Constant real-time authentication has become a reality now that the Hasso Plattner Institute has introduced Fibero, a touchscreen built by the institute’s Christian Holtz and Patrick Baudisch, that recognizes fingerprints as it is operated. Fibero is a rear projection tabletop system that can display and image while at the same time scanning a fingerprint, making sure that the attached person has the authority to interact with the image being shown.
The new scanning technology is made possible by a fiber optic plate which is used as Fiberio’s screen. The rest of the components are the same as a traditional rear-projection touchscreen: a high resolution camera, a projector and an illuminant. The plate, called a “diffuser” blurs incidental light while acting as a projection surface, allowing for a high-contrast environment that is ideal for scanning fingerprints
In addition to the obvious security implications this technology offers, by allowing for each individual user to have his or her own unique touch ID, an amazing number of efficiency options make themselves available. An example scenario outlined on the Fiberio website has a bank clerk whose fingerprints limit his ability to approve a bill payment simply passes the displayed document to a manager, who by pressing the same button approves the transaction. Virtual objects interact differently depending on who touches them.
Fiberio’s detection is not limited to fingerprints in contact with the fiber optic plate either: it also recognizes hovering objects such as a user’s fingers or fiducial markers attached to real life objects. Speaking to the unprecedented nature of this technology Holtz says, “Displays cannot scan fingerprints and fingerprint sensors cannot display images. What we have invented does both. No one has done this before,”
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