To access the metro in any city, it is essential to carry the accreditation card with you in any of the modalities: cardboard, plastic or in the mobile version. But in Beijing they have decided to go a step further and implement new technologies that speed up this process and ensure the identity of the passenger.
A Beijing subway line has launched a pilot program that allows passengers to enter and exit by scanning their palms. It will only apply to the Daxing Airport Express, the line that connects Beijing's Daxing International Airport, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
The Beijing Municipal Transportation Commission has placed a series of billboards right in front of these gates. When it reaches this point, the user will find two reading points: the usual blue one, where to put the physical metro card; a second of white color, in which you can put the palm of your hand for recognition.
Before scanning the palm of the hand, passengers must register at the station ticketing machines and authorize their use through WeChat, a popular Chinese application with which you can do almost everything: send messages, call free, manage social networks or pay online, among other services.
As the commission explains, the doors are capable of recognizing the user's palm print and veins without contact. Local authorities ensure that encryption and data protection technologies have been applied to safeguard user information, although some specialists show their misgivings about this system.
With this technology, those responsible seek to expedite the flow of passengers and solve some of the problems detected, such as the lack of cash or the battery of mobile phones when the traveler passes this control.
Multinationals like Amazon have also launched similar initiatives. This is the case of Amazon One, a biometric recognition system with which users can access a building, identify themselves and pay for goods and services by passing the palm of their hand over a device.
This technology is already applied in several stores that Amazon has in Malibu, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Santa Cruz and the Bay Area. The system is very similar to the one applied on this subway line in Beijing: the user is asked to include his credit card number in the program; then he has to place the palm of his hand on the identification device so that it can be recognized later.
