Vroom! Finger-start your car engine to life

PUNE: Did you ever tap your old radio or television set to get it started? Well, that experience inspired Swapnil Kale, a 29-year-old computer engineer from Pune, to develop biometrics-based Gen-Next security devices for automobiles. Using these devices, your car can now be started by simply placing your finger on the fingerprint scanning device on the dashboard.
Since each individual''s fingerprints are unique, the finger itself works as a car key, enabling one to activate or deactivate the security system.
Biometrics is the emerging branch of computer technology that identifies individuals on the basis of their fingerprints, iris scanning or face recognition. It is now increasingly being incorporated into security systems, attendance recorders and for other purposes within and outside the country.
An alumnus of St Vincent’s school and Bharati Vidyapeeth college of engineering, Swapnil told TNN that he had patented the technology in Singapore, Malaysia and India.
In the US, where the patent is pending, ''Identisafe'' has been opened for sales. Son of a former Pune Municipal Corporation health inspector, Vitthal Kale, Swapnil, who shuttles between his young firm in Singapore and his home in Pune, is hopeful of striking a deal with an auto manufacturer.
"Even a single deal with an auto firm will mean a lot to us," he said during a visit to the city. It all started in Singapore, where Swapnil had a television set in his car, which would go off because of a loose connection.
"I would then have to tap the set to get it started. It suddenly struck me during one such occasion that I could use biometrics to eliminate car keys completely," Swapnil said.
"God has given us a unique identity in the form of fingerprints. So why do we need car keys," Swapnil asked, adding that he is now engaged in developing variations of his device.