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home :: system overview :: security card technologies and their benefits
SYSTEM OVERVIEW
SECURITY CARD TECHNOLOGIES AND THEIR BENEFITS
A card reader is an electronic device that registers the presence of a security credential and transmits the identity information on that credential to an electronic physical security system.
Card readers require that the authorized population carry a credential to provide identification.
That credential is usually a credit card size encoded card (see section below on card technologies).
THE MOST COMMON FORM OF ACCESS CONTROL
The security card is the most common form of access control identification today.
Card reader systems rely on the possession of a credential to identify a member of the authorized population.
A limit of this technology is that credentials can be stolen or lost and the identity of the individual possessing the credential cannot be ascertained without additional identification criteria such as keypads or biometric measuring devices.
However, card reader systems are frequently used in security applications because of their relative modest cost and generally provide a secure environment if the authorized population is sensitive to the need for securing the card.
Since card readers are the most prevalent technology in the marketplace, some consideration should be given to the benefits and limitations of various card technologies. A brief review of the most popular card technology will provide the reader with some insight on which technology to request based on the benefits and limitations of these technologies.
Since card readers are the most prevalent technology in the marketplace, some consideration should be given to the benefits and limitations of various card technologies. A brief review of the most popular card technology will provide the reader with some insight on which technology to request based on the benefits and limitations of these technologies.
THE HOLLERITH CARD TECHNOLOGY
The earliest card technology employed in security systems is the Hollerith card..
The Hollerith card was a credit card sized credential with small holes punched in the card.
The card was inserted in a reader and various sensing devices in the reader read the pattern of punched holes. If the pattern matched, access was granted.
However, this card was easy to duplicate and the number of patterns encoded on the card was limited to the physical size of the card. This card is still in use today.
MAGNETIC STRIPE CARDS
During the use of this product, magnetic stripe cards were also being developed for credit identity applications and later found a receptive market in security.
Magnetic stripe cards provided an encoded bit pattern on a magnetic strip attached to the back of the card. These cards are still used today for credit card identification and other forms of unique credentials.
Eventually, the magnetic stripe card gained wide acceptance in the security industry and, for a time, was widely used as an inexpensive, relatively secure credential.
LIMITATIONS OF THE MAGNETIC STRIPE CARD
One of the limitations of a magnetic stripe card is that it can be duplicated through ordinary means.
Manufacturers have taken steps to prevent this duplication process and have been relatively successful at preventing card duplication.
However, the magnetic stripe card has another limitation that cannot be overcome. When a user presents a magnetic stripe card to a card reader, the card must pass through a slot that causes the magnetic stripe card to rub on a card read head.
This physical contact causes residue (body oils, dust and airborne particles) to accumulate on the read head. In cases of long-term use and / or highly contaminated environments, this residue causes scarring on the magnetic strip thereby rendering it unreadable.
The chief advantage of magnetic stripe cards is that they are inexpensive.
THE WIEGAND CARD
In the late 1980s, a card technology achieved a high degree of popularity called the “Wiegand card”.
The Wiegand card used small pieces of bi-alloy wire embedded in the card that had certain magnetic properties. This card technology had the benefit of relatively low cost with a high number of possible combinations and did not share the limitations of contact residue found in magnetic stripe cards.
As a result, it became a highly effective technology and the makers of that technology provided a standardized interface to connect this card to a variety of access control panels from different manufacturers. Although this technology is still in use, other more popular technologies have reduced the number of systems that use it.
UNIVERSAL COMPATIBILITY OF CARD READERS
However, it is the rapid rise in popularity of the Wiegand effect card that prompted the interface standardization between the card readers and access control panels.
As a result, when subsequent card technologies were developed it became useful and practical to build those technologies using the standard Wiegand interface.
Hence, the universal compatibility of card readers today with a variety of manufacturer’s access control panels.
EARLY PROXIMITY CARDS
Competing with these technologies in the early years of access control was proximity cards.
The earlier proximity cards required a battery to be installed in the card and was commonly referred to as an “active” proximity card.
These active proximity cards constantly generated a signal read by card readers.
The reader acted like a receiving antenna for the access control system. If the card transmitted the proper code, the antenna would read that card and the system would grant access.
LIMITATIONS OF THE ACTIVE PROXIMITY CARD
However, one of the limitations of this card was the installed battery.
These batteries could not be changed easily and when a battery wore out, the card became useless.
Over the life of the card, the battery would wear down and the “read range” or ability for the card reader to see the card diminished.
This card technology is no longer used but the application gave rise to the most popular card technology in today’s market, the Passive proximity card.
BENEFITS OF THE PASSIVE PROXIMITY CARD
Passive proximity cards do not require batteries in the card.
Passive proximity cards have a computer chip and antenna embedded in the card.
When the card is within close proximity to a passive proximity card reader and the reader transmits a signal read by the chip in the card.
This transmitted signal energizes the chip causing it to transmit a coded pulse read by the reader and, if the appropriate code is on the chip, the access control system will grant access.
This form of proximity card has gained wide acceptance throughout the security industry.
Most new proximity card reader applications use this technology.
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