Special Feature

Recent Activities Concerning Fingerprint
Identification Devices
Yoshimitsu Arai†Abstract
This article provides an update on NTT’s efforts to develop a portable fingerprint identification device
and describes recent commercialization activities.

1. Background
In Japan, several well-publicized leaks of customer
information from companies and the passing of the
Personal Information Protection Act by the Diet(May 2003) have recently made information management more important than ever before and attracted
attention to the use of fingerprints as a means of user
identification in place of passwords. Passwords canoften be guessed by other people because users tend
to choose characters that are meaningful to them andeasy to remember. Instead, biometrics is considered apromising approach to identifying users from biological information about fingerprints, irises, veins,
voiceprints, retinas, palms, and faces, which cannot
be forgotten and is difficult to forge. While various
biometric identification methods are being evaluatedcomparatively [1], the most promising one is fingerprint identification because of its good balance
between accuracy and cost for easy introduction.
NTT developed FingerToken as a compact device
aimed at general users. It stores hard-to-break passwords in tamper-resistant memory accessed via a fingerprint identification method [2].
One practical application of fingerprint recognition
is a stationary fingerprint identification device forchecking people entering and leaving a room forsecurity purposes [3]. To increase the security of personal objects, there has also been some considerationof extending fingerprint identification to portabledevices, such as laptop computers and credit cards so† NTT Department III
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100-8116 Japan
E-mail: y.arai@hco.ntt.co.jp

Vol. 3 No. 5 May 2005

that they can be used only by users who registered
their fingerprints. This article describes NTT’s latest
fingerprint technology and efforts to commercializeit.
2. FingerQuick
NTT Group has developed and commercialized afingerprint identification token called FingerQuick*(Fig. 1) [4]. Like FingerToken, it can read fingerprints, register and store fingerprint data, and compare fingerprints. It inherits all of the key features ofFingerToken, but it is aimed more at the corporate
market with large systems run by administrators.
Compared with other products of this kind, FingerQuick is better suited to the mobile environment
because it has a unique capacitance-type fingerprint
sensor that is highly resistant to static electricity andcontamination. It is also small and light due to highdensity packaging. It measures 23 × 85 × 11 mm3,including the cap, and weighs 15 g. Since it uses theUSB interface, FingerQuick does not need any dedicated authentication and driver software or cables, so
it is highly versatile and portable. The integrated fingerprint comparing function means that fingerprint
data does not have to leave the FingerQuick unit,
which ensures data confidentiality and increases user
acceptance of the device.
The procedures for using FingerQuick are shown inFig. 2. Two modes are supported. As shown on theleft, if the administrator performs both configurationand fingerprint registration, he first configures Fin* FingerQuick is a registered trademark of NTT Electronics Corporation.

47

Special Feature

Fingerprint sensor(sensing area: 11.2 × 12.8 mm2)

Indicator (LED)USB connector

SwitchDimensions: 23 mm × 85 mm × 11 mm (cap included)

Fig. 1. Appearance of FingerQuick.

1) Administrator writes administrative info into FingerQuick.
2) He asks users to come and register their fingerprints.
He sets corresponding passwords for them.
3) He delivers a FingerQuick unit to eachuser.

1) Administrator writes administrative info into FingerQuick.
2) He delivers FingerQuick and fingerprint registration tool
to each user.
3) User register her own fingerprints and setscorresponding passwords.
Fingerprint registration toolFingerQuick

AdministratorUsersConfigured and registered by administrator.

Administrator

Users

Configured by administrator and registered by user.

Fig. 2. Procedures for using FingerQuick.

gerQuick by writing administrative information, suchas an individual’s ID and then asks users to register
their fingerprints and sets passwords for them. Configured FingerQuick devices are then delivered tocorresponding individuals. Only the administrator
can set and change passwords, so this mode is suitable for applications where centralized management
is desirable. As shown on the right, it is also possible
for the administrator to set administrative information alone and deliver the FingerQuick together witha fingerprint registration tool so that users can register their own fingerprint data into the FingerQuick48

devices and set passwords by themselves. In this case,the convenient registration tool allows users to havefree access to the register and change their fingerprint
data and passwords. However, the tool can only beactivated by an authenticated user to prevent otherpeople from accessing such data and passwords.
Configured FingerQuick devices can be used foruser identification required to perform personal computer (PC) login and use some application programs.
For example, when the operating system login screen
appears when a PC is started up, you can insert FingerQuick into the PC’s USB port. FingerQuick iniNTT Technical Review

