My review of Fujitsu’s PalmSecure Login Kit appears in PC Plus, issue 283. The PalmSecure Login Kit, as its name might suggest, uses the palm of your hand as a next-generation password-replacement system. Here’s an excerpt of the review:
Biometric technologies waiting in the wings include DNA matching, ear shape analysis, even body odour recognition. It seems that our bodily smell consists of a unique blend of chemicals known as volatiles. These chemicals can be extracted and analysed by ‘electronic nose’ biometric systems and subsequently converted into data strings for pattern matching. “That’ll be £10.99, sir. Could you excrete some scent towards the scanner please…”
A much more viable alternative to fingerprint recognition is the vein pattern recognition technology used in Fujitsu’s PalmSecure USB mouse. The technology works by identifying the vein patterns in your palm. These vein patterns are unique to each person and the structure doesn’t change as the body ages.
For this authentication technology to work, an image of the vein needs to be captured using near-infrared light emitted by a scanner. Deoxidized hemoglobin in the blood flowing through the hand absorbs this radiation, causing the veins beneath the skin to appear as a distinct black pattern. This pattern is then simplified, encrypted and stored as a master template.
There are several advantages to vein pattern recognition. It’s quick to authenticate, clean and contactless, plus it’s difficult to cheat the system as it relies on analysing a subcutaneous pattern. In fact, Fujitsu says that the technology is close to foolproof — it apparently works to a false acceptance rate of less than 0.00007%.
