Can someone’s fingerprint be reproduced by 3-D printing technology and if so can it be used to unlock a cell phone? This is intriguing science and currently Professor Anil Jain at Michigan State University is looking into developing this technology. One of the problems is that many cellphone fingerprint security measures require not only pattern recognition but a certain degree of electrical conductivity that is natural to human skin. How to reproduce this in a 3-D printed model is one of the hurdles Professor Jain must overcome. But it is intriguing and we will see how it all shakes out.
The Crime Fiction Writer's Blog 
James Pierson
February 13, 2017 at 11:03 am
If he can then it’s a real problem as a hacker might not even have to gain something you’ve touched to gain your fingerprints. A researcher proved it was possible to get someone’s fingerprints from a hi-res photograph. see here: https://arstechnica.com/security/2014/12/politicians-fingerprint-reproduced-using-photos-of-her-hands/
So if Professer Jain was able to access biometric security with a 32-printed fingerprint, it would open the possibility to someone being able to obtain someone’s fingerprints from afar and replicate the same technique.
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D.P. Lyle, MD
February 13, 2017 at 5:14 pm
As if we all didn’t have enough to worry about from the hacker dudes.
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M Byerly
February 13, 2017 at 5:09 pm
And college researchers wonder why average people think they have the common sense of a possum.
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