Fingerprint

It would be great if forensics teams could easily lift fingerprints off of bullet casings left at crime scenes, but unfortunately doing so is often very difficult. A new technique developed at the University of Nottingham could change that.

Finding a person's fingerprints at a crime scene isn't always enough to convict them, as they can claim that those prints were left before the crime took place. That may be about to change, as scientists have devised a method of dating fingerprints.

​More and more, we're seeing bike locks that open not with a key or combination, but with a fingerprint or Bluetooth signal. Almost all of those, however, are U-locks. What if you prefer the more compact form factor and wider reach of a folding lock? Well, that's where the ZiiLock comes in.

​As many a fancy-refrigerator-owner will know, fingerprints tend to be highly visible on stainless steel. A new transparent coating could help, however, as it goes about reducing the appearance of prints in three ways.

Italian company Agazzi Designs has integrated some high-tech thinking into what it bills as the first urban backpack with an anti-theft fingerprint scanner, built to ensure only those with the correct prints gain access to its contents. ​

​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.

​Although 3D printers are able to produce some amazing objects, they can also crank out counterfeit goods, illegal firearms, and other not-so-nice creations. Soon, if someone is suspected of making such items, it could be possible to match the objects to that person's printer.

Let's face it – thieves know that high-end SUVs like the Bentley Bentayga are likely to contain stuff worth stealing. The automaker's Mulliner division obviously realizes that, because it's introducing an optional biometric secure stowage unit for the vehicle.

Vivo introduced a novel concept smartphone earlier this week. Not only does the Apex almost get rid of bezels from the front, but sounds belt out from the screen itself, half the display is a fingerprint scanner and the front camera pops up from inside the body when needed, and disappears when not.

Component maker Synaptics says its first in-display fingerprint sensor is now in mass production. And it's coming to a phone made by one of the top five manufacturers in the world sometime next year – which may mean we won't see every Android phone maker switch to a Face ID-style biometric system.

Despite what we see on TV and in movies, analyzing and matching latent prints is a difficult business and still the province of experts. But now scientists from NIST and Michigan State University are using algorithms and machine learning as a way to automate the process and make it more efficient.

Biometrics are poised to play a larger role in airport security. Delta is onboard with this kind of thinking, so to speak, and from today is allowing some passengers to board flights using nothing but their fingers.