by Toni Anwar and Chua Teong Kiat

The digital campus project focuses on the design and implementation of RFID system, which will serve as a guideline for upgrading the Universiti of Sains Malaysia network systems in the future. There are five locations taken into consideration in the RFID design and implementation, which are the library, the health unit (clinic), the entrance/guard house, the hostel, the school and lecture halls.

1. Library

The RFID applications for the library include:
a. Entrance access control - The door will only unlock if it detects correct IDs.
b. Visitors Counter - Automatic counter system to count the number of daily library visitors
c. Anti-theft - Alert system to alarm the librarians if there is any book taken from the library without registration and daily books check-in/out system.
d. Book Location Checking System - Using portable reader, we can set the book's ID we are looking for and set the read coverage to find out the books' location.



Currently USM Engineering Campus library has already had a contactless smart card reader at its counter. When a student library card is pointed near the reader, the reader will get the library ID and transfer it to a host PC to access the database and check loaned book status. At the same time, the profile of the student is also updated.

The benefits from RFID implementation are the followings:
1.Enhance library security
2.Replace the guard's work for checking out book status and counting daily visitors
3.Prevent missing books
4.Find lost books inside library

2. Health Unit (Clinic)

The RFID application for health unit at USM is for medicine monitoring and management. The Auto-ID system will update medicine’s data at an interval of time, to make sure their availability, expiry date and location. It can alert the nurse to process an application form and order a new medicine if there is any shortage of medicine or if the medicine is expired. This system will update the medicine data into database automatically and improve the management system of medicine at health unit. We eliminate the patient tracking application because it is an unnecessary application for health unit in our campus.



Currently, USM Engineering Campus Health Unit has already had a contactless smart card reader at its counter. When a student card is pointed near the reader, the reader will get the student's IC number, transfer the information to host PC, access to student database, then check or update student's clinic record.

The benefit from RFID implementation is improved operations and saving time. Accurate and automatic data capture coupled with intelligent control leads to better security of medicine control.

3. Guard House

The RFID applications for the entrance gate at USM include:
a. Entrance access control - The gate will only unlock if it detects a correct tag ID.
b. Asset/Item tracking and tracing – Anti-theft detects whether an asset or item has an authorization to be brought out of campus. If it is not, several actions, such as guard alert, alarm activation and gate/barrier closing can be performed.
c. Vehicle verification – Unique ID for all students', staff' and visitors' vehicle. If there is any unknown vehicle, the guard can do necessary actions. If any vehicle parks at a forbidden area, the guard can record time, date and location of violation and the owner will get a fine.

Currently, USM Engineering Campus has two formal gates, one main gate and one side gate opened for entrance. There are 2 barriers with contactless smart card readers at the main gate, which function from 10:30 pm until 6:30am. Anyone crossing the barriers needs to confirm ID with a reader. The system replaces manual registration for student or staff at USM with auto-ID data recording to the database.

The benefits from RFID implementation are the followings:
1. Enhance campus security
2. Improve operation and management system for guard
3. Anti-theft, reduce criminal
4. Trace unknown vehicle
5. Fine the vehicle rules breaker effectively

4. School, DU (Main Hall) and DK (Lecture Hall)

At school or lab, we can also implement RFID technology to track and trace assets or equipment for a room or lab, to prevent theft or missing equipment, and improve the registration process.

5. Others
For USM hostel, six engineering schools, DU (Main Hall), and DK (Lecture Hall), RFID application like door lock system and auto attendance record system can be implemented using a contactless smart card system. But it is not a cost-effective application that can benefit much from RFID technology. As a result, we eliminate the RFID application on these locations.

In spite of the current excitement, RFID may not be suitable for everyone. There are some hurdles we need to consider seriously before embarking on a real implementation of RFID network system for digital campus, including:

* Price
* Complexity
* Existing solutions
* Advantages
* Applicability

The current state of RFID technology based on a collection of comments and observations is:
* Confusing
* Lacking of expertise
* Still in learning state

Toni Anwar is the Coordinator for Software Systems Engineering Programme at the Sirindhorn International Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering (TGGS), King Mongkut Institute Technology North Bangkok (KMITNB), Bangkok, Thailand.

