Startup gains from biometrics

Shanxi Top Glory Tech, a young high-tech company engaged in biometric identification technologies, sees great potential in finger vein recognition, a method of biometric identification that matches image of the veins in an individual's finger to previously obtained data.

The technology is a relatively new form of biometrics used to identify individuals, according to Su Boyuan, vice-president of the company.

"This is an emerging technology and has a great potential in the identification field, as it is more accurate and cannot be easily falsified," Su said.

According to Su, compared with other biological information about a person such as fingerprints, face and iris, the finger veins are inside a person's body.

Therefore, they cannot be easily affected by outside environment or copied to do illegal activities.

"Besides, the finger veins image can only be taken under the condition that a person's blood is flowing, so he or she must be alive," Su said.

Founded in 2012 in Shanxi province, the innovative startup worked hard researching related technologies and made a significant breakthrough three years later.

In 2016, the company made its debut on China's National Equities Exchange and Quotations, also known as the "new third board", which serves small and medium-sized enterprises.

With independent intellectual property rights, Top Glory Tech has mastered major finger vein recognition technologies, for which it holds 16 patents and has become one of the nation's leading companies in the field, Su said.

Dozens of companies in China are involved in finger vein recognition. However, most of the biometric market is still occupied by traditional biological recognition methods such as fingers and faces, and the application of vein recognition technology remains limited, Su said.

Top Glory Tech's products, such as door locks and safes, are mainly used by customers in certain fields such as banks and defense systems, which have a greater demand for security.

"Our ultimate aim is to apply finger vein recognition to items in daily use, including mobile phones, computers, wearable devices, miniaturized devices, home locks, buses and trains," said Li Haoxuan, head of the company's research center.

Li said there is still a long way to go before it can successfully combine the technology with such items.

A primary school in Changsha, Hunan province, would like to order some security products from the company to strengthen the school's safety and protection for children.

"But pupils under the age of seven still don't have a clear and fixed vascular pattern, therefore they cannot use finger vein recognition systems," Su said.

"We are still studying accurate recognition methods for those little kids," he added.

At present, Top Glory Tech is focused on technological research. But, considering the big potential, it will expand in the next few years to start manufacturing related products.