More info on MASSC:
>> A EUROPEAN THINK TANK, HEADED BY BULL, CREATES NEW GENERATION OF SMART CARDS
PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- 11-17-99
Six companies announce the first results of the MASSC project, part of MEDEA, the European research program, and supported by national authorities
At the Cartes'99 Show, Bull (heading the project), Oberthur Card Systems, STMicroelectronics, Banksys, Philips Digital Video Systems, and Telecom Italia Mobile announced the first results of the MASSC (Multi-Application Secure Smart Card) project.
The MASSC project will lead to an architecture similar to a PC (power, performance, flexibility, modularity...) but with security - an essential aspect in the smart card domain.
When the project reaches completion, the partner companies will use the results to develop products that will be ready to go to market by the middle of the year 2000.
When the MASSC project was announced in April 1997, the state-of-the-art for microprocessor card technology was an on-board single application housed on an 8-bit component. The European partner research labs quickly decided that the key to developing an open, flexible and secure platform required for multi-application smart cards was to build a new component offering based on a 32-bit RISC processor, and providing four times the existing memory capacity.
This was the first major strategy to be implemented in the MASSC project. From now on, multiple applications, which the smart card market demands, now have an engine powerful enough to support these services.
The second key issue addressed by MASSC was the relatively long development cycles for chip card technology while the high-volume commercial markets demand availability of "off-the-shelf" solutions, that are easier to adapt to specific needs, even for microprocessor cards.
"These were the developments at the core of the MASSC project. Today, the MASSC platform uses a layered architecture, and implements clearly defined interfaces between device drivers, operating system and applications", said Jean-Pierre Tual, VP of R&D for Bull Smart Cards & Terminals. "MASSC introduces an original development method, which significantly cuts lead times. The 32-bit microprocessor developed within the project offers the power that is needed by modern software architectures".
Smart Card Market Growth Continuing
The smart card industry will grow at approximatively 40% per year, a phenomenal market opportunity. The market is estimated at 900 million microprocessor cards in 2001, and one billion individuals with direct access to the Internet by the year 2005.
The smart card is now starting to play a decisive role at the heart of corporate and personal information systems. As the sectors of IT, telephony and telecommunications merge, the growing influence of the Web is generating strategic opportunities for the microprocessor card.
Smart cards are becoming the universal interface between individuals and their environment, facilitating, identifying and securing information interchange.
Technical characteristics of MASSC Architecture
The MASSC design comprises four essential aspects : performance, security, lead time, and price.
RISC 32 bits processor, 40 MHz with Java(TM) accelerator.
EEPROM : 64 KB
ROM : 96 KB
RAM : 4 KB
Performance: DES (Digital Encryption Standard) calculation in less than 15 micro-seconds. RSA calculation : 1024 bits key, without CRT, in less than 350 milli-seconds. <<
<<Business Wire, 11-17-99, 10:07 Eastern>> |
