We are living in a world where most of the operations are performed via some kind of physical contact. In our day to day life, the tools we are using or the technology we have adopted in the outside world requires touching whether it is an elevator button or a door in a commercial shop. And all of these surfaces are touched by hundreds of people every single hour. Cleaning these surfaces with disinfectants can bring no good because as soon as they are sterilized, a new set of people will repeat the same process. But most of us couldn’t care less about these issues because of no drastic consequences.

However, this is no longer the issue that can be taken lightly especially post-crisis of the recent outbreak. Many of us are already practicing social distancing, wearing masks and gloves at commercial shops, and wiping down objects that we consider to be contaminated with germs by using disinfectants. Physical contact or proximity are no longer acceptable in the current situation or even after that.

This is where biometrics comes into picture, which can open the way to a future that is both safe and functional. Biometrics has the potential to transform a technology touchless regardless of the field. Biometrics, including facial and palm recognition as well as other methods, can not only provide a secure authentication, but also allows functions that are enabled by touch to be fully hands-free.

Actually, this is not a new concept. In fact, there are already plenty of technologies that run based on touchless biometrics such as hands-free elevator control through voice recognition, self-ordering systems, facial recognition to access every permitted area without touching any door, biometric enabled cash-free transactions and so on. With the latest advancements in biometrics together with Artificial Intelligence (AI), we can create contactless systems that are automatically functionable with certain human interactions such as hand gestures, facial recognition, voice command, etc. Hence, the technologies that we have seen in some of the Sci-Fi movies are not very far ahead.

Touchless systems are intended to provide a safe and hygienic user-environment as well as they are user-friendly and convenient to handle. In the new world of reduced physical contact, Biometrics can pave the way to enhance public safety while helping to maintain the business continuity and restore economy.