The US Patent and Trademark Office has published a number of patents related to the biometric technology used in Apple devices, reports Jack Purcher on Patently Apple. The patents mostly relate to TouchID and Apple Pay.
One of the patents, entitled “Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Manipulating User Interfaces based on Fingerprint Sensor Inputs”, appears to be key to the TouchID fingerprint-scanning system, detailing the storage of biometric credentials and the authentication of those credentials, and also a process to display redacted versions of such data. Another key patent, “Use of a Biometric Image in Online Commerce”, discusses the process whereby a system – in this case, the Apple Pay app – can accept a token from an online store, verify it against biometric credentials, and then send the countersigned token back.
Further published patents relate to other aspects of biometric credentialing, with titles including “Reconstructing a Biometric Image”, “Biometric Sensor Stack Structure”, “Finger Biometric Sensor Including Circuitry for Acquiring Finger Biometric Data upon Finger Stability and Related Methods”, “Noise Reduction in Biometric Images”, and “Finger Biometric Sensor for Flagging as Sufficient Enrollment Finger Biometric Data Sets and Related Methods”.
Always competitive in its innovation efforts, Apple has been busy with its patent-filing lately. Earlier this year the company established a new patent that appears to allow for cloud syncing of TouchID data, while another patent relating to wearable camera technology caused a kerfuffle in the digital camera market. Analysts have also been keeping a keen eye on further patent filings that appear to indicate the company is developing a stylus for its next iPad.
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