If you have seen those annoying IBM ThinkPad ads on television, then you kinda have a clue about biometrics, which is a way to authenticate a user using finger prints. But that’s so 1990s!

Apparently, that security technique can be hacked (literally) and that is why folks at Fujitsu have developed something called “Contact Less Palm Vein Authentication Technology.” No seriously. (Take that James Bond!)

Fujitsu’s contention is that every person has a very unique vein pattern that cannot be replicated. Even identical twins don’t have identical veins, according to Fujitsu research. In addition, their technology also taps into factors such as “blood moving inside of the veins,” so one can over come the security problems posed by “hacking” hands.

This how it works. An infra red ray illuminates the palm, then the palm vein pattern is scanned by captures the light given off by the region after diffusion through the palm. The vein pattern is captured as a series of dark lines as the deoxidized hemoglobin contained in the vein vessels absorbs the infrared ray.

They had showed an early version of this technology at CeBIT but are likely to show some products at CES in Las Vegas. This could be a technology that can be applied to say secure banking, or secure office access.