Why is fingerprint identification technology not applied to cars? The reason is actually very complicated!

Now when we see the word "fingerprint identification", we usually associate it with mobile phones or password locks, but we don't think of any connection between cars and fingerprint identification. Mainly because there are few cars using fingerprint identification technology on the market, our subconscious mind will not think that there is any connection between the two.

But in fact, Baidu Encyclopedia has included the word "car fingerprint" for a long time (although it looks more like an advertisement). This means that, in fact, cars and fingerprint identification have long crossed, but we just don't know it.

Then the question is, since cars already have fingerprint identification technology, why can't they be seen in the market?

I believe this is not only a problem for car enthusiasts, but also a problem for many technology enthusiasts. You should know that fingerprint identification appeared on mobile phones as early as 20 1 1, not to mention the earlier application of notebook computers and many optical instruments. From a technical point of view, the application of fingerprint identification in automobiles is by no means a problem. So what is the reason why there are no cars equipped with fingerprint identification technology on the market now?

(Fingerprint identification system on laptop)

In this article, I will look for "some" reasons why fingerprint identification may not be applied to cars.

What is fingerprint identification?

Comrade Li Kaipao, head of the independent regiment, said: "If you want to defeat the enemy, you must know the enemy." . If you want to understand the application scenario of fingerprint identification, you must first understand it.

In fact, the definition of fingerprint identification is very simple. To put it bluntly, it is to identify people by comparing the details of different fingerprints. Because of the particularity of human fingerprints, it is impossible for everyone, that is, the fingerprints of ten fingers of a person are all exactly the same. Therefore, it may be the safest, most accurate and most efficient identification method in the world.

How far has fingerprint identification developed?

The first generation? "optical fingerprint identification"

Fingerprint identification first appeared in the consumer field and was equipped on some high-end notebook computers. Strictly speaking, this is the first generation of fingerprint identification technology-optical fingerprint identification.

The principle of optical fingerprint identification is to scan the skin on the finger surface with strong light and then identify the identity. However, because the light penetration is not so strong, it can only identify the superficial skin and cannot enter the dermis. So once the hands are dirty, sweaty, chapped and peeled, the success rate of recognition will be greatly reduced.

Optical fingerprint identification is a common way of punching cards in companies. )

The second generation? "capacitive fingerprint identification"

Capacitive fingerprint identification is the most commonly used fingerprint identification method on smart phones. Its technical principle is to put a small capacitor plate under the fingerprint identification module. Because our fingerprints are uneven, when we do fingerprint recognition, the positions of the convex and concave places are different from those of the electrode plate.

In this way, the capacitance of the capacitor plate will be different (the capacitance in the convex place is large and the capacitance in the concave place is small), and the fingerprint line can be identified by the size.

The advantage of capacitive fingerprint recognition is that it solves the problem that finger skin falls off and cannot be recognized, but it is still powerless in the face of liquid and stains on hands.

(Capacitance fingerprint recognition on smart phone)

The third generation? "ultrasonic fingerprint identification"

This should be the most advanced fingerprint identification technology at present, because it is similar to the familiar bat sonar system, which sends out ultrasonic waves and then receives the reflected sound waves to achieve the purpose of fingerprint identification. It is even like the ultimate miniature version of the sonar system of the Ohio-class nuclear submarine in the United States.

The cow x of this technology is that it can penetrate the surface layer of skin and reach the dermis. In this case, don't say there is water on your hand, as long as your fingerprint is not corroded by sulfuric acid, it can help you identify it. In addition, because it is to identify genuine leather, many "fake fingerprint molds" made by folk gods can't be used, thus avoiding potential safety hazards.

(Samsung takes the lead in realizing ultrasonic fingerprint identification on mobile phones)

Of course, the current ultrasonic fingerprint identification also has a disadvantage, that is, the identification speed is slow.

Maybe you will understand better when I say this: Fingerprint identification is not actually scanning the whole fingerprint, but dividing a fingerprint into many small pieces. Then, when recognizing, the system will automatically compare these fragments. If the correct rate exceeds the preset value, the recognition can be successful. On the other hand, it won't work.

It is normal that the ultrasonic fingerprint is a little slow, because it requires a huge amount of calculation, and the sound waves transmitted back to the system also need to be processed. I believe that with the technical progress of CPU, it is only a matter of time to solve this difficulty.

(Electronic locks are likely to use ultrasonic fingerprint identification in the future. )

About cars and fingerprint identification

We mentioned several technical characteristics of fingerprint identification above, and it is not difficult to find one thing: none of them are really suitable for cars. In other words, not at this stage.

Both optical fingerprints and capacitive fingerprints are easy to fake, not to mention the difficulty. The mere possibility will make people feel very uneasy. Although the ultrasonic fingerprint is safe enough, the recognition speed is too slow. The fingerprint information will only be transmitted to the CPU after encryption, and there is no circular feedback information.

But cars are different. If we put the fingerprint identification in the "keyless entry" position of the traditional car, the fingerprint information must be transmitted to the "authentication controller" first, and then the controller transmits the authentication information to the IBU module of the car, and then the CPU of the car decides whether to execute the door opening instruction by comparison.

