Samsung smartwatch biometrics spots your veins

Samsung smartwatch biometrics plans goes one step further than your usual smart device security features.

First we had PINs, passwords, and fingerprint IDs on our phones but, when wearables come to mind, these security precautions seem to be an afterthought – or not thought about at all.

I suppose that you are less likely to loose or leave a wearable behind than you would your smartphone. But as we start using wearables for more and more functions, maybe especially in terms of mobile payments, is it worth thinking a little more about how to properly secure them?

Samsung seems to be getting in to that headspace now, and a recently published patent application shows one way in which Samsung might add biometric authentication to a wearable.

The Samsung smartwatch biometrics patent suggests a novel method of authenticating wearable users. Rather than taking up space with a big fingerprint scanner on the face of a smartwatch, or a similarly large camera for iris or face recognition (can you imagine having to hold your wrist up to your eye each time you want to pay for something?), Samsung suggests a side-mounted IR camera that scans the veins in our hand to recognise your unique bloodtube patterns, positively identifying a previously authenticated user.

Perhaps more interestingly is that Sammy seems to be concentrating a little more on the device’s ability to quickly and easily identify different users. By recognising the vein patterns of a particular user the wearable could then automatically pull up settings from multiple user profiles, customising things to the user’s preferences.

Right now ‘wearable’ generally means smartwatches or other wrist-strapped tech so the idea that multiple user profiles can be accessed by flashing your veins might seem a little redundant.

I am thinking that Samsung is treating this patent to cover a wider range of devices that could be swapped – whether that would be personal transportation, clothing or safety gear, only Samsung will truly know at this point.