Amazon shows technology for user recognition via the palm of the hand

Amazon has shown One, a device and technique for recognizing customers via the palm. The company will test the technology in two of its own physical stores in its hometown of Seattle. After that, the company wants to use the technology in more stores.

Authenticating a user takes about a second, during which time the user has to hold the palm of the hand over the device, Amazon says. The image of the palm is based on patterns of lines in the palm, along with the pattern of blood vessels. This should provide a unique pattern to identify people.

To participate, users must insert their credit card into the device and have their palm scanned. Each subsequent time, only a second of scanning is enough for identification or payment. Amazon has chosen this technique because it is contactless and requires a conscious gesture from the user, unlike facial recognition, for example.

Amazon initially uses the technique in its own stores, but envisions that it could also be used for quickly identifying supporters in a sports stadium or as a replacement for loyalty cards in third-party stores.