Biometric authentication has been in commercial use and has been a crucial part of modern smartphones for years now. Almost every other smartphone these days is capable of reading fingerprints and recognizing faces, but researchers have discovered a new and improved way to do so.
The new method is called 3D biometric authentication, and it involves mapping the user’s blood vessels in their fingers through light and sound. This new authentication method might make also its way to smartphones in the future. Head of the research team Jun Xia said:
The 3D finger vein biometric authentication method we developed enables levels of specificity and anti-spoofing that were not possible before. Since no two people have exactly the same 3D vein pattern, faking a vein biometric authentication would require creating an exact 3D replica of a person’s finger veins, which is basically impossible.
As mentioned before, the technique uses an imaging method that combines light and sound. Light is used to illuminate the finger as soon as it touches the surface and then an ultrasound detector creates a 3D image of the veins using the sounds created.
Biometric authentication involving finger vein-mapping is not exactly new, but these are usually based on 2D images. This new technique reads a finger’s invisible features in 3D, which not only adds another layer of depth but also increases security as it can not be easily replicated.
3D biometric authentication will arrive at other consumer-grade products before smartphones but it could be miniaturized enough for smartphones in the coming years.
