Biometric Terminals With Idemia, Suprema, Integrated Biometrics and HID Global Fingerprint Modules
Module integration programme · Idemia · Suprema · Integrated Biometrics · HID Global · Programme scoping now open
Quick answer: Fingerprint modules from Idemia, Suprema, Integrated Biometrics and HID Global are now available across the Xinhong biometric terminal range, covering capacitive, optical, multispectral and light-emitting sensor (LES) capture technologies. The module family is selected per programme against the receiving system’s data format, the destination market’s certification regime and the operating environment, and the exact model, SDK and certification scope are confirmed before tooling starts.
We are opening a fingerprint module integration programme across our biometric terminal range. From this quarter, the 5-inch XH-100 handheld, the 10.1-inch XH-400 tablet, the 10.1-inch XH-500 rugged tablet and the dual-screen ID verification terminal can be specified with fingerprint modules from four suppliers whose products together cover the main capture technologies used in civil ID, border, banking, voter registration and field enrolment programmes.
This is a capability announcement, not a partnership claim. The four suppliers are Idemia (France), Suprema (Republic of Korea), Integrated Biometrics (United States) and HID Global (United States). What changes for our customers is that the fingerprint module becomes a separate, named line item in the device specification, with the brand, model, SDK and certification agreed in writing before the order is placed. Why that matters, and how the four families differ in practice, is the subject of this article.
Why the Fingerprint Module Is Now a Separate Specification
For most of the past decade, biometric terminals were sold as a bundle: enclosure, camera, fingerprint sensor, SDK and matching engine from a single vendor. That model is breaking, for three reasons that customers bring up in nearly every programme review.
- Receiving systems vary. A national civil ID system, a banking KYC platform, a voter roll, a border database and a commercial access system each define their own record format, template schema and matching thresholds. A single bundled SDK cannot meet all of them at once, and a programme that uses the wrong record format fails the certification step regardless of how good the sensor is.
- Capture conditions vary. A counter at a bank branch, a tent at a voter registration site, a vehicle at a border crossing, a hospital ward and a warehouse loading bay each put a different stress on the sensor. Optical sensors struggle in direct sunlight, capacitive sensors struggle with wet or worn fingers, and small-form-factor sensors struggle with the rigours of mobile fieldwork. The right answer differs by programme.
- Certification varies. Some programmes target FBI PIV-071006 or Appendix F image quality, some target a national civil ID standard, some target no certification at all. Each target changes the sensor model, the firmware, the driver and the test report that ships with the device.
The practical consequence is that the fingerprint module can no longer be an afterthought described as “optional” on a spec sheet. It has to be named, with the brand, model, SDK and certification agreed before tooling starts. Our integration programme makes that line item explicit on the quotation and on the test report.
Idemia — Capacitive and Optical Modules for Civil and Criminal ID
Idemia is the largest identity and biometric security company in the world by revenue, formed from the merger of Oberthur Technologies and Safran Identity & Security (formerly Morpho). The company is headquartered in France and operates the MorphoTrak criminal-ID business in the United States. In our integration programme, Idemia modules are the most common choice for civil ID, e-ID, voter registration, banking KYC and criminal-ID programmes where the receiving system has been built around the Idemia SDK or the ANSI/NIST and ISO/IEC 19794 record formats.
Idemia’s fingerprint product range spans capacitive contact modules (used in many embedded OEM designs), large-area optical modules for tenprint capture, and the MorphoAccess and Sigma terminal-class sensors for civil and commercial enrolment. Capacitive modules are compact, low-power and well suited to handheld enclosures such as the XH-100; optical modules suit the larger capture area of a 10.1-inch tablet such as the XH-400 or the dual-screen terminal.
What to send us when specifying Idemia: the receiving system’s data format and edition, the target certification (FBI PIV-071006, Appendix F, a national civil ID profile, or no certification), the capture workflow (one finger, two flat, four flat, rolled), the matching engine in use, and the SDK platform. We will confirm the exact Idemia model, the firmware and driver version, and the test report that ships with the device.
Suprema — Embedded Modules and Fast Matching
Suprema is headquartered in the Republic of Korea and is best known for its biometric access-control terminals and its BioMini and RealScan embedded modules. The company is one of the larger independent fingerprint module suppliers globally and is a common choice for commercial enrolment, time-and-attendance, embedded OEM designs and access-control programmes that need a fast matcher and a compact form factor.
Suprema’s fingerprint product range covers the BioMini family of compact capacitive and optical modules (often used inside OEM products), the RealScan family of larger optical modules for tenprint capture, and the BioStation series of biometric terminals. Suprema modules are typically chosen when the customer already runs a Suprema-based access or enrolment system, when the matching engine in the receiving system is calibrated to Suprema templates, or when the OEM form factor is tight and a thin, low-power module is required.
