SAN FRANCISCO & MELBOURNE, FL /BUSINESS WIRE/ -- AuthenTec, a leading provider of security, identity management, and touch-control solutions, unveiled the "world's smallest fingerprint sensor for combining authentication and navigation functions in one device, the AES850." This small, low-profile sensor is designed and packaged for easy integration as the central navigation key on QWERTY keypads or any dedicated navigation-function device, and offers the size, low power, and biometric performance required by today's leading smartphone manufacturers. The AES850 also functions as an authentication and secondary navigation device on touchscreen smartphones to facilitate efficient menu and feature navigation. AuthenTec will show the AES850 to key customers at its exhibit, booth 238, during this week's CTIA Enterprise & Applications 2010 conference and exhibition.
The AES850—formerly codenamed Saturn—combines fast optical joystick and trackball-like cursor and menu navigation control, with fingerprint authentication, adding convenient security and personalization features at a cost that is comparable to single-purpose navigation devices, such as optical joysticks or other mobile phone navigation trackpads. The AES850 is the first AuthenTec sensor to feature an 'authenticate to wake' feature, whereby a user can swipe the sensor when the phone is in standby mode, and the phone's CPU will match a fingerprint image prior to powering up. This helps conserve battery power and allows the AES850 to act as a power button that only works for a registered user. This newest addition to AuthenTec's smart sensor portfolio complements the company's AES1750 smart sensor, which is tailored for easy integration in touchscreen-enabled smartphones.
"Our new AES850 is the smallest, fully-featured sensor ever offered by AuthenTec, and is the result of our close collaboration with the world's leading smartphone manufacturers," said Art Stewart, Vice President of AuthenTec's Smart Sensor Solutions. "Saturn is optimized for the demanding requirements of today's touchscreen and QWERTY-equipped smartphones and feature phones, providing excellent biometric and navigation performance in the smallest, most durable package we have ever offered. This new sensor is also a perfect fit for consumer electronics, such as remote controls that require convenient navigation and personalization. We can now offer smartphone and feature phone OEMs the option of adding cost-effective smart sensor technology for navigation and authentication via our compact AES850 or via our AES1750 sensor for larger form factor needs."
Designed using AuthenTec's new, 8 mm by 8 mm TouchStone II package, the AES850 uses a high-definition 92 pixel by 8 pixel sensor array to produce outstanding fingerprint image quality at 500 dot-per-inch (DPI) resolution. The ultra-thin 1.2 mm Line Grid Array (LGA) package is designed for easy integration into the center position above the QWERTY keypad, where it replaces navigation-only devices, such as directional pads, trackballs, or optical joysticks. It also serves as a smaller form factor option for touchscreen-based phones.
AES850 Features:
- Ultra-small form factor, 1.2 mm thin, 8 mm by 8 mm 22-pin molded LGA package
- Ultra-hard surface coating offers >9H scratch hardness
- 92 by 8 pixel sensor array provides 500 DPI resolution
- Mobile phone operating temperature range: –40°C to 85°C
- Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI & McBSP compatible)
- Fast I2C Interface (400 Kbps)
- On-chip direct ΔX, ΔY navigation output reduces data payload and processor loading
- Low current consumption @ 1.8 V
- Android, Windows Mobile, Linux, Symbian, and other OS Support
AuthenTec's patented TruePrint RF technology and TrueMatch pattern-matching algorithms have been dramatically enhanced in the AES850 to enable the world's smallest smart sensor without compromising biometric performance. The device also integrates TrueNav cursor and menu navigation technology, providing on-chip motion estimation and track optimization for extremely accurate motion tracking for all types of finger motion, with added features, including precise cursor control and turbo-scrolling. The device requires no external clock source, and its on-chip full image buffer eliminates real-time software constraints and enables wake-on-authentication. The AES850 is expected to be available in production volumes by the first quarter of 2011.
More than 12 million mobile phones have included an AuthenTec sensor to provide one-touch access to content and services, secure mobile commerce, touchpad-like navigation, personal data privacy, and convenient security. AuthenTec sensors are based on the company's patented TruePrint technology to deliver extremely accurate and reliable fingerprint imaging by reading below the surface of the skin to the live layer, where a person's true fingerprint resides. This unique subsurface approach enables AuthenTec sensors to overcome common skin surface conditions to read virtually every fingerprint, every time.
About AuthenTec
AuthenTec is the "world's #1 provider of fingerprint sensors and identity management software, complemented by an embedded security portfolio, offering point-to-point security and content protection." AuthenTec provides security, identity management, and touch-control solutions for enterprise, consumer, and government applications to a growing base of top-tier global customers. With nearly 100 million fingerprint sensors shipped, the company's smart sensor products, software, and embedded security solutions are used in virtually every aspect of life, from the PC on your desk to the mobile device in your hand to the server in the cloud. AuthenTec offers developers and users secure and convenient ways to manage today's rapidly evolving digital identities and security needs. For more information, follow us on Twitter.