Teong-Keat Chua is a Design Verification Engineer at Spansion Penang Design Center, Malaysia.



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Labels: card, malaysia, project, reader, rfid, security, tag, technology, tracking

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by Toni Anwar and Chua Teong Kiat

Digital campus is a campus that is fully served by digital infrastructures and other digital facilities, such as computers, servers, databases, etc. Furthermore, administrative processes, room access and other information, such as inventory of equipments and delivery of reports, can all be carried out through digital network infrastructures, computers, fixed and mobile communication facilities.

In a digital campus, digital workflow processes are expected to improve the management and operational efficiency of sub-communities such as library, hostel, clinic, faculties and bank. Apart from that, with the existence of Wi-Fi hotspots in the campus; staff, students and researchers can access the Internet from anywhere and anytime in the campus and use various applications, for example: e-learning, smart classes, digital library, e-merchant and e-banking by smart card with RFID etc.

However, in our project, we only focus on RFID technology and figure out how the technology can give a valuable improvement over the existing system at USM Engineering Campus. A simple example of RFID implementation is that students’ valuable asset like laptop and vehicle can be more easily monitored in the campus. The system can alert the guard house if any monitored asset tries to leave the campus area without permission. Another example is a library that can have an effective inventory control. RFID reader can instantaneously identify the books in the library and update book information at the time of borrowing or returning the books.

The design of several applications in a digital campus, such as library, health unit, guard house, hostel and school will be described in Part 2 of the case study.

Toni Anwar is the Coordinator for Software Systems Engineering Programme at the Sirindhorn International Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering (TGGS), King Mongkut Institute Technology North Bangkok (KMITNB), Bangkok, Thailand.

Teong-Keat Chua is a Design Verification Engineer at Spansion Penang Design Center, Malaysia.



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by Eunice Sari

A new contactless credit card offers a convenience of use and an alternative cashless payment to consumers in Singapore. While the current offering may appeal to a limited segment, there is still a room for improvement in the verification mechanism to leverage the appeal of the contactless credit card to other segments.

Last Thursday, United Overseas Bank (UOB) of Singapore launched the first contactless Visa Wave Credit Card in Singapore. Following the trial success in Malaysia and Taiwan during the first quarter of 2007, the launch of UOB One Card in Singapore is not surprising. Susan Williams, the Director of Stakeholder Communications Visa International Asia Pacific, shared with RFID Asia that as the end of March 2007, there are a total of 8.1 million Visa Wave cards issued by the banks in Malaysia, while in Taiwan the number is more staggering: 23.9 million cards, with more than 2,970 merchant locations that accept Visa Wave cards

Similar to the other contactless credit cards like Master Card PayPass and AmEx Express Pay, the UOB One Card only allows a small value of transaction without card holder's signature in about 300 island-wide retail outlets. UOB One Card holders can wave their cards on a reader terminal to pay for a purchase and expect the EMV-based payment system, a payment system built for chip-based transaction, to process a transaction and print a receipt within 4-6 seconds, without any card handover. Based on the study commissioned by Visa, this process is much faster than a signature-based card payment that takes an average of 25 seconds or a cash transaction that takes an average of 14 seconds.

The convenience of such contactless payment is not without a catch. Compared to non-contactless credit cards that require signature authorization or pin numbers from authorized card holders for each transaction, contactless credit card, such as UOB One Card, imposes no verification for any transaction up to $100. There is virtually no verification system in place to make sure that a person making contactless credit card payment is actually the authorized card owner. It will be easier for an unauthorized person who can get access to such contactless credit card to misuse the card. The owner of such contactless credit card can risk $100 multiplied by the number of transactions before the card reported as missing, stolen or misused in such scenario.

