LG to Implement New Button-Free Fingerprint Sensor

May 02, 2016 09:55 PM EDT

LG Innotek to produce the new fingerprint module that will offer the ability to integrate them into glass, which would remove any exterior sign of there being a sensor at all.

(Photo : Reuters) LG Innotek to produce the new fingerprint module that will offer the ability to integrate them into glass, which would remove any exterior sign of there being a sensor at all.

LG Innotek has unveiled a new fingerprint scanner implementation that can be integrated into the bezel area of a smartphone's display glass.

LG's components subsidiary joins Fingerprint Cards to produce the new fingerprint module that will allow smartphone makers to have truly seamless designs while still offering the now-mandatory fingerprint authentication. The new sensors offer the ability to integrate them into glass, which would remove any exterior sign of there being a sensor at all.

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The South Korean tech giant says it cuts a tiny groove into the underside of the glass for installation of the fingerprint reader. LG's solution is 0.3mm thick and inserted on the lower backside of a smartphone's cover glass. The company said it developed its own adhesive to attach the sensor to the glass.

Previous fingerprint reader designs have required a separate piece of hardware, as seen on recent Apple iPhones, Samsung Galaxy phones, the Nexus 6P and LG's own G5, to name just a few. LG said in addition to improving waterproof capabilities, the new technology is also highly secure with reads of 99.998 percent accuracy.

“LG Innotek expects that demand for fingerprint recognition technology will dramatically increase due to the expansion of the mobile payment market,” the South Korean manufacturer said in a press release.

LG Innotek highlights that waterproofing a smartphone becomes significantly easier without a discrete button for the fingerprint reader. In addition, the sensor itself is less susceptible to being scratched if it sits under the same tough cover glass as the display. Fingerprint readers have to be particularly robust, by microelectronics standards, because they sit on the exterior of a device.

It is not clear when or if we can expect to see this new technology in LG's smartphones. The company has yet to announce the phones which will be using the sensor nor any third-party companies.

TagsLG, LG Innotek, Button-Free Fingerprint Sensor, Fingerprint Sensor, LG Smartphone, Fingerprint Reader