Idex claims new BSoC delivers at least 3x faster biometric payment card processing

Idex Biometrics says the new version of its TrustedBio fingerprint technology is three to four times faster than competitor solutions on the market for biometric payment cards, in addition to its support for lower-cost secure elements.

The TrustedBio Max achieves its higher processing speed due to several innovations explained in a company announcement. The biometric-system-on-chip scans and matches fingerprints in only 250 milliseconds on an Infineon SLC38 security controller, the company claims, due to its use of a biometric vector accelerator, which works as a coprocessor to compliment the ARM Cortex-M3 processor subsystem, accelerating the matcher algorithm.

The partners combined to release a reference design for next-generation biometric payment cards last month.

The technology also enables standard secure elements to be used, as opposed to the higher-cost SEs previously required.

Other elements contributing to the speed of TrustedBio Max include the large 9.5mm-squared surface area of the fingerprint sensor, a third-generation capacitive scan engine, and efficient energy harvesting with advanced power management, Idex Biometrics explains. The ARM processor runs at speeds of up to 200 MHz.

To match the BSoC’s speed, Idex estimates a processor operating at more than 300 MHz would be necessary, which the company says is at least three times faster than the processors used in other biometric cards.

The TrustedBio Max BSoC and associated reference design are intended to simplify card design for manufacturers, and keep development costs low.

The market potential is enormous; Goode Intelligence has forecast that 1 in 5 payment cards will feature biometrics by 2026.

Article Topics

AI chips  |  biometric cards  |  biometric matching  |  biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  fingerprint recognition  |  fingerprint sensors  |  Idex Biometrics  |  Infineon  |  research and development  |  secure element