During the CommunicAsia 2007 in Singapore, we interviewed a few visitors about Visa Wave. The ages of the interview participants were all above 40. All of the interviewed participants said that they were excited to know about the coming of a new contactless payment technology, but they were still reluctant to use a contactless payment system. The feeling of uncertainty was the main reason of their hesitance, for example: they were still unsure whether they would be double-charged or triple-charged for waving a card several times.

The feeling of uncertainty for the consumers in Singapore is not without a grounded reason. In 1999, the consumers in Singapore saw a total of 400,000 Singapore dollars wrongly debited from their bank accounts through a crash in the country's cashless point-of-sale system. This experience has affected the adoption of any new cashless system in Singapore.

Targeting young professionals (23-34 years old), the launch of UOB One Card is a significant step for Singapore towards a cashless society, a vision backed by the Singapore Government since 1999. Compared to the current cashless payment system using magnetic strip cards, the UOB One cards will introduce a relatively new interaction style in cashless payment for the consumers in Singapore. Consumers and merchants alike using the contactless credit card system may expect a significant portion of learning and teething problems in the upcoming days and months ahead. In addition, UOB One Card may not also be as popular as its predecessors in Taiwan and Malaysia because the credit card will only be appealing to a small segment in the Singapore's aging society.

The writer is an ICT Consultant and Researcher with various affiliations to academic and industry organizations. Her current research interest includes ICT4D, m-Learning, e-Learning, Web 2.0, healthcare, wireless and mobile technology.


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Labels: 2.0, card, malaysia, mobile, payment, reader, rfid, singapore, technology, trial

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by Rohisyam Abdul Rahman

Smart Shelf is a device that can pinpoint the exact location of books in a library. The device, communicating in High Frequency (HF) band, can detect whether a book placed in different tier levels is being misplaced, missing or rented. The device was launched on 9th February 2007 at MMU in Cyberjaya. The Minister of Higher Education, YB Dato' Mustapa Mohamed was present to officiate the event, which was attended by librarians from all over Malaysia.

Telekom Research & Development Sdn. Bhd. (TMR&D) has developed a Smart Shelf harnessing the RFID technology working on HF band (13.56 MHz). The Smart Shelf exploits the short-range RFID technology that can automatically identify books within a distance of 30 cm relative to the shelf.

The innovation began in 2005 when we received feedbacks from the patrons of the Multimedia University (MMU) library who faced a difficulty in physically locating catalogued books. The difficulty has prompted the idea to begin with our research on Smart Shelf.

The Smart Shelf research was conducted to facilitate library search and enable multiple book tracking in real time. The RFID tag technology with 128-byte storage capacity has made this goal possible.

At first, we tested the RFID technology working in UHF band to track books on a shelf. We found out that we could not control the signal spectrum to automatically identify books in a pre-defined area. Furthermore, we also found a number of invalid identification.

After we tested the RFID technology working in HF band, we got more accurate results and we only had to tune the strength of signals using a vector network analyzer for achieving a specific working distance from a shelf.

We also learnt that several frequency bands may not be suitable for RFID systems. Any vacant space in the frequency spectrum for wireless systems is limited. In addition, the available license-free or Industrial-Scientific-Medical (ISM) frequency bands vary substantially from country to country in terms of regulations. In our case, the frequency range of 13.553 – 13.567 MHz suits our application that requires a small amount of data reading at low speed over a short distance.

Our Smart Shelf was launched on 9th February 2007 at MMU in Cyberjaya. The Minister of Higher Education, YB Dato' Mustapa Mohamed was present to officiate the event, which was attended by librarians from all over Malaysia.

The writer is Researcher/Project Leader at Telekom Research & Development Sdn. Bhd., a company that provides customized solutions through leading edge designs, fabrication and state-of-art technologies.


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Labels: hf, malaysia, project, rfid, tag, technology, tracking

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by Adi Tedjasaputra

Revealed at the Seminar on Investment Opportunities in Indonesia yesterday in Singapore, the plan of introducing a Smart Card system for Singaporeans travelling to Riau Islands of Indonesia is expected to improve the current travelling procedures and boost the trade within the region.