(The performance of central processing units in automobiles is generally weak, and the pictures are for reference only. )

With such a set of processes, even if all the components are the best in the industry, it still takes some calculation time. This will greatly reduce the efficiency of opening the door, which makes people feel that fingerprint identification not only increases the cost, reduces the security, but also creates a lot of trouble. Finally, I got caught up in the title of a stunt and left the scene.

More importantly, compared with the technical difficulty, the illogical use is probably the real reason why fingerprint identification cannot be applied to cars.

Take our imaginary situation as an example. The fingerprint identification module has two configurations: "keyless entry" and "keyless start". Every time the lock is unlocked, the process of "recognition" will always be repeated, even when the door is closed. As long as it is recognized, it will definitely slow down the unlocking efficiency.

Imagine that every time you open a car door, you have to put it on the door handle for 2 seconds. When you enter the car and start it with one button for 2 seconds, it is unlikely to identify the fault. Is this really convenient for passengers? In my opinion, fingerprint identification has almost no advantage except that you can go out without a car key.

(Keyless entry and startup are very mature)

Nowadays, the two configurations of "keyless entry" and "keyless start" have already achieved seamless cooperation. The logic of unlocking the car door by hand and clicking the button to start it is impeccable, and the premise of all this is only based on the seemingly normal thing of "taking the car key when going out".

On the contrary, I even think that fingerprint identification appears in cars purely for people with amnesia. Otherwise, who will go out knowing that they want to drive but forget to bring their car keys?

In addition, due to the particularity of fingerprints, everyone's fingerprint information will all enter an information base developed by a manufacturer. Apple says this information base is secure? Enclave (secure area), its function is to collect each user's fingerprint and then use it for comparison when unlocking.

(Apple claims that fingerprint information is stored in an absolutely safe area)

This information base is placed on the SoC of the mobile phone (the car should be an ECU module), which makes the electronic control unit, which could have saved the cost, have to improve its fingerprint calculation ability. If the original equipment manufacturer does not have the ability or technical personnel to develop this information base, it will have to find other manufacturers to outsource production.

Round after round, the final result of implementation in the market is price increase. Can consumers really accept the price increase or the lack of other more practical configurations for fingerprint identification, which is illogical and impractical?

The whole technical process of automobile fingerprint identification perfectly explains what it means to "pull one hair and move the whole body".

However, this is not the most terrible. The use environment of the car is the fundamental reason why fingerprint identification can't exist forever. Even if you love a car very much, you can't decide the weather change, can you? You are not the son of the weather.

Once it rains, snows and hails, the fingerprint sensor, a very fragile component, will easily fail. It doesn't matter if you can't open the door after failure. What if you can open the door without fingerprints? Even if the thief doesn't light the fire, it's not good to steal your private money, is it?

(Fingerprint identification module is easily affected in rainy days)

In addition to weather changes, fingerprint sensors put forward higher requirements for air temperature, humidity and even dust concentration. Even if it doesn't work, it is always bad. Do you have a visual sense of "there are mice at home and I want to buy a cat to catch them. As a result, the cat not only didn't catch mice, but also got sick for three days at both ends and died in the last week"?

Automobile equipped with fingerprint identification device

As mentioned at the beginning, few cars on the market are equipped with fingerprint recognition, but it is not without it.

At the beginning of this year, Beijing Hyundai brand-new Shengda was officially listed, which should be the first car equipped with fingerprint recognition in China. As we said before, the fingerprint identification area of SunStar is placed on the handle of the main driver's side door and the keyless start button.

When the vehicle starts, you can input three fingerprint information, and you can also detect which button the owner pressed, and adjust the seat position and rearview mirror position at the same time.

Information about fingerprints will be displayed on the dashboard. )

I admire the enterprising spirit and courage of Hyundai Group, but it is obvious that it still has a hand. The new Shengda is still equipped with keyless entry and keyless start, which means that "fingerprint identification" has completely become a gimmick.

I believe that all users of the brand-new Shengda will switch back to normal unlocking mode and startup mode after showing off their fingerprint identification function to their friends several times. This verifies the sentence I quoted before: the real technology is to make you feel the existence of technology.

(The new Shengda's "fingerprint" is started without a key)

But the function of fingerprint identification is still a long way from "not feeling its existence".

Write it at the end

Will fingerprint identification really have nothing to do with cars in the end? Not exactly. Even now, I am optimistic that fingerprint identification will definitely appear in cars in the future. With such a large space in the car, engineers can think of some scenarios where fingerprint identification can be applied, and they don't need to stick to unlocking and ignition.

(Bentley skillfully uses fingerprint recognition to unlock the storage compartment)

Now, there are two main reasons why fingerprint identification can't be applied to cars in the end:

1. There is no big breakthrough in technology, resulting in too slow recognition speed (fast speed will reduce security).

2. The idea is too limited and single, which leads to confusion in the logic of the use scenario and increases the cost.

In fact, it's not just fingerprints. Today, biometric technology is highly developed. It is not surprising that any new technology will appear in the future car, and progress will only be made if you try. Therefore, although the fingerprint identification of the brand-new Shengda is still immature, I still want to extend my highest respect to Hyundai. After all, being unconstrained style is never the main reason for failure, but laziness is.

Image source network, invasion and deletion.

This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.