AU Optronics Corp has unveiled a new LCD panel that doubles as a fingerprint scanner. Each pixel is equipped with 4 optical sensors, so a 320×240 screen would have a scanning resolution of 640×480. They have also experimented with different sensors, such as UV. You can see an LCD panel that detects and displays the UV index above. Why did they use a secondary display to show the data though?
[via Gearlog]
maybe so you can read stuff while your finger is covering the screen
it looks like the bigger panel reads the fingerprint, but the smaller lcd panel has sensors to detect UV, but maybe i read the article wrong…
nevermind…i re-read the article, and i was wrong
…cos you can’t read the main screen through all the greasy fingermarks!
neat! we’ll soon have those cool multitouch-fingerprint-scanning displays from the SF movies… (and some years ago everybody laughed about that: “why do they always scan fingerprints by putting their hands on the screen?!”)
Think video phones and optical camouflage.
Now we can have constant authentication! Every time a command button is pressed, it scans the fingerprint, and executes the command, or locks you out, depending on the authentication.
We’re _that_ much closer to a perfect video-conferencing screen (one where both parties could pretend to look one another in the eyes, instead of appearing to be looking downward all the time). Ah, the days of Big Brother, where you don’t just watch TV, TV watches you right back.
:P
Seriously, though, imagine being able to password-protect your mobile (iPhone) with your fingerprint. Just touch the screen, it recognises you, and lets you in. Have a friend try it, and it locks up. Plenty of practical applications. Sci-Fi leads the way, Science follows, and The Consumers, well, they’re everyone’s b*tch.
-_o
Hey bistromathics put your black hat on and imagine some of the other capabilities. I can just imagine someone setting this up as a “touch screen” contest entry system where the user enters their name and address and pressed a few on screen prompts in the process. The crook now has information that can uniquely identify them and he also has their finger print!
Scary concept.
The secondary display was added due to the bleaching effects of the UV source. Those halogen beamers are hot suckers. The heat generated by them has an adverse effect on the panel type LCD’s. They fade heavily, irreversible, ever see the display on the gas pump facing the sun? The more primitive type LCD is less effected by this phenomenon. Quite possibly to the pixel density, and material of crystalline structure.