The Indonesia's Governor of Riau Island, Ismeth Abdullah, quoted by Singapore's Today Newspaper, said: "This means Singaporeans can travel anywhere in the Riau Islands without using a passport."

The announcement was not something new for the residence of Batam Island, which is part of the Riau Islands. According to the statement from I Gede Widiartha, Batam Immigration Office Head, to Batam Pos in February 2007, the use of Smart Card in the island has started since 1994. He further said that Singapore and Malaysia actually learnt from Indonesia (Batam), before they implemented Smart Card around year 2000. It is an irony, however, that Batam is still currently unable to manufacture its own Smart Card, while Singapore and Malaysia have been able to produce a unit of Smart Card within minutes.

While the contactless Smart Card technology begs to be different from the RFID technology, in reality the contactless Smart Card technology used for biometric passports and ID cards is indeed RFID technology.

Frost & Sullivan pointed out in its recent press release that RFID and contactless Smart Cards are seeing healthy growth levels in the Asia Pacific region, but noted a concern about the lack of understanding in the similarities and differences between the RFID and contactless Smart Card technologies. The company further introduces its new program RFID vs Contactless Smart Card, presumably taken from the title of the article published by RFID Asia on August 25, 2006 that underlines the need to understand RFID technology, while embracing and tackling the RFID challenges and concerns, instead of taking aggressive-defensive stand.


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Labels: card, indonesia, malaysia, rfid, singapore, technology

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Labels: malaysia, rfid, technology

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by Adi Tedjasaputra

MyKad or Government Multipurpose Card (GMPC) is a multi-purpose card envisioned by the Malaysian government to enable Malaysians accessing public and private services. The possible data stored in MyKad could include personal identification, driving records, passport information, medical data and monetary transaction. The maximum data storage is currently limited to its 64K memory capacity due to the limitation of the smart card technology being used.

The recent concern regarding the use of MyKad during the media briefing for the upcoming CardEx Asia 2006 Conference in Kuala Lumpur published in Bernama is an honest expression of frustration.

Quoting from the article: "In terms of adoption, we are fast but when we see the end-users, there is still a lack of awareness and knowledge in terms of full usage of the smart cards," Frost & Sullivans' Program Manager, Smart Cards & Auto ID Jafizwaty Ishahak said.

Blaming the end-users' lack of awareness and knowledge, she also said that only ten percent of MyKad holders use the other applications that come with the identity card.

She further said that there should be more educating going on in the use of smart cards and in terms of their application so that more people will be appreciative and receptive towards the technology.

Technology Appreciation+Acceptance = Success of Usage?

Technology appreciation and acceptance could naturally be part of a new product and service adoption. Business cases, however, show that technology appreciation and acceptance are often insignificant for the success of product and service usage.

Take Google as an example. When Google's search service was initially launched, only a fraction of people in the world could appreciate its PageRank™ technology.

After the search service almost constantly provided its users with relevant and useful search results, more people started to use its search service more often. Google has now become so popular that Merriam-Webster dictionary recently added the definition of the word google.

Despite Google's popularity, there are still many people who still do not know or care about the PageRank™ technology behind the search service, not even within the Search Engine Community.

Learning from business cases such as Google, it is noticeable that the success of product and service usage is often the result of usability, which correlates strongly with relevancy and usefulness, not technology appreciation and acceptance.

Education or User Research?

Several years have passed since MyKad was officially launched in 2001. It is, however, still difficult to draw any conclusive analysis to improve the usage of MyKad. The claim that only ten percent of MyKad holders use the other applications that come with the identity card should actually become a wake-up call for the MyKad stakeholders, including the Government of Malaysia.

While education could help in the success of new product and service usage, it is difficult to agree that the lack of education could be the main deterrence for technology appreciation and acceptance, particularly in the case of MyKad. The premise that education could result in technology appreciation and acceptance, and eventually successful usage by end-users, is basically unfounded.

