Fingerprint scanning on mobile devices and earning bitcoins may soon both get upgrades as new technologies to improve them are already being developed.

Every week we round up the latest developments in the Smart World, from new developer platforms to smart city initiatives around the world. Here’s what you missed in the Smart World:

Next-gen fingerprint tech for mobile and IoT devices announced

Ultrasound biometric technology company Sonavation, Inc. announced SonicTouch, an advanced authentication solution for digital device security. This new technology eliminates the need to etch out or cut into the protective display glass to integrate the ultrasound biometric technology on any device, thus keeping the full strength of the glass. Future smartphones and tablets could have a fingerprint scanner right on the display, with no need for specialized buttons or sensors.

Read more about SonicTouch here.

21 Bitcoin Computer Mechanical Turk concept previewed by Jeff Garzik

Bitcoin core developer and luminary Jeff Garzik released a preview of a proof-of-concept Mechanical Turk using 21, Inc.’s 21 Bitcoin Computer and its discovery marketplace. A Mechanical Turk is a crowdsource Internet marketplace that enables individuals to coordinate the use of human intelligence to perform tasks that computers are currently unable to do. But what Garzik aims to accomplish with his proof-of-concept is for 21 to facilitatee the Internet of Things or autonomous devices to make their own money and exchange bitcoins for services from other devices.

Read more about this proof-of-concept here.

Tune in next week for more interesting stories, discoveries and innovations in the world of smart and connected things.

Photo by CPOA