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Siemens' Fingerprint Recognition - Theft Prevention System

6 March 2000

It's Not Science Fiction Anymore

    DETROIT - A driver enters his vehicle, presses his finger to a sensor in 
the instrument panel which starts the engine and initializes a series of vehicle 
personalization events.  No, this isn't a scene from a James Bond movie.  
It is technology developed today at Siemens Automotive that is being demonstrated 
in the Siemens Automotive booth at the SAE show, in Detroit.

    Many products in the automotive industry have evolved from existing
technologies applied in other fields.  Two years ago, the electronics for
vehicle access control and driver authorization were installed into a Smart
Card, slightly thicker than a credit card.  Siemens Automotive's PAssive
Start/Entry (PASE) marked the first implementation of this concept in the 1999
Mercedes S-Class.  That technology has since evolved into the science of
biometrics, the application of mathematical, statistical theory to biology --
or fingerprint recognition.

    According to Siemens' engineers in Regensburg, Germany, fingerprint
recognition will be ready for production in two years.

    As the driver slightly touches the fingerprint switch, the skin of the
fingertip with its individual and unmistakable geometric characteristics is
sensed.  A high-performance computer reads, measures and quickly identifies
the fingerprint.  The engine ignition sequence is authorized and the ignition
is started.  All of this, measured in fractions of a second, is much faster
and more convenient for the driver than a conventional car key and ignition
lock.

    Immediately following the ignition authorization sequence, the automatic
transmission receives the control command for the gearshift functions,
tailored to the driving style of the unique fingerprint.  This intelligent
control, or "fuzzy" logic, takes into account changing environmental
conditions, as well as personal driving style, adapting the shifting strategy
to the conditions and requirements of the driver.

    Another convenient feature of the system is its ability to adapt the
mirror, climate control, radio settings, steering column and seating positions
to the driver's individual requirements.

    When a fingertip is placed on the sensing field for evaluation, 65,000
sensor electrodes measure the exact distance between the skin surface and the
sensor.  Within fractions of a second, the sensor generates a digitized
grayscale image of the fingerprint with a resolution of 20 dots per millimeter
(513 dpi).  The image processing software searches for one to two dozen
characteristic features of the fingerprint, the minutiae, and stores their
position and orientation in its memory.

    During the subsequent check, an evaluation algorithm compares the image
sensed to the previously stored reference data.  The chip only issues the
release signal that activates the system functions if both sets of data are
identical.

    If the quality of the image sensed is impaired by factors, such as when
the skin on the fingertip is dirty or injured, the system can read other
fingers as the system can be programmed to recognize up to three fingers of
the same person.  In fact, nearly one hundred reference prints per sensor can
be stored.

    The high degree of integration of the fingertip sensor, memory and
computer is Siemens' competitive advantage.  A single silicon chip with an
area of 160-square-millimeters, approximately the size of a penny, holds the
sensing field, analog-digital converter, sequencing control, clock generator
and parallel interface.  A digital signal processor serves as the evaluation
unit.  A CAN bus network is used for user guidance and signal transmission to
the individual functions.

    The capacitive fingertip sensor is produced with the same Complimentary
Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology used for conventional memory
chips, resulting in a number of significant advantages over optical or
infrared sensors relative to production costs and space requirements in the
vehicle.

    Fingerprint sensing is expected to provide benefits to Original Equipment
Manufacturers (OEM), as well as consumers.

    Siemens Automotive is a tier-one supplier of automotive and electrical-
electronic systems and components with applications covering gasoline and
diesel powertrain systems, safety and chassis systems, body electronics,
electric motors drives and driver information systems.  Worldwide sales in
fiscal year 1998/1999 totaled $3.6 billion.