After General Motors' 2014 mess-up with the faulty ignition switches, the entire automotive industry is more aware of the risks it takes by cutting corners with the contraption that lets you start your car. In addition to this, in-car security is another big deal for modern automotive manufacturers. This is where the so-called EyeLock Myris takes the stage.
You see that small thing held by that man in the photo above? That little contraption will someday let you start your car only by looking at it. Marketed under the "Only DNA is more accurate" tagline, the EyeLock Myris is basically an advanced camera that analyzes the iris, focusing on almost 240 points in each eye for a total of 480 variables for each and every person.
When incorporated into a passenger vehicle's ignition system, the EyeLock Myris should work, in theory, like this: you enter your car, Myris looks you straight in the eyes (or you look at it like looking into a mirror), then Myris makes some calculations and start the vehicle for you... or not if you're not the owner. It all depends on how the gizmo is configured, but the bottom line is that security is the name of the game here.
Looking at a simple video camera to start a vehicle is more simple than turning an ignition key
In addition to the aforementioned, no iris is alike, which translates to less carjacking scenarios in the near future. That's if EyeLock's creation will be adopted on a large scale. Thinking about the Myris on a broader scale, if the car of the future will come as standard with such equipment, it will also have an impact on insurance and other whatnots, but the Myris' advantages don't end here.
We live in a day and age when the new car buyer is interested in the technology his or her vehicle comes with as standard. With Myris, the system can theoretically be set up to change the radio station automatically depending on the user, from dad's Gold FM to sonny's Skrillex-playing radio station.
The predefined car settings can be taken even further, with automatic changes to the air conditioning system, the vehicle's maximum speed limit, the stereo's maximum volume, so on and so forth. The New York-based company has been making iris scanning security equipment since 2007, so who knows: maybe the car of the future will adopt this technology. That's tough luck for the 007-inspired fingerprint scanner.
Attached under the demonstration video below you will find the EyeLock Myris' product info sheet.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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