At 01:52 AM 12/29/2001 +0100, Eugene Leitl wrote: >---------- Forwarded message ---------- >Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 00:36:31 -0000 >From: Andrew Hennessey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: [fsml] Euro Banknotes embed RFID chips > >http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20011219S0016 > > > >Euro bank notes to embed RFID chips by 2005 > >By Junko Yoshida >EE Times >(12/19/01, 3:03 p.m. EST) > >SAN MATEO, Calif. - The European Central Bank is working with technology >partners on a hush-hush project to embed radio frequency identification tags >into the very fibers of euro bank notes by 2005, EE Times has learned. >Intended to foil counterfeiters, the project is developing as Europe >prepares for a massive changeover to the euro, and would create an instant >mass market for RFID chips, which have long sought profitable application. > >The banking community and chip suppliers say the integration of an RFID >antenna and chip on a bank note is technically possible, but no bank notes >in the world today employ such a technology. Critics say it's unclear if the >technology can be implemented at a cost that can justify the effort, and >question whether it is robust enough to survive the rough-and-tumble life >span of paper money.
Not to mention intentional Electro-Magnetic Pulse exposure of