Fingerprint Cards annual report prioritizes smartcards, embedded and in-display sensors

In-display fingerprint sensors for the smartphone market will be a prioritized area of research and development for Fingerprint Cards, even as the company diversifies its focus to secure share in the emerging markets for biometric smart cards and automotive and embedded sensors, according to the company’s annual report for 2018 (PDF).

The average selling price of Fingerprint Cards’ products dropped by more than 30 percent from 2017 to 2018, resulting in uninspiring earnings for fiscal 2018, but there were still 63 mobile devices launched during the year with FPC fingerprint sensors, according to the report. CEO Christian Fredrikson says that with the launch of its new optical in-display sensor in February, the company addresses a valuable niche in the mobile biometrics market.

“The volumes are still relatively small but in 2019, I expect that in-display technology will account for a significant share of the total value of the fingerprint sensor market for smartphones,” he says. “This also means that biometric solutions for smartphones are once again a growing market.”

The area with the greatest potential for FPC, according to Fredrikson, is biometric smart cards. All publicly announced trials of contactless biometric cards announced so far include FPC sensors, and while the penetration rate will grow more slowly than in the mobile industry, the potential is huge, with over 4 billion smart cards produced each year.

In the automotive and embedded segment, there is interest in biometric applications for vehicles, locks, entry systems, manufacturing technology, medical devices and household items. Fingerprint Cards will initially address this market, which it refers to as “fragmented,” with a focus on biometric solutions for entry systems and vehicles, and capturing a large share of the market for iris recognition for India’s Aadhaar system.

Since the end of fiscal 2018, FPC has announced new biometric card partnerships, and smartphone integrations and embedded products.

The report also reviews Fingerprint Cards’ portfolio, partners, and values, and considers the sustainable development efforts the company has made.

Article Topics

automotive biometrics  |  biometric cards  |  embedded systems  |  financial results  |  Fingerprint Cards  |  fingerprint sensors  |  smartphones