AuthenTec Co-Founder Demos Prototype Touch ID Fingerprint Sensor [Photos]

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Posted October 16, 2013 at 7:28pm by iClarified

AuthenTech co-founder, F. Scott Moody, gave a presentation of the origins of Apple's new Touch ID Fingerprint Sensor at North Carolina State University's Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering on Tuesday.

AppleInsider was on hand for the presentation where Moody revealed that the first version of the sensor was called FingerLoc. The sensor came in a large box much bigger than an iPhone and was connected via a ribbon cable to an even larger device that powered it.

The company took its prototype and demoed it to various high tech companies. Unfortunately, the demo sometimes didn't go as planned. For example, it identified IBM's CTO as AuthenTec co-founder Dale Setlak.

Eventually the 'piece of silicon' that drove FingerLoc was improved over time. "We convinced people that the signal processing and work could be shrunk into an exceedingly small sensor that we eventually got down to 80 cents," said Moody.

The metal ring around early prototype scanners, just like the one in the iPhone 5s home button, works like a capacitor, sending a signal through the user's finger that allows it to sense through the outer layer of dead skin, into an inner layer where the skin is alive. Moody said AuthenTec worked closely with a number of dermatologists in development to perfect the technology.

As AuthenTec resolved the size and technology issues with their sensor, they generated interest from various customers including Apple, Motorola, and Fujitsu. Eventually Apple bought the entire company for $356 million.

"We had a great team of engineers — which I think is highlighted by the fact that Apple kept the engineering team," he said. Moody also noted that the company was driven by a desire to make user's lives easier. "I didn't care about government standards for fingerprint sensors, I cared about low cost and identifying you in a cheap and accurate way," he said. "I'm not hooked to the tech, but what I'm hooked into is what the tech can do for you, the user."

AuthenTec Co-Founder Demos Prototype Touch ID Fingerprint Sensor [Photos]

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gamerscul9870 - October 17, 2013 at 12:09pm

Still love your warm room and can fix it if it gets too hot by "blowing" on your wife, go help her she is calling!

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Filipino Chick - October 17, 2013 at 12:30am

Is there something wrong with the iClarified site? Every post seems to come out like just simple gobbled-goop.

Tony - October 16, 2013 at 9:57pm

I knew my superb post would get you to come out of your mom's basement lol u know who u are lol hint (.Steve God. Aka TheRealNoGoodNick)

Steve Died In Heaven. - October 16, 2013 at 9:29pm

Copycatters!

gamerscul9870 - October 16, 2013 at 9:47pm

Unprovable ranter!

Ottorbox - October 16, 2013 at 9:02pm

I 100% agree with you. When i got my iPhone5 at launch last year, i was so excited to try different form factor, thinner, longer screen, and blazing fast LTE for the first time on iPhone. But this year 5s, not so much. I mean more like nothing to be excited about. Im sure there will be iclarified nerds(aka Apple fanboy) show up and try to smack talk our opinions. But lets face it. Fingerprint sensor? Really? Compare to what we been achieving from previous gen to next gen, iPhone 5s doesnt offer any. I still have about an year left till my next upgrade but if whatever next iPhone gen comes out to be similar as iPhone 5s, im switching to other platform. And im sure alot of people that has iPhone 5 with contract feels the same.

Ottorbox - October 16, 2013 at 11:22pm

Funny how you are avoiding my arguments and go with iPhone vs Samsung comparison. You lost your argument. And going around it. GG

Ottorbox - October 16, 2013 at 11:29pm

Huh? Proof of what

gamerscul9870 - October 16, 2013 at 11:35pm

Listed out what Samsung copied even when people agree, look it up on wikipedia, they also about it in the comments of the topic like the gear watch for example, read comments on those, plus apple has the charts and so does this site, simply put in charts then search it, and a site in my paragraph! You can find apples charts in the keynotes or ask me to send it to you if your even more lazy to believe me and watch it!

Dulianx - October 17, 2013 at 12:55am

^ share if you get some

odedoo1 - October 17, 2013 at 1:56am

It's like you are both right and both wrong! It's like this the guy went android so of curse he won't say he made a mistake! The thing is that the camera on the 5S do need the power of the 64bit chip for 60 pics a sec which the 5 can only take 30 pics a sec also apple didn't activate Siri on the iPad 2 only the iPad 3 and above but that's beside the point I own a cell/lab shop and I see what's going own and it's seems like everybody is copying from Cydia and android are just doing it really fast and then I get customers coming into my shop with messed up Samsung and other Android devices that need formatting, now Apple is doing the same but the go slow but they do it the right way waking sure things work as they should and that's the reason that I get about 4 android devices a day for formatting and maybe one iPhone a day for a broken screen or a home button repair. Now getting back into those big screens well I believe that for a phone a 4 inch screen is the perfect size, need anything bigger get an iPad, but I also know that Apple is being forced by Samsung to come up with a bigger screen on the iPhone 6 which suck but I'm guessing its all about money and apple want their customers back! My only wishful thinking is that Apple will have a choice on the iPhone 6 ( 4 & 5.x inch screens ) but I know better then that so ill probably stay with my iPhone 5S for a while longer then I'm used to.

odedoo1 - October 17, 2013 at 1:59am

One more thing I got many customers that switched to the galaxy s4 and less then a month later they sold it back to me for half the price. It never happened to me that someone moved from an Android to an iPhone and then wanted to go back to Android!

gamerscul9870 - October 17, 2013 at 2:03am

Then why does the overall sells still show iPhone 5s first, 5c second, and s4 third?

Shyvanna - October 17, 2013 at 10:05am

@odedo2 can you provide a link of the sales chart? its hard to believe your story when 5s just came out a month ago. Also 64bit does not have anything to do with taking more pictures/performance. It just allows you to use more than 4GB shared memory which does not effect anything since 5s only has 1GB memory. And people who return S4 for half price is just cool story. They can easily sell them on ebay for good price. And giving it to you for half price when its only 1month old? righttt these iclarified no-brainers.

gamerscul9870 - October 17, 2013 at 12:12pm

Thes iClarified rantalots don't even know what odedo2 meant when he said chart and where to look up, there are many charts here like he mentioned and you say he's a no brainer, it's like saying "these guys Imet are stupid they say a sun is a star" that's how you act!

Shyvanna - October 17, 2013 at 6:48pm

So you are expecting me and other users to believe there are people returning their S4 for half price and 64bit makes taking picture faster?? Lol and where is the link to the chart that has 5S dominating sales?? Im still waiting.

Shyvanna - October 18, 2013 at 2:45am

You have no links to the chart/article obviously because there is none. Cool story bro.

gamerscul9870 - October 18, 2013 at 3:16am

You have no fcks to give or care and that's the story of how not to make friends, amen to that!

gamerscul9870 - October 18, 2013 at 11:16am

Actually I am the cause of this, I just don't bother giving a shit about what he said, all I said was link when he said the site and what to look up to do it here, and I am sorry for all that, I disregard my comment causing other people and shitanna to call me a child but it will go on if I don't stop, I realized what I did here was a mistake and I take all of it back for normal commenters, forgive me guys!

TheRealNoGoodNick - October 18, 2013 at 6:00pm

Maybe it was you accusing yourself, see why you caused this, the way you said "get a life kid" it's just too ironic for you to learn your lesson! See why a user besides me replied to you?

dark_destroyer - October 16, 2013 at 9:00pm

Well said tony :)