Fingerprint Cards and Gentex have announced an exclusive partnership that will see the companies work together on iris-scanning technology for automotive applications.

The announcement arrives amid this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, where Gentex has been showcasing connected car technologies including an iris-scanning driver authentication system designed for integration into a vehicle’s rear-view mirror. The system is designed to identify the driver and to then adjust in-car settings to the driver’s preferences; it can also be used to regulate access to the car’s ignition.

For FPC, the partnership is the product of a long-term evolution in the company’s business model. The mobile-focused biometric sensor provider first announced its plans to expand into the automotive sector at the start of 2016 and has seen gradual, incremental progress on that front in the ensuing years. FPC’s iris scanning technology, meanwhile, is a recent addition to its portfolio; while the company has long been established as a prominent supplier of fingerprint sensors, FPC acquired iris recognition specialist Delta ID near the start of last year, and proceeded to announce its ActiveIRIS solution in the autumn.

Delta ID was the original provider of Gentex’s in-car iris scanning system, so naturally the partnership has now shifted to Fingerprint Cards. In a statement announcing the partnership, both companies emphasized the potential in combining their biometric and automotive component technologies, asserting that future biometric systems could be integrated into various locations inside a vehicle and on its exterior, with FPC-managed cloud components enabling greater connected car capabilities.

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January 11, 2018 – by Alex Perala