When it comes to biometrics, we often hear about technologies like fingerprints, iris recognition, and facial recognition. Yet other, newer biometric technologies are gradually finding their way to mainstream application. One such technology is palm vein recognition.
In an in-depth series on the Keesing Platform, expert Ravi Das explains why palm vein recognition presents serious competition to more traditional biometric technologies. Some reasons for this, he explains, are because:
- Palm vein technology doesn’t require direct contact by the individual to collect the raw images of the veins, which is appealing to the general public.
- It can be used as a complement to Hand Geometry Recognition as a multimodal security solution.
- The nature of veins makes it easy to capture them accurately in a scan.
Takashi Shinzak, another expert in this field, explains that the “palm vein authentication technology has been deployed for its ease-of-use and assurance that it gives users through its robust security. It has been widely adopted worldwide for personal identification at financial institutions, as a computer login and room entrance control method at corporations.” In this article, he explains and illustrates in detail how the technology works.
Furthermore, palm vein patterns cannot be easily forged or spoofed, because the veins lie inside of the body and cannot be altered. This enhances the technology’s security and reliability over time.
Real life use of Palm Vein biometric technology
Your next question might be: Exactly who is utilizing this particular biometric technology, and for what purpose? Here are three specific examples:
- Logistics: South Africa’s logistics company Transnet Engineering recently implemented palm vein biometric kiosks to enhance security for accessing its SAP Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) systems.
- Retail: In 2022, biometric authentication provider FinGo launched a retail solution that integrates its biometric payment and age verification technologies. At a FinGoVend vending machine, the customer scans his finger to prove his age by matching his unique vein pattern with his identity.
- Banking: In 2020, South Korean company Hyosung integrated its self-service ATMs with Fujitsu palm vein biometric authentication technology to increase security. With this advancement, its ATMs no longer had to rely on physical ID forms, passwords, or PINs.
Summary
Takashi Shinzak summed it up nicely: Palm Vein authentication technology… “has advantages in accessibility, stable authentication performance, and accuracy…[It is] enabling new and improved applications in Banking, Logical/Physical Access, Cashless Transaction, Mobile-Authentication and Identity Management.”
Don’t be surprised if you encounter Palm Vein authentication in your workplace—or where you shop or do business—in the near future.
Sources/References:
ID Tech
The Keesing Platform team brings you the latest in various fields, including security documents, security printing, banknotes, identity management, biometrics, blockchain, crypto technology and online onboarding.
