Hyundai reveals more details of its upcoming fingerprint sensor technology for cars

KUALA LUMPUR: Hyundai has unveiled more details regarding its fingerprint sensor feature that would help drivers to unlock and start the car. Hyundai Santa Fe SUV will be the first car to be enabled with this feature. With the rollout, Hyundai will become the first company to use this technology in the auto industry.

The vehicles enabled with this technology will bear a fingerprint sensor on the door handle and ignition button. The driver just needs to place the finger on the sensor and the vehicle will unlock by itself. Same goes for the ignition button, whereafter touching the ignition button, the scanner will scan the encrypted finger data and the vehicle will come to life.

This technology also provides a customised driving environment. After scanning the driver’s fingerprint, the vehicle will automatically adjust seating positions, connected car features, and side mirror angles according to the particular driver’s preferences.

The President and the head of research and development of the company, Mr Albert Biermann has said that Hyundai Motors plans to implement the technology in future to provide a customised driving environment including the adjustment of steering wheel position, temperature, and other features, which will be tailored to driver’s preferences. The brand’s motive is to provide quality driving experience to its customers.

This feature also deals with the security issues of the vehicle with the help of capacitance recognition that detects differences in the electricity levels in various parts of the fingertip of the user and can prevent unwanted entry into the vehicle or car thefts. The chance of misreading another person’s fingerprint in this technology is as low as one in 50,000.

There will be no need for conventional vehicle keys, including smart keys as well. Moreover, through real-time learning of fingerprints supported by ‘dynamic update’ system, the technology can continually improve its success rate.

As for now, Hyundai has mentioned that the technology will be offered in selected markets and will gradually roll out to other markets afterwards. Hyundai is also planning to continue the implementation of other customisable technologies for their vehicle line-up.