Oslo, Norway – NEXT Biometrics Group ASA has invested $4 million in a high capacity coating machine for rigid and flexible fingerprint sensors and a new high precision laser cutter for volume manufacturing of flexible fingerprint sensors tools, both to be operational in the first half of 2017, for mass production of sensors.
NEXT said the main part of the investment is related to a high capacity coating machine to significantly increase total sensor coating capacity and also reduce dependency on the current single source coater installed at INNOLUX.
On July 21, 2016, NEXT and Innolux, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of TFT-LCD-panels, had jointly announced they are investing in establishing mass production capacity for NEXT flexible fingerprint sensor technology. Innolux and NEXT have worked together for many years and NEXT is manufacturing volumes of rigid fingerprint sensors at Innolux plants in Taiwan. With NEXT’s recent introduction of the world´s first flexible fingerprint sensor, the companies agreed to do joint investments for mass production of the new fingerprint sensors.