‘Bottom-prints’ may become new security check

In an innovation that could do away with car keys, Japanese scientists have designed a new seat that recognizes the driver's unique "bottom-print" .

In an innovation that could do away with car keys, Japanese scientists have designed a new seat that recognizes the driver's unique 'bottom-print' .

The scientists, at Tokyo's Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology, have identified an unique feature which can be 'read' by a biometric scanner - our rear ends, or, more specifically , the way we sit down.

They have designed a chair which measures 360 pressure points to build a 3D profile of how a person sits - and it can identify who is sitting in it with 98% accuracy.

It could even be used in offices instead of computer passwords, the researchers said, adding that the system is 98% accurate.

It's a simple matter of fitting pressure sensors inside a normal car seat - so it could be in production cars as early as 2014, the Daily Mail reported.

The team said the bottomscan is actually less intrusive than other forms of biometric scans, such as the face recognition currently in use by UK passport control. Most biometric systems require users to stand still to be scanned - whereas sitting is a natural instinct.