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Nowadays, the development of the smart lock industry seems to have encountered bottlenecks, and for many smart lock manufacturers, how to innovate has become a challenge. At present, the innovation in the smart lock industry is mostly presented as an additive approach, which constantly adds various new functions to pursue so-called innovation.

Taking biometric technology as an example, smart locks have gradually evolved from optical fingerprint recognition to semiconductor fingerprint recognition, under screen fingerprint recognition, and later to finger vein and iris recognition, as well as the now highly anticipated 3D facial recognition and palm vein recognition. It can be said that smart lock manufacturers have tried to apply almost all the biometric technologies they can think of.

However, for consumers, their most basic requirements for smart locks are safety and convenience. Therefore, no matter how innovative and advanced biometric technology manufacturers adopt, consumers are still most concerned about the safety and ease of use of locks.

So, among many biometric technologies, which one can ensure both security and convenience? In the eyes of many people, finger vein and iris technology is considered very safe, while 3D facial recognition is considered a comprehensive and convenient way. But the problem is that manufacturers often seek breakthroughs in biometric technology when pursuing innovation. Therefore, the author speculates that facial vein recognition technology may receive attention from manufacturers and favor from consumers.

What is facial vein recognition technology? What are its unique advantages compared to 3D facial recognition technology?

In September 2023, Apple obtained a new patent titled "Vein Matching for Difficult Biometric Authentication Situations.". The abstract of this patent shows that in facial recognition, the technology can use subepidermal imaging of the face to evaluate subepidermal features such as blood vessels and veins.

In short, this technology can collect and recognize venous information beneath the epidermis of the face. In addition, Apple's facial vein recognition technology can also solve the potential recognition bias problem in twin face recognition.

In China, Shengdian Technology has been established in the field of facial vein recognition technology for many years, with three related invention patents, and has formed a complete vein recognition technology system, covering digital veins, palmar veins, dorsal hand veins, wrist veins, and facial veins, etc. At the same time, the company has numerous partners in multiple fields such as military industry, information technology, finance, payment, education, smart IoT, and consumer electronics.

It can be seen that not only Apple has mastered the relevant facial recognition technology, but there are also domestic enterprises such as Shengdian Technology that focus on vein recognition technology and are developing facial vein recognition technology. In addition, experts and scholars have proposed a vein recognition technology that combines facial vein and neck vein recognition.

From a technical perspective, the commercial application of facial vein recognition technology is not a challenge. However, there may be multiple reasons why facial vein recognition technology has not been widely used in the smart lock industry. Firstly, the current cost of facial vein recognition technology may be higher than other biometric methods. In the fiercely competitive smart lock industry, high costs clearly do not meet the development needs of the industry; Secondly, it may be because most smart lock manufacturers have not yet recognized the potential application of facial recognition technology in the smart lock industry, and vein recognition solution providers may not have launched relevant solutions suitable for smart lock products.

But the author believes that facial vein recognition technology may receive attention from manufacturers in the next one or two years, and it is highly likely to see the emergence of smart lock products using facial recognition in the future. After all, facial recognition technology, like facial recognition technology, is a non-contact biometric solution that can also achieve automatic induction recognition and unlocking when people reach their doorstep. Compared to contact based finger vein and fingerprint recognition, as well as palm vein recognition that requires reaching out, it is more convenient. At the same time, there should be no issues with security. If used in conjunction with neck vein recognition technology, safety may be further improved. However, cost control remains a problem that needs to be addressed.

In addition, facial vein and neck vein recognition can distinguish even twins due to the recognition of venous information beneath the epidermis.

*Originally from Lock World, if involved in copyright issues, please contact us for prompt deletion.