Samsung Thinks That Palm Scanning Could Be Next In Biometric Security

When it comes to biometric security features on our smartphones, we have fingerprints, we have iris scanning, and more recently facial recognition (or at least an improved version from before). However could palm scanning be next? That’s what Samsung seems to suggest, or at least that’s an avenue they’re exploring, thanks to a recently discovered patent application.

In the patent application discovered by CNET, it seems that Samsung thinks that using our smartphones to scan our palms could be one way of helping users retrieve their passwords. Basically the patent suggests that passwords could be hidden in the lines on our palms, and by holding our smartphone camera over our palms, it could be used to reveal a password or a partial password to help jog the user’s memory.

At the same time we wouldn’t be surprised if it could be expanded to allow users to authenticate themselves to their phones, like fingerprint scanning or iris scanning. However there is also the question of security and reliability, where the system needs to be robust enough where it can’t be tricked by a photo of the user’s palm, which in turn would probably require the same depth-sensing technology that Apple uses for its Face ID system.

There is also the question of speed, where is scanning the user’s palm faster than scanning their fingerprint, iris, or face? That being said there is no guarantee that what we see here will be made a reality, but it’s an interesting idea all the same.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones, General
Tags: Patent, Samsung, Security