FPC Tech Integrated Into ‘Smart Suitcase’

Fingerprint Cards is seeing a relatively unusual application of its biometric sensor technology, with the company announcing that it has been integrated into a new suitcase from China-based luggage brand 90FUN.

The latter is perhaps best known for its Puppy1 smart suitcase, which is designed to follow the user around automatically, and balance itself using the same kind of technology that keeps Segways upright. But the brand could spark a little more media and consumer attention with its newest offering, which uses the FPC fingerprint sensor in its locking mechanism; its listing on the company’s website features a GIF highlighting the speed and simplicity of unlocking the suitcase with a fingerprint scan.

For its part, in announcing the new integration Fingerprint Cards asserted that 90FUN is a well-known suitcase brand of an “ecosystem partner” of Xiaomi, a China-based smartphone maker that has repeatedly integrated FPC sensors into its devices.

The use of an FPC sensor in a locking system for a suitcase, while novel for the company, appears to reflect a growing interest in this kind of technology in the luggage market as consumers around the world grow increasingly familiar with fingerprint recognition technology thanks to its proliferation across smartphones and other tech devices. The integration also reflects FPC’s interest in exploring new business areas beyond the now-saturated mobile market, though the company remains a very active player there as well.

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May 30, 2018 – by Alex Perala