Mar 12, 2006, 13:43 GMT
Hanover, Germany - Car keys could become obsolete in the not too distant future, according to Japanese technology concern Hitachi, which is working on a replacement system that recognizes the driver's veins.
Vein-pattern recognition technology is more reliable than fingerprint-based identification, which has already replaced ignition keys in some models, the company says.
'If the finger is dry, or is injured, it can be very difficult to recognise the print,' according to Hitachi's chief strategist for information technology and communications, Mitsuo Yamaguchi.
A system that verifies a person's identity by recognising the patter of veins in a finger is much more reliable, Yamaguchi said during a visit to the computer any cyberspace exhibition CeBIT.
Japanese banks Mizuho and Sumitomo Mitsui have already introduced the technology with the help of sensors attached to cash dispensing machines, Yamaguchi said.
The Japanese expert sees IT making more inroads into the auto industry, such in the sphere of entertainment. The company is already producing replaceable hard-drives that allow passengers to view movies on the car's navigation system, he said.
Another area in which Hitachi is active is Radio Frequency Identification, which relies on storing and remotely retrieving data using postage-stamp-sized devices called RFID tags.
Up to now RFID has been used to identify and track objects, mainly in the retailing and logistics sectors, where it is seen as a potential replacement for bar codes.
But there are also uses in libraries, electronic cash transactions, electronic toll collection at toll booths, tagging of individuals and human implants.
'RFID and and the network of sensors it employs will radically change the IT industry,' according to Yamaguchi.
His company used RFID chips in the tickets issued for last year's world exposition or EXPO in the Japanese city of Aichi. 'There wasn't a single problem with any of the 22 million tickets,' he said.
Yamaguchi says Hitachi's goal is to become the world's most reliable producer of RFID tags. It is currently developing a new tag called Hibiki which it hopes to unveil in the summer.
But the new technology is not without its detractors. Some consumer advocates have been referring to the RFID tags as 'spychips' and have called for a boycott of them.
The biggest problem facing the new technology is not of a technical nature, Yamaguchi said. 'Data protection will be a much more difficult issue to resolve. People don't like being spied on.'
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