LG unveils fingerprint sensor under smartphone display, no button needed

LG has unveiled a new fingerprint sensor module, which is embedded under the display glass of the smartphone, and does not require a separate physical button.

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LG has unveiled a new fingerprint sensor, which is right under the display glass.

LG has unveiled a new fingerprint sensor module, which is embedded under the display glass of the smartphone, and does not require a separate physical button. A device with such a display could be unlocked by just placing one’s finger on the screen, instead of giving the imprint on a separate button.

LG’s Innotek division says they “cut a shallow furrow of 0.01inches (0.3mm) thick on the lower backside of the cover glass and installed the fingerprint sensor inside of it” to create module. LG says the module has “high-strength cover glass” in order to protect the fingerprint sensor from scratches, water damage.

Essentially such a module might result in a sleeker device as the company won’t be adding another sensor to the home-button. For example, Samsung’s Galaxy S6, S7 series, or Apple’s iPhone devices come with a fingerprint sensor in the home-button.

LG claims that the senor is highly accurate compared to the regular button type sensor, and has false acceptance rate (FAR) of 0.002%. (The FAR is the probability that the system falsely recognises someone else’s fingerprint as that of the user.)

LG says it used a proprietary adhesive to attach the sensor to the glass, and claims it can endure high impact.

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“We are concentrating on all our resources to the development of the differentiated technology based on the creation of customer values,” said Kim Chang-hwan, LG Innotek’s research and development center chief.

We’ll have to wait and see which smartphones come with this new fingerprint sensor from LG.