Fingerprints Key to New Hyundai Technology

An advance in keyless entry has Hyundai’s fingerprints all over it.

The automaker says smart fingerprint technology will allow Hyundai drivers to unlock their vehicle doors and start the vehicle.

Hyundai says it will introduce the technology in the Santa Fe SUV to be released in select markets during the first quarter.

To unlock the vehicle, a driver places a finger on a sensor located on the door handle. The encrypted fingerprint information is identified and delivered to a fingerprint controller inside the vehicle.

The driver can start the vehicle by touching the ignition button, also equipped with a fingerprint scanning sensor.

In addition, the technology provides a customized driving environment. Matching driver-preference information with fingerprint data, the vehicle automatically adjusts seating positions, connected-car features and side-view mirror angles.

“Hyundai Motor plans to further expand the application of the technology to allow the adjustment of temperature, steering-wheel position and many other features which will be tailored to drivers’ preferences,” Albert Biermann, head of Hyundai’s R&D Div., says in a statement.

Biermann says Hyundai is addressing the security issues raised by the smart-fingerprint technology.

With capacitance recognition, which detects differentials in the electricity level in various parts of the fingertip, the technology efficiently prevents forgeries and use of faked fingerprints.

The technology’s chance of misrecognizing another person’s fingerprint as the driver’s is one in 50,000, making it five times more effective than conventional vehicle keys, including smart keys, Hyundai says. Through real-time learning, the fingerprint system can continually improve its success rate.