To allow smartphones to scan their users’ fingerprints through their screens an identity check has been patented by Sony. It describes a range of ways to build “light-transmissive displays” to allow sensors to look out of the screens. It says an unidentified material would obscure the sensors so users would only see graphics telling them where to place their fingers. Sony has not given any indication of when it might introduce the feature. The innovation has been submitted to the US Patent and Trademark Office and was flagged up by the website Unwired View. It would not be the first time a smartphone has offered a fingerprint lock. Motorola launched the Atrix last year, a handset with a biometric scanner fitted to its back. However, Sony’s application suggests that allowing the scan to be carried out via the front of the phone would simplify the process.Fingerprint-Checking Smartphone Patent
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Saturday, April 14, 2012
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To allow smartphones to scan their users’ fingerprints through their screens an identity check has been patented by Sony. It describes a range of ways to build “light-transmissive displays” to allow sensors to look out of the screens. It says an unidentified material would obscure the sensors so users would only see graphics telling them where to place their fingers. Sony has not given any indication of when it might introduce the feature. The innovation has been submitted to the US Patent and Trademark Office and was flagged up by the website Unwired View. It would not be the first time a smartphone has offered a fingerprint lock. Motorola launched the Atrix last year, a handset with a biometric scanner fitted to its back. However, Sony’s application suggests that allowing the scan to be carried out via the front of the phone would simplify the process.