For several years humans have grown accustomed to using fingerprints as tools to unlock all sorts of smart devices, make payments or authenticate the owner in various apps. Until now however controlling a car using fingerprints has been largely unheard of.
That’s about to change, as of next year the automobile will join the biometric craze and allow control of some of its features using the fingerprint.
South Korean manufacturer Hyundai announced before Christmas that such a technology will be deployed on the 2020 Santa Fe SUV which goes on sale in the first quarter of 2019.
Hyundai plans to use the fingerprint technology in three main areas: access into the car, the ignition of the engine and automatic adjustments of settings based on the owner’s preferences.
To gain access to their own Santa Fe SUVs, owners will have to place a finger on the sensor located on the door handle.
The start of the engine is done in a similar way, as a fingerprint sensor will be embedded in the ignition module. Also, once the car knows who is about to get in, it automatically adjusts seating positions, connected car features, and side-view mirror angles according to the driver’s stored settings.
Once the tech takes hold of the market, Hyundai plans to link the fingerprint sensors with other systems in the car, to allow for an even greater degree of personalization.
But how safe is this tech, compared to say regular keys or smart keys?
Hyundai says the tech it will deploy on the Santa Fe has just one in 50,000 chances of screwing up and mistakenly identify the fingerprint. That’s five times safer than conventional or smart vehicle keys, the Koreans claim.
It’s unclear for now on what markets Hyundai will launch the Santa Fe with this features, as they only said for now it will be available in “select markets,” and more to follow later down the line.
South Korean manufacturer Hyundai announced before Christmas that such a technology will be deployed on the 2020 Santa Fe SUV which goes on sale in the first quarter of 2019.
Hyundai plans to use the fingerprint technology in three main areas: access into the car, the ignition of the engine and automatic adjustments of settings based on the owner’s preferences.
To gain access to their own Santa Fe SUVs, owners will have to place a finger on the sensor located on the door handle.
The start of the engine is done in a similar way, as a fingerprint sensor will be embedded in the ignition module. Also, once the car knows who is about to get in, it automatically adjusts seating positions, connected car features, and side-view mirror angles according to the driver’s stored settings.
Once the tech takes hold of the market, Hyundai plans to link the fingerprint sensors with other systems in the car, to allow for an even greater degree of personalization.
But how safe is this tech, compared to say regular keys or smart keys?
Hyundai says the tech it will deploy on the Santa Fe has just one in 50,000 chances of screwing up and mistakenly identify the fingerprint. That’s five times safer than conventional or smart vehicle keys, the Koreans claim.
It’s unclear for now on what markets Hyundai will launch the Santa Fe with this features, as they only said for now it will be available in “select markets,” and more to follow later down the line.