We present our work on leveraging low-frame-rate monochrome (blue light) videos of fingertips, captured with an off-the-shelf fingerprint capture device, to extract vital signs and identify users. These videos utilize photoplethysmography (PPG), commonly used to measure vital signs like heart rate. While prior research predominantly utilizes high-frame-rate, multi-wavelength PPG sensors (e.g., infrared, red, or RGB), our preliminary findings demonstrate that both user identification and vital sign extraction are achievable with the low-frame-rate data we collected. Preliminary results are promising, with low error rates for both heart rate estimation and user authentication. These results indicate promise for effective biometric systems. We anticipate further optimization will enhance accuracy and advance healthcare and security.

CyberGuy lists four apps that can help you when your WiFi slows down. It's hard to believe it's been six years since facial recognition technology became available on smartphones. All you have to do is simply look at the camera, and presto, your phone is unlocked. CLICK TO GET KURT'S FREE CYBERGUY NEWSLETTER WITH SECURITY ALERTS, QUICK TIPS, TECH REVIEWS, AND EASY HOW-TO'S TO MAKE YOU SMARTER However, while facial recognition technology can provide security, not all phone models are as secure as you may have been led to believe. Here's what we know and what you can do if you own one of these models. The U.K. group called Which says it tested the facial recognition quality of 48 different phones and found that 19 of those devices could not pass.

Feitian Technologies showed off its newest portfolio of four Android handheld devices, three of which include fingerprint biometrics, and which support an assortment of applications from law enforcement to voting. The Handheld Biometric Identification Terminal (V11) is a wireless, five-inch terminal with fingerprint, iris, and face biometric verification. Customers can choose between fingerprint sensors certified for single flat fingers at FAP30, FAP20, or FAP10, from Integrated Biometrics, Suprema, Idemia, Futronic, Aratek and SecuGen, according to the product page. The device also supports scanning of digital identity documents through NFC, MRZ Passport reading, and optical character recognition (OCR). The Multifunction Handheld Terminal (V12) terminal is intended for law enforcement that sports a fingerprint sensor with live finger detection, breathalyzer, and narcotics detector, and can issue tickets.

The Pixel 6 is the most intriguing phone Google has made in years. Not only is it a return to premium design with eye-catching colors and up to a 120Hz screen, it's also powered by the company's first mobile processor -- Tensor. With it, Google is promising serious improvements in AI performance and photography, including better voice recognition and Assistant features. Google also finally upgraded the Pixel's camera hardware instead of just relying on its processing smarts. That's not to say it's overlooked software this year.

The latest MacBook Pro, just released, means the entire Apple laptop range has now been refreshed with newer processors and, most importantly, the new Magic Keyboard. Apple's complete range of laptops offer striking design, sumptuous trackpads, excellent performance and gorgeous screens. The MacBook Air was the last to gain a Retina Display in late 2018. But there was one key ingredient which wasn't working quite as well as it should have been for many users: the keyboard. A few years back, Apple switched its keyboard mechanism from scissor-switch to butterfly.

You're wearing a mask, as encouraged by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and possibly by your local government during this coronavirus outbreak, and you want to use FaceID to open your iPhone or Android phone. Yes, says a Chinese researcher from Tencent's Xuanwu lab. But according to Apple, this is frowned upon big time and could affect the integrity of your phone. There are several hacks available online, and most will send the user to reregister for FaceID on the iPhone by covering the left and right side of their face separately. After the researcher from Tencent originally demonstrated and popularized this setup, many others copied and tweaked with videos on YouTube.

Are you ready to say goodbye to 2019? Tucked within that long list is the excitement of what 2020 will bring to the mobile world. Although 2019 wasn't exactly a banner year, it certainly set the stage for a lot of new technology trends to come. And thus, I pull out my 10 Ball of Prognostication and gaze deep into its shadowy realm to see what the upcoming 366 days--2020 is a leap year--have in store. If the Google Pixel 4 proved one thing, it's that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not only here to stay, it's going to continue to lead the mobility charge.

If you've been holding off on getting a new iPhone because Touch ID is gone, you might only have to wait another year. According to Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly testing iPhone prototypes with a new version of its Touch ID fingerprint sensor that's embedded in the display instead of inside a physical home button. The new in-display Touch ID would let "a user scan their fingerprint on a large portion of the display, and it would work in tandem with the existing Face ID system." SEE ALSO: What to expect from Apple's'iPhone 11' event on Sept. 10 The report corroborates an investor note by TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who said last month that Apple was planning to resurrect the fingerprint sensor for iPhones slated for 2021. Bloomberg's report, however, suggests Apple could be readying the new Touch ID for iPhones for 2020 -- a year earlier if testing is successful. Apple replaced Touch ID with Face ID on the iPhone X in 2017, and the latest iPhones -- the iPhone XS and iPhone XR -- don't have a fingerprint sensor, either.

It pretty much uses the same design as the G7 from last year, which means it doesn't have a triple-camera setup like the V40. But it just might be one of the most intriguing phones of the year. Whether that translates into sales is the big question, but my usually jaded hands couldn't wait to pick up the G8 following LG's briefing. I wanted to try it out almost as much as Samsung's $2,000 Galaxy Fold. And I walked away feeling like LG might be onto something, after a string of one-and-done gimmicks going all the way back to the G5's modular Friends accessories and the V20's second screen.

Huawei has made really good phones for years, but the Mate 20 Pro is the Chinese firm's first truly cutting-edge device with a triple camera, 3D face unlock and an in-screen fingerprint sensor. The Mate series of phones has always delivered one thing above all else – battery life. This year Huawei has gone out of its way to deliver even more. The Mate 20 Pro is the best feeling, most premium device the Chinese firm has made. It's incredibly solid, smooth and well built, but at 189g is still surprisingly light and manageable compared to the 208g iPhone XS Max and 201g Samsung Galaxy Note 9.