What to send us when specifying Suprema: the target Suprema model or family, the matching engine in use (Suprema’s own, or a third-party engine calibrated to Suprema templates), the SDK platform, the data format expected by the receiving system, and the operating environment. We will confirm the mechanical fit, the electrical interface, the driver and the bring-up plan.
Integrated Biometrics — Light-Emitting Sensors for Mobile and Field
Integrated Biometrics is headquartered in the United States and is best known for its Light Emitting Sensor (LES) technology, which is structurally different from capacitive and optical sensors. Rather than a silicon sensor under a platen (capacitive) or a camera looking at a finger on a glass surface (optical), LES uses an electroluminescent film pressed against the finger and a photodiode array to read the fingerprint pattern. The result is a thin, low-power, durable sensor that does not need an optical path and is therefore less sensitive to direct sunlight than traditional optical designs.
Integrated Biometrics’ product range covers FAP 20, FAP 30 and FAP 45 mobile ID sensors used in law enforcement, border, civil ID and field enrolment programmes. The company’s products are FBI-certified for the relevant FAP profiles, and the sensors are widely specified for mobile and vehicle-mounted work where a traditional optical sensor would be too bulky, too power-hungry or too fragile. In our integration programme, IB modules are the most common choice for rugged tablet and handheld programmes that go outdoors and into vehicles.
What to send us when specifying Integrated Biometrics: the target FAP profile, the capture workflow (one flat, two flat, rolled), the field environment (direct sunlight, dust, rain, vehicle vibration), the target certification (FBI PIV-071006, Appendix F, a national profile, or no certification), the SDK platform, and the receiving system’s data format. We will confirm the exact IB model, the firmware and driver, and the test report that ships with the device.
HID Global — Multispectral Imaging for Difficult Fingers
HID Global is headquartered in the United States and is best known in biometrics for its Lumidigm line of multispectral imaging sensors, which it acquired when it bought Lumidigm in 2014. Multispectral imaging reads both the surface and the subsurface of the finger using multiple wavelengths of light, and it is significantly more robust than capacitive or conventional optical designs to wet, dry, dirty, oily, worn and latex-gloved fingers. HID Global also offers the broader EikonTouch capacitive family for office and indoor use.
In our integration programme, HID Global modules are the most common choice for programmes where the user population includes manual workers, healthcare staff, factory operators or field officers, and where the environment cannot be controlled to keep fingers clean and dry. The multispectral advantage is not theoretical: it is the difference between a one-second capture and a five-second capture, and between a successful match rate above 95% and one below 80%, in the kinds of environments that the device will actually be used in.
What to send us when specifying HID Global: the operating environment (clean indoor, industrial, outdoor, healthcare, field), the user population (office, manual, gloved, mixed), the target HID model (multispectral or capacitive), the SDK platform, the data format expected by the receiving system, and any liveness or presentation-attack-detection requirement. We will confirm the exact model, the firmware and driver, and the liveness configuration.
How to Choose — A Four-Axis Decision
The brand is not the first decision. The first decision is the capture technology, and that flows from the receiving system and the environment, not the other way around. We walk each programme through four axes in roughly this order.
- Axis 1: Receiving system data format. The output of the fingerprint module has to match the format the receiving system consumes, whether that is ISO/IEC 19794-2 minutiae, ISO/IEC 19794-4 image, ANSI/NIST-ITL, or a vendor-specific template. If the format is already fixed, the module is constrained. If the format is open, the module is chosen for other reasons and the format is set by the SDK.
- Axis 2: Capture technology. Capacitive for compact, low-power designs in controlled environments. Optical for larger capture area and indoor use. Multispectral for difficult fingers and uncontrolled environments. LES for mobile, vehicle and field use where a thin, durable sensor matters more than a large capture area.
- Axis 3: Certification target. FBI PIV-071006 or Appendix F, a national civil ID profile, a banking KYC requirement, or no certification. Each target constrains the sensor model, the firmware, the driver and the test report.
- Axis 4: Operating environment. Clean indoor, industrial, outdoor, vehicle-mounted, healthcare, field. The environment often decides the technology before any other axis is considered.
The brand is the output of these four axes, not the input. The same programme can legitimately arrive at Idemia for an indoor civil ID build, Suprema for an indoor access-control build, Integrated Biometrics for a vehicle-mounted border build, and HID Global for an industrial workforce build.
The Four Families at a Glance
| Brand | Capture technology | Typical programmes | Environment fit | Common host combinations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idemia | Capacitive, optical | Civil ID, e-ID, banking KYC, voter registration, criminal ID | Controlled indoor, fixed and semi-fixed enrolment | XH-100, XH-400, dual-screen terminal |
| Suprema | Capacitive (compact), optical | Commercial enrolment, time-and-attendance, embedded OEM, access control | Indoor commercial, mobile OEM integration | XH-100, XH-400 |
| Integrated Biometrics | Light Emitting Sensor (LES) | Mobile ID, border, law enforcement, civil ID, field enrolment | Outdoor, direct sunlight, vehicle-mounted, mobile field | XH-400, XH-500 rugged tablet |
| HID Global | Multispectral (Lumidigm) and capacitive (EikonTouch) | Industrial workforce, healthcare, civil enrolment, access control | Wet, dry, dirty, oily, latex-gloved, mixed indoor and outdoor | XH-400, dual-screen terminal |
Table values describe the most common programmes and environments for each supplier. They are not certifications, and they do not represent every model the supplier sells. Confirm the exact model, the firmware and driver, and the certification scope for the specific programme before ordering.
