LUND, Sweden, Feb. 4, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Precise Biometrics has had yet another patent approved. The patent, which is the company's third, concerns a system for matching fingerprints using a small sensor. Some advantages of this invention are that the sensor will be less expensive thanks to its size and can be built into devices such as mobile phones and PDAs.
The advantages of the invention are that small sensors are more practical to use, and thanks to their size they are even less expensive and can be built into mobile products, such as mobile phones. The patented method allows "everyday carelessness"-or less precise placement of the finger when using, for example, a mobile phone equipped with a fingerprint sensor.
The ability to use a small sensor the size of a fingertip matters a great deal in terms of costs. But qualities like security and user-friendliness must also be preserved. Traditional sensors are much too expensive to build into mobile phones, PDAs or similar kinds of consumer product.
"This, our third patent, further strengthens our position as a leading biometric company. Our technology works just as well for a PC as it does for a mobile phone or PDA," said Ola Svedin, director of research and development at Precise Biometrics.
The patent applies to Sweden and is binding until 2018. Patent protection has been sought in the EU and elsewhere. Precise Biometrics' two previously approved patents concern the company's unique core technology, a method for matching fingerprints, and a special technique for effectively matching the images of fingerprints using a PC. The company currently has 27 patents pending for 13 different inventions.
Precise Biometrics AB, Europe's leading biometric company, markets in-house developed products and systems for biometric* identification using fingerprints. The products replace PINs, passwords and pass cards in IT, telecom and pass systems. Precise Biometrics was started in Lund, Sweden, in 1997 by Nils Bernhard, Marten Oebrink and Christer Fahraeus and has today 60 employees. The company has its head office in Lund, Sweden, an associate office in Stockholm, and a subsidiary in Washington DC, USA. The company's shares are quoted on the Stockholm Exchange's O-list. For additional information please go to www.precisebiometrics.com.
*Biometrics is the technical analysis of biological data for verifying a person's identity.