BRIEF: Automotive Biometrics Reach a New Gear

The idea of incorporating biometric technology into cars has been gaining traction for several years now, with many recognizing the obvious benefits of using, for example, fingerprint recognition instead of a key for the ignition. But now that biometric technology is starting to converge on the automotive industry in a big way, the full breadth of applications is coming into view.

First things first: Fingerprint-based ignition and car unlocking are now coming to real, commercial cars, thanks to a longtime mobile biometrics specialist:

Precise Biometrics Tech to Feature in New Hyundai Car Unlock/Ignition System

Biometric driver identification also offers obvious applications in car-sharing platforms, where it can be used to make sure that authorized users are who they say they are:

Mitek Brings Identity Verification to HyreCar

But biometric technology can be used not only for driver identification, but also to monitor drivers and passengers for safety purposes:

SMK and CAARESYS Anticipate Self-Driving Cars with Biometric Passenger Monitoring

Two Apple Patents Could Bring Safety and Security to Self-Driving Cars

And with major automotive suppliers now making big investments in the kind of AI technologies driving these innovations, it seems clear that biometrics will play a big role in automotive solutions going forward:

Hyundai Mobis Takes $5M Stake in AI Specialist