When you hear the name 3M, it’s unlikely that you’ll ever associate US-based multinational with smartphone technology and more specifically, the development of smartphone displays. Imagine our surprise then, when the company announced that it was in the midst of developing its own in-display fingerprint scanner.
3M’s technology is known as Near Infrared Transmission System (NITS) and technically speaking, its goal is to do what in-display fingerprint scanners do: to actively scan or read a user’s fingerprint from the back of an LCD display. 3M explains that its display technology uses micro-thin 3M optical display films. Allowing fingerprints to be scanned from behind said LCD panel.
Considering that brands such as Qualcomm, Samsung, and Huawei already employ their own in-display fingerprint scanner in one form or another, it’s not wrong to say that many of us are left wondering who 3M is peddling its NITS technology too. Of course, the fact that it mentioned LCD panels, it’s likely that its target market are brands that manufacture entry-level to mid-range smartphones with LCD displays.
3M also says that its NITS technology can also be applied to tablets and laptop displays. Sadly, the company from Minnesota failed to mention a launch timeline for its security technology at the time of writing.
