A fingerprint scanner is a biometric sensor that captures the pattern of ridges on a finger and converts it into digital data a computer can compare against a stored record to identify or authenticate a person. Automated fingerprint identification systems were first developed for law enforcement during the 1960s and 1970s, and the Japanese company NEC delivered one of the earliest such systems to police departments in the mid-1970s, replacing manual matching by trained examiners. Miniaturized capacitive and optical fingerprint sensors later moved from dedicated security equipment into laptops and, from 2011 onward, mainstream smartphones, making fingerprint scanning a routine method of unlocking a personal device.
Facts
Partially Attested
YearYear NEC introduced the first large-scale automated fingerprint identification system with latent print matching, per the IEEE milestone citation. This is not the first fingerprint sensor or the first automated system, and the existing description's mid-1970s NEC delivery date is not supported by this source. SignificanceAutomated fingerprint identification uses a computer to match fingerprints against a database of known and unknown prints. 1 Sources
1. Wikipedia: Automated fingerprint identification
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Automated fingerprint identification is the process of using a computer to match fingerprints against a database of known and unknown prints in the fingerprint identification system.
2. ETHW: Milestone, First Large-Scale Fingerprint ID, 1982
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NEC, formerly known as Nippon Electric Company, introduced the world's first large-scale automated fingerprint identification system (NEC AFIS) equipped with a latent fingerprint matching function in 1982.
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