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Welcome to SpringCard web-site

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Contactless solutions

General informations

Contactless readers can read and write cards and tags without contact (up to 10cm). They are also known as contactless couplers, or proximity devices (PCD). They dialog with a proximity card (PICC).

SpringCard devices address the ISO/IEC 14443 standard (A & B), which provide RFID functions at 13.56MHz frequency (this is the frequency of the magnetic field used both to provide energy to the card, and to exchange information between the coupler and the card through induction (inductive coupling effects).

Another standard is ISO/IEC 15693 (and Philips I-CODE cards) are vicinity RFID equipment : they can be operated at a greater operating distance, but at the cost of a big antenna size together with high power requirements. Note also that vicinity labels have a small memory capacity, where prox cards with 64kB of EEPROM memory are know current. Even proximity flash cards with 2MB or more are on the roadmap.

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SpringCard proximity readers

PocketPC contactless readers

We provide ISO/IEC 14443 couplers for PocketPC or any Windows CE / Windows Mobile PDA, handheld device or mobile terminal, in 3 versions :

A developer's kit (SDK) is available and features the SpringProx API library (springprox.dll binary for Pocket PC 2000, Pocket PC 2002, Pocket PC 2003, Pocket PC 2005, Windows CE 3, Windows CE 4, Windows CE 5, Windows CE.NET, and for various processors : ARM, StrongARM, XScale, PXA, MIPS, ...).

Sample applications are provided with source code (Embedded Visual C++, Microsoft Visual Studio for C# development targetting the Microsoft .NET framework).

All SpringProx devices features the Philips RC531 (ISO 14443-A, ISO 14443-B) chipset, and embbed the whole T=CL communication protocol (ISO 14443-4 coupler with CID). The SpringProx API also provide most of the well-known "Pegoda" functions, to ease migrating from Philips MF-EV boards to SpringCard Mifare readers.

Rugged contactless reader with SAM

The SpringProx-RC is a PocketPC reader targetting the TDS Recon ruggedized PDA. Ii provides 2 slots for SAM (or SIM) card, that can be used for authentification or validation of the contactless cards, typically in the transport field (trains, suburbs, metro, bus...). The SpringProx-RC can work with Calypso cards (CD97, CD21, GTML...).

Rugged fingerprint reader

The SpringProxBio-RC is a PocketPC reader targetting the TDS Recon ruggedized PDA. Together they provide a waterproof and shock-resistant mobile biometric terminal. They are perfect for on-the-field identification of workers or citizens, either in hostile environment. The SAGEM Morpho Smart module (MSO CBM) performs fingerprint recognition and control, either 1 to 1 matching, or 1 againts N (internal secured database).

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OEM modules

When you need to add RFID capabilities to your embedded equipment, consider our OEM contactless readers. Thanks to their really small footprint, they are easy to install in your existing designs. They offer high-speed serial communication as well as easy to use function set : even a tiny Microchip PIC can now read and write MIFARE tags without bovering of anticollision, authentification, storage of keys... Either provided with an antenna and an RS-485 driver, or connected at TTL level, our OEM modules can also be used in wall mount readers for access control, or packaged as a card printer contactless USB encoder.

USB and serial contactless readers

Our CSB4 USB and serial contactless couplers let PC-based applications access any 14443 RFID card, either for writing or reading. Suggested applications are card personalization and usuing, strong authentication, touchless computer login, and more. See our partner Omnitech for example of Windows login (GINA) using touchless DESFire cards and/or fingerprint reader.

The large antenna size of CSB readers is OK not only for ID-1 contactless cards, but also ID-2 (identity document) and ID-3 (passport and visa size). If works as well with a MIFARE key fob or small disk tag.

Custom designs

Of course all our products can be customized for specific usage. A few examples are shown in our design center page.

Information regarding the ISO/IEC 14443 RFID cards

Philips MIFARE tags

Philips MIFARE family are contactless memory cards : this means they are only wired-logic silicium, without an embedded micro-controller.

Philips MIFARE Classic cards comes in too memory capacity : 1kB and 4kB. They are devided into sectors and blocks. Each sector is protected by separated read and write keys. The authentification and cipher algorithm (CRYPTO1) is provided by the related Philips base-station chipset (MfRC500 and friends : RC530, RC531, and CL-RC632 for MIFARE + ICODE operation). The chipset stores the MIFARE authentication keys in its secure EEPROM. The MIFARE Classic tags are widely used not only for building access control, but also for transportation, electronic purse, corporate ID, loyalty card, citizen card... Thus they are inexpensive, they provide an interesting data storage capacity, enough to store an RSA signature (VIGIK application for example). Together with the card unique serial number (UID), it is easy to check that the card is genuine and not forged.

Philips MIFARE UltraLite cards are primarly designed for single-trip transport tickets : card's E2PROM includes a "write once" area, to implement an usage counter. The capacity is too small for RSA authentication, but the card can hold a smaller certificate (for example DES or 3-DES MAC or CMAC, or an HMAC). Thanks to their really low cost, they are perfect for disposable tickets. Some encarters can embedd such chips in a paper label, with the antenna done using conductive inks. ST Microelectronics SR176 and ASK C.Tickets provide more or less the same functions as MIFARE UltraLite, but following ISO 14443-B standard.

