Low power navigation devices, systems and methods

A method of operating a fingerprint image sensor to conserve power, the method comprising:

• monitoring, by a computing device, signals from the fingerprint image sensor;
• determining, by the computing device, based on the signals from the fingerprint image sensor, that a finger is not in contact with a sensor surface of the fingerprint image sensor, and, in response thereto, operating the fingerprint image sensor in a wake-on-event mode;
• during operation of the fingerprint image sensor in the wake-on-event mode, periodically activating, by the computing device, the fingerprint image sensor to determine whether a finger is in contact with the sensor surface;
• and
• in response to determining that a finger is in contact with the sensor surface during operation of the fingerprint image sensor in the wake-on-event mode, transitioning, by the computing device, the fingerprint image sensor into a higher power scanning mode to detect finger motion relative to the sensor surface and to generate corresponding finger sensor data indicative of the detected finger motion, wherein the higher power scanning mode consumes higher power relative to the wake-on-event mode.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium having processor-executable instructions stored thereon for conserving power using a fingerprint image sensor, wherein the processor-executable instructions, when executed by a computing device, facilitate performance of the following:

• monitoring signals from the fingerprint image sensor;
• determining, based on the signals from the fingerprint image sensor, that a finger is not in contact with a sensor surface of the fingerprint image sensor, and, in response thereto, operating the fingerprint image sensor in a wake-on-event mode;
• during operation of the fingerprint image sensor in the wake-on-event mode, periodically activating the fingerprint image sensor to determine whether a finger is in contact with the sensor surface;
• and
• in response to determining that a finger is in contact with the sensor surface during operation of the fingerprint image sensor in the wake-on-event mode, transitioning the fingerprint image sensor into a higher power scanning mode to detect finger motion relative to the sensor surface and to generate corresponding finger sensor data indicative of the detected finger motion, wherein the higher power scanning mode consumes higher power relative to the wake-on-event mode.