Siemens AG has unveiled its FingerTip security sensor technology for use in smart cards but SGS-Thomson SA may beat it to market with a similar product that it demonstrated in the US last May. Siemens’ FingerTip sensor technology is able to read a fingerprint on a single piece of silicon. The card holder puts his finger on the silicon chip which identifies the peaks and troughs of the user’s fingerprint using electronic impulse signals. These are then compared to the original print stored in the smart card’s main chip to identify the user. Siemens said that the present prototype is based on standard CMOS technology and supplies a resolution of 500 dots per inch. Siemens will be demonstrating the technology at the CardTech/Secure Tech show in Washington DC this summer, but SGS Thomson demonstrated its technology at the show last year. Siemens is now demonstrating the technology in the UK for the first time at the SmartCard show in London this week. Siemens is just at the prototype stage with OEM product expected by the year end, while SGS-Thomson could have a product by the end of the second quarter. SGS-Thomson is not giving away much detail, but said it is in the process of developing a full system based around the chip to ready it for real market applications. Lucent Technologies is also developing a similar electronic fingerprint reader system of its own. In addition, there is research being carried out in optical fingerprint recognition, but these are not comparable either in technology or price, one spokesperson said.