Philips DESFire cards

This contactless smartcard is basically a Philips SmartMX chip with a dedicated firmware. A DES and 3DES cipher unit is used to secure communication :

Philips DESFire card provide a file system divided into 16 "applications". Early release uses a proprietary command set (implemented in SpringCard's SpringProx API for convenience), but latest release follow the ISO 7816 specifications for greater inter-operability.

The DESFire is widely used where both low cost and high security are requested, for example in US government CAC and TWIC projects (airport security with biometric fingerprints in the DESFire card).

Other ISO/IEC 14443 smart cards or T=CL PICC

Contactless smartcards are basically high perfomance smart cards. They offer a high level trusted execution framework (JavaCard, MultoOS, Inseal, JayCos, JayaCard, IBM, JCOP...), strong cryptographic function (DES, 3DES and/or AES coprocessor, MD5 and SHA-1 hash functions...), and often add a RSA or DSA feature for digital signature or strong authentication (X509 digital certificates, PKCS, secured VPN, secured single logon or SSO...).

PCD and PICC dialog according to T=CL standard (ISO 14443-4). High transfert baudrates can be achieved (106kbps, 212kbps, 424kbps, even 848kbps). The command set often meets the ISO 7816-4 standard : application sends commands called "APDU" to the card, just like it is with a plain old T=0 or T=1 contact reader, and card sends its response followed by a status word (SW1, SW2). It is possible to activate many cards in the same time (CID multi-activation), and each card is divided into directory and files (master file, directory file, elementary file).

Communication between card and coupler may also be ciphered and secured by a dedicated SAM (security module with the size of a GSM SIM card). Those cards are widely used for transportation in transport ticketing application (Calypso Innovatron standard, CD97, GTML...). They are more and more involved in governmental applications, including e-ID (electronic identity card), e-passport (electronic travel document according to ICAO drafts), electronic driving license...

Of course, when an high level of security is required, they are also deployed in access control applications, together with biometric controllers (fingerprints reader for example, with fingerprint template or minutiae stored on the contactless tag). New generation of payment cards now include contactless features, either for a whole "on-air" transaction (Mastercard and VISA EMV), or only to provide a fast electronic purse (Mastercard Paypass for example).

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Smartcard solutions

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SpringCard smartcard readers

Pocket PC smartcard reader

We provide ISO/IEC 7816 couplers for PocketPC or any Windows CE / Windows Mobile PDA or handheld, in 2 versions :

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Custom designs

A with contactless devices, our smartcard products can be customized for specific usage. Last example to date is the specific release of SpringCard-CF that has been designed for Psion Teklogix Workabout Pro mobile computer.

Information regarding the ISO/IEC 7816 smart cards and readers

This paragraph contains citations from Wikipedia : Smart card (last visited March 15, 2006).

A smart card, chip card, or ICC (integrated circuit card), can be either a memory cards (it contains only non-volatile memory storage components), and perhaps some specific security logic, or a microprocessor card (that contains memory and microprocessor components).

The standard perception of a "smart card" is a microprocessor card of credit card dimensions (or smaller, e.g. the GSM SIM card) with various tamper-resistant properties (e.g. a secure crypto-processor, secure file system, human-readable features) and is capable of providing security services (e.g. confidentiality of information in the memory). Not all chip cards contain a microprocessor (eg. the memory cards), therefore not all chip cards are necessarily also smart cards.

A SAM or Secure Access Module is a hardware cryptographic device, mostly in the form factor of a SIM card. It contains secret keys and/or private keys and is used where a trusted platform is required, typically for ticketing, payment (electronic purse or debit card, credit card), passport or other secured document.

The ISO/IEC 7816 standard defines the the physical shape (ID-1), the positions and shapes of the electrical connectors, the electrical characteristics, the asynchronous communications protocols (7816-3, T=0 and T=1), the format of the commands sent to the card and the responses returned by the card (7816-4)...

Memory cards use synchronous communication protocols (I2C, 2 wires, 3 wires, named S=8, S=9, S=10 in some literature). Popular memory cards a the Infineon SLE family (SLE4424, SLE 4432, ...).

Smartcard readers now follow the PC/SC specification. Various PC/SC implementation are provided, either by Microsoft for the Windows OS family (Winscard or SCard subsystem), or by indendant vendor. The PS/SC-lite project provides a full-featured PC/SC stack for Linux (with open source driver for various readers), and seems to have been ported to other targets.

Dual interface (contact/contactless) microprocessor smart cards

Lots of smart card chip can wired with both an 13.56MHz coupling antenna for ISO/IEC 14443 proximity operation, and a regular ISO/IEC 7816-1,2,3 smartcard interface. Those cards are known as dual interface cards. Literature also names them combi, dual access, or bi-techno cards. Depending on the OS and software embedded in the card's CPU, contacless and contact interface can offer exactly the same features (one in T=0 or T=1, the other in T=CL), or maybe the contacless interface may provide only a limited function set for security or compliance with legacy readers. Typically, mots of Philips combi microprocessor smart cards can expose a part of their ISO 7816-4 files as if they were a legacy MIFARE 1k or 4k card.

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