IDloop develops 3D fingerprint scanner with microscopic resolution, joins accelerator

Germany-based IDloop has developed a contactless 3D fingerprint scanner that it says is the first of its kind with microscopic resolution.

The company pitches its new biometric technology as a way to quickly compare fingerprints against existing databases collected with contact-based scanners, like the three billion people already registered in government databases.

While contact scanners are time-consuming, inconvenient and unsanitary, according to IDloop, contactless scanners are often not secure, or generate biometric templates in data formats that make them incompatible with legacy databases.

IDloop’s optical scanner captures fingerprints with microscopic resolution in a fraction of a second, the company says, and acquisition of prints from all ten fingers takes less than ten seconds, including post-processing. This could benefit applications like airport security checks.

The patent-pending scanner calculates 2D grayscale images in real-time from images with a resolution of 10 micrometers, with matching accuracy and spoof detection benefits.

“The micrometer-precise capture of moving objects, for example the hand in our scanner, is one of the most challenging tasks in biometric image capture,” says IDloop CEO Jörg Reinhold, as translated from German by Google. “With high-performance graphics processors and software based on artificial intelligence, we managed to accommodate this complex topic in an easy-to-use device that measures just 15 x 15 x 15 cm.”

The company explained its use of structured light to capture 3D biometrics in a presentation for the EAB last year.

The European Commission has selected IDloop’s project for its EIC Accelerator, committing 10 million euros (approximately US$10.6 million), to bring the technology to market. The support is provided in the form of subsidies and investments from the fund.

Article Topics

3D  |  biometrics  |  contactless biometrics  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  fingerprint scanners  |  IDloop  |  research and development