SECURITY CARD
READERS & FINGERPRINT
Fingerprint scanning is becoming a
standard feature while multiple interfaces and intelligent keyboards
add to the excitement.
Increased security,
multiple interfaces and biometric capability are the latest design
trends for security card readers from Greater China.
Multiple-interface readers that support both smart and magnetic
cards, complete with LCD and keypad, are a hot-ticket item from Hong
Kong. Readers for contact, contactless and USB cards are available.
Makers in Hong Kong are
actively working on adding advanced features and functions. Taiwan
suppliers focus on customized models to secure their niche markets,
while mainland China makers are bent on tapping the huge domestic
market for low-end readers, seeing great potential for sales to
expand over the next 12 months by as much as 20 percent to 30
percent.
Mainland China: Focus on
product stability
Mainland China makers
generally produce low-end, low-priced models with basic functions.
Proximity and network cards are available, but interviewed suppliers
admitted the dependability of proximity card readers is not as good
as for network models, which has made it difficult for mainland
products to sell well on the export market. The R&D focus is
therefore to improve product performance and stability so that the
mainland's share of the export market can increase.
Most proximity card
makers, being new in the game, have yet to produce their own patents.
Lacking their own security card reader technology, makers adopt the
Mifare and Legic card standards using either 26-bit or 34-bit Wiegand
data conversion protocol.
Swipe card readers
generally used by banks and credit card merchants are available but
of the no-frills type.
However, improvement has
been done in the communication mode for swipe card readers, with
newer versions supporting the ASCII code to make them compatible
with banks' UNIX servers.
Dual and triple
interface card readers are also available though domestic demand is
almost non-existent. Readers on the mainland operate either on the
13.56MHz or 125kHz frequencies. ABS plastic is used for housing. ICs
are sourced from either Motorola or Siemens. Suppliers hint of a
possible IC shortage as it is already a mature product in Europe and
the US.
Multifunctional, integrated
models in development
One R&D goal of
mainland makers is to come up with an expandable model that can
simultaneously manage several cards at the same time. Also in
development is a card reader with a multiple-security controller
system that integrates the functions of alarm, sensor, camera and
DVR, among others. For proximity cards, the aim is to integrate
keyboard and LCD which will display the card number and other
relevant information when a card is being read.
Domestic sales seen growing 20-30
percent
Since most players were
previously access control systems makers, R&D has traditionally
focused on the main control unit. For most of them, card readers are
only a by-product. About 90 percent of output is sold locally. Makers
admit they cannot compete as yet on the international market against
the better-known brands and the mature technology in Europe and the
US.
Supply of high-end
products is virtually monopolized b . key brands such as Philips,
Siemens and Motorola which have set up domestic subsidiaries or local
joint ventures. These subsidiaries corner the market for high-end
models such as long-range readers used in parking management that
carry a tag price of $200 to $300 each, combination product with
fingerprint technology for access control systems, and standalone
USB-compatible models.
Hong Kong: 13.56MHz Mifare
readers moving to forefront
Hong Kong manufacturers
are actively working to introduce advanced features and functions
into their readers for a wide: range of applications. Readers for
both contact and contactless cards are available, with smart card and
Mifare card readers dominating supply. Demand is strong for
applications that come with Mifare 13.56MHz ICs because of the higher
security and read/write capability offered. Encrypted data from a
Mifare IC card is not easy to transmit
Key customers of local
makers are system integrators. Export markets include the US, Europe
and Asia. Shipments to the US take up around 60 percent of the output
of Hectrix Ltd, with exports to Europe and the Middle East accounting
for the remainder.
Heng Yu Technology (HK) Ltd exports 60 percent of
its output to Europe and the US.
Heng Yu offers readers
compatible with magnetic, smart card and Mifare cards. R&D
manager H.K. Chan says the company plans to develop a dual interface
version compatible with both smart and Mifare cards in the first half
this year. The model will incorporate two ICs in one PCB. Another
product Heng Yu is developing is a combination smart card and
magnetic card reader integrated with an LCD and keypad. Chan says
this version will adopt a single IC. The company manufactures
keyboards with built-in smart card and magnetic card readers on an
OEM basis. A new enhancement, according to Chan, is its keyboard for
banking applications that comes with a USB 1.1 port.
Hectrix is set to
release a higher security Legic card reader in the first quarter of
2005. The closed system adopted in Legic card readers makes this
model difficult to hack into, but this product comes at almost double
the price of a Mifare card reader. Legic cards are currently a
hot-ticket item in Europe for high-security applications, said Andrew
Ip, Hectrix engineering director. To meet that demand, he says
Hectrix is producing more Legic card readers this year.
