Touch screen recognizes fingerprints for first time
22 July, 2013
category: Biometrics
A group of researchers at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany have built one of the first biometric touch screen displays capable of recognizing fingerprints, according to NewScientist.com.
Christian Holz and colleague Patrick Baudisch created their prototype using glass screen a comprised entirely of millions of optical fibers bundled together into a single flat platter. An infrared camera mounted below the glass detects the user’s fingerprint when light bounces back from the fiber optic screen.
Current displays cannot scan fingerprints and fingerprint sensors cannot display images. “What we have invented does both,” said Holz. “You can interact with this securely since it identifies you based on your fingerprints.”
The researchers envision people in coffee shops being able to do a little work or browse the internet on large, sharable, interactive table-tops instead of having to bring in a laptop or tablet computer. Or customers at a bank could pass secure e-documents across a table and discuss them with a clerk.
Early tests have been encouraging, Holz added, with fingerprint recognition accuracy “up to FBI standards.” The team is now working on a touch screen that won’t need a projector.