Qualcomm Incorporated

Epos Development Ltd.

Meir Agassy

Gal Rotem

Nathan Altman

Vadim Winebrand

Nathan Felix Altman

Sandeep Louis D'Souza

Noam Dagan

Boaz Castro

Arye Lerner

Yizhaq Abudi

Suryaprakash Ganti

David William Burns

Lennart Karl Mathe

Masoud Roham

Ashish Hinger

Lior Maor

Sherman Sebastian Antao

Michael Kokarev

Bo-Ren Wang

Micah Timothy Lawrence

Paul Penchin Pan

Jong Soo Kim

Gilad Bornstein

Michael Leviant

Yossef Tsfaty

Noam Z Kedem

Liran Galili

Yossi Tsfati

Oded Turbahn

Moti Shor-Haham

An apparatus and method for device security, wherein a fingerprint image is acquired on a touchscreen, and an authentication process is performed based on the first fingerprint image. Thereafter, a second fingerprint image is acquired and a difference between a characteristic of the first and second fingerprint images is determined, and based upon whether this difference is greater than a threshold, a second authentication process is performed.

Apparatus and method for device security

An ultrasonic fingerprint sensor in a mobile device is operated to capture an initial snapshot of reflection from a finger's surface, of acoustic energy transmitted at a first frequency. Additionally, the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is operated repeatedly to capture over time, a sequence of sets, each set including one or more additional snapshots of reflection from one or more depths within the finger, of acoustic energy transmitted at a second frequency significantly lower than the first frequency. Measurements in the additional snapshots are processed to determine whether any signal oscillating at a rate in a normal range for heart rate or respiration rate is present. When a signal is found, its rate may be used in several ways, e.g. to enable functionality when a fingerprint in the initial snapshot matches a reference fingerprint, or to identify and track a heart rate (or a respiration rate) based on the signal's rate.

Heart rate and respiration rate measurement using a fingerprint sensor

Systems, methods and apparatus for configuring a fingerprint sensor to operate in a capacitive sensing mode and an ultrasonic sensing mode are disclosed. A fingerprint sensor may be configured to operate in a capacitive sensing mode by driving a sensing electrode using a controller. In some implementations, an object positioned on or near the sensing electrode may be detected using the fingerprint sensor in the capacitive sensing mode, and the controller can drive electrodes of the fingerprint sensor differently to configure the fingerprint sensor to operate in an ultrasonic sensing mode. In some implementations, an applications processor may be instructed to authenticate a fingerprint of the object from image data obtained when the fingerprint sensor is operating in the ultrasonic sensing mode. In some implementations, a display of a mobile device containing the fingerprint sensor may be unlocked, or the mobile device may be woken up when the fingerprint is authenticated.

Hybrid capacitive and ultrasonic sensing

An apparatus may include an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor system and a control system. The control system may be configured for obtaining, via a scan of the fingerprint sensor system, current fingerprint image data from a surface of a target object, for extracting current fingerprint features from the current fingerprint image data and for determining whether the current fingerprint features match features of a previously-acquired fingerprint enrollment template. If there is a match, the control system may be configured for obtaining, via one or more additional scans of the fingerprint sensor system, current subsurface image data from a subsurface of the target object, for calculating an estimated biometric age of the target object, based at least in part on the current subsurface image data and for determining whether the estimated biometric age of the target object matches a previously-estimated biometric age.

Biometric age estimation via ultrasonic imaging

Apparatuses and methods of a gradual power wake-up mechanism are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method of activating a device based on detection of a fingerprint image may include monitoring a first metric level of a first set of regions of the fingerprint image, determining a second metric level of a second set of regions of the fingerprint image in response to the first metric level exceeding a first threshold, and activating the device based on the second metric level of the second set of regions of the fingerprint image.

Gradual power wake-up mechanism

Embodiments of apparatuses and methods for detecting a spoof finger are disclosed. In one embodiment, an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor comprises an ultrasonic transmitter configured to transmit an ultrasonic wave to a finger, an ultrasonic sensor array configured to receive a reflected ultrasonic wave from the finger, and a controller configured to determine a reflected acoustic energy of the finger based on a difference between average amplitudes of the reflected ultrasonic wave from ridges and valleys of the finger; and determine whether the finger is a spoof based at least in part on the reflected acoustic energy of the finger.

Liveness and spoof detection for ultrasonic fingerprint sensors

A mobile communication device equipped for proximity detection may include a transmitter that emits a periodic ultrasound signal, a receiver that detects the periodic ultrasound signal, an intra-frame filter that filters the detected periodic ultrasound signal based on a frame length of the detected periodic ultrasound signal, and a detector that determines a power level of the filtered periodic ultrasound signal to detect if the receiver is located in an undesirable location.

System, apparatus, and method for proximity detection

A synchronization system for an acoustic signal-based positioning system is provided that generates a magnetic field as a synchronization signal. The magnetic synchronization signal is transmitted by a transmitter of the positioning system and received by the receiver of the positioning system. The receiver may include a magnetic synchronization signal receiver that may receive the magnetic synchronization signal on a same acoustic channel as an acoustic positioning signal. Moreover, the magnetic synchronization signal receiver may be a component already present in the receiver and capable of receiving a magnetic synchronization signal.

Magnetic synchronization for a positioning system

Embodiments of correcting diffraction effects in an ultrasonic sensor are disclosed. In one embodiment, an ultrasonic sensor may include an ultrasonic transmitter configured to transmit an ultrasonic wave, a piezoelectric receiver layer configured to receive a reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave, where the reflected wave comprises a plurality of images of a fingerprint having a plurality of phases in a time sequence, and a platen layer configured to protect the ultrasonic transmitter and the piezoelectric receiver layer. The ultrasonic sensor may further include an ultrasonic sensor array and a processor configured to sum the plurality of images multiplied by a complex phase exponential to form an integrated complex image, align the integrated complex image to a pre-selected phase to form an aligned complex image, determine a maximum energy phase using the aligned complex image, and compute a maximum energy image to represent the fingerprint based at least in part on the aligned complex image at the maximum energy phase.

Correction of diffraction effects in an ultrasonic sensor

A system for small space positioning comprises a transmitting element at a fixed and known location, which transmitting a modulated continuous wave, for example an ultrasonic wave, having a continuous carrier signal part and a base-band signal modulated thereon. The transmitting element transmits the modulated continuous wave over a range in which an object to be positioned may appear. A receiving element receives signals transmitted by the transmitting device and reflected by the object, and a position detection element determines a position of the object from analysis of both the carrier signal part and the base-band signal received from the reflected signal.

System and method for object position estimation based on ultrasonic reflected signals

Apparatus configured for processing of both audible and ultrasonic sound inputs, including a sensor with a frequency response spanning both audible and ultrasonic frequencies, and processing electronics configured to separate the audible and ultrasonic input frequencies for independent use. Apparatus configured for processing of both audible and ultrasonic sound inputs, including a sensor with a frequency response spanning both audible and ultrasonic frequencies, and processing electronics configured to process each one of the audible and ultrasonic input frequencies independently. Related apparatus and methods are also described.

Voice and position localization

A computing system comprises a processor and internal peripheral devices, and a system bus connecting the internal peripheral devices to the processor. One of the internal peripheral devices is an ultrasonic digitizer that digitizes ultrasonic signals from at least two associated microphones into a digitized audio signal carrying a corresponding location and outputs the digitized audio as a signal on the system bus.

Growing community of inventors

Ramat Gan, Israel

Meir Agassy