Credit: LG Innotek
LG Innotek, a subsidiary of South Korean electronics giant LG, on Monday unveiled a new fingerprint sensor module that is embedded in a smartphone’s cover glass.
Unlike other fingerprint readers that require users to scan their finger on a raised square or circular button on the phone, the new design integrates the sensor into the lower portion of a handset’s cover glass.
According to LG, the module will enable sleeker smartphone designs while maintaining device security standards. The under-glass reader comes with a false fingerprint acceptance rate of 0.002 percent, the company said.
The technology appears to be similar to solutions released by Qualcomm in March 2015 and Synaptics in November. Qualcomm said its Sense ID 3D fingerprint technology was expected to hit the market in commercial devices in the second half of 2015. Synaptics’ under cover glass fingerprint reader was scheduled to become available in the first quarter of this year.
LG Innotek said it is hoping the new under-glass reader will help it capitalize on a dramatic increase in the demand for fingerprint recognition technology. According to market research firm IHS, approximately 499 million fingerprint sensors were sold globally in 2015. That figure is expected to rise to 1.6 billion by 2020.
A company spokeswoman told The Korea Times LG is already in talks with handset manufacturers to commercialize the modules within the year.
