Today Fujitsu announced the development of the world’s first imaging technology for use in palm vein biometric authentication that operates while the palm is in motion. This new technology requires approximately one millisecond to capture the image, and performs with the same level of accuracy in authentication as previous iterations of this technology, resulting in an extremely user-friendly palm vein authentication system in which a person’s palm needs only to be passed over a sensor for authentication.

Fujitsu Laboratories has confirmed that these new imaging techniques can capture images of palm vein patterns even while the hand is in motion – at approximately the same average speed as a person walks (1 meter per second) – with image quality equivalent to levels achieved with the conventional system, which required the palm to be held over the palm vein authentication sensor. This technology retains the superior features of the previous palm vein authentication technology, including the following: it is difficult to falsify identity because it measures a biometric feature that is inside the body, it is widely applicable because it is not prone to effects from external factors, and its non-contact hygienic factor enables greater user acceptance. In addition, the new technology can perform authentication when a palm is just passed over a sensor, resulting in a palm vein authentication system that can be used in a significantly broader range of applications.

With this new feature, it is possible to authenticate an individual’s identity using palm vein authentication with the same ease as (Figure 3), for example, gliding non-contact smartcards over a train-station turnstile gate, a widely-deployed technology for commuters in Japan. This new technology will make it easier to deploy easy-to-use and highly-precise palm vein authentication systems in a wide range of venues that require reliable and convenient security systems, including corporations, government offices, and hospitals.