Identity, Security, Payments, Biometrics, Smart Cards and Authentication News

Beijing Olympic Reunion Center access controlled with biometric smart cards

Thursday, August 28, 2008

At every Olympic Games’ site the World Olympian Association (WOA) sets up an Olympic Reunion Center designed as a meeting place for past and present athletes as well as VIPs and special guests. At this year’s Olympics in Beijing security was a high priority for the center due to worries of terrorist activities surrounding the games and general concern for the athletes’ well-being. To properly control access to the center, the WOA looked tapped Artemis Solutions Group, a developer of identification verification products, to help design and implement new system.


With the Artemis designed system, as each guest arrived at the center for the first time they were issued a smart card containing encrypted fingerprint data on the individual as their means of entering the center throughout the games. To create the cards, Artemis had a system that used an Evolis Smart ID Card printer and their own BioCert Aegis ID System and smart card interface kit that enabled the biometric data of the card holder to be encoded and encrypted as the card was being printed.

Each time a cardholder accessed the reunion center, it required them to use the smart card they had been issued at a portable smart card reader which incorporated a decryption module, smart card reader, LCD screen and fingerprint reader. [end] 

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