A Contactless World
As the world becomes mobile, there is also another de facto standard which will be appearing: contactless technology. Meaning, in order to open a door, or log into a computer, there is no need to touch anything. All you have to do is flash what is known as a smart card. Although the commercial applications of are still limited (though the potential is unlimitless), it is going to be a booming industry, and trend. At least, according to some recent market research.
The goop: “Contactless smart card shipments are forecast to increase from around 950 million in 2010 to 3.5 billion in 2016. This is one of the conclusions drawn from IMS Research’s recent report “The World Market for Smart Cards and Smart Card ICs – 2011 Edition. . . According to Don Tait, one of the authors of the report, “In 2010, around 15% of smart card shipments are estimated to have been contactless. This is projected to increase to over 30% in 2016 . . . “Contactless bank cards are believed to drive much of the growth in the microcontroller market during the forecast period. The People’s Bank of China announced plans (in March 2011) to convert China’s debit and credit payment cards to smart cards. This announcement will have a great effect on smart card shipments from 2013 to 2015. It is believed that where contactless payment and banking cards are used in China, they will be dual-interface cards.” (SOURCE: http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9279/).
My Take
As you can see from the above quote, and as I have mentioned, contactless technology is here. 950 million smart cards is not a smug amount. But keep in mind, this growth as detailed above is not expected to happen over night, all of this is projected to happen over a period of time, up to 2016. It is also important to note that this growth rate is not going to occur across all market industries, it is only expected to happen across just a few. According to the market research, the main industries for growth will be the financial, government (but of course), healthcare, transportation, and physical access entry. But, within these few segments, there is the tremendous potential, in application subsets.
As far as I know, it appears to be that physical access entry is the dominating market here. And just within this, there are a whole multitude of applications which can be served . . . from turnstiles, to high rises, to warehouses, to name just a few. It is these subsets which will be the catalysts for growth. But of course, you cannot forget geographic location either. The bigger the population, of course, the bigger the demand. This is best exemplified by China. It is projected also that this country will be the biggest in terms of demand, especially for the financial sector. And although it is not specifically mentioned, I am sure India will follow suit just as well. Wherever there is contactless and smart cards involved, there is always the room for Biometrics.
And, I am sure that this growth in contactless technology will also spell a great boon for the Biometrics Industry, as people will need to be positively identified and verified. My primary concern is that as all of this unfolds, everything we do, or even own, will be tied to just one thing. We are seeing it with the Smartphone. As I have mentioned previously, it is an extension of our personal and professional lives. Everything we do is literally tied to it. Lose this, and we are completely paralyzed. Such is my fear with the contactless smart card. What if we lose it??? How will we enter a building??? Or how will the ER personnel know about our medical history, before they prescribe medications??? Or how will we pay for something??? These are just things to think about, of course.
Remember, having everything tied to one thing (such as the contactless smart card) is extremely convenient, but once it is lost, we will be completely paralyzed, without any backups or manual procedures in place to get us out. I guess what I am trying to get at is, yea, technology is great, but there is still room and a need for the old fashioned ways of doing things and conducting business as well.
This is really interesting work that you have posted over here, no one can look world without contacts and communication. This is really a best information that you have posted over here.
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