Tammy Ho, marketing
manager at Sunbest Technology Co Ltd, said he expects multiple
interface models that come with a smart IC will be popular this year,
although the Mifare card reader will continue to see strong demand.
Sunbest, which produces Mifare modules, expects its output of Mifare
13.56MHz ICs to increase by 10 percent to 20 percent this year.
Add-on features, fingerprint
scanning boost security
Added security features
on security card readers, including biometrics capability, are a
clear trend among Hong Kong makers. One of those in the lead in this
regard is Hectrix, which employs around eight engineers for software
and hardware development and cooperates with a technology partner in
Russia. Hectrix has developed an access control application that
incorporates both smart card and fingerprint reading functions into
one unit. Password inputting feature is built in.
Ip of Hectrix says the
latest fingerprint reader adopts an optical sensor which is more
durable than the previous capacitive type. To enhance this particular
security
and protection feature, Hectrix employs a separate DSP for fingerprint
scanning.
The company also offers
models that come with an optional built-in SIM card reader which
allows it to read contact cards. Hectrix will include this option in
its upcoming Legic card reader. Camera function and high speed data
transfer are also in development. Hectrix plans to release a model
integrated with a 1/4-inch CMOS carnera lens at VGA resolution. "Some
other add-on features such as WiFi, GSM and external modem for
external access will be highlighted in Ql 2005," said Ip.
Ensuring that its
products are user-friendly is a motto at Hectrix. One of its models
features a built-in Web server where the software and hardware are
embedded in the unit for user-friendly application. According to Ip,
the advantage offered by this model is that it is cost-efficient in
the long term because installation, maintenance and operation of a
security card reader system can be expensive. With the built-in
server the user can control, configure and administer the properties
with any standard Web browser over the corporate network through the
Internet with realtime data. No additional software and hardware
installation is required.
Chan of Heng Yu said the
company's upcoming dual interface reader will also adopt fingerprint
scanning capability for enhanced security. Heng Yu's R&D team
currently has about 20 engineers engaged in software and hardware
development, with another five or six more to be hired in th. first
half of 2005.
Prices seen stable as output of
biometric readers rise
Output of basic card
readers will be stable this year and nev. Interviewed makers said
demand for high security models will see sustained growth over the
next 12 months to 24 months, with double-digit growth expected for
readers with biometric features.
Prices are forecast to
remain stable over the next six to nine months as the cost of ICs and
other components stay within their current range.
While product
development in recent years has led to more sophisticated encryption
techniques and cosmetic design enhancements, these advances have come
mostly from US or European security firms, particularly those that
supply acce--control devices to government defense agencies. By and
large, Taiwan makers have trained their sights mainly on custom
solutions based on buyer specifications.
"Taiwan makers do
not have the resources or equipment to make a strong impact in
security technology. That type of
development is better
done by specialized research institutions and defense corporations,"
said Mark Chang, vice president Giga TMS Inc. Sky Huang of
Soca
Technology Co. Ltd adds that Taiwan makers "strategize by
creating unique security solutions tailored to customer's needs, as
each customer has different requirements and specific areas that need
to be focused upon."
Gianni Technology is
acknowledged as the leading player on the island. A large percentage
of sales come from ODM, OEM projects, though some firms like Soca and
Reth Widelink International Co. Ltd also promote their own brands.
Major markets are the US, Western Europe and Japan. Companies
interviewed for this report boast mass production facilities with
monthly capacities of around of 3,000 units. A key challenge faced by
Taiwan makers is the increasing competition from mainland China's
burgeoning security reader industry.
Multiple access modes, Internet
connectivity on offer
The latest releases from
Taiwan feature multiple access modes for different levels of entry,
weather-proof structure and housing, different access ranges,
anti-magnetism function and Internet database-connectivity to allow
remote security monitoring. Typical specifications for contact card
readers include read ranges of from 100mm to 250mm, RFID sensors and
eight-digit card number formats that can support up to 10,000
different security serial numbers. Frequencies adopted are generally
in the 125kHz range to cut or minimize interference. Suppliers said
development plans for 2005 will depend on customer requirements and
requests.
Price forecast steady
Security card readers
from Taiwan can go for as low as $50 for standard models to as much
as $250 for high-end, higher security systems. With component costs
predicted to remain fairly stable in the near term, makers forecast
prices will also stay on course in the coming year.
However, two factors
that could nudge prices higher in the long term are labor costs and
stiffer competition from the mainland. Makers said qualified
engineers are becoming more difficult to find in Taiwan as other
sectors have been jacking up their salaries to attract the best and
the brightest.
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