NEXT Biometrics (Oslo Bors: NEXT), a global leader in fingerprint sensor technology, today announced a global collaboration with IOTA Foundation, a non-profit foundation focused on distributed ledger technology (DLT) and permission-less ecosystem development. NEXT and the IOTA Foundation will work together to develop Internet of Things (IoT) solutions integrating NEXT’s leading fingerprint sensor technology and IOTA Foundation’s open-source protocol.

The IOTA Foundation’s mission is to support the development and standardization of new DLTs, including the IOTA Tangle. The IOTA Tangle is an innovative type of DLT specifically designed for the IoT environment. It is an open-source protocol facilitating novel Machine-to-Machine (M2M) interactions, including secure data transfer, fee-less real-time micropayments, and the collection and dissemination of sensor-based and other types of ‘oracle’ and other data.

“We look forward to collaborating with IOTA towards developing new standards for safe, convenient identification for the IoT market,” said Alain Faburel, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at NEXT. “Combining IOTA Foundation’s standards for interactions between IoT devices and our secure biometric sensors will enable safe transactions across a multitude of IoT applications.”

NEXT will integrate IOTA technology into a selection of its sensor products, leveraging IOTA’s extensive technical expertise to ensure development of seamless solutions. Both parties will utilize their networks to promote and showcase NEXT and IOTA technology.

“We are excited to team up with a recognized leader in fingerprint sensor technology and authentication solution,” said Holger Köther, director of partnerships at the IOTA Foundation. “IOTA Tangle provides secure data transfer, with an immutable audit trail. The integration of IOTA into NEXT Biometrics sensors is a key step to build solutions that enable safe, effective user identification at the device level. Together these solutions will provide digital trust as we move towards the Internet of Everything.”