- Email: [email protected]
Gun company lines up biometric suppliers
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Biometric mobile phone set for controversial launch French mobile phone and fingerprint technology company Sagem (Btt Dec/Jan ’00, p6) has announced it will launch a dual-band GSM mobile phone with an integrated fingerprint reader as early as June 2000. This would be the first commercial biometric mobile phone to hit consumer markets. The timing of the launch is largely in line with earlier predictions (Btt October ’99, p2), but the announcement has still taken the industry by surprise. Now that WAP implementation issues have mainly been solved, biometrics are likely to reappear on many mobile phone manufacturers’ agendas. The phone’s launch could be surrounded by controversy, however, as the technology is in danger of contravening a patent by Fingerprint Cards of Sweden (Btt February ’00, p3). Filed in 1982, Fingerprint Cards claims that its Löfberg patent, which is valid in France, Germany, UK, Sweden and Japan until 2002 and in the USA until 2003, covers the use of fingerprint sensors in mobile devices, such as mobile phones. According to Lennart Carlson, president of Fingerprint Cards: “We have done extensive research into this patent, as have Ericsson – licensees of our technology. Our whole company is built up around this patent.” Sagem refused to comment on the potential conflict. Aside from the looming patent problems, the technology behind the Sagem MC 959 ID phone is based on a capacitive fingerprint sensor. This is positioned on the back of the unit and was designed by Sagem’s US subsidiary Morpho. The number of fingerprint templates stored could be between “one and 100” depending on the GSM operator’s needs, a Sagem spokesman told Btt. The templates can either be stored in the phone’s SIM card, in a separate chip in the battery or in the phone itself. Sagem said that the price of the phone has not yet been confirmed, but would be above the unit cost of its recently launched Sagem MC 959. No special equipment will be needed for enrolment, with the user enrolling their fingerprint via their phone.
2 • Btt March 2000
The supplier did not carry out any market research into the potential market for such a phone, but it will be targeted at the higher end of the market. Contact: Marc Ferrant at Sagem, Tel: +33 1 40 70 69 75, Fax: +33 1 40 70 69 70, email: [email protected] Lennart Carlson at Fingerprint Cards, Tel: +46 31 10 06 75, email: [email protected]
Fingerprint
Gun company lines up biometric suppliers The world’s largest handgun manufacturer Smith & Wesson (S&W) has said it will be two years before a saleable smart gun will be available for shipping. The timetable includes 12 months to iron out current technical issues and a further year of manufacturing lead time. S&W is currently courting a number of biometric fingerprint suppliers, including Mytec Technologies, Applied Biometrics Products, BII, Polaroid and Motorola. Vice president of product engineering at S&W Kevin Foley told Btt: “I don’t know who’s going to get the contract. Right now it’s an open field.” Foley hopes to build around 50-70 biometric test units over the next year, which will be distributed to focus groups to help resolve any remaining technological issues. The smart gun industry has been in a state of flux since US president Bill Clinton said earlier this year that he would attempt to secure US$10 million from Congress for research into the technology (Btt February ’00, p3). A number of suppliers have indicated that their technology is ready to be implemented into a gun, but Foley revealed that none of the products are yet up to the mark. “We still need to get the cost and size down. The surviving suppliers will be the ones that can fit their product into the grip of the handgun.” The suppliers are at different stages of negotiation with S&W. Mytec, for example, has been working with the gun manufacturer since Spring 1999. It has a working prototype that operates using a removable biometric module incorporating a FingerTip sensor from Infineon. With this system a user must remove the gun’s cartridge and replace it with the biometric module
“Smith & Wesson is evaluating fingerprint identification products offered by a number of companies. We will select the company that has the technology that best fits our cost, size and durability and reliability requirements.” Kevin Foley, vice president of product engineering at Smith & Wesson in the USA
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News
Proton World was created by American Express, Banksys, ERG, Interpay and Visa International. It has more than 272,500 compatible terminals installed worldwide. To date, national licensees are: • Australia • Belgium • Brazil • Canada • Chile • Croatia • India • Malaysia • Mexico • Netherlands • New Zealand • Nigeria • Norway • Philippines • Sweden • Switzerland • Thailand • UK • USA
