Fujitsu Cuts Power Costs For Unified Communications PCs – CeBIT 2014

Fujitsu has launched two multimedia business PCs that can double as deskphones, thanks to a power-saving mode which the company explained at the launch in CeBIT 2014 in Hannover.

The Esprimo X923 PC is equipped for voice and video communications with a headset, telephone-style handset, webcam, microphones and speakers. It also features a power-saving feature that Fujitsu calls low-power active mode (LPAM), which suspends the system while still maintaining an active network connection.

Communications tool

While in that mode, power-hungry applications such as browsers and office tools are suspended, but communications tools such as voice-over IP programs can receive incoming calls, which wake up the system, Fujitsu said. The feature means that users can leave the system active at all times for communications purposes without running up excessive power bills.

In the new low-power mode the PC consumes about 5 watts, about 45 percent less than the 9.1W consumed when a PC is simply idling, and far lower than the 56W the system would consume when operating at full capacity. However, it still consumes several times more power than the 1.6W of full sleep mode.

The PC includes a 23-inch Full-HD monitor and can use Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 processors. It takes up to 16GB of RAM, runs WIndows 7 or Windows 8.1 and, for storage purposes, comes with either a hard disk drive of up to 1TB or a solid-state drive of up to 500GB.

The system includes gigabit Ethernet, six USB ports and a sensor that indicates to the system when the user is away from the keyboard.

Fujitsu also introduced the X923-T variant which adds touch features to the monitor, but which currently isn’t offered with the multimedia kit such as handset and headset. Both systems are available across Europe immediately, with price varying by country, according to Fujitsu.

Laptop with palm-vein authentication

Also at CeBIT Fujitsu demonstrated the palm-vein sensors it plans to add to the Lifebook U904 business laptops due out this week.

The PalmSecure sensors, which Fujitsu argues are significantly more accurate than fingerprint scanners, are fitted to the right of the laptop’s keyboard, in the position occupied by the company’s current fingerprint sensors. When a user’s hand is held over the sensor, it authenticates based on the arrangement of the veins in the palm. Fujitsu has reportedly estimated that the scanner will add between 100 euros and 150 euros to the price of a laptop.

The Lifebook U904 weighs 1.39 kilograms and includes a 14-inch, 3200-by-1800 pixel display with touch features optional. Options include Intel Core vPro, i5 or i7 processors running up to 3.3GHz; up to 10GB of RAM; a hybrid 500GB hard disk drive or 512GB solid-state drive and a LTE 4G module.

Fujitsu is a pioneer of the palm vein authentication method, with several sensors already on the market; its Celsius H730, introduced last November, was the first laptop to feature this contactless biometrics technology.

PalmSecure technology

Palm vein authentication uses image recognition and optical technology to scan the normally invisible vein pattern of the palm, back of the hand and fingers. It works by irradiating the hand with near-infrared rays. The deoxidised haemoglobin in the palm veins absorbs these rays, thereby reducing the reflection rate and causing them to appear as a black pattern. This vein pattern is then verified against a pre-registered pattern to authenticate the individual.

This idea has been around for a while, but only Fujitsu currently offers contactless vein authentication that captures the image as soon as the user hovers their palm over the device. The company claims an incredibly low false acceptance rate – just 0.00008 percent, and says such authentication is almost impossible to forge, since the data is held inside the body. The stand-alone palm vein scanners have already been adopted by several Japanese banks and government organisations, and has even been built into a computer mouse.

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