We all are talking about the screen embedded fingerprint sensor and touchless biometric authentication methods including the Samsung’s Iris scanning and Apple’s FaceID, in the recently introduced iPhone X. These all are becoming a mainstream method of authentication but these methods come along with a limitation. They need a dedicated hardware, which is something that limits their adoption. A San Francisco based startup has come with a solution to this problem. It reads your palm using any camera for unlocking the device and other authentications.

The technology dubbed as ‘PalmID’ reads the palm of your hand as a source “key” to authenticate into various offline and online services. “You can think about the palm as a very large fingerprint,” said Lenny Kontsevich, Redrock’s chairman. “It has a rich structure and can be captured by any camera touchlessly.”

The company has claimed that the authentication through PalmID is more secure and more practical as compared to facial recognition or fingerprint authentication that are in use right now.

PalmID uses palm images that are captured from any RGB or infrared camera with a resolution of 0.3MP or above to authenticate the user in around 100 milliseconds, depending upon the processor speed. In a statement given to TechCrunch, Redrock said that the it uses machine vision technology to convert the palm image into a unique signature which is impossible to crack.

As claimed by the company, virtually any device with a camera can use the technology, including smartphones, ATMS, AR/VR devices or even a desktop. The company also claims that dirty hands, scars or insufficient illumination will not prevent the correct identification of your palm. Users just need to show your palm to the camera from at least a distance of six inches and the technology will verify the palm impression to authorize unlocking, verifying payments or any other service.

It is for us to wait for the technology to reach our devices until then we will keep eye on any information related to PalmID and keep you updated. Do let us know your views about the new technology in the comments section below.