Huawei yesterday published a patent for “fingerprint identification method and its electronic equipment and media” with publication number CN113807141A detailing an innovative piece of tech that will improve fingerprint identification.

In it, an optical fingerprint sensor will be used in combination with a capacitive sensor (via IT Home). While the former will be used to acquire a virtual image of the finger, the latter will help grab data on what hand the finger belongs to. These two bits of data will then be fused together to greatly improve the efficiency of terminal fingerprint identification. It isn’t clear if the ‘improved efficiency’ bit mentioned within the patent relates to advancement in security or a speedier scanning process but our guess is it’s for both.

The Huawei patent application further mentions that the new fingerprint tech will be used for the “field of smart terminals.” What that stands for is again unclear but it’s safe to assume that smartphones may also be benefitting from the tech, particularly those with optical under-display fingerprint sensors.

The cool piece of tech currently seems to be limited to the document but it’s not unsafe to say that Huawei must already be working on developing it. Digging through the document will reveal that the patent was first filed back in June 2020 and it has already been over a year since, after all.

That said, for those unfamiliar with optical fingerprint sensors, the tech is used in under-display fingerprint sensor hardware and works by reflecting light off of your finger. While they are a cheaper alternative to superior ultrasonic fingerprint sensors, they are slower and not as accurate. Hopefully, Huawei’s patent means that these shortcomings will be eventually addressed.

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