Most of the cars in today’s time and age can be unlocked and started in a number of ways. There’s the old-school way of using a key, which can be inserted and twisted in the door handle and behind the steering wheel to get you on the way. We also get keyless-entry and keyless-go these days. But Hyundai feels that there is a better way of doing the same, and a lot more, in a different, more secure manner. How? With the use of its fingerprint technology.

In the first quarter of next year, Hyundai will launch the 2019 Santa Fe SUV. In select markets, it will be sold with the fingerprint technology in place. The Santa Fe will become the first-ever production vehicle to boast this technology. Hyundai says that to unlock a vehicle which has its fingerprint technology installed, the owner needs to place a finger on the sensor located on the door handle. Similarly, the same setup is used inside the cabin to start the vehicle.

Now, using a finger to unlock and starting a vehicle has its obvious security pluses. However, Hyundai won’t stop there. The fingerprint tech will go a step further to convene the driver. As soon as the scanner identifies who has unlocked and started the car, it will automatically adjust the seating positions, connected car features and ORVMs accordingly. In short, the biometric scanner is linked to a memory function of the driver’s side.

The future models will take the fingerprint scanning tech to a whole new level. Apart from all the acts mentioned above, it will also carry out adjustments like the temperature for the cabin and the steering wheel position among others. Hyundai claims that fingerprint technology’s chance of misrecognizing other person’s fingerprint as the driver’s is only 1 in 50,000. That, as per the carmaker, is five times more effective than the old-school vehicle keys, including smart keys.

Hyundai plans to implement this technology in several other models that it sells worldwide. It claims that with real-time learning of fingerprints supported by ‘dynamic update’ system, the fingerprint technology will improve its success rate. The company has also ensured that by using capacitance recognition technology, the fingerprint scanner will prevent forgeries and faked fingerprints.