Apple has filed a patent for a new form of biometric authentication that could be deployed in a future version of the Apple Watch. Originally filed in Q3 2018, the new invention is a light field camera capable of sub-epidermal imaging. The camera would be placed on the underside of the Apple Watch, where it could authenticate the wearer based on one (or more) of several pieces of biometric information, including skin color or vein, bone, pore, or tendon patterns.

The new invention could be used alone or in conjunction with other forms of identity verification such passwords and Touch ID. As with any form of biometric authentication, the sub-epidermal images could be used whenever an identity check is required, which means it can facilitate secure logins, financial transactions, and other IoT operations.

Three of the four engineers who filed the new patent application were also part of the team that filed the application for Apple’s next gen Touch ID, while Apple has previously filed for a patent for technology that would add similar sup-epidermal capabilities to Face ID. That points to a growing (and potentially trendsetting) interest in sub-epidermal biometrics, although there is never any guarantee that these inventions will make their way into consumer devices.

The news comes shortly after the US Patent & Trademark Office published recent Apple patents that could bring multimodal biometric features to iPhones and self-driving cars.

Source: Patently Apple