New phone biometrics patent for Apple as Meeami, Precise announce integrations

It is an eventful week for technological advances in smartphones, with Meeami announcing a new version of its voice biometrics tool, and a Precise Biometrics fingerprint authentication algorithm implemented in the Vivo iQOO 8 Pro smartphone. Also, Apple had another facial recognition-focused patent approved, and Google is rumored to bring back Face Unlock on the Pixel 6.

Meeami biometric solution featured in 10M phones

The company recently announced its Speaker ID technology and products are currently in production in over ten million smartphones.

A new version of Meeami’s flagship on-device biometric solution, which uses artificial intelligence-based deep learning technologies to uniquely identify and authenticate users in many scenarios, is now available as well.

Speaker ID also comes with MVNS (Multi-Variate Noise Suppression) capabilities, to identify and suppress many types of noises, according to the announcement.

“The uniqueness of Meeami Speaker ID is its robust performance in noisy conditions found at home and in-office environments,” explained Pankaj Joshi, head of Product at Meeami Technologies.

Meeami has reportedly tested Speaker ID to perform biometric phone unlocking, user login on PCs, multi-factor user authentication, and fraud detection for e-commerce purchases, bank transactions, and ATM cash withdrawals.

“Unlike some competing solutions that need to send data to the cloud for speaker ID to work, Meeami Speaker ID is completely secure as it works totally on the edge without sending any data to the cloud,” Joshi concluded.

Precise Biometrics’ tech included in Vivo iQOO 8 Pro

The in-display fingerprint component is a collaboration between Precise Biometrics and Qualcomm Technologies.

The companies have integrated the Precise BioMatch algorithm with the Qualcomm in-display Fingerprint 3D Sonic Max Sensor through an existing partnership.

The first integration of the 3D Sonic Max Sensor is with the Vivo iQOO 8 Pro, a flagship smartphone released in China on August 26th, while the previously-announced integration with the Sharp AQUOS R6 smartphone is slated to reach the market later in September.

The 20x30mm fingerprint sensor is based on ultrasonic technology and is reportedly one of the largest in-display sensors on the market.

Its large size hints at improved efficiency when unlocking using a fingerprint (early tests suggest 0.2 seconds), as well as simultaneous scanning of two fingers for enhanced security, and scanning of fingerprints even when wet utilizing ultrasonic waves.

Apple granted new facial recognition patent

The document has patent number 11,113,510 and describes “virtual templates for facial recognition.”

The technology allows users to capture specific biometric templates of their face, for instance, during an onboarding process, and then store them for later use during authentication actions.

“If the unlock image is successful in unlocking the device, the generated feature vectors may be stored as temporary templates in the device,” the text of the patent reads.

Additional temporary templates may be then added as the user continues to successfully unlock the device using the facial recognition authentication process.

According to the patent, after a certain number of temporary templates are added, the temporary templates may be assessed to calculate a “virtual” template from the temporary templates.

“The virtual template may be, for example, a median template in a cluster of the temporary templates in a feature space,” the patent explains.

The technology, which may be implemented as part of Face ID on iPhones and iPads in the future, aims to create a more secure authentication process by selecting an image that is the result of multiple photos taken of the user over a certain period of time.

It is not clear when or if Apple will actually implement the tech in future devices, but the patent and its developments are nonetheless interesting ones to follow.

Google rumored to bring back Face Unlock on Pixel 6

Google may bring back Face Unlock capabilities when it releases the Pixel 6, according to a recent Forbes post, which explains how Face Unlock was possible in the Pixel 4 thanks to the Soli radar chip, which was then replaced by a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner in the Pixel 5.

According to the article, the choice may have been caused by the necessity of reducing the smartphone’s cost, but also to counter the lack of mask detection capabilities in the Pixel 4 at the height of the pandemic.

The Pixel 6 should be a powerhouse, however, so the implementation of a Soli chip may be possible from a hardware perspective.

Moreover, Google has recently implemented the chip in its Nest Hub 2, showing the tech giant has not abandoned its developments.

Will Face Unlock make a return on the Pixel 6? We will find out soon enough, with Google’s new phones rumored to be announced at some point in October.

Article Topics

algorithms  |  Apple  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  fingerprint sensors  |  Google  |  patents  |  Precise Biometrics  |  Qualcomm  |  smartphones  |  ultrasonic fingerprints  |  voice biometrics