Samsung applies for patent on iris scan with smartphone

Samsung has applied for a patent on a technology that ensures that an iris scan can be taken with a smartphone. Samsung may be planning to use this as a form of security in the future.

The patent application in question became discovers by Patent Bolt. The patent was filed by Samsung at the US USPTO in the second quarter of this year. According to the filing, Samsung wants to scan the user’s iris using the built-in camera on a smartphone. A light source is also required for this, whereby, according to Patent Bolt, both visible light and infrared can be used.

An iris scan could be used as a form of authentication. A possible application is to unlock the used device. Unlocking a smartphone with biometric data is not new: Apple already introduced a fingerprint scanner with the iPhone 5S that can be used to unlock the smartphone.

Earlier there were rumors that Samsung would like to provide its smartphones with an iris scanner. The patent application seems to confirm this, although not all patented techniques are actually used in products. Incidentally, Nikon previously came up with a patent that describes a technique for securing camera lenses using an iris scanner.