LG G8 ThinQ Introduces Hand ID Vein Biometrics

While the original announcement of LG’s next flagship smartphone made waves with its focus on 3D facial recognition, the LG G8 ThinQ has another innovative biometric system up its sleeve. Or maybe just beneath it: its new ‘Hand ID’ system is designed to scan the veins in users’ hands for authentication.

The unusual approach makes sense with respect to the phone’s other notable feature, an ‘Air Motion’ system that lets users control the device with hand gestures. When users are taking advantage of this interface, Hand ID can essentially perform biometric authentication passively, in the background.

It appears that the Air Motion functionality enabled by the G8 ThinQ’s ‘Z Camera’ is probably based on its Time-of-Flight technology, provided by Infineon and Pmdtechnologies. The technology essentially bounces infrared light off of objects in front of the camera in order to get a three-dimensional picture, enabling 3D facial recognition.

Other features of the device include a 6.1″ OLED screen, OLED speaker technology that uses the display to amplify sound, a Snapdragon 855 processor, and a good old-fashioned fingerprint sensor mounted on the rear of the device. The G8 ThinQ will launch in the US on April 11th.

Sources: The Verge, BGR

(Originally posted on Mobile ID World)