Palm Vein Authentication
Fujitsu, one of the world's largest suppliers of computer, and software telecommunications products, are also at the vanguard of biometric security. The corporation have now revealed their plans for palm vein authentication, a technology that is being used for room access security at a number of locations in Japan. Lenovo and HP have both released laptops with fingerprint readers recently. Will palm vein authentication become the new standard in biometric security?
Fujitsu may
be onto something in biometric security. In March 2005 at this
past CeBIT, the international IT tradeshow in Hanover, the
corporation revealed palm vein authentication technology. Since
then, this innovative tech has taken off in Japan, and Fujitsu is now
moving to make it a global, industry-wide standard.
Fujitsu
has such confidence in palm vein authentication because it's
earned an A+ in tests. In one, the scanner scored a false
acceptance rate (when a wrong person gains access) of 0.00008
percent. That's a lot of zeros. For false rejection rate (when
the right person is denied access), Fujitsu scored a 0.01
percent. Not too shabby either.
These scores make sense when you consider the three major
upsides that palm vein scanning has versus other biometric
security types. For instance, palm vein scanning is nearly
impervious to outside interference. Fingers, for example, can
have dirt or scratches on them that can mess with a print scan.
And eye size can affect how well a retina scan works. Palm vein
scanning, on the other hand, does not have such a
"kryptonite."
Also, you don't have to worry about finger print scanners working for
the wrong person, or be concerned about forgery. Imagine those horror-movie scenarios
when a bad guy lops off some lackey's finger and uses it to
access security measures. Of course, forgeries don't have to be
so violent-and can be much more common than you think. Palm-vein
scanning cuts the risk of security breaches because the veins are deep in your hand and arranged in very complicated,
hard-to-reproduce patterns.
Plus, for people who are squeamish about hygiene, palm vein
scanning is superior as well. It's contactless-you hold your hand
in the air while it's being scanned-so no need to worry about
somebody else's cooties.
Fujitsu will soon begin selling its palm vein authentication
tech around the globe-to the tune of an estimated 80 billion yen
(about $720.7 million) in orders. The company envisions
miniaturized versions of its palm vein scanners in laptops, cell
phones, and even cars. So far, the scanner has sold 5,000 units
in Japan since July 2004, and is being used in the University of
Tokyo's hospital for Room Access Security.
