FPC: Don't wait! Mass production of fingerprint recognition under the full screen will take time

The release of Samsung's Galaxy S8 series flagship phones in the global market has ignited consumers' enthusiasm for chasing full-screen displays. Accompanied by various spy photos of iPhone 8, this demand has been pushed to a climax. However, in order to achieve a full screen, the front Home button + fingerprint recognition position is banned, how to achieve fingerprint recognition has become the focus of attention in the industry.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 placed fingerprint recognition next to the rear camera, which has attracted numerous complaints about fingerprints and location. How the iPhone 8 does, the demand for full-screen fingerprint recognition has become stronger. Recently, Jiwei.com reporters exclusively interviewed Christian Fredrikson, President and CEO of Swedish fingerprint recognition technology company Fingerprint Cards (hereinafter referred to as “FPC”). The answer was, “As far as we know, no one in the industry can achieve this. One function."

The evolution route of fingerprint recognition

According to Christian Fredrikson, at present, the evolution of fingerprint recognition is roughly divided into three stages. In the first stage, fingerprint recognition under the glass, which is currently the solution most adopted in the market, has been realized. In the second stage, there are more discussions on in-screen fingerprint recognition in the market, which is realized in a specific area. In fact, from the user experience point of view, it did not bring actual innovation. Even if other technologies are used to implement this function, users still need to place their fingers under a specific area. The third stage is the fingerprint recognition of any area in the full screen, which is generally considered to be innovative in the industry. Fingerprint recognition can be realized at any position on the full screen, and the user experience is greatly improved.

For the implementation time of the third phase of fingerprint recognition, Christian Fredrikson did not give an accurate date, but he said that FPC is working hard and it is relatively close to the final implementation. At this stage, the source of innovation is more driven by ID design. In order to make mobile phones look better, they cannot weigh the quality, safety, and ease of use of the product. At present, there is no manufacturer in the market for Produce products that meet the standards.

Ted Hansson, senior vice president of FPC mobile phone products, added that at this stage, the source of innovation is more driven by ID design. In order to make the phone look better, it cannot weigh the maturity, security and user experience of the product. FPC has always been regarded as a trusted company in the industry, and the product quality proves everything. With more than 20 years of accumulation in this industry, we have very strict standards at every stage from the initial wafer quality, packaging, and modules to the final application to mobile phones to ensure that our products are in the market. Competitiveness.

Ted Hansson pointed out that in the second stage of fingerprint recognition in a specific area of ​​the screen, since it cannot accurately find the recognition position, it is not convenient for consumers to use, but it brings unnecessary troubles in terms of user experience. FPC's Under Glass hidden fingerprint recognition design, from a technical point of view, has achieved this function, and it is more in line with consumer habits in terms of ease of use. It can be accurate even if you close your eyes in any direction and any position. Find the location of fingerprint recognition to meet the needs of users in different application scenarios. However, if it is fingerprint recognition in a specific area of ​​the screen, it does not bring users the best experience.

The trend of multi-biological recognition is obvious

In recent years, with the widespread application of fingerprint identification solutions, FPC products have now been covered from the highest-end mobile phones to the lowest-end. The full coverage product line has helped fingerprint identification mobile phones to gain further penetration.

Christian Fredrikson said that the combination of multiple biometrics will become more and more obvious, and the Samsung S8 using a fingerprint sensor and iris recognition system is the best attempt. FPC hopes to maintain its advantages in the field of fingerprint recognition. In the future, it will invest and try other biometric methods including iris recognition, and then become the leader in the entire biometric field, such as the combination of voice recognition and cloud, terminal and cloud Data exchange, etc.

According to Jiwei.com, in February 2017, FPC acquired Delta ID, a US algorithm company, for US$106 million to strengthen its layout in the field of iris recognition. Delta ID provides technology for Fujitsu's Arrows NX F-04G, the world's first smartphone with iris recognition, and is committed to providing mobile terminals to achieve active iris high-speed biometric authentication technology, which is mainly used for secure unlocking, secure payment, and enterprise-level portal login Wait.

In the field of iris recognition technology, algorithms and software play a vital role, because the biggest difficulty of iris recognition lies in the accuracy of information collection and comparison, which largely depends on the advanced degree of its own algorithms. Currently, iris collection projects are carried out in many places. Due to the uniqueness and accuracy of its information characteristics, iris recognition has been adopted by many countries in recent years, including countries such as India, Mexico, Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates. They have all carried out national-level iris information collection. project. Christian Fredrikson said that the Indian government has applied iris recognition to the entire national security, collecting everyone's fingerprints and iris, and established a standardization organization to help many manufacturers use it in more applications, including security verification and other fields.

Whether it is fingerprint recognition or other biometrics, the most important thing is security. Christian Fredrikson said that with Delta ID, FPC will become the only company in the industry that provides fingerprint recognition and iris recognition, providing the most secure protection for user data, and realizing practical applications in more fields including payment. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the second quarter of this year.

There are three major technologies in the field of fingerprint recognition, the traditional capacitive, optical and ultrasonic three methods, each of which has its own strengths and limitations. The traditional capacitive type has a limit to the thickness of the glass size, and it does not perform well under humidity conditions, and has its limitations in other aspects. It is not a new technology to read data by means of light or sound waves. What we need to do Is to ensure data security.

Ted Hansson pointed out that although there are manufacturers that make other biometric demo products, making a demo and finally achieving mass production are two different things. At present, in terms of quality, safety, productivity, and cost, there is no mature optical solution in the industry. Ultrasound still has some challenges. FPC has also invested a lot of resources in the development of optics and ultrasound, and will not be introduced to the market until the product has a certain degree of maturity.

Over half of the market share is still the market leader

According to data from the third-party research company GFK, the market share of FPC in the first quarter of 2017 was still around 55%, which was still 3 to 4 times that of other manufacturers. Synaptics' market share has dropped significantly, and Goodix's market share is still growing. According to data in 2016, Goodix and Synopsys have a combined market share of 35%, and FPC is still the market leader in smartphone (Android) fingerprint recognition chips.

Christian Fredrikson admitted that FPC is losing a certain market share, and it is more normal in the mobile phone field, mainly due to the dual-supplier strategy of mobile phone manufacturers. He predicted that the competition in the field of fingerprint recognition will become increasingly fierce and will continue this year. Competitor products are maturing, FPC products are also evolving normally, and some minor competitors will gradually be eliminated. According to Jiwei.com, Huawei’s latest flagship model, Huawei P10, uses fingerprint recognition solutions from FPC and Goodix.

FPC's latest financial report shows that in the first quarter of 2017, revenue was 685.9 million Swedish kronor, a 54% decrease from the same period last year. This was due to the accumulation of inventory in the supply chain and the increase in competitors, which negatively affected delivery and revenue. . FPC expects this phenomenon to improve in the second quarter.

FPC revenue in 2016 was SEK 6638 million, an increase of 129%, making it the best year in history. In 2016, a total of about 136 mobile phones adopted the FPC fingerprint recognition solution, and the FPC market share was about 55%~60%. More than 10 billion people use FPC products every day. On the whole, the company expects annual revenue growth of about 20% and operating profit ratio of 30% to 35% from 2017 to 2019. The growth momentum comes from the continuous growth of the smartphone market and its optimism in the areas of PC, smart card and Internet of Things with fingerprint recognition Functional trends.