Face and iris recognition advances could “cannibalize” fingerprint market share

Advances in face and iris recognition could soon “cannibalize” fingerprint market share for consumer electronics, according to a new report from ABI Research.

The Biometric Technologies and Applications report says that falling ASPs for iris modules and advances in machine learning algorithms for facial biometrics will slowly start to reduce fingerprint implementations, though more robust and spoof-resistant and in-display sensors from vendors including Fingerprint Cards, Qualcomm, Synaptics, and Goodix will push back.

“Even though fingerprint sensor ASPs have taken a significant hit over the last couple of years, total fingerprint sensor shipments for the entire consumer market is still estimated to reach 1.2 billion worldwide for 2018, thus ensuring its market dominance,” comments Dimitrios Pavlakis, Industry Analyst for ABI Research. “However, from established markets such as banking and payments to emerging ones like automotive and future-looking ones including robotics, we expect to see an increase in multi-modal applications and a scenario where biometrics is a critical component of a user’s digital ID in the emerging IoT ecosystem.”

ABI Research predicts that the dominance of single-modality applications will shift radically, spurred by cardless biometric ATMs developed by Diebold Nixdorf and Samsung, investments in biometrics by major automotive manufacturers, and APAC-region government mandates to expand biometric uses.

“Multimodal user authentication in the Internet of Things will not be another gimmicky option – it will be the security norm,” concludes Pavlakis.

NuData Security VP of Customer Success Ryan Wilk responded to the report. “The authentication market is in an innovation race to develop convenient, easy ways to verify people online, as cybercriminals have subverted all the static identifiers (passwords, usernames, and others),” Wilk said. “Different types of effective authentication solutions are coming to the forefront and being surpassed at a frenetic rate – everything from fingerprints to iris and face scans. However, one thing that does not change is human behavior; an identifier that cybercriminals cannot mimic. Better understanding and contextualizing human behavior (not just their physical characteristics), companies can have a better understanding of who the human behind the device really is. Multi-layered technologies that include passive biometrics and behavioral analytics recognize inherent human patterns to accurately identify the correct customer without adding friction.”

ABI Research advises established vendors to plan their biometric portfolio in accordance with the market vertical they are addressing.

Article Topics

ABI Research  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  fingerprint recognition  |  iris recognition  |  multi-modal  |  NuData Security