A Cambridge business has joined up with a French company to develop the first-ever high-definition flexible fingerprint scanner.
FlexEnable (
www.flexenable.com), which specialises in organic flexible semiconductors, has been working alongside ISORG, which is a leader in the field of organic photo-detectors and large-area image sensors in printed electronics. Together they have produced the 500dpi scanner, which is only 0.3mm thick.
As well as scanning fingerprints, the sensor can capture veins; this provides a second level of security, since each person’s finger vein pattern is unique. It can be curved and applied to any surface, so it could lead to new applications such as wrap-around fingerprint sensors for mobile phones or steering wheels.
CEO Chuck Milligan said: “The development of this plastic device represents a major breakthrough in the commercialisation of flexible fingerprint sensors, paving the way for FBI certification of low-cost and flexible sensors. This will open the door to a wider range of applications, including law enforcement, border control and high-security banking.
We are working with the whole supply chain to get this technology into products, and we welcome customers who are interested in integrating the sensor into their applications.” The sensor was on show at the
Biometrics 2016 exhibition in London.