Hand-scan units get better grip
Biometric hand scanning is quickly catching on for many applications, including punching the time clock.
By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 4/1/1998
Technology once thought only possible in the movies is now becoming regular practice. Biometric hand scanners are increasingly found in U.S. plants, banks, hospitals, airports, and elsewhere."Biometric hand geometry is now a mainstream identification technology for applications such as time and attendance and access control," says Bill Wilson, Recognition Systems president. "Our 15,000 readers are installed in banks, manufacturing plants, casinos, government buildings, hospitals, laboratories, correctional institutions, health clubs, airports, and other facilities throughout the world."
The hand geometry technology looks at the three-dimensional size and shape of the hand. Over ninety hand measurements, including lengths, widths, thickness, and surface areas are converted into a "template," a nine-byte mathematical representation of the hand. The template is stored in the scanner's resident memory for later retrieval and comparison. It can also be transferred to a computer or other data storage media such as a "smart" card.
"Hand geometry scanning is easy and non-obtrusive," says Wilson. "For administrators, it eliminates the problems of buddy punching and card control. With a level of security higher than card-based systems and a cost approaching them, biometric hand geometry is now as mainstream as any other ID technology."
Recognition Systems' scanners are on entrances to over half the nuclear power plants in the U.S. They protected the athletes of the 1996 Olympic Games. And they are used by more health clubs than any other biometric device, the company says. Manufacturers use them to collect employees' time and attendance data. Border crossing officials speed frequent travelers through immigration processing with hand identification kiosks. Bankers use them to control access to cash vaults.
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