Hyundai has announced it will introduce a fingerprint unlocking and entry system on the newly launched Santa Fe SUV, a feature that it claims is the first of its type in production in the world.
The technology sees the driver place their finger on a sensor located on the 2019 Santa Fe’s door handle. The print is then identified and transferred to a fingerprint controller inside. The doors are unlocked, and the driver can then start the car by touching the ignition button, which is also equipped with a print scanner.
Such systems have long been under development, but security concerns have before now proven difficult to overcome. Hyundai boasts it has addressed these by using “capacitance recognition” tech, which measures the differences in static electricity across a normal human fingertip to “efficiently prevent forgeries and faked fingerprints”. The chance of it misreading the fingerprint is said to be 1 in 50,000, a figure which improves over time as the system updates itself.
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As well as unlocking and starting the car, Hyundai’s fingerprint recognition can set up customised profiles for specific prints, configuring the seat, mirrors and connectivity tech for each driver. R&D boss Albert Biermann claims Hyundai “plans to further expand the application of the technology to allow the adjustment of temperature, steering wheel position, and many other features”.
Currently, only simplified fingerprint recognition – including that of the Bentley Bentayga’s lockable storage compartment – is in production. No UK launch date for the system has been revealed – first example of the new Santa Fe are arriving here in the next few weeks – but January will see the system launch in China.