AIRprint

The Advanced Optical Systems company (USA) developed the device AIRprint prototype which is reading out a fingerprint of the person at distance of 2 meters. For identification of the personality the program needs about 4 seconds. The device is supplied with a source of the polarized light and two cameras on 1.3 megapixels catching light of different polarization.

Grooves reflect in a finger horizontally polarized light, and grooves – vertically polarized. The returning reflection of a hand is processed by the computer program which builds a fingerprint and compares it to the database. AIRprint scans a finger during the one tenth fraction of a second.

So far the device can build the image of only one finger, but by April, 2011 developers promise to cover all fingers. One more shortcoming which, however, too should be soon corrected - the hand should be at a certain distance from the device, i.e. the person needs to be motionless.

Anyway, the current development is a major step forward. Now identification of the personality according to unique drawings on fingers can be carried out from considerable distance.

Some intelligence agencies and also the normal organizations wishing to accelerate authorization process already became interested in development of Advanced Optical. The company states that two AIRprint devices will go on sale: with the scanner for one finger and with the scanner (for all hand).