Today, BIO-key International and NEXT Biometrics announced a strategic hardware and software partnership that will see the former’s fingerprint matching algorithm on the latter’s new low-cost sensors. With this partnership, BIO-key has placed a purchase order for the sensors, which the company will include in its new line of fingerprint scanner devices. According to a brief from Reuters, the order is for 75,000 units.
“This collaboration is a perfect match for both parties,” says NEXT CEO Tore Etholm-Idsøe. “NEXT Biometrics will, by including BIO-key in our ‘NEXT Certified Partner Program,’ further enhance its offering in the design and price focused Smartphone and Tablet space and at the same time, we get a new, attractive, sensor customer.”
Michael DePasquale, CEO and chairman of BIO-key comments that his company is proud to have been selected by NEXT and that both parties’ offerings and goals compliment each other.
“Consumers have accepted the value proposition of fingerprint authentication, as evidenced by the success of Apple’s Touch ID,” says DePasquale, “yet there has not been a high quality area sensor USB peripheral available for the mass market with a list price below $40. Our customers in the financial services, retail and healthcare verticals are requesting high quality, low cost area placement sensors to be deployed in volume, and this partnership with NEXT will facilitate that into 2015,”
In terms of NEXT’s commitment to the mobile market, having low cost, high performance sensors with a robust algorithm will be a boon. Though mobile biometrics are expected to reach maturity before the end of this decade, the fingerprint smartphone space is currently limited mostly to flagship devices. Having low cost post-password solutions aimed at the smartphone and tablet market is an important factor in the growth of consumer.mobile biometric adoption.
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September 19, 2014 – by Peter B. Counter
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