What does future hold for biometrics?

I place my entire savings on the bet that you use a fingerprint or your face to unlock your phone. Now, I am pretty sure that you use it to unlock the apps. The banking app, your social media handles and pretty much everything. Biometric authentication has become an inevitable part of our everyday life for many of us, and its uses are only likely to span as more companies and services are trying to adopt biometrics for in-house use and for customers.

The widespread availability of powerful and advanced smartphones has made the widespread adoption of biometrics possible. Face ID or facial recognition features is heralding in a new wave of high-quality facial recognition. Samsung has got an iris scanner which inspires of being highly criticized, is showing early favor for mobile iris recognition. And many manufacturers are making a beeline for bringing out their own versions of this impressive technology. As the saying goes, competition breeds innovation, and the mobile industry is a Hallmark example of this, especially when it comes to biometrics.

So what is the future of biometrics? Let us ponder over this question.

This feature is all driven by two major demands – the security and the convenience.

As more consumers are in favor of embracing biometrics and more mobile devices are rolling the technology out with innovative new ways to deliver it, it seems very much appropriate to look at what the next steps are in the aspects related to security, privacy, and innovation.

Most of the smartphones that are available today feature fingerprint sensors, facial recognition cameras, or some other way of capturing at least one biometric modality. But, we can expect the smartphones of tomorrow to have ways of tracking a more personal trait like for example, your heartbeat. Or more specifically, the blood flows directly beneath the skin.

Samsung has recently filed a patent to track the flow of blood inside a user using photoplethysmography (PPG), electrocardiography (ECG), and galvanic skin response (GSR) sensors. This particular patent specifies that the technology could work with a smartphone, smartwatch, or laptop, and could be applied to the user’s finger, wrist, arm, leg, ankle, chest, or forehead. This is a great technology that opens up a few new possibilities for tracking health and fitness and could be easily integrated with a new smartwatch or other wearables.

The primary spark of utilizing this for health is only a very minor part of the equation. Biometric scientists are of the opinion that blood flow is actually a unique trait that is specific to each individual and allowing this data to be used for continuous authentication is feasible, as per behavioral biometrics.

Biometrics are getting into Corporate world

New biometrics aren’t the sole considerations for the future of this technology. In addition to providing consumers with new ways for authentication, we also have to consider new ways in which biometric data can be leveraged by businesses.

Moving privacy concerns aside, more and more people are willing to provide their data to corporations like Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Facebook on a daily basis. This is true when it comes to images of their faces. This information has an array of uses, right from influencing broad marketing trends to providing unique user data on customers in banking, healthcare, customer service, and much more.

Smartphones provide the companies with the ability to track more data about their consumers than was ever previously thought be possible. Personalized advertising, improved demographics tracking, and real-time ad viewership is just a few deemed uses of all the new information made available to firms using this technology. Apple’s Face ID even heralds new opportunities in entertainment by swapping out the user’s face to the body of their favorite superhero or video game character.

Conclusion - What does the future hold?

Biometric technology is improving and accessibility is spreading far and wide across the globe, all through the developing nations as well as established markets. We can definitely expect to see new opportunities and concerns abound. But it doesn't matter in the larger picture. The growth of biometrics doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

Biometric technology is improving and accessibility is spreading far and wide across the globe, all through the developing nations as well as established markets. We can definitely expect to see new opportunities and concerns abound. But it doesn't matter in the larger picture. The growth of biometrics doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

Selena Warner writes her articles on software and automation related topics like Network Marketing Software and Travel related technologies such as Taxi Dispatch Software.