Method and system for transitioning a device controller of an electronic device from an at least partly inactive mode to an at least partly active mode

1. A method for transitioning a device controller comprised with an electronic device from an at least partly inactive mode to an at least partly active mode, the electronic device further comprising a pre-processing module and a fingerprint sensor configured to acquire image data, said method comprising the steps of:

determining the presence of an object at a vicinity of the fingerprint sensor;

acquiring, using the fingerprint sensor, image data representative of the object;

pre-processing the acquired image data, using the pre-processing module, to determine features indicative of a fingerprint, wherein the device controller is in the at least partly inactive mode;

matching, using the pre-processing module, the determined features with at least one set of stored fingerprint features of a finger of a user of the electronic device;

generating an instruction to transition the device controller to the at least partly active mode if a result of the matching indicates that the acquired image data corresponds to the at least one set of stored fingerprint features of the finger of the user of the electronic device;

providing the acquired image data and information relating to the matching performed at the pre-processing module to the device controller being transitioned to the at least partly active mode; and

performing a fingerprint authentication procedure, using the device controller, based on the image data, the information relating to the matching performed at the pre-processing module, and at least one fingerprint template,

wherein the pre-processing module is integrated with the fingerprint sensor and is separate from the device controller.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of matching comprises determining a matching score between the image data and the at least one set of stored fingerprint features, and determining that the image data corresponds to stored fingerprint features of the one finger of the user of the electronic device if the matching score exceeds a threshold.

3. The method according to claim 2 , further comprising adjusting the threshold based on the acquired image data.

4. The method according to claim 3 , further comprising, when the acquired image data corresponds to the at least one set of stored fingerprint features of the finger of user of the electronic device, updating the at least one set of stored fingerprint features based on the acquired image data.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a false accept rate of the matching, using the pre-processing module, is substantially higher than a false accept rate of the fingerprint authentication procedure.

6. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of:

unlocking the electronic device if the fingerprint authentication procedure results in a decision that the image data matches the at least one fingerprint template.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one set of stored fingerprint features of finger of the user comprises predetermined fingerprint ridge flow characteristics.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the predetermined fingerprint ridge flow characteristics comprises a set of global ridge flow patterns.

9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the set of global ridge flow patterns comprises at least one of information relating to an arch, a tented arch, a right loop, a left loop, and a whorl.

10. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the predetermined fingerprint ridge flow characteristics comprises a set of local ridge flow descriptors.

11. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the local ridge flow descriptors comprises at least one of local ridge orientation, or ridge curvature, or ridge density.

12. The method according to claim 7 , further comprising the step of:

updating the predetermined fingerprint ridge flow characteristics based on the acquired image data.

13. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least partly inactive mode is a low power mode and the at least partly active mode is a normal operational mode for the device controller.

14. An electronic device, comprising:

a device controller, the device controller configured to be arranged in an at least partly inactive mode or an at least partly active mode;

a pre-processing module; and

a fingerprint sensor configured to acquire image data, wherein the pre-processing module is integrated with the fingerprint sensor and is separate from the device controller and wherein the electronic device is arranged to perform the method of claim 1 .

15. The electronic device according to claim 14 , wherein the fingerprint sensor is a capacitive fingerprint sensor.

16. The electronic device according to claim 14 , wherein the electronic device is a mobile phone.

17. A computer program product comprising a non- transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer program means for controlling an electronic device, the electronic device comprising a device controller configured to be arranged in an at least partly inactive mode or an at least partly active mode, a pre-processing module, and a fingerprint sensor configured to acquire image data, wherein the pre-processing module is integrated with the fingerprint sensor and is separate from the device controller, and wherein the computer program product comprises code for performing the method of claim 1 .

18. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the fingerprint authentication procedure comprises a coarse part and a detailed part, and wherein the information relating to the matching performed at the pre-processing module comprises the coarse part of the fingerprint authentication procedure.

19. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one set of stored fingerprint features is different from the at least one fingerprint template.

20. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the at least one set of stored fingerprint features comprises a portion of the at least one fingerprint template.