Ultrasonic

What is ultrasonic

Biometric recognition has been pivotal in making people’s everyday life safe and seamless for years. While ultrasonic has been around for some time, it has only recently established its position as the new premium standard. Emerging as a revolutionary solution, ultrasonic offers exceptional performance, security, and design flexibility.

Unlike optical or capacitive fingerprint sensors, ultrasonic technology leverages sound waves to capture the unique patterns of a fingerprint. This method has better performance and allows for greater flexibility in sensor placement, enabling biometric readers to function seamlessly under modern high-resolution screens or other materials. This flexibility not only simplifies the integration but also enhances user experience and reduces design and production costs.

The key benefits

• Performance excellence
  Ultrasonic sensors deliver superior performance in tough conditions, such as when fingers are wet, dirty, or in outdoor environments.
• Design innovation
  The ability to place sensors under screens or materials simplifies device design and contributes to the sleek aesthetic of modern devices, as well as reducing design and manufacturing costs.
• Enhanced security
  Ultrasonic technology has the potential to provide an additional layer of security, but achieving high security requires the right solution set and deep expertise in anti-tampering and liveness detection. The complexity of developing secure ultrasonic algorithms is one of the reasons why Precise remains among the few companies worldwide excelling in this field. The use of sound waves makes it significantly more difficult for attackers to replicate fingerprints using traditional methods, such as printed copies. However, more sophisticated spoofing techniques exist, underscoring the need for a first-class anti-tampering solution that can effectively counteract advanced threats.

The complexity of algorithms

While capacitive and optical sensors capture photos, ultrasonic sensors use sound waves. This is a far more complex reality and places much higher demands on sensor manufacturers and software algorithm developers. The complexity increases when moving from the matching process to anti-tampering and liveness capabilities. While hardware sensors capture the raw fingerprint data, the real magic happens within the software algorithms. These algorithms must process the data to create a digital representation of the fingerprint, ensuring high accuracy, anti-tampering measures, and liveness detection.

Tackling the challenges

Developing algorithms for ultrasonic fingerprints is no small feat. The software must:

• Accurately process data based on sound waves, which is inherently different from optical or capacitive data.
• Implement robust tampering-resistant mechanisms to help prevent spoofing.
• Deliver reliable liveness detection, distinguishing between real fingers and artificial replicas.
• Foster tight collaboration between sensor manufacturers and software algorithm developers, which is even more critical than for other technologies. Sometimes even collaboration with end customers (the mobile phone brands) is key to success.