The Computer Revolution/Hardware/smartcards
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A smart card is a small credit card sized microprocessor that enables us to conduct daily activities much faster and simpler. The inside of a smart card is embedded with a microprocessor (like a brain of a computer) that is responsible for keeping track of the information on the card and processes the use of the smart card. Currently, some smart cards here in North America have magnetic stripes to track the information. The problem with this is that the stripe can be hacked into and read, re-written over, deleted, and changed. In Europe, all smart cards have actual intelligence, where the microprocessor is placed under a contact pad on the back of the card and it is read by computer networks for verification and processing. Smart cards have different amounts of RAM and programmable ROM. The card reader powers it up and reads the information while updating it with every use. Some places you use a smart card include entrance into a building (you scan the card for the door to open every time you enter), banking machines, vending machines, gas pumps, air miles, and even your Mount Royal ID is a smart card.
[edit] Contact Smart Cards
Contact Cards require insertion into a smart card reader with a direct connection to a conductive micro-module on the surface of the card.
[edit] Contactless Smart Cards
A smart card that uses radio frequencies to provide a wireless connection to the reader. The transmission range is only a couple of inches, but allows the card to be quickly passed by a reader in applications such as secured entrances.
Contactless smart cards use radio frequency (RF) technology to interact with a reader. The market for these cards is growing rapidly, creating tremendous new opportunities for issuers. Popular applications include transit cards for fare payment, employee IDs in government and corporate environments, e-passports and other secure travel documents, and cards for cashless payment. Other high-security applications will appear soon. [1]
