Siemens Communications is involved in the development of the electronic iden¬tity card in Spain. Working closely with Fábrica Naci¬onal de Moneda y Timbre, who are heading the project, Siemens has developed a biometric algorithm called the "SmartMat¬cher" which enables the minutiae of a scanned fingerprint to be saved on the national ID card. The contract includes the development, technical support and updating of the developed algorithm.
The Documento Nacional de Identidad electrónico (DNIe) is the new electronic identity card in Spain. A pilot project in the Burgos province was recently brought to a success¬ful conclusion. By 2012 some 30 million Spanish citizens are to be issued the electronic ID card.
The key innovation featured on the DNIe is a chip that is able to store and process in¬formation securely. A fingerprint of the ID card owner is saved on this chip so that his or her identity can be authenticated beyond doubt.
The particular challenge for this technology lay in the different procedures for capturing and comparing a fingerprint electronically. The image stored on the chip is made by scanning a procedure in which the card owner rolls a finger over the scanner – similar to the usual method practiced nowadays with ink. When checked later, however, it must be possible to compare it with "livescan" fingerprints, where the finger is merely placed on the fingerprint sensor and not rolled over it.
The company developed the software for this, the SmartMatcher, in its own competence center for biometrics, the Siemens Biometrics Center. The algorithm of the Smart¬Matcher enables fingerprints obtained by these different methods to be compared elec¬tronically. One of the special requirements was to design a comparison procedure so small that it can be executed via the microprocessor on the card. At the same time a particularly high level of effectiveness had to be achieved for rapid processing and maximum reliability, so that the national electronic ID card in Spain could be made as efficient and secure as possible.
Siemens Communications
The Siemens Communications Group is one of the largest players in the global telecommunications in¬dustry. The company offers a full-line portfolio of innovative solutions for voice and data communication. Its comprehensive offerings range from devices right through to complex network infrastructures and services for wireless, fixed and enterprise networks. It is the largest Group within the Siemens organiza¬tion and operates in more than 160 countries around the world. In fiscal 2005 (September 30), its 54,500-strong workforce posted sales of over 13 billion euros.
More about Siemens Communications at www.siemens.com/communications
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