Manjunath Reddy, a Customer Engineering Lead and Biometric Security Expert, has revolutionized the field of biometric security with his groundbreaking work in ultrasonic fingerprint sensors. With over 20 years of experience in embedded software, AI, and security solutions, Reddy played a pivotal role in pioneering the first under-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, a technology now integral to flagship devices from Samsung, VIVO, Xiaomi, and Google.

“Traditional fingerprint sensors rely on 2D imaging, making them vulnerable to spoofing,” Reddy explains. “Ultrasonic sensors, however, use high-frequency sound waves to map fingerprint ridges and pores in 3D, significantly enhancing security. They also perform reliably in challenging conditions like wet or greasy fingers, ensuring seamless user experience.”

His team at Qualcomm set new industry standards with the Gen 2 (QFS4008) sensor, which increased scanning area by 77% and reduced processing time by 50%. The commercialization of this technology in Samsung’s Galaxy S series, Xiaomi, and VIVO devices has contributed to over $500 million in revenue, solidifying Qualcomm’s leadership in biometric security.

Bringing such advanced technology to market was no easy feat. “Ensuring compatibility across different processors—Snapdragon, Google Tensor, and Exynos—while maintaining speed and accuracy was a significant challenge,” Reddy recalls. He and his team developed adaptive learning algorithms to enhance reliability, even under varied environmental conditions and with screen protectors.

Reddy is also a patent holder, with his most impactful innovation being the Latent Feature Detection technology. “This improved authentication accuracy by 35% and enabled the sensor to distinguish between live fingers and replicas, effectively preventing spoofing,” he says. Another industry-first was the Wake on Finger feature, allowing devices to unlock even underwater or in low-light conditions.

His contributions have been recognized through multiple Qualstar and ThankQ awards from Qualcomm’s leadership, including the CEO and senior product directors. “Aligning product innovation with business strategy has been key to our success,” Reddy notes. “The integration of our sensors in Samsung’s flagship devices alone has led to over 60 million units in annual sales.”

Beyond smartphones, Reddy has expanded biometric security applications into automotive, healthcare, and IoT sectors. “In automotive, we integrated fingerprint sensors for secure driver authentication, adapting to different lighting conditions. In healthcare, our AI-driven frameworks enable secure patient identification while ensuring compliance with regulations like HIPAA and GDPR.”

Looking ahead, Reddy envisions the future of biometric security as a seamless blend of multimodal authentication, including fingerprints, facial recognition, and behavioral biometrics. “AI will adapt authentication models to user behavior in real time, and cryptographic encryption will be critical in ensuring long-term security,” he predicts. With his unwavering focus on innovation, Manjunath Reddy continues to shape the future of biometric security, reinforcing Qualcomm’s dominance in the field.