Patent ID: 7620212

Claim:
A device comprising: a plurality of light sources, wherein at least two of the plurality of light sources provide light with distinct wavelengths; a light detector, wherein the distance between the light detector and at least one of the plurality of light sources is different than the distance between the light detector and another of the plurality of the light sources; and a processor configured to operate the light sources and the light detector to perform a plurality of distinct functions, wherein at least one of the distinct functions comprises a biometric identification function comprising: propagating light from the plurality of light sources into presented material, and diffusely reflecting the propagated light toward the light detector; receiving the diffusely reflected light with the light detector; and identifying the presented material from the received light based on the wavelength characteristics of the received light and the distance between the source and the detector; and wherein another of the distinct functions comprises a nonidentification function performed with the light sources and the light detector.