Neil Hughes
Apple's domestic development of custom chips continues to grow, as a new job listing references a mysterious "Melbourne Design Center" in Florida, likely connected to the company's interest in fingerprint scanning technology.
AuthenTec's U.are.U 5160 Fingerprint Reader. The company, bought by Apple last year, is based in Florida.
The newly available position for a Software Engineer in Melbourne, Fla., was spotted by AppleInsider on Monday. It seeks a candidate who will work on software called "LabTool" that is used for sensor integrated circuits developed at Apple's "Melbourne Design Center."
Apple's new Melbourne Design Center may be connected to its purchase of AuthenTec, maker of fingerprint scanning technology.
The city of Melbourne is located on Florida's Space Coast, named for being located near the Kennedy Space Center where NASA launched Space Shuttles until the program's retirement in 2011. The presence of NASA and various U.S. military installations has led to a number of high-tech jobs in the region.
The job listing gives no indication as to exactly what type of integrated circuits the software engineer might work on. But it's possible that the position is related to Apple's acquisition of AuthenTec, a Melbourne-based company that was purchased for $356 million last year.
There are no other job listings on Apple's site located in Melbourne, further suggesting the new hire would be a part of AuthenTec's existing operations on the Space Coast.
Apple's purchase of AuthenTec is believed to have been driven by its custom fingerprint sensor technology. That's fueled speculation that Apple could include an integrated fingerprint scanner in a future iPhone, potentially as soon as this year.
Analyst Ming-chi Kuo of KGI securities, who has a strong track record in predicting Apple's future product plans, first reported in January that Apple plans to launch a so-called "iPhone 5S" this year with a fingerprint sensor featuring AuthenTec's technology. According to Kuo, the sensor will be located under the home button on the handset, and it will allow users to bypass password entry and potentially authenticate e-wallet transactions.
Apple's new Software Engineer vacancy in Melbourne seeks a candidate that will write low-level control firmware for "sensor ICs" built at the Melbourne Design Center. These "sensor functions" will include array control, gain control, calibration and security.
Qualified candidates for the newly available job must have a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering or computer science.
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52 Comments
DO NOT WANT THIS FINGERPRINTING IN APPLE iDevices NOR MACS!
What I DO want is Push-To-Talk Nextel/iDEN Direct Connect style with a dedicated yet programmable button. I NEVER used a finger scanner on a work laptop I had and never would. Fingerprinting is for criminals not end users!
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[quote name="libertyforall" url="/t/156859/apples-us-based-chip-development-expanding-in-florida-could-be-related-to-fingerprint-tech#post_2306676"]Fingerprinting is for criminals not end users! [/quote] There have been countless people identified by their finger and foot prints that were done. Tragedies do happen and yet you would deny all those families closure by not being able to know if there loved one(s) were properly identified. Shame on you! :no:
Fingerprinting is for criminals not end users!
So how about a tongue print sensor instead?
Your tongue print is just as unique as your fingerprints, but the FBI doesn't have a tongue print database.
Great for paranoids such as yourself.
And lick-to-unlock would drastically cut back on sharing iOS devices, now wouldn't it?
Not sure I'd like to handle an iPhone whose owner just licked it.
Could boost iPhone sales. Less sharing.
So how about a tongue print sensor instead?
Your tongue print is just as unique as your fingerprints, but the FBI doesn't have a tongue print database.
Have the front-facing camera scan your ear. No two ears are the same.