Soon You Could Unlock Your Car With Your Fingerprint

Buyers of next year’s new Hyundai Santa Fe SUV will be the first to have access to tech that allows them to unlock and start the car with their fingerprint

Matt Kimberley

27 Dec 2018

Soon You Could Unlock Your Car With Your Fingerprint

Fingerprint-based entry and engine start systems will debut on a factory-built car next year after Hyundai confirmed the new safety and convenience tech for the Santa Fe.

Once a finger or thumb print is registered in the car’s memory, owners will be able to touch sensors on the door handle and open the locks without having to fetch the key. It’s not clear whether the key will need to be close to the car, as with current keyless entry systems, or whether the key is simply a backup option and could theoretically stay in the house.

Aftermarket systems have been available for years, but we expect an OE fitment to be a much slicker user experience.

A similar sensor will be mounted on the dashboards or centre console, allowing for a one-touch engine start – provided that your print is clean. It probably won’t work after you’ve just finished a Double Whopper and fries unless you clean your mitts first.

Apparently, the risk of the system mistaking the wrong fingerprint for the correct one is one in 50,000. An interesting extra security feature involves measuring the specific electrical current in your digit as it touches the sensor. In theory it overcomes the possibility of someone using a fake latex fingerprint.

Comments

What if you lend your car to a friend or relative??

Issue is, Finger print scanners just don’t work. They just need to attach some sort of IPhone X faceID thingy to them.

And it posted it twice. Seems legit.

And the valet’s going to start the car how?…

Press F to pay respects to hyundai dealership mechanics that will have to deal with this when it goes wrong. Battery flat? No entry.

Another thing that will break. Useless af….

But, why? I mean, what if you would burn your finger. (I’m actually sitting here in pain after having dipped my finger in some melted sugar. Guess I’m not driving a Hyundai this week then…)

I hope all this absurdity will cycle back to using ignition keys

I’m noting a few repeating arguments in the comment section here, which tell me that you guys didn’t read the article.
First, people can’t just steal your fingerprint and unlock the car. The car requires the natural electrical output from your finger to also be present.

Next, if the sensor can’t read your fingerprint, then your keyfob is still a fully functional key (as I’m understanding it). You won’t be stuck trying to unlock your car or even drive it for the matter.

Lastly, to the people saying that this tech is finicky and shouldn’t exist: you don’t seem to understand how tech development works. If it’s never implimented, then we can’t improve it. Testers can test to their heart’s content, but users are the real problem finders.

The question is not if the system works. We know it’s failure rate, we have back ups, and we can engage this system in whatever ways necessary in order to improve it. The question becomes, what is the intended outcome for this tech? How will we improve it (should we even bother)? What ways will it make our lives better or worse? Stay skeptical, but do keep an open mind. Trust nothing, but hope for the best.