-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- pcb007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueThe Growing Industry
In this issue of PCB007 Magazine, we talk with leading economic experts, advocacy specialists in Washington, D.C., and PCB company leadership to get a well-rounded picture of what’s happening in the industry today. Don’t miss it.
The Sustainability Issue
Sustainability is one of the most widely used terms in business today, especially for electronics and manufacturing but what does it mean to you? We explore the environmental, business, and economic impacts.
The Fabricator’s Guide to IPC APEX EXPO
This issue previews many of the important events taking place at this year's show and highlights some changes and opportunities. So, buckle up. We are counting down to IPC APEX EXPO 2024.
- Articles
Article Highlights
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - pcb007 Magazine
Biometrics for Consumer: From Convenience to Security to Feature
December 10, 2018 | Yole DéveloppementEstimated reading time: 4 minutes
Over the last five years, the promising and highly dynamic consumer biometric sensor market has been totally reshaped, announces Yole Développement in its latest technology & market report, Consumer Biometrics: Market and Technologies Trends.
Under this new analysis, the market research and strategy consulting company, Yole provides a deep understanding of the biometric business with key market metrics, dynamics and major technology trends. The analysts outline the related applications for the key existing markets as well as the emerging ones. This report points out the evolution of the value chain and the infrastructure. It describes also the competitive landscape with major established and new players.
“After being developed for homeland security and used in industrial applications, the new target of biometrics is the consumer market since several years now”, comments Guillaume Girardin, PhD, Director, Photonics, Sensing & Display division at Yole.
The “first wave” of biometric technology came five years ago, bringing fingerprint authentication (among other things) to the mass market. Apple introduced TouchID capacitive technology for the iPhone 5S, pushing Android players to embrace the biometric sensing market. This massive upturn in interest fueled the fingerprint sensing market up to US$3.5 billion in value by the end of 2017…
As anticipated by Yole in mid-2016, biometry’s “second wave” began with the introduction of the iPhone X in September 2017, when Apple set the standard for technological advancement (and use-cases) for 3D sensing in consumer. Apple conceived a complex assembly of camera modules and VCSEL light sources using structured light principles, along with an innovative NIR global shutter image sensor from STMicroelectronics to perform secure 3D facial recognition.
System Plus Consulting, partner of Yole, is strongly involved in the analysis of the latest biometrics identification solutions in the smartphones. Thanks to its expertise, the company identifies the technologies, the related process flows and suppliers and evaluate the related manufacturing costs. The iPhone X 3D sensing solutions as well as other systems such as the VIVO X21UD Fingerprint under Display, the Oppo Find X 3D Face Recognition, the Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer and others are part of the collection of reports proposed by the reverse engineering and costing company, System Plus Consulting.
“In the latest year the biometric solution of the fingerprint has been integrated or replaced by a more complex 3D face recognition structure; this trends is visible in all the flagship smartphones”, says Audrey Lahrach, Cost Analyst at System Plus Consulting.
This second wave, led by biometry with 3D sensing, is ongoing and will increase market value toward $17 billion by 2022. But biometry is not only a matter of fingerprint or face detection but also iris and voice recognition. Regarding the overall breakdown of biometry recognition, Yole’s biometric report estimates that the proportion of each type of detection will be quite unbalanced in the future.
“At Yole we think that 60% of biometric module in volume will be coming from face recognition module while fingerprint, about 40% will see a decrease over time of its value due to competition and alternative implementation leading to cost reduction”, explains Guillaume Girardin from Yole.
Within the consumer biometric sector, corporate culture and cost-effectiveness clearly drive technology choices, explains the Photonic, Sensing & Display team at Yole. In mid-2016, Apple decided for “structured light approach” as a strategic choice: a complex supply chain with low yield that would achieve integration of the TrueDepth camera, which at the time only Apple could afford such complexity and cost. This fit with the company’s “it just works” philosophy, and there was no compromise on fingerprint integration, biometric security, etc. Ultimately, Apple raised the bar so high that it would take Android players more than a full year before they could access the same technology at an affordable price.
For 35 years it has been in Apple’s DNA to innovate on HMI side of computing. This is why it’s not surprising that Apple brought to market the most advanced biometric solutions, combined with nice-to-have features like animojis targeting the social media culture.
Because they lacked Apple’s in-house capabilities, most Android firms opted against 3D sensing and instead chose to integrate innovative under-display fingerprint technology that achieves phone unlock and online payment functions similar to Apple’s (albeit with a somewhat compromised user experience), along with 2D facial recognition integrated with the front camera module, moving to 3D facial recognition on flagship like Oppo Find X or Xiaomi Mi8 Explorer
“Interestingly, we now see Chinese players closing in fast behind Apple, thanks in large part to a fruitful partnership across their supply chain”, asserts Jérôme Mouly, Senior Technology & Market Analyst at Yole. And he adds: “In fact, these players have engineered a 3D sensing solution comparable to Apple’s, and within only one year: i.e. Huawei’s Mate Pro 20 and Xiaomi’s MI8, both of which incorporate an embedded structured-light module for 3D sensing and biometric features.”
In fact, the proliferation of biometric modules across other consumer devices will trigger huge gains for the biometric hardware market over the next five years.
Suggested Items
Koh Young Showcases Award-winning Inspection Solutions at SMTconnect with SmartRep in Hall 4A.225
04/25/2024 | Koh Young TechnologyKoh Young Technology, the industry leader in True 3D measurement-based inspection solutions, will showcase an array of award-winning inspection and measurement solutions at SMTconnect alongside its sales partner, SmartRep, in booth 4A.225 at NürnbergMesse from June 11-13, 2023. The following offers a glimpse into what Koh Young will present at the tradeshow:
Real Time with… IPC APEX EXPO 2024: Plasmatreat: Innovative Surface Preparation Solutions
04/25/2024 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOIn this interview, Editor Nolan Johnson speaks with Hardev Grewal, CEO and president of Plasmatreat, a developer of atmospheric plasma solutions. Plasmatreat uses clean compressed air and electricity to create plasma, offering environmentally friendly methods for surface preparation. Their technology measures plasma density for process optimization and can remove organic micro-contamination. Nolan and Hardev also discuss REDOX-Tool, a new technology for removing metal oxides.
Nanotechnology Market to Surpass $53.51 Billion by 2031
04/25/2024 | PRNewswireSkyQuest projects that the nanotechnology market will attain a value of USD 53.51 billion by 2031, with a CAGR of 36.4% over the forecast period (2024-2031).
Cadence, TSMC Collaborate on Wide-Ranging Innovations to Transform System and Semiconductor Design
04/25/2024 | Cadence Design SystemsCadence Design Systems, Inc. and TSMC have extended their longstanding collaboration by announcing a broad range of innovative technology advancements to accelerate design, including developments ranging from 3D-IC and advanced process nodes to design IP and photonics.
SMC Korea 2024 to Highlight Semiconductor Materials Trends and Innovations on Industry’s Path to $1 Trillion
04/24/2024 | SEMIWith Korea a major consumer of semiconductor materials and advanced materials a key driver of innovation on the industry’s path to $1 trillion, industry leaders and experts will gather at SMC (Strategic Materials Conference) Korea 2024 on May 29 at the Suwon Convention Center in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea to provide insights into the latest materials developments and trends. Registration is open.