Finger vein scanner will unlock your door

We're not really sure why a good ol' fingerprint reader wouldn't do the trick (oh, wait), but apparently Sumitomo and Hitachi decided what the world really needs is a finger vein reader to lock and unlock doors. While this exact technology is certainly not brand new, this particular implementation seems to be. From what we can tell, you place your fingertips on the reader, and presto, the door unlocks, assuming your veins match its stored list of 10 authorized patterns. According to Plastic Bamboo, it'll cost ¥150,000 ($1,280) -- but, at that price, we'll stick to the tried-and-true analog deadbolt method.

[stealth @ Nov 26th 2006 9:39AM]

so this is for all those people who dont have finger prints

[Ray @ Nov 26th 2006 10:13AM]

I get it. So when your finger veins don't match, a knife inside the little thing will cut off all your finger tips. :)

[jmchez @ Nov 26th 2006 10:21AM]

Since it relies on veins, it seems that it would defeat the fiends that would cut off someone's fingers to gain entrance.

[Andy @ Nov 26th 2006 12:44PM]

Yeah, I think too that's the primary purpose, maybe it won't work with a non-working (a.k.a. dead) finger.

[Hugh Jass @ Nov 26th 2006 3:01PM]

Your veins don't disappear when you die.

[jmchez @ Nov 26th 2006 8:43PM]

"Your veins don't disappear when you die."

No, but drained of blood they tend to collapse and lose their color (much harder to see).

[Steven F.Palter, MD @ Nov 26th 2006 3:37PM]

This is yet another iteration of a biometic reader. It was not designed to be "better" than fingerprint- it is just different and therefore fills a litle niche. There is nothing whatsoever inherently moresecure than vein patterning- just that the pattern is harder to come by than a latent print left behind. A retinal scanner is similar. In the medical field the concept ofusing IR or near IR is catching on. HEre are some posts on the use of this technology and a video I took of an IR based vein display system on ny very live arm 9we milk the blook in and out of the veins)

infrared and vein scan video:
http://docinthemachine.com/2006/11/17/futuresurgery-alt-vis2/

medical concept of using non-standard visualization:http://docinthemachine.com/2006/11/17/futuresurgery-alternate-visualization-pt1/

[Han @ Nov 26th 2006 3:56PM]

Are you kidding? Fingerprint scanners are a joke of a security measure; every heard of the gummy bear trick? Somebody touches something, you press your gummy bear (the flat side) against his print, and walla! You're him.

Quite probably, something will happen to the blood in a dead finger (anyone seen that scene in Resident Evil where the guy says, about the zombie's blood: "Her blood was conglobulated! That's impossible! It..it can't do that unless she's dead!"?)and at the very least, the scanner is less likely to accept it.

[Hugh Jass @ Nov 26th 2006 3:03PM]

*a-hem* I hate to nitpick... but your "walla" should be "voila". It's French, kids.

[Jared Winter @ Nov 26th 2006 9:53PM]

All this talk about finger veins is grossing me out.

[Branedy @ Nov 27th 2006 3:10PM]

Actually most 'fingerprint' readers read thernal patterns, veins and the IR that they give off. so this is nothing new. this just incorporates multible fingers as opposed to just one finger. And yes, cut off fingers do not work, as the temp differences detected in the veins is the same as background IR and hence unreadable.

Don't ask me to tell you why I know such things.