Qualcomm has its sights set on leading the fingerprint sensor market by announcing its next-gen solutions at Mobile World Congress Shanghai.
At the event, the company revealed the sensor will utilize ultrasonic technology that can function under displays, glass, and metal. This fingerprint technology suited for displays “is the mobile industry’s first commercially announced multi-functional ultrasonic solution capable of scanning through OLED display stacks of up to 1200 µm,” according to Qualcomm in a press release.
The glass and metal sensors are also an industry first, claiming the ability to “scan through up to 800 µm of cover glass and up to 650 µm of aluminum, an improvement over the previous generation’s 400 µm capability for glass or metal.”
Surprisingly, there’s another feature to add to the list of inaugural commercial achievements. The sensors boast as the first commercially publicized integrated mobile solution with an ultrasonic foundation that can detect a person’s blood flow and heartbeat.
If the need arises, the new sensors also can accurately perform fingerprint identification while completely submerged underwater.
“We are excited to announce Qualcomm Fingerprint Sensors because they can be designed to support sleeker, cutting-edge form factors, unique mobile authentication experiences, and enhanced security authentication,” says Qualcomm’s Vice President of Product Management Seshu Madhavapeddy in a statement.
The sensors are expected to be implemented in commercial devices by the first half of 2018.