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
Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"The world is really so surreal these days that it's necessary for us to blunt it somehow in order to stay sane. The artist functions to short-circuit the buffering mechanism, so that people can occasionally perceive the weirdness of things as they are."
- William Gibson
 |
| Palm Lock | ||
| A lock or seal which can be opened only by contact with the palm of the human hand to which it has been keyed. |
This is another wonderful creation of Herbert's. It is not clear if the lock is part of the knob or device that opens the door, or is just a lock.
| Jessica put a hand on the rail, began to climb. The rail felt cold under her sliding palm. She stopped at the door, saw it had no handle, but there was a faint depression on the surface of it where a handle should have been. Surely not a palm lock, she told herself. A palm lock must be keyed to one individual's hand shape and palm lines. But it looked like a palm lock. And there were ways to open any palm lock--as she had learned at school. Jessica glanced back to make certain she was unobserved, placed her palm against the depression in the door. The most gentle of pressures to distort the lines--a turn of the wrist, another turn, a sliding twist of the palm across the surface. She felt the click. |
| Technovelgy from Dune,
by Frank Herbert. Published by Putnam in 1965 Additional resources -
|
Fingerprints are held to be unique; I wonder if a human palm offers more points for comparison, and is therefore more secure?
The need for greater data security has led to the use of a variety of biometric identification system. Recently, a device as small and inexpensive as a Pocket PC was made available with a reliable fingerprint scanner.
Significant work has been done in the last few years on palmprint identification. Some potential advantages may exist; the hand geometry and major palm creases can be captured using a lower resolution device. The device in Dune seems to rely only on the print.
Compare to the palm plate from The Mechanical Monarch, a 1958 novel by E.C. Tubb.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 2 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Dune
More Ideas
and Technology by Frank Herbert
Tech news articles related to Dune
Tech news articles related to works by Frank Herbert
Palm Lock-related
news articles:
- Biometric HandReader - Frank Herbert's Palm Lock?
- Biometric Deadbolt Lock Like A Palm Lock
- Fujitsu PalmSecure Hand Vein Scanner
- Amazon One Is Frank Herbert's Palm Lock
| Flimmer Navy Drone Flies And Swims |
| Indian Court Says Brain Scan Proves Murder |
| Background Draw-a-Secret (BDAS) Makes Graphical Passwords |
| ID-U Biometrics Eye Tracking Signature |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
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 Science Fiction 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
'I made disks of my own voice to the number of five hundred very carefully chosen words.'
'His sensors out and working, and the whirring of the tape that sucked up sight and sound and shape and smell and form...'
'It sounds to me as though you had invented a kind of metal earthworm.'
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors that circulate around the satellite, making it habitable.'
'The steel tortoise gave MacKinnon a feeling of Crusoe- like independence.'
'...then back to their work, though little enough it was on these automatic cultivators.'
