Most people in Germany have submitted their fingerprints electronically at least once. Some unlock their smartphones every day. If you apply for a passport in this country, you have to leave your fingerprints at the registration office and sensors scan your hand when you enter many countries. As different as the various fingerprint systems are, they have one thing in common: they are contact-based. That is, the finger or fingers must be pressed onto a surface. If several thousand people put their fingers on the scanner during an immigration check on one day, it is not particularly hygienic, and the resulting contamination leads to errors.
Various technology companies have therefore been working on systems for contactless fingerprint scanners for several years. The startup IDloop from Jena now wants to launch a system that also meets the requirements of state security authorities. “Despite enormous research efforts, there are still no contactless fingerprint systems that are used by government agencies,” says founder and company boss Jörg Reinhold in an interview with Gründerszene. IDloop is developing a 3D scanner that will take fingerprints without contact and with microscopic resolution. The startup, which was founded in 2021, aims to have completed the first official certifications in Germany and the USA by the end of this year. It would be the entry into a billion dollar market.
Ten million euros in funding from the European Commission
So that the company from Thuringia can complete the system, the European Commission is funding the project as part of the EIC Accelerator with ten million euros. According to the startup, it is the first company from Thuringia to receive such funding.
Source: https://www.businessinsider.de/gruenderszene/technologie/idloop-fingerabdruck-kontaktlos/
