Hyundai uses fingerprint scanners to open and start Santa Fe SUV

Hyundai is demonstrating its 2019 Santa Fe SUV at a car show in China, which will have fingerprint scanners in the door and next to the steering wheel to open and start the car with fingerprints.

Several users can register their fingerprint with the system. This not only gives them access to the car; the Santa Fe recognizes the user and then adjusts, for example, the position of the seat and rear-view mirror. In the future, the position of the steering wheel and the climate settings will also have to be personalized.

In particular, integrating the fingerprint scanners into the door handles would have been difficult, ZDNet claims, because the system must be able to withstand various weather conditions. Hyundai has opted for a capacitive scanner with a margin of error of 1:50,000.

According to the Korea Herald, Baidu’s Duer voice assistant is integrated and there is the option to charge smartphones wirelessly. The 2019 Santa Fe should hit the market in China in the first quarter of next year.