Fingerprint readers have opened up an exciting new frontier in device security, allowing users to take advantage of biometrics—certain measures of biology like fingerprints, voiceprints and others—as a means to protect accounts or devices outright from intrusion.
LG is taking this a step farther by showing off a whole new fingerprint module, one that actually has its own place in a device.
LG accomplished this by inserting a small groove into the chassis of the device, just under the screen, which measures 0.3 millimeters, or around 0.01 inches.
The fingerprint scanner was then attached using a proprietary adhesive, allowing the fingerprint sensor to be kept under a layer of glass.
Despite this, the glass almost never interferes with the sensor’s operations, yielding an error rate of just 0.002 percent, or a success rate of 99.998 percent, approaching the five-nines—99.999 percent—level that is regarded as the gold standard of perfection for any human-built system.
LG expects that the new system will not only produce better aesthetics, but also will improve durability, allowing for devices to be both waterproof and scratchproof while still allowing tools like biometrics to be used at all.
The downside here is that no one’s exactly sure just when this system will start arriving on commercially-available devices. Reports suggest it may be available before the end of this year, but there’s nothing concrete available on that as yet.
A device that can handle biometrics today is more likely to be used not only today, but tomorrow also. Since biometrics are being increasingly regarded as the next best thing to passwords—two-factor authentication and some other methods are also being considered—devices that can handle such tools today are increasingly welcome. That’s a point that’s valuable for businesses to keep in mind, and LG—which hasn’t exactly been on top of the heap against competitors Apple and Samsung—may be able to put a reputation for biometric excellence to work in its favor.
With the mobile device market remaining competitive, using better compatibility with mobile payments platforms could be a draw. Throw in the enhanced security of biometrics, and the fact that LG has its own mobile payments system upcoming in LG Pay, and LG’s new push for biometrics likely to be built into future devices might just give it a little extra edge in the market.