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Automotive

Hyundai begins replacing car keys with fingerprint scanners

By Loz Blain
December 31, 2018
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Hyundai says the fingerprint scanners in the doors have just a 1 in 50,000 chance of letting the wrong person in
Hyundai
The 2019 Santa Fe SUV will be Hyundai's first fingerprint-scanning car
Hyundai
Hyundai says the fingerprint scanners in the doors have just a 1 in 50,000 chance of letting the wrong person in
Hyundai
Opening the car with a fingerprint automatically sets the seat, mirrors and connectivity options to your personal preferences
Hyundai
Say goodbye to car keys, Hyundai's new Santa Fe SUV will use your fingerprints instead
Hyundai
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Hyundai has committed to becoming the world's first auto manufacturer to ship cars that open and start without any keys or smartphones whatsoever. The 2019 Santa Fe SUV will use fingerprint sensors for its door locks and ignition.

The fingerprint sensors will sit in the car's door handles and in the start button on the dash. Touching either will switch the car to your personal profile, adjusting the seats, side mirrors and connectivity settings to your preferences. In the future, this will extend to include cabin temperature, steering column position and other personal adjustments.

The 2019 Santa Fe SUV will be Hyundai's first fingerprint-scanning car
Hyundai

The system uses capacitive sensors, and boasts a 1 in 50,000 chance of misreading somebody else's fingerprints as your own. Mind you, my phone's fingerprint sensors fail to recognize me after I hop out of the shower, so I guess we'll have to wait and see how these things go in the wet. Hyundai says the system will continually improve its accuracy over time, refining its model of your fingerprints every time you use it.

A technology has to be very mature before auto manufacturers will build it in, particularly to replace such a critical component as the key or key fob. So you can take this news as a ringing endorsement that the fingerprint sensor has come of age. Hyundai's press release doesn't say what additional entry methods will be available as backups, but you can assume there's a key fob or smartphone option as well. Letting your friends drive it would be a pain in the butt otherwise.

But it certainly seems possible that the days of losing your car keys may be numbered. Or to put it another way, if you lose the keys to a 2019 Santa Fe, the car will be the least of your problems!

Source: Hyundai

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Loz Blain
Loz leads the New Atlas team as Editorial Director, after nearly two decades as one of our most versatile writers. He's also proven himself as a photographer, videographer, presenter, producer and podcast engineer. A graduate in Psychology, former business analyst and touring musician, he's covered just about everything for New Atlas, concentrating lately on clean energy, AI, humanoid robotics, next-gen aircraft, and the odd bit of music, motorcycles and automotive.
9 comments
Gizmowiz
Stupid. All too easy to duplicate a finger print as anyone who watches CSI knows
juanhollisDS4E
The most secure is the bodies own EM Field which is unique to each and everyone, all you have to do is touch the car, the door will open, and the ignition will set to ready, once you sit in the drivers seat the engine will start automatically so you can drive away also when leave the car the door will close and double lock again automatically and set the alarm! Finger prints are all very well BUT they can be copied very insecure!! There was a 007 movie where using a smart phone copied the print then placed it on the sensor which allowed the agent to enter.
paul314
Will it last? The outside sensors will be exposed to rain, ice and road grit 24/7, but they have to survive at least 5 and preferably 10-15 years of abuse. It would also be a pretty pricey denial of service if the sensor is vulnerable to things bored teens often do to cars.
yonyo
Not practical: e.g. often there's a need for someone to bring something around, borrow the car, help with it etc, so how will that work next? A rethink?
Shady Brady
I went to a Face ID iPad because my fingers are typically marked by scratches, chapped, etc. and wouldn’t work. Same on my iPhone. This is not practical for many reasons.
Brian M
Can't believe there are engineers this naïve (or perhaps its the marketing department?).
Just because (you think) you can do something it doesn't mean you should. Fingerprints are so easily duplicated, bad enough on smart phones but on a car that can kill people its utter stupidity.
Not to mention its nowhere as nearly as user friendly as using a bleeper (finding your car in a lot etc).
From a practical point how do you lend the keys to someone else such as a parking valet - cut your finger off?
fen
Problem 1 - Lending the car. Problem 2 - The courts view a Finger print as on public display and not private. This allows the police to bypass things locked with fingerprints without a court order as there is no expectation of privacy. This is shown by the fact they couldnt force someone to unlock their iPhone with a password, but can get them to touch the screen. So, do you lose your expectation of privacy in your car when this system is put on it?
myale
Lol I actually think it is about time the car people caught up with the mobile phones - so keep this sort of thing coming. I love it on my phone and I would love it on my car.
guzmanchinky
IT'S ABOUT TIME! I'm sick of carrying keys and fobs with me. I love the keypad on my Ford. Maybe use that keypad as a backup to the fingerprint reader or Face ID, like an iPhone.
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