Project description 

Project descriptions and objectivies.

Introduction

The BioP@ss project targets the development of advanced (microelectronics and embedded SW) secure and interoperable smart card platforms for all needed e-administrative applications requested at European level (e-identity, but also e-health, Residence Permit,...). It will leverage on the results of the former Onom@Topic+ MEDEA+ project and especially reuse the open middleware architecture proposed by the Consortium partners and currently under approval by some standardization committees.

The prime applications targeted by the project are e-identity cards based on the European Citizenship Card (ECC) family of standards currently under finalization at the CEN, and the next generation of Electronic Passports / Residence Permit, in view of complying with the EU requirements that should come in force by end 2009. The BioP@ss consortium supports the approach of the European Citizen Card (ECC) which combines the benefits of standardization with the required flexibility to adopt to national requirements by introducing individual ECC-profiles. A specific goal of the project will be to make all efforts that solution components that will be generated in BioP@ss will comply to the ECC profiles that represent the French and the German implementation of the eID-card. It is nevertheless expected that the project application fields could cover other areas such as electronic health, electronic voting or electronic Resident Permit…

The project will capitalize of the former Onom@Topic+ HW and embedded results, and more especially on all the proofs of concept achieved so far in the area of advanced contactless interfaces ([VHDR], NFC,..), embedded biometric components, advanced modeling techniques, embedded [IAS] SW platforms. It will however introduce several key new technology elements, such as:

  • Power optimized [contact-less] chips for next generation passports (depending on use case conditions-search for optimal trade-offs performance, working distance)

  • Definition and standardization of  a single >1Mb/s contact-less interface extending current ISO and NFC technologies

  • New cryptographic blocks

  • Advanced Match on Card [MOC] biometric techniques, based on direct grey-scale image processing, favoring complete interoperability

  • SW embedded privacy techniques aimed at providing users or citizens with a reasonable level of control or their private data when dealing with the administration

  • Embedded SW platforms enabling plug and play connection between an [IAS] based platform and a TCP/IP architecture; this will open the way for innovative use cases based on government platforms and enabling private/public partnership.

These applications targeted by the BioP@ss project have both large economical, societal and technical impact and are supposed to represent a huge part of the complete smart-card market by 2009-2012. They share in common some stringent needs in terms of security and interoperability at European (e-Identity, Residence Permit, health …) and international [ICAO] travel documents levels.