Fujitsu Laboratories has developed an ultra-compact sensor for palm vein identification. This is the world’s smallest and slimmest sensor of its kind, small enough for integration into a tablet. By using new designs for optical components such as the image sensor, Fujitsu has achieved similar performance to previous products, in a smaller space.

“Palm vein sensors utilize the way blood absorbs near-infrared light. This technology confirms a person’s identity by recognizing patterns from blood vessels, which appear black under near-infrared illumination.”

“What’s important here is, a sensor that used to be 3 cm in size is now just 16 mm square and 5 mm thick. We’re moving ahead with R&D, to enable this sensor to be used in mobile devices that sensors couldn’t be built into before.”

Fujitsu has made prototypes, by building this sensor into a tablet and a compact notebook PC. In the notebook, the sensor is functional, identifying users via their hands.

“Fingerprints give information about the surface of the hand, but they can be hard to use under some conditions. Palm vein ID uses information about the inside of the hand, so it can be used consistently under any conditions.”

“At the level of our current sensor prototype, we need to do more development before it can be built into a smartphone. But that is what we’re aiming for.”

Fujitsu Laboratories will keep working on the development of ultra-compact palm vein sensors, with a view to their commercial use. They aim to bring devices that employ these sensors to market in the near future.

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