Integration — Electrical, Mechanical, SDK and Certification
Once the brand and model are agreed, four engineering questions decide how the integration is done and how long it takes. The answers to these questions are what the engineering team reviews with the customer before tooling starts, and they are what the quotation and the test report record once the build is fixed.
- Mechanical fit. Each module has its own housing cut-out, mounting depth, sealing surface and connector orientation. The enclosure is adapted to the chosen module rather than the other way around, and any change to the housing may re-trigger ingress protection testing. A drawing review and a fit-check prototype are part of every new module integration.
- Electrical interface. Most modern fingerprint modules speak USB or SPI, with vendor-specific signalling and power requirements. The host board has to provide the right interface and the right power rail. A module change at this level is a board revision, not a configuration change, and the lead time reflects that.
- SDK integration. Each brand ships its own SDK and its own template or image format. The Android integration includes the SDK, the driver, the image or template capture pipeline, and the application’s enrolment and matching logic. For the receiving system to consume the output, the SDK and the receiving system have to agree on the data format, the edition and the template schema.
- Certification. FBI PIV-071006, Appendix F, a national civil ID profile, banking KYC, or no certification. The certification scope is agreed before tooling and recorded in the test report. A change to the module, the firmware or the driver may invalidate the existing test report and require re-testing, with the lead time and cost of re-testing agreed in writing.
What to Send Us
To put a quotation together we need the following. The more of these that can be answered in writing at the start, the more accurate the quotation and the shorter the lead time.
- The programme type: civil ID, banking KYC, voter registration, border, access control, workforce, or other.
- The receiving system: vendor, software version, and the data format expected (ISO/IEC 19794-2, ISO/IEC 19794-4, ANSI/NIST-ITL, or vendor template).
- The capture workflow: one flat finger, two flat, four flat, rolled, or a combination.
- The target certification: FBI PIV-071006, Appendix F, a national civil ID profile, banking KYC, or no certification.
- The host device: XH-100, XH-400, XH-500, dual-screen terminal, or a custom build.
- The operating environment: clean indoor, industrial, outdoor, vehicle-mounted, healthcare, field.
- The expected volume: pilot quantity, annual run, total programme size.
- The target brand, if already specified: Idemia, Suprema, Integrated Biometrics, HID Global, or open.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Xinhong Smart manufacture the fingerprint module itself?
No. The fingerprint module is sourced from the brand the programme specifies — Idemia, Suprema, Integrated Biometrics or HID Global — and integrated into the terminal enclosure. Module selection, exact model, SDK and certification scope are confirmed per programme before tooling starts.
Which Xinhong Smart models accept third-party fingerprint modules?
The 5-inch XH-100 handheld, the 10.1-inch XH-400 tablet, the 10.1-inch XH-500 rugged tablet and the dual-screen ID verification terminal all accept third-party fingerprint modules. The exact module, mechanical fit and electrical interface are agreed before order, because the housing cut-out, sealing and driver differ between modules.
Are these modules FBI-certified or FAP-rated?
An FAP number alone does not establish certification. Suppliers such as Idemia, Suprema, Integrated Biometrics and HID Global offer models that target FBI PIV-071006, Appendix F and specific FAP profiles, but a tested hardware and software configuration is what appears on the FBI Certified Products List. Confirm the exact model, firmware and driver for the receiving programme.
Can a customer supply their own fingerprint module for integration?
Usually yes. We routinely integrate customer-supplied fingerprint modules when the mechanical drawing, electrical interface and SDK are provided. A small engineering charge and a longer sample lead time apply, and any housing or sealing change may re-trigger ingress testing.
How long does integration take for a new fingerprint module?
For a module we have already integrated, sample lead time is around 3 days and mass production around 25 days. For a new module family, allow 2 to 4 weeks for mechanical fit, electrical bring-up, SDK integration and any re-testing, with the exact window confirmed after we review the module datasheet and the target certification scope.
Specifying a Biometric Terminal?
Send us the programme type, the receiving system and the operating environment, and we will propose a module family, a model and a host device, and confirm the certification scope in writing. For a fleet procurement, a pilot run with your own application is the right next step before any volume order. See also FAP, FBI and ISO fingerprint standards for how the certification numbers relate to actual deployment requirements, and the biometric tablet range for how the capture modules, the Android platform and the SDK fit together.
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Related reading: What Is a Biometric Tablet? · FAP 10 / 20 / 30 Fingerprint Areas · Civil Identity Enrolment