Handshake Solutions empowers 80% of ePassports globally

Eindhoven, the Netherlands -- November 06, 2006 – Handshake Solutions, a line of business within Royal Philips Electronics, today stated that Handshake Technology is at the heart of 80% of all biometric ePassports. Although still in the early stages of adoption it is estimated that 50 million chip-based ePassports / ID cards will be in circulation by 2007, and this market is set to grow exponentially over the next few years. Initiatives such as the United States’ Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which has reached its October 26^th implementation deadline, are clearly driving this growth. As is the availability of microcontroller cores based on clockless Handshake Technology.

Clockless technology offers the ideal answers for the specific requirements of secure ePassports, eVisas and national ID cards. A controller based on Handshake Technology can easily support the large non-volatile memories required to store biometric data such as fingerprints and a digital image while also incorporating essential cryptographic security features – all within the limited power budget available. In fact, Handshake Technology’s ultra-low-power consumption leaves enough power overhead to embed additional cryptographic features for even greater security.

“The ultra-low power consumption of our Common Criteria EAL 5+ security certified SmartMX ePassport solutions is ideally supported by Handshake Solutions unique design methodology, and helps NXP to deliver highest performance at full ISO/IEC14443 compliance” commented Michael Ganzera, manager, eGovernment marketing, NXP Semiconductors. 

Due to form factor and lifetime requirements for ePassports, controller ICs must also offer a contactless interface. The very low power consumption provided by Handshake Technology is enabling the operating distances required for such applications. All this is easily embedded into current designs as low current peaks enables low-cost integration with existing analog circuitry.

“The ease of integration of our technology ensures rapid and cost-effective ISO/IEC14443 compliance for ePassports chips, which will help card manufactures meet the massive demand”, said Dré van den Elshout, Global Marketing Manager of Handshake Solutions. “Handshake Technology has already proven itself to be the technology of choice in meeting the requirements of secure electronic identification documents.”

At Cartes 2006 (www.cartes.com/en/2006) in Paris, the Chief Technical Officer of Handshake Solutions, Ad Peeters, is presenting ‘Clockless ICs for reduced energy and improved connectivity’ on Wednesday, 8 November at 9:30 am.

 About the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP)

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