Finger-vein biometrics on the rise

The shortcomings of biometrics, the use of an individual’s unique biological characteristics to verify his or her identity, were brutally exposed three years ago. A Malaysian gang aiming to steal a car were confronted by a security system requiring the owner’s fingerprint. So they chopped off the owner’s finger, in effect using it as a key. Fingerprint recognition has other, less bloody flaws: Fingerprints can be copied by using adhesive tape, and iris scans have also proved fallible in the age of high-definition photography. An alternative biometric solution now claims to be more effective because it uses something inside the body: Finger vein patterns. A system developed by Hitachi transmits infra-red light into a part of the finger being scanned, which is absorbed by hemoglobin in the blood, causing the person’s vein pattern to show up as dark lines. The image can be captured by a special digital camera.

The technology, which will be showcased at Hitachi’s Inspire Life event in London this month, is being used by cash machines in Japan as well as door controls and laptops (see HSDW July 2007 story). By 2010 finger vein scanners will appear in cars, requiring a match for the engine to start. “There are many potential applications,” said Dr. Stephane Amarger, laboratory manager at Hitachi Europe. “Rental car companies could replace lost keys with finger vein authentication.” Gangsters will be denied a shortcut: For it to work, it must be a living finger.