Finger scanner from Axxeto promises new approach to biometric authentication

In a release announcing its ultrasonic finger scanner, Axxeto makes a point of distinguishing its technology from typical fingerprint scanners.

“The finger scanner uses ultrasonic waves that change shape when they come into contact with a finger,” explains Helmut Strahl, a spokesman for Axxeto, an international consortium of ultrasonic tech professionals. “These waves penetrate the skin and underlying tissue and provide information about the fingerprint, the structure of the skin layers near the surface, and the internal structure of the finger, resulting in highly reliable identification.”

The complex biometrics that Axxeto’s system scans include pulse, blood flow, and other internal data. Using ultrasonic waves that respond to the finger’s shape and features, the scanner produces an impulse response that is then processed into a full fingerprint, with each individual data point in the image containing data from the whole. The system is designed to have potential application for a wide range of touch-based interfaces, such as panes of glass, door handles, or steering wheels. With that in mind, the company says it is resistant to dirt, grease, and water.

Axxeto says its technology, which promises near-instant authentication via “recognition in milliseconds,” is the first of its kind on the market.

Scanner paired with remote authentication platform

The finger scanner can be used with Axxeto Ultrasonic Remote Authentication, or AURA. The platform offers secure remote verification via an analog scanner that works with signal waves, in conjunction with finger data, to create a wave with a unique shape created by the interrelation between the two. A reply, quickly calculated by the system, is used for authentication.

Citing easy workarounds, such as fake fingerprints, and other potential security flaws in conventional biometric fingerprint scanning technology, Axxeto says its tool is uniquely positioned to protect against simulations and copies being leveraged to commit fraud.

Article Topics

Axxeto  |  biometric authentication  |  biometrics  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  fingerprint scanners  |  ultrasonic fingerprints