November 08, 2005
e-passports
Increased terrorist activity has led to the use of sophisticated personal identification methods such as e-passports, driving licenses, etc. This has offered smart-card vendors a new market; one that has low quantities and high margins. However, the move toward personal identification is facing opposition from privacy groups. The first country in the world to issue e-passports was Malaysia. It did so in 1998. Malaysia was followed by Myanmar and Nigeria. These countries, along with the other early adapters, now use the ICAO standard passports.
The US Visa Waiver program has given a boost to the programs for RFID-enabled identification systems. According to the US Visa Waiver program, the participating countries are expected to use e-passports that have biometric information by October 2006. This will require the establishment of interoperable systems worldwide in order to be able to encode and read the e-passports. Belgium was the first country to comply with the requirements of the visa waiver program. Sweden and Norway are in the process of deployment.
--
Did you enjoy this post?
« XARM™ Application Server | Main | The China RFID industry association »
