Some deployment programs are now looking at dual-interface solutions in order to consolidate to a single topology to meet all of their requirements for physical access, logical access and other multi-use applications. Ideas that were simply theoretical a few years back are now more easily realized with products available in the market. To go along with the newer smart card technologies, fixed infrastructure products such as updated readers are becoming available to support newer physical and logical access requirements, as well as the software to make it all work.

Dual-interface smart card chips provide a single-chip solution, lowering card manufacturing costs as well as potentially simplifying the middleware infrastructure. All necessary security features incorporating cryptographic capability and authentication mechanisms are inherently part of these solutions. Large memory cards with more than 400 kb user memory enable a combination of what were previously discrete ID products into a single solution.

Market sectors considering these solutions are corporate ID, various governmental agencies and healthcare. Larger memory, advanced security capabilities and product consolidation are some of the motivators leading to these combined solutions. True “campus card” applications that cover a wider range of capabilities can now be realized with lower overall deployment and operating costs. Multiple digital certificates and passwords, authorizations and other credential information that we would like to keep confidential may now be incorporated onto a single ID token, kept safe, and unlocked for use solely by the user and authorized issuing organizations.

On-card-match biometrics enable local and immediate authentication capability. Lost or stolen ID tokens are thereby rendered unusable if the on-card biometrics capability is part of an authentication mechanism for any user access functions.

Now you really can have it all in one solution.

Visit Sharp Microelectronics on the web at www.sharpsma.com.