Advanced Optical Systems (AOS), an Alabama-based developer of imaging and identity technology, is developing a new fingerprint-based authentication device that they hope will be able to authenticate an individual’s identity from up to two meters away, according to a Technology Review article.

The device, called AIRprint, is able to do so by analyzing reflections of polarized light on a person’s hand by two cameras, one receiving vertically polarized light and the other receiving horizontally polarized light.

Officials at AOS are hopeful the device will see opportunity in places where other available methods are more inconvenient, such as physical access control systems that often require a user to stop and physically swipe a finger or card and wait for authorization.

As the development of the device continues, the company hopes to enhance it by increasing the number of fingers processed, to up to five, and the processing time to below a second.

Read the full story here.