Americans have created three-dimensional ultrasound fingerprint scanner

American scientists from the University of California have developed technology to scan fingertips in three dimensions using ultrasound. As a result, you can get a three-dimensional fingerprint containing information about the micropins and protrusions, as well as a shallow subcutaneous layer. This technology is more reliable than conventional fingerprint scanners dealing with two-dimensional images.

In films about thieves or hackers, deft fraudsters easily remove the fingerprints of victims from glasses and other surfaces, after which they make their silicone imitations. And this is not far from the truth - in real life it is sometimes possible to remove fingerprints from clothes or even restore them from good digital photography . After that, you can print a print on a transparent film , fool the scanner.
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But in the latest fashion, smartphones and some laptops began to equip fingerprint scanners as an authentication method. Of course, a strange system - given that the entire phone is dotted with the owners' fingerprints - but marketers know better. It also turned out that right after the pool, such a scanner on the iPhone 5s does not recognize prints - the skin on the fingers is wrinkled .

Tireless researchers have come to grips with the development of more reliable methods. Californian scientists, recalling the remarkable technology of ultrasound scanning, created a sensor based on it. It consumes relatively little energy (its operating voltage is 1.8 V) and is based on the technology of piezoelectric-micromachined ultrasonic transducers (PMUT) arrays of ultrasonic transducers. The sensor is created in the form of a microelectromechanical system ( MEMS ) - a device that combines microelectronic and micromechanical components.

It consists of two semiconductor wafers - MEMS, which is responsible for ultrasound and a signal processing circuit. According to the explanation of Professor David Horsley , images based on ultrasound are constructed in the same way as with medical devices for ultrasound. Transmitters emit ultrasonic pulses, they also act as receivers, receiving ultrasound reflected from the relief of the imprint. Horsley claims that his team has developed technology that meets current industry standards, which will make it very inexpensive to manufacture these devices.

The resulting three-dimensional image should be a more reliable authentication method than the classical processing of two-dimensional images. In this regard, it is quite able to find a use for itself, for example, in serious security systems and payment systems, including mobile payments.

It is possible that the answer in this race of armor and projectile will be for hackers using high-resolution 3D printers.