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HID Global and Sony announce NFC-Enabled Contactless Smart Card Reader Platform for Global Laptop and Mobile Device Market
November 2011 by Marc Jacob
HID Global and Sony Corporation announced a jointly developed contactless smart card reader platform that embeds secure access control capabilities and Near Field Communication (NFC) functionality into laptops and other mobile devices. The platform holds a secure element that stores cryptographic keys which secure the authenticity and integrity of user credentials. It supports widely used contactless technologies for applications ranging from physical access control and identity assurance at the desktop to transit-fare, point-of-sale collection and loyalty programs.
The jointly developed NFC global reader platform is the result of a strategic partnership that Sony and HID Global announced last year. Both companies will be demonstrating the platform November 15-17, 2011, at the CARTES & IDentification 2011 conference in Paris, where it will be shown reading a variety of card technologies using NFC, a short-range wireless technology that is now fueling a wide range of new mobile access control applications.
In continuing to work closely with the NFC Forum in support of market-driven compliance and interoperability goals, the reader platform has been provided to the NFC Forum Certification Program as a reference sample to assist in the validation of the Digital Protocol test tools. The reader platform will also be submitted for certification.
The jointly developed platform supports Sony’s FeliCaTM technology, HID Global’s iCLASS® and iCLASS SETM credentials, MIFARE® DESFire EV1 credentials, and other broadly adopted technologies supporting the ISO/IEC 14443 Type A/B contactless smart card standard using the T=CL contactless transmission protocol. The solution also supports the industry-standard PC/SC Version 2.0 specification for the programming interfaces between PC applications, the operating system and smart cards. It is also prepared to further support the proximity features of the next major release of the Microsoft® Windows® operating system which enable communication between NFC tags and devices (mobile phones or computers) using a tap gesture, as well as the Android operating system for tablet products.
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Sony and HID Global have released a complete reference design for the jointly developed embedded NFC module, and will also provide comprehensive developer support to minimize product development requirements and speed time-to-market schedules for PC OEMs. During CARTES & IDentification 2011, the two companies will show laptop computers running HID Global’s naviGO™ credential management software and a number of Sony FeliCa applications, including the Sony FeliCa Launcher platform service as well as the company’s e-Money Viewer widget. The companies will also show the platform operating with Sony’s NFC Dynamic Tag, a FeliCa wireless module with a cable interface that enables data transmission between NFC reader/writers and other electronic equipment and devices.