Special Featuretially enters waiting mode. When a finger is placed on
the fingerprint sensor, the fingerprint sensing andcomparison functions begin. When the user has beenauthenticated, FingerQuick sends a password corresponding to the fingerprint to the PC via the USB
interface. Then the FingerQuick device turns itselfoff.
3. Applications and promotional efforts
Company employees often need to take customer
information off the company premises or access theircompany network from outside. Currently, passwords
are the most popular means of identification. However, there is the danger that someone might observe thepassword being entered. FingerQuick eliminates suchanxiety altogether. Even if the user writes a note saying “right thumb for login, left thumb for network
access”, this information is useless to a thief. Thus,
FingerQuick provides greater security both insideand outside the company. FingerQuick can also be
combined with file encryption software on the market
and provide strong security for single sign-on to multiple systems without reducing user convenience.
We expect FingerQuick to be used first at securityconscious corporations. There have recently been
growing demands from companies that possess hugeamounts of customer information and want to manage it with great social responsibility. Our press
release about FingerQuick in June 2004 was coveredby most major newspapers and other media. We

received a significant response with as many as 100
inquiries immediately after the announcement. Since
then, we have been receiving a growing number ofinquiries from local governments and industries that
handle a large amount of customer and private information. These are beginning to create some businessfor us.
To expand the field of business applications, wemust develop more competitive fingerprint identification devices. We led the world in developing a singlechip fingerprint identification LSI (large-scale integrated circuit), which integrates all processing abilities from fingerprint sensing through identification
within one chip [5]. Figure 3 shows this LSI andsome application examples. This LSI is extremely
small, measuring 11 × 15 × 1.4 mm3. It protects fingerprint data completely because it does not allow thedata to go outside the chip: it only outputs the resultof the identification process. It can also achieve fingerprint identification when mounted on a unit without a processor. In addition, its power consumption islow enough to allow it to run on button batteries. To
publicize these features, we exhibited some applications of this LSI at various places, including
CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) JAPAN in October 2004. Due to its advantages of ultrasmall size, no need for a processor, andlow power consumption, we expect this single-chipfingerprint identification LSI to find many applications, including being built into electrical and electronic appliances. Using this and other NTT technolRemote controller for electric
appliances (identification offamily members)

Allows automatic login toPC/network

Unlocks a car

HelloLANChip

Pixel array

Fingerprint
sensorIdentification
circuitResult ofidentification
Controller

Securedata storageOKChecks people
entering andleaving a roomIC card,SD card,
USB key

Cell phone(mobile commerce)

Fig. 3. Single-chip fingerprint identification LSI and its application examples.

Vol. 3 No. 5 May 200549

Special Featureogy, we intend to increase the business opportunities
for fingerprint identification in close cooperation
with companies inside and outside the NTT Group.
References
[1]

[2]

[3]
[4]
[5]

50

H. Suto, S. Shigematsu, T. Hatano, C. Yamaguchi, Y. Okazaki, andK. Machida, “Compact Fingerprint Verification Device: FingerToken,” NTT Technical Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 65-69, 2004.
Y. Okazaki and H. Kyuragi, “Trends in User Identification by UsingFingerprints,” NTT R&D Vol. 51, No. 3, pp. 189-193, 2002 (in Japanese).
http://www.sw.nec.co.jp/pid/product/sk800-10.html (in Japanese).
http://www.nel.co.jp/product/security/fq_series.html (in Japanese).
S. Shigematsu, K. Fujii, H. Morimura, T. Hatano, M. Nakanishi, T.
Adachi, N. Ikeda, T. Shimamura, K. Machida, Y. Okazaki, and H.
Kyuragi, “A 500-dpi 224 × 256-pixel single-chip fingerprint identification LSI with pixel-parallel image enhancement and rotation
schemes,” ISSCC Dig. Of Tech. Papers, pp. 354-473, Feb. 2002.

Yoshimitsu AraiProducer, Innovative Devices Team, NTTDepartment III (R&D Strategy Department).
He received the B.E. and M.E. degrees in electrical engineering from Gunma University,Kiryu, Gunma in 1982 and 1984, respectively.
Since joining NTT Electrical Communications
Laboratories in 1984, he has been engaged inresearch on packaging technology for electricaland optical components of communications systems. From 2001 to 2003, he managed R&D ofhigh-speed optical interconnections and media
converters for access networks. He is a memberof the Institute of Electronics, Information andCommunication Engineers of Japan.

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