DATA & SECURITY
Double-digit growth: Leveraging off-chip sensors to deliver lower-cost fingerprint solutions
A unique impression IDEX CEO Dr Hemant Mardia describes how the company has its fingerprints all over the secure identity industry IDEX has been in business a long time – for a fintech. Though not quite as long as the fingerprint technology it specialises in. And yet both are experiencing something of a coming-of-age as biometrics creates as big a buzz across the financial industry as blockchain. The first Fingerprint Bureau was established in Calcutta in 1897, after the use of fingerprints in crime detection was initially dismissed by the Metropolitan Police. Since then, the sophistication with which each person’s unique identity tag (more individual even than your DNA) can be used to discover and prevent unlawful activity has exceeded the 19th century pioneers’ wildest imaginings. Norwegian innovator IDEX started concentrating on our digits in 1996 and and remains a leading developer of
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fingerprint technology, offering both the conventional silicon-based sensors and unique off-chip sensors. Despite growing competition from potential alternatives in the burgeoning arena of biometrics – witness Apple’s recent decision to forgo a fingerprint sensor in the iPhone X in favour of facial recognition, while maintaining fingerprint biometrics in the new iPhone 8 and 8 Plus models. IDEX CEO Dr Hemant Mardia is unfazed. He’s confident the company’s proprietary technology, which allows fingerprint sensors to be embedded not just in mobiles, but in payment/ID smartcards and even devices connected by the Internet of Things, will allow it to maintain a firm grip on the identity market. “We are a pioneer of fingerprint sensing; in pureplay fingerprint solutions,” says Mardia.
“There are a number of fingerprint sensors deployed in mobiles, for instance, but our solution is unique in that it uses what we call off-chip sensing, as the ASIC is separated from the sensing array, which which means we can make a sensor at very low cost and out of different materials, like polymer. Therefore, we can make fingerprint sensors fit into things that are thin and flexible, for example a standard credit card.” In April, Mastercard unveiled its next-generation biometric card, featuring IDEX's off-chip fingerprint sensor. “Our technology can incorporate very high-quality fingerprints in a robust format and at a cost that allows mass deployment,” explains Mardia. “This is both a breakthrough and an area where IDEX has strong patent coverage and a history of revolutionary product design. Autumn 2017