In the MyKad case, User Research is actually more suitable than education or training. Some insights from MyKad stakeholders, including MyKad users, could be essential to take some decisions needed to improve the usage of MyKad.

Malaysians could benefit from a usable MyKad, not a technology-centred one.

Update: This article is also featured in the e-Government magazine.

This article is also available in pdf format.



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Labels: business, gmpc, malaysia, MyKad, rfid, smartcard, technology

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The 6th international card technology conference and exhibition, CardEx Asia 2006 will return from 24-26 July 2006 at Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur.

CardEx Asia 2006, the region's leading smart card conference and exhibition will feature a host of challenges and opportunities within the region. This year's event themed Converging Minds and Technologies will see experts in smart cards, mobile and contactless payment and RFID from United Kingdom, United States of America, Singapore and Malaysia converging in Kuala Lumpur.

Last year, CardEx Asia exhibition attracted more than 60 exhibitors and the conference featured high profile speakers and delegates. With strong support from internationally acclaimed smart card organisations, CardEx Asia 2006 is expected to attract a larger crowd this year.

A two-day conference themed Combi of Opportunities on Contactless Interface will be held concurrently with the exhibition. The conference will feature renowned international speakers.

Concurrent Events
D'ucoty 2006 Industry Awards
RFID Expo Asia
Secure Malaysia 2006 Conference & Exhibition

For more information, please contact
tel: 603-6140 6666 or fax: 603-6140 8833.
Ms Karen Dass e-mail karendass@protemp.com.my

www.cardexasia.com


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In the spirit of cooperation between government and industry through RFID innovation, we are glad to announce that the upcoming RFID Asia 2nd Meeting 2006 will be held in Kuala Lumpur, 20-21 September 2006.

Following the success of the RFID Asia 1st Meeting 2006 in Singapore, the RFID Asia 2nd Meeting 2006 is expected to attract the attention and participation of the major RFID players, governments and users in the Asia region, including industrial senior executives, researchers, venture capitalists, government official representatives and policy makers.

Several topics of interest during the meeting include the Integration of RFID and Sensor technology, RFID Access Control and Security Systems, RFID Privacy, New RFID Standards and Alternatives, IEEE P1902.1, RFID/USN and the Regional RFID Ecosystem in Asia and Malaysia.

By actively participating in the event, the attendees can expect the opportunities for RFID knowledge exchange, network among the RFID community members in Asia, open up business opportunities, develop RFID skills and participate in Asian RFID projects.

More detail information on the event can be retrieved from http://summit.rfid-asia.info.


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Labels: business, malaysia, privacy, rfid, security, singapore, technology

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Edited Nokia Press Release

Xiamen, China - On 27th June 2006, Nokia and its collaborators, China Fujian Mobile Communications Co., Ltd., Xiamen Branch, Xiamen E-Tong Card Company Ltd., and Philips, announced the first NFC Mobile Payment Field Trial in China at Xiamen City, Fujian Province, China.

During the trial, one hundred of volunteer consumers of China Mobile in Xiamen will experience first hand the conviniences of mobile payment enabled by NFC technology. The consumers will use the NFC enabled Nokia 3220 mobile phones to make mobile payment through any point-of-sales covered by Xiamen E-Tong Card, including locations such as on the public transportation buses, ferry boats or at restaurants, movie theaters in Xiamen City.

E-Tong Card is a contactless transportation card, conforms to ISO 14443 Type A, compatible with Mifare. It has a volume of issuance of 800,000 in Xiamen City.

In addition to the standard E-Tong Card function, consumers can check their card balance and the last nine transaction records on their mobile phone display. They can also use their Nokia mobile phone to access a built-in, WAP-based website, to find out stores and venues that accept E-Tong Card and the interesting product or service information.

Mobile payment is one of the most welcomed emerging mobile applications. Market research in Shanghai, China by AC- Nielson in 2006 showed that over 80% of consumers are interested in the functional integration of city transportation cards and bank payment cards into mobile phone.

