Amazon has launched a mobile application for its Amazon One palm-recognition technology, enabling users to register for the service via their smartphones by capturing an image of their palm. This registration process facilitates later usage for access, identification, and payments.
Previously, registration and palm capture were exclusively conducted at physical kiosks within stores. Amazon intends the mobile app registration to enhance convenience for newcomers.
Dilip Kumar, Amazon Web Services Applications’ vice president, revealed on Thursday that the Amazon One application now features advanced AI technology. This technology can accurately link a smartphone camera image to the detailed palm and vein images captured by Amazon One devices in various locations:
By analyzing both the palm’s surface and its vein pattern, Amazon One generates a distinctive palm signature for each user, ensuring secure identity verification. The new AI enhancement ensures the maintenance of Amazon One’s high accuracy rate (99.9999%) by comparing palm images from the mobile app with those captured by in-store devices, thus verifying user identity with confidence.
The application is accessible on both iOS and Android platforms.
Amazon has expanded the use of Amazon One across over 500 Whole Foods stores in the U.S. and has incorporated it into Amazon Go stores and numerous external venues, including stadiums, airports, and convenience outlets.
However, the technology faced criticism, particularly at the Red Rock Amphitheatre in Denver in 2022.
In response to privacy concerns, Amazon assures that it “will never share palm data with third parties, under any circumstance, including in response to government demands, unless compelled by a legally valid and binding order.”
On Thursday, Amazon announced that Amazon One has seen over 8 million uses, highlighting that over 80% of patrons at Whole Foods and Amazon stores continue to use the service regularly.
Furthermore, Amazon recently introduced a variant of Amazon One designed for building entry and corporate security purposes.
