Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Steering Wheel Finger Vein Authentication
Hitachi's handy finger vein authenication is handy for ATMs and cardless payment authorization. Now, Hitachi has attached the device to the steering wheel of a car.
(Finger Vein Authentication used on steering wheel)
At first glance, this seems a bit overboard. However, this means that the car can not only authenticate the driver, but customize the functionality of the car based on the vein print.
It's even possible to use different fingers for different tasks; your ring finger might turn on the radio and the pinky ring could be used to authorize a payment at a drive-in.
This brings us to the science-fictional portion of the article; it's weird, but then, so is finger vein authentication on a steering wheel.
In Fleet of Worlds, Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner write about events 200 years before the time of Ringworld, Niven's 1970 Hugo and Nebula award-winning novel. The most technologically advanced species, the Puppeteers, do not have hands. They have two heads on long flexible necks, and the mouths serve has "hands." Their lips have knobbly extensions and their tongues are sort of leathery and are also used for manipulation.
So, how would a Puppeteer implement security on a transit system (which they use in place of vehicles)? Naturally, you'd use a tongueprint:
Nearing a public stepping disc embedded in the walkway, [Nike] dipped a head into a pocket. With nimble lip nodes he retrieved an address from his personal transport controller; his tongueprint authorized access to a secured file. The disc flicked him instantly to a restricted location...
(Read more about tongueprint verification)
Have you read these articles? Best to click the links and authenticate:
- Fujitsu PalmSecure Hand Vein Scanner
A nifty biometric security station. It's hygienic, too. - Palm Vein Authentication First, Then Book
Fujitsu's contactless palm vein authentication will eliminate the use of library cards. - VeinViewer Now In First Hospital
A spectacularly cool device for "vein contrast enhancement" is now in use throughout the Memphis-based Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare system.
Via Hitachi considers steering wheels for its finger vein authentication system.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/23/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Security ")
Flimmer Navy Drone Flies And Swims
Launch the Flying Sub!
Indian Court Says Brain Scan Proves Murder
Using a test called Brain Electrical Oscillations Signature, an Indian court convicts a woman based on her brain contents.
Background Draw-a-Secret (BDAS) Makes Graphical Passwords
Interesting security technique that takes advantage of the greater ease with which we all recall pictures, as opposed to the kind of alphanumeric strings IT techs want us to use for passwords.
ID-U Biometrics Eye Tracking Signature
Interesting new method of secure identification gathers a unique response to stimulus each time; old data cannot be copied and presented to the system.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Monolith One Giant Industrial Metal 3D-printer
'The object seemed melted together like wax — nothing was distinguishable.'
'Mooncrete' Lunar Regolith Concrete (LRC)
'And here they began to build...'
China's 'Magpie Drone' Ornithopter
'Midges have many capabilities. To the untrained eye, they look like sparrows.'
MAI-Voice-2 Microsoft Text-To-Speech
'I made disks of my own voice to the number of five hundred very carefully chosen words.'
Tumblin' Tumbleweed Rovers To Eplore Mars
'His sensors out and working, and the whirring of the tape that sucked up sight and sound and shape and smell and form...'
Tentacled Robot Captures Space Debris
Preventing annoying space debris build-up.
Prufrock-MB2 Ready In Nashville
'It sounds to me as though you had invented a kind of metal earthworm.'
DIY Robotic Content Farming
'The chief wheeled to the master machine and pressed a button.'
Reflect Orbital Sunlight On Demand
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors that circulate around the satellite, making it habitable.'
The Amazing Lightfoot Electric Scooter With Solar Assist
'The steel tortoise gave MacKinnon a feeling of Crusoe- like independence.'
Fully Electric, Fully Automated Vegetable‑growing Agribots
'...then back to their work, though little enough it was on these automatic cultivators.'
Vero Robotic Dog With Vacuum Cleaner Feet
'Out of warrens in the wall, tiny robot mice darted.'
AI Operates An Excavator
'So far as I could see, the thing was without a directing Martian at all.'
US Army IBEX Exoskeleton Walks Troops Out Of Danger
'The suit stands up and starts walking, gripping me round the calves and waist, taking the bulk of my weight off my throbbing feet.'
Boy Makes Biomimetic Turtle Robot
't came out into plain view. Darkington glimpsed a slim body and six short legs of articulated dull metal.'
Elon Musk Wants Data Centers In Space
'Internally it’s made up of millions of components, but the most important ones are the thinking and memory parts of the Mind proper.'
