Science & Technology

US Special Forces can ID your heartbeat

By T.K. Randall
July 5, 2019

Image: The Pentagon
Credit: Touch Of Light / CC BY-SA 4.0 (adapted) During US military operations, accurately determining whether or not a specific individual is present at a potential target location is often critical to the success of a mission.

Traditional identification methods deployed in the field include facial recognition (which speaks for itself) and gait analysis, which attempts to identify a person from their unique walking style.

Now the Pentagon has come up with a completely new type of identification technology capable of recognizing a person's unique cardiac signature.Known as Jetson, the device works by firing an infrared laser at a target up to 200 meters away and uses a technique known as laser vibrometry to detect the subtle movements of a person's heartbeat.

According to its designers it should be theoretically possible to increase the range by using a more powerful laser, however they stopped short of suggesting that it could work from space.

"Compared with face, cardiac biometrics are more stable and can reach more than 98% accuracy," said Wenyao Xu of the State University of New York at Buffalo.


Source: Technology Review

Tags: Pentagon, Laser, Heart