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[Security]

Tuesday 20th May 2008

ePassport stamped with video display 1:33PM, Tuesday 20th May 2008

Samsung and Bundesdruckerei, a German printing firm, have developed a passport with an integrated video display. They claim the technology will enable faster identification at borders, better protection against forgery and greater information security for the document holder.

The colour AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) display is embedded in a 700µm thick polycarbonate "data page" of the passport - dubbed an ePassport - and works without batteries. Power is supplied only when the data needs to be read. The organic light emitting display is also heat-resistant, so that the passport card can be laminated to prevent physical access to the display.

Electronic access relies on contact-free technology developed by Bundesdruckerei, a "secure identity



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technology" specialist that prints the current German passport and ID cards. The display is activated via the power provided by a reader which will be able to retrieve both graphical and text data, such as a moving passport picture of the document holder and their address.

Ulrich Hamann, chief executive of Bundesdruckerei, believes the technology will make passports more secure, despite the risk to any electronic system from hackers.

Complex security processes will ensure that only authorised individuals can add data, while future versions of the ePassport will include all the means necessary for authentication, removing the need for reading devices.

"With our innovative, trailblazing technology, such as 'video identification on card,' we are speeding up border control procedures and, at the same time, setting a new milestone in protection against forgery," he said.

[photo: My collection of passport stamps by hjl]

Simon Aughton

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