Nokia has launched the world first NFC enabled mobile phone, Nokia 3220, in April 2005. And the commercial trials using Nokia 3220 for mobile payment have been completed successfully in the U. S. A., Germany, and Malaysia.

Mr. Joseph Zheng, Director of NFC Consumer Solutions in China at Nokia Ventures Organization Asia, said: "Nokia is dedicated to innovations from technologies to applications and business models. The successful kick-off of the first NFC Mobile Payment Field Trial is very encouraging to all of us participating in the mobile payment value chain. It also demonstrates our confidence in the NFC technology and the new business model it enables. With the progress of NFC Mobile Payment Field Trial, there would be more types of mobile payment available, which will bring totally new user experiences for the mobile phone users in China, and create values for the whole mobile application ecosystem."

Mr. Xu, volunteer consumer of China Mobile in Xiamen said: "With the integration of E-Tong Card to my mobile phone, I feel so convenient to make payment. It is cool! I hope it will be put into commercial use soon"

NFC is a contactless technology based on open interface and standard platform. Nokia is actively participated in the development of NFC Standards, and co-founded the NFC Forum with Philips and SONY.

With the development of NFC technology, mobile phone becomes a safe, convenient, speedy and fashionable payment instrument. NFC technology is compatible with current contactless smart card infrastructure, so there is no need for significant upfront investment on NFC technology.

NFC device can work under both active and passive mode. For active mode, NFC device can work as a reader and generate its own radio frequency field to identify and read smart card and tag. For passive mode, NFC device can emulate as a card or tag to be read. In this trial, NFC phones work under this passive mode. In addition, two NFC devices can set up communication very conveniently as long as they are close to each other (within 10cm).


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Labels: business, china, malaysia, mobile, nfc, payment, rfid, technology

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GS1 Malaysia, a member of GSI (Global Securities Information) Wednesday announced the adoption and implementation of an EPCglobal Network.

News contributor: Arpan Talwar

Labels: epcglobal, malaysia, network, rfid, security, technology

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Haisan Resources Bhd is upgrading its temperature-controlled logistics (TCL) facilities in Malaysia, the Philippines and Guangzhou with radio frequency identification (RFID) and warehouse management systems that incorporate the distribution and transportation management module.

In a statement on Aug 9, Haisan said the investment was expected to further strengthen the group’s position as a leading regional cold-logistics service provider and assist in increasing efficiency, productivity, ensure effective and accurate inventory management as well as maximise truck utilisation capacities.

“Furthermore, these initiatives are targeted to reduce costs for the company across the region,” it said.

Labels: malaysia, rfid, tcl, technology

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Symmid Corp Sdn Bhd and Total Industry Solution (TIS) Network Bhd jointly launched a Symmid-Erev RFID Solution Centre in Malaysia last week.

Labels: malaysia, rfid, symmid-erev, technology

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An Independent technology analyst Bruce McCabe suspects that system such as Mykad, a Malaysian smart ID card, have worked in countries such as Malaysia and Singapore because those populations are accustomed to a "more authoritarian approach".

Labels: authoritarian, id, malaysia, rfid, singapore, technology

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Certification body Sirim Bhd in Malaysia has requested for a “big” amount of R&D funds under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, to be used mainly for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) patents, according to Sirim IT Department general manager Abdullah Abd Hamid.

Labels: malaysia, patent, rfid, technology

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A leading radio frequency identification technology (RFID) supplier Intermec Technologies Corp is establishing a presence in Malaysia, intent on promoting the use of RFID in the public and private sectors, especially in manufacturing, retailing and logistics.

Labels: intermec, malaysia, rfid

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Sokymat SA has opened a new subsidiary in Malaysia, Sokymat Technology Sdn Bhd., to further strengthening its presence in the Asian market. The Swiss-based RFID specialist has established a local presence in order to serve its Asian clients more efficiently with local production as well as customer support.

Labels: malaysia, rfid, sokymat

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