Open and close the door and start the engine with just your fingerprint
Misrecognition probability 1/50000, safer than a smart key
The recognition rate increases as you use it for real-time learning.

Hyundai Motor Company announced on the 17th that it has developed a 'smart fingerprint authentication entry and ignition system' that can open car doors and start the engine using fingerprints.
This system will be initially installed in the new Santa Fe 'Shengda', which will be released in China in the first quarter of 2019, and plans are in place to expand its application to the global market in the future.

Hyundai Motor Company plans to respond to cutting-edge automobile trends by sequentially introducing customized technologies optimized for each driver's individual profile. Such technology could help to efficiently operate future shared autonomous vehicles that are used by multiple people.

The smart fingerprint authentication entry/ignition system that has been recently unveiled allows you to open the doors and start the car without a car key by pre-registering your fingerprint, which is biometric information, in the vehicle.

When you touch the sensor on the door handle, encrypted fingerprint information is transmitted to the fingerprint authentication controller inside the vehicle, which opens the car door. After getting into the car, you can start the engine by touching the start button with the fingerprint recognition sensor built into it.

The smart fingerprint authentication entry and start system even provides a personalized driving environment. The car automatically adjusts the driver's seat position and the angle of the outside mirrors based on information set in advance by multiple drivers who have registered their fingerprints. In the future, the air conditioning system, steering wheel position, and other features such as temperature and humidity inside the vehicle will also be included in the customized functions.
Although there has been technology to start a car using fingerprints, it has not been easy to apply it to open and close doors due to security and durability issues.

Unlike indoors, when applying a fingerprint recognition system to a door exposed to the outside, it must withstand hot sunlight, harsh snowstorms, and strong water streams from high-pressure washers, all while extending the vehicle's lifespan.

Security is an even bigger issue. The smart fingerprint authentication entry and ignition system developed by Hyundai Motor Company was implemented by recognizing the human body's ability to accumulate electric charge, or 'capacitance.'

Since it utilizes the difference in electrostatic capacity between the part where the fingerprint touches (the mountain) and the part where the fingerprint does not touch (the valley), it is very difficult to create a fake fingerprint using fingerprint traces left on a glass, etc., as in the movies.
The probability of misrecognizing another person's fingerprint as the registered driver's fingerprint is only about 1/50,000. It is five times more secure than a typical car key such as a smart key. In addition, through real-time learning, the recognition success rate increases the more the driver uses it.

It also obtained AEC-Q100 certification, which is the automotive semiconductor quality standard.

A Hyundai Motor Company official said, "Going forward, we will continue to strive to provide customers with freedom from restrictions on movement and an easy and comfortable mobility experience for anyone based on the technological identity of each product: ▲an in-vehicle environment optimized for the individual, ▲a simple and intuitive operating environment, and ▲preemptive response before driver operation."

Meanwhile, detailed technical principles and operation process of the smart fingerprint authentication entry/ignition system can be confirmed through Hyundai Motor Group's media channels, HMG Journal and HMG TV.