Using fingerprint recognition for authentication in the vehicle sharing sector

Nowadays, the most common way of validating the identification and authentication of any personal profile is to include a PIN or an alphanumeric password. Those two options are easy for the user to forget and, moreover, do not guarantee an infallible security against possible hackings.

Thanks to the application of new technologies, a step forward has been taken and the security of these procedures has been improved. And this has been done by taking as a reference those unique and non-transferable values of the human being as, for exemple, the fingerprint. Its use guarantees greater protection in routine actions like unlocking the phone, opening applications, paying, etc. In view of the results, why not do the same in the vehicle-sharing sector?

Cooltra has been part of the European project MADRAS since 2020, funded by the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Its consortium works on the development of new materials and manufacturing processes for a scalable production of Organic and Large Area Electronics (OLAE) devices.

Through MADRAS, Cooltra is participating in the creation of a new fingerprint sensor prototype. As of now, we are actively working on how to physically integrate this sensor in our shared scooters. The company will test a device that, in connection with telematics and its back-end interface, will enable to activate its scooters with the user’s fingerprint recognition. The space available is so tight that a slight modification of some parts of the bodywork has been needed to ensure a correct fitting. In addition, the location should be as ergonomic as possible looking always for the best user experience.

For Cooltra, it is very important that our scooters are always ready to ride for our customers. Our mopeds are being pushed under a big stress because of to main topics:

• The fact that they have been used 24/7.
• The environmental conditions.

The device should be able to work under adverse conditions to ensure the functionality of our scooters. For that matter, the final product must be prepared to have a long live despite the external agents.

The fingerprint sensor or biometric sensor is a device capable of scanning, storing and identifying fingerprints thanks to a touch-sensitive component. These devices have become popular in recent years due to their incorporation in smartphones.

This pilot project will be launched in the last phase of the project and constitutes a new path towards finding solutions to mitigate, on one hand, the usurpation or falsification of user’s identity when using a vehicle and, on the other hand, all the risks and costs that this entails. It will also substantially improve accessibility, since both registration and booking will be done in a single step.

In a first phase of implementation, this new prototype could be useful in the private sharing service for companies offered by Cooltra, where they can manage their own fleet of electric two-wheeled vehicles with a private and personalised app. Through this identification system, only people authorised by the companies will be able to use the fleet vehicles.

However, before seeing the real results of its application in the market, it will be necessary to build a legal framework that will allow the development of this project. At present, biometrics techniques take advantage of the fact that the characteristics of the human body are unique and permanent.

The facial and handwriting features, the pattern of the iris, the fingerprint and other singularities of each individual, including the DNA, are used for these functions. Its use in electronic devices is becoming widespread and generates relevant data for companies and consumers.

The performance of any data processing involving the use of the fingerprint requires the prior performance of an Impact Assessment and the establishment and implementation of the necessary technical and organisational measures to guarantee the appropriate protection of the data.

Therefore, it is necessary to use mechanisms that make it possible to anonymise this type of information, especially in those cases in which biometric data are considered “special category data”.

Cooltra was born in 2006 in the city of Barcelona as a group of people committed to the idea of transforming cities into safer, more efficient and sustainable places.

Gradually, the company began to implement mobility solutions available to everyone that respond any need. Now, Cooltra has become an international leader thanks to the creation of new rental models that have spread throughout Europe: the sharing and renting of two-wheeled vehicles for individuals, companies and government agencies.