Analog Devices' Blackfin Processor Chosen by AuthenTec for Fingerprint Sensor Subsystem's Embedded Developer's Kit.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers 2004 International CES NORWOOD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 2004 AuthenTec EDK EDK Embedded Development Kit EDK Emotiv Development Kit EDK European Death Knot (rock climbing) EDK Effective Date of Key (cryptography) EDK External Drift Kriging EDK Electric Dynamic Katathermometer with Blackfin Processor will enable new kinds of applications for fingerprint matching Targeting a rapidly-growing segment of biometrics, a market expected to reach $4 billion by 2007(1). Analog Devices Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI) is an American multinational producer of semiconductor devices. Analog specializes in ADC, DAC, MEMS, and DSP chips for consumer and industrial goods. Analog is presently designing circuits in the 65 nanometer to 3 µm process feature sizes range. , Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : ADI), today announced that its Blackfin(R) Processor technology has been chosen by AuthenTec Inc., the leading semiconductor provider of fingerprint sensors to the PC, wireless, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) A handheld computer for managing contacts, appointments and tasks. It typically includes a name and address database, calendar, to-do list and note taker, which are the functions in a personal information manager (see PIM). , access control and automotive markets, for its new FingerLoc(R) AFS A distributed file system for large, widely dispersed Unix and Windows networks from Transarc Corporation, now part of IBM. It is noted for its ease of administration and expandability and stems from Carnegie-Mellon's Andrew File System. AFS - Andrew File System 8600 Embedded Developer's Kit (EDK). Satisfying performance requirements that enable AuthenTec's newest TruePrint(R) technology-based fingerprint sensor to capture a fingerprint image within a fraction of a second, the Blackfin Processor meets the demanding signal processing See DSP. requirements of AuthenTec's AFS8600 EDK for fingerprint matching subsystems. AuthenTec today announced its AFS8600 and EDK- the first AuthenTec product powered by a Blackfin Processor. "Before the Blackfin processor, our biggest technology hurdle was how to design a fingerprint matching subsystem that was fast enough to work within half a second or less - and powerful enough to be viable -- yet that was still inexpensive enough to be adopted into the consumer electronics applications that are AuthenTec's focus," said Steve Mansfield, vice president of marketing for AuthenTec. "Blackfin is an outstanding processor from both a price and performance standpoint. With the Blackfin Processor, we can deliver lower-cost fingerprint solutions for the consumer electronics market, allowing us to take fingerprint biometrics into areas we couldn't reach before." The AFS8600 EDK is an embedded developer's kit for fingerprint sensor matching subsystems that are sold to manufacturers who design these subsystems into their own products. The EDK consists of AuthenTec's silicon-based sensor (i.e., an image processing image processing Set of computational techniques for analyzing, enhancing, compressing, and reconstructing images. Its main components are importing, in which an image is captured through scanning or digital photography; analysis and manipulation of the image, accomplished chip); a database of fingerprint matching software; the Blackfin processor, which performs all the memory caching and computation; and documentation and support. AuthenTec's fingerprint matching engine powered by the Blackfin processor is self-contained, highly accurate and simple - providing a clear biometric yes/no identification. "The collaboration between AuthenTec and ADI on fingerprint sensor products for the consumer electronics market will create the best fingerprint matching subsystems in the world," said John Croteau, general manager, Media Platforms and Services group, Analog Devices, Inc. "This relationship is a great example of ADI's overall approach to embedded processing, which gives consumer electronics manufacturers the technologies and tools that allow them to design their products using programmable off-the-shelf parts, instead of customized application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). The Blackfin Processor's combination of high performance and low cost fits perfectly with AuthenTec's needs." AuthenTec Pursuing an Ambitious Vision Most fingerprint sensor makers have concentrated exclusively on the government and corporate security markets, which were assumed to be the most lucrative outlets for this kind of biometric security application. AuthenTec, in contrast, has catapulted to over 50 percent market share (according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Frost & Sullivan) of the world silicon chip fingerprint market by focusing on consumer electronics markets, such as PCs, wireless, physical access/security and automotive. Because of the combination of strong computational performance and low cost, the Blackfin Processor is enabling AuthenTec to put its fingerprint subsystem matcher to work with smaller, and thus lower-cost, sensors. As a result, AuthenTec hopes to enter markets in which biometrics have had limited success, such as lower cost access control systems, home security systems, check cashing kiosks and ATM machines. For more information on AuthenTec, please visit: www.authentec.com. About AuthenTec, Inc. With more than a million sensors deployed worldwide, AuthenTec is the leading semiconductor provider of fingerprint sensors to the PC, wireless, PDA, access control and automotive markets. AuthenTec's FingerLoc(R) and EntrePad(TM) product families utilize the Company's patented TruePrint(R) technology, the first technology to make fingerprint biometrics viable for mass-market adoption. AuthenTec is an AO100 Top Private Global Company, as well as a two-time winner of Frost & Sullivan's Market Leadership Award. The Company's network of partners, solution providers and customers include Bioscrypt, Computer Associates, Delphi, Fellowes, Harris Corporation Harris Corporation NYSE: HRS is an international communications equipment company that produces wireless equipment, electronic systems, and both terrestrial and spaceborne antennas for use in the government, defense, and commercial sectors. , IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) , Microsoft, Targus, Samsung, and SCM (1) (Software Configuration Management, Source Code Management) See configuration management. (2) See supply chain management. Microsystems. For more information, visit www.authentec.com. About Analog Devices Analog Devices is a leading manufacturer of precision high-performance integrated circuits used in analog and digital signal processing See DSP. Digital Signal Processing - (DSP) Computer manipulation of analog signals (commonly sound or image) which have been converted to digital form (sampled). applications. The company is headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts, and employs approximately 8,400 people worldwide. It has manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts, California, North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. , Ireland, the Philippines and the United Kingdom. Analog Devices' stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. and the company is included in the S&P 500 Index. (1) According to the International Biometric Group, the overall biometrics market will reach $4 billion by 2007; within this overall biometrics market, fingerprint authentication solutions are projected to grow at nearly 60 percent through 2005. Blackfin is a registered trademark of Analog Devices, Inc. All other trademarks included herein are the property of their respective owners. |
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