Fingerprint sensor firm IDEX announced it has acquired a software algorithm and patents from Metadyne Software for US$4.5 million.

IDEX said the acquisition will enable the company to deliver significantly improved security and user convenience for mass market fingerprint sensor solutions.

The agreement includes three patent families for fingerprint ridge matching, with four granted patents, one patent pending, and additional patents being filed.

The acquired algorithm will enable IDEX to provide the lowest cost mobile fingerprint product in the marketplace, giving it a significant competitive edge.

“This acquisition represents a significant step forward in our product development roadmap and further differentiates IDEX’s technology from the competition,” said Dr. Hemant Mardia, CEO of IDEX. “We believe that algorithms are a fundamental aspect of superior cutting-edge fingerprint sensor products. The patent protected intellectual property that we acquired today delivers twice the performance of any other algorithm that we have tested and is a perfect complement to IDEX’s best-in-class swipe sensor algorithms.”

The algorithm also contains unique properties of requiring minimum processing power and memory that plays a crucial role in embedding within highly secure processing elements that are needed to adhere to ever-changing standards for payment transactions.

The agreement is structured as a royalty based transaction, with US$2 million to be paid in cash and a further US$2.5 million to be delivered through minimum royalty payments over a maximum period of five years.

As part of the agreement, Metadyne Software CEO Roger Bauchspies will stay on as a consultant to IDEX to further improve the algorithm and intellectual property.