption, to the point that 80 percent of ATMs now use them.
Hitachi’s first model will be a simple consumer-level scanner that allows users to protect their computers from illegitimate users without a password. Unlike commercial versions, it will recognize a maximum of 100 fingers. Hitachi hasn’t yet announced what the scanners will cost.
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