for authentication. Once authentication is complete the gun is electronically primed. The user then replaces the gun’s original cartridge and is ready to fire. Although the system is battery operated, a potential drawback is that it requires a PC to enrol users. According to Foley, the smallest system on offer is from Applied Biometrics Products, which has also demonstrated a prototype to S&W. This battery-operated system would not need to be removed from the gun and has a continuous battery running time of 45-60 days. Enrolment would take place on the gun. Of the other biometric suppliers, BII has outlined its plans to S&W, which were reportedly “promising”, while Polaroid and Motorola have yet to meet with the gun manufacturer – although evaluation kits have been tested and face-to-face meetings are imminent. According to Foley, the US government needs to take a proactive stance on this issue. He identified four areas that needed addressing. The first two are with regards to definitions of the technology. This covers issues such as enrolment, gun tracing and the definition of words, such as “childproof” and “smart gun”. The third area is one of funding. S&W has so far spent approximately US$5 million on development. Extra funding from government would ensure better design and faster speed-to-market. The final issue is one of product liability relief. According to Foley, some suppliers are “scared to death” that their technology could fail in the gun, leading to potential lawsuits. Contact: Kevin Foley at Smith & Wesson, Tel: +1 413 781 8300, Fax: +1 413 747 3522, email: [email protected]
be verified using multiple biometrics, such as fingerprint, voice and face. Templates can either be stored in the chip’s memory or as part of an application applet on a Java card. An authentication applet enables the security functions that are necessary for financial transactions. The addition of biometrics will reduce the chance that an impostor can gain access to a user’s e-purse. A Proton World representative told Btt: “There is certainly enough evidence that biometrics can enhance security. This deal with Keyware is not exclusive, but we have been very impressed with the technology. The next step is to actively promote a business model.” Btt has learnt that Proton World is already talking to one of its 19 national licensees. A company spokesman said: “One customer expressed a strong interest in the technology last September. They want to use the biometric technology when very large transfer amounts are being made.” Proton World will not name its potential customer, only hinting that it is not one of its European licensees. Keyware Technologies is particularly excited about the use of the combined technology in the internet payment market. Proton cards are already used for this purpose in Belgium. In a separate smart card announcement, Keyware said it would develop tools to enable biometric authentication on Microsoft’s Windows for Smart Cards Operating System. According to Renaat Himpe, Microsoft’s business development manager for smart cards: “Our alliance with Keyware will enable developers to create biometric authentications faster and easier.” Contact: Ann Lambrechts at Keyware Technologies, Tel: +32 2 721 45 74, Fax: +32 2 721 69 49, email: [email protected]
Smart cards
Proton smart cards to accept LBV technology Smart card technology provider Proton World has made its first venture into the biometrics industry, announcing that its e-purse cards are now able to store biometric templates. The company is using technology from Belgian supplier Keyware Technologies (Btt October ’99, p7). Keyware is best known for its layered biometric verification (LBV) technology, which is an open development platform that allows users to
Immigration
Israeli airport expands biometric passport control Successful technology trials at Ben Gurion Airport (Btt Jul/Aug ’99, p6) in Israel have prompted the Israeli Airport Authority to expand its number of biometric passport control kiosks. The kiosk system will now become the primary inspection system available in the airport’s crowded arrival halls.
Btt March 2000 • 3
08/03/00
16:21
Page 2
News Fingerprint
Biometric mobile phone set for controversial launch French mobile phone and fingerprint technology company Sagem (Btt Dec/Jan ’00, p6) has announced it will launch a dual-band GSM mobile phone with an integrated fingerprint reader as early as June 2000. This would be the first commercial biometric mobile phone to hit consumer markets. The timing of the launch is largely in line with earlier predictions (Btt October ’99, p2), but the announcement has still taken the industry by surprise. Now that WAP implementation issues have mainly been solved, biometrics are likely to reappear on many mobile phone manufacturers’ agendas. The phone’s launch could be surrounded by controversy, however, as the technology is in danger of contravening a patent by Fingerprint Cards of Sweden (Btt February ’00, p3). Filed in 1982, Fingerprint Cards claims that its Löfberg patent, which is valid in France, Germany, UK, Sweden and Japan until 2002 and in the USA until 2003, covers the use of fingerprint sensors in mobile devices, such as mobile phones. According to Lennart Carlson, president of Fingerprint Cards: “We have done extensive research into this patent, as have Ericsson – licensees of our technology. Our whole company is built up around this patent.” Sagem refused to comment on the potential conflict. Aside from the looming patent problems, the technology behind the Sagem MC 959 ID phone is based on a capacitive fingerprint sensor. This is positioned on the back of the unit and was designed by Sagem’s US subsidiary Morpho. The number of fingerprint templates stored could be between “one and 100” depending on the GSM operator’s needs, a Sagem spokesman told Btt. The templates can either be stored in the phone’s SIM card, in a separate chip in the battery or in the phone itself. Sagem said that the price of the phone has not yet been confirmed, but would be above the unit cost of its recently launched Sagem MC 959. No special equipment will be needed for enrolment, with the user enrolling their fingerprint via their phone.
2 • Btt March 2000
The supplier did not carry out any market research into the potential market for such a phone, but it will be targeted at the higher end of the market. Contact: Marc Ferrant at Sagem, Tel: +33 1 40 70 69 75, Fax: +33 1 40 70 69 70, email: [email protected] Lennart Carlson at Fingerprint Cards, Tel: +46 31 10 06 75, email: [email protected]
Fingerprint
Gun company lines up biometric suppliers The world’s largest handgun manufacturer Smith & Wesson (S&W) has said it will be two years before a saleable smart gun will be available for shipping. The timetable includes 12 months to iron out current technical issues and a further year of manufacturing lead time. S&W is currently courting a number of biometric fingerprint suppliers, including Mytec Technologies, Applied Biometrics Products, BII, Polaroid and Motorola. Vice president of product engineering at S&W Kevin Foley told Btt: “I don’t know who’s going to get the contract. Right now it’s an open field.” Foley hopes to build around 50-70 biometric test units over the next year, which will be distributed to focus groups to help resolve any remaining technological issues. The smart gun industry has been in a state of flux since US president Bill Clinton said earlier this year that he would attempt to secure US$10 million from Congress for research into the technology (Btt February ’00, p3). A number of suppliers have indicated that their technology is ready to be implemented into a gun, but Foley revealed that none of the products are yet up to the mark. “We still need to get the cost and size down. The surviving suppliers will be the ones that can fit their product into the grip of the handgun.” The suppliers are at different stages of negotiation with S&W. Mytec, for example, has been working with the gun manufacturer since Spring 1999. It has a working prototype that operates using a removable biometric module incorporating a FingerTip sensor from Infineon. With this system a user must remove the gun’s cartridge and replace it with the biometric module
“Smith & Wesson is evaluating fingerprint identification products offered by a number of companies. We will select the company that has the technology that best fits our cost, size and durability and reliability requirements.” Kevin Foley, vice president of product engineering at Smith & Wesson in the USA
march.qxd
08/03/00
16:21
Page 3
News
Proton World was created by American Express, Banksys, ERG, Interpay and Visa International. It has more than 272,500 compatible terminals installed worldwide. To date, national licensees are: • Australia • Belgium • Brazil • Canada • Chile • Croatia • India • Malaysia • Mexico • Netherlands • New Zealand • Nigeria • Norway • Philippines • Sweden • Switzerland • Thailand • UK • USA
for authentication. Once authentication is complete the gun is electronically primed. The user then replaces the gun’s original cartridge and is ready to fire. Although the system is battery operated, a potential drawback is that it requires a PC to enrol users. According to Foley, the smallest system on offer is from Applied Biometrics Products, which has also demonstrated a prototype to S&W. This battery-operated system would not need to be removed from the gun and has a continuous battery running time of 45-60 days. Enrolment would take place on the gun. Of the other biometric suppliers, BII has outlined its plans to S&W, which were reportedly “promising”, while Polaroid and Motorola have yet to meet with the gun manufacturer – although evaluation kits have been tested and face-to-face meetings are imminent. According to Foley, the US government needs to take a proactive stance on this issue. He identified four areas that needed addressing. The first two are with regards to definitions of the technology. This covers issues such as enrolment, gun tracing and the definition of words, such as “childproof” and “smart gun”. The third area is one of funding. S&W has so far spent approximately US$5 million on development. Extra funding from government would ensure better design and faster speed-to-market. The final issue is one of product liability relief. According to Foley, some suppliers are “scared to death” that their technology could fail in the gun, leading to potential lawsuits. Contact: Kevin Foley at Smith & Wesson, Tel: +1 413 781 8300, Fax: +1 413 747 3522, email: [email protected]
be verified using multiple biometrics, such as fingerprint, voice and face. Templates can either be stored in the chip’s memory or as part of an application applet on a Java card. An authentication applet enables the security functions that are necessary for financial transactions. The addition of biometrics will reduce the chance that an impostor can gain access to a user’s e-purse. A Proton World representative told Btt: “There is certainly enough evidence that biometrics can enhance security. This deal with Keyware is not exclusive, but we have been very impressed with the technology. The next step is to actively promote a business model.” Btt has learnt that Proton World is already talking to one of its 19 national licensees. A company spokesman said: “One customer expressed a strong interest in the technology last September. They want to use the biometric technology when very large transfer amounts are being made.” Proton World will not name its potential customer, only hinting that it is not one of its European licensees. Keyware Technologies is particularly excited about the use of the combined technology in the internet payment market. Proton cards are already used for this purpose in Belgium. In a separate smart card announcement, Keyware said it would develop tools to enable biometric authentication on Microsoft’s Windows for Smart Cards Operating System. According to Renaat Himpe, Microsoft’s business development manager for smart cards: “Our alliance with Keyware will enable developers to create biometric authentications faster and easier.” Contact: Ann Lambrechts at Keyware Technologies, Tel: +32 2 721 45 74, Fax: +32 2 721 69 49, email: [email protected]
Smart cards
Proton smart cards to accept LBV technology Smart card technology provider Proton World has made its first venture into the biometrics industry, announcing that its e-purse cards are now able to store biometric templates. The company is using technology from Belgian supplier Keyware Technologies (Btt October ’99, p7). Keyware is best known for its layered biometric verification (LBV) technology, which is an open development platform that allows users to
Immigration
Israeli airport expands biometric passport control Successful technology trials at Ben Gurion Airport (Btt Jul/Aug ’99, p6) in Israel have prompted the Israeli Airport Authority to expand its number of biometric passport control kiosks. The kiosk system will now become the primary inspection system available in the airport’s crowded arrival halls.
Btt March 2000 • 3