Samsung Patent Reveals Vein Payments Authentication Plans

You know Samsung for its phones, electronics and Samsung Pay. Now, it may be time to think of Samsung in a different vein. Literally.

[bctt tweet=”Think of Samsung in a different vein. Literally.”]

Fast Company reported Thursday (Feb. 4) that a recently published patent from the technology giant depicts in words and graphics a sensor that would be worn on the wrist that would be able to “read” a wearer’s veins, in an effort to ascertain identity.

The sensor, according to the magazine, takes a picture of the wrist and various other characteristics and then, according to Fast Company, “compares it to a vein image in its memory that it knows belongs to the user.” Oh and, of course, it might be able to read and verify a user’s pulse, as pulses are unique to individuals.

The patent filing has illustrations that show the camera used in the sensor and how it might be used as part of a smartwatch. It could conceivably scan the back of someone’s hand to match vein structure. Positive IDs would mean the device could then “open” the personal data specific to the user, ranging from music to contacts to personal information.

Fast Company noted that the security inherent in the smartwatch patent put forth by Samsung in this particular case may be useful in authentication processes in accessing, say, cars or opening doors, acting as a key of sorts. That “keylike feature” means that Samsung might be able to tap into a strong potential for the smartwatch. There’s a journey to having an authentication system based on physical attributes, but the industry may be headed that way. Eventual inclusion, said the publication, might extend to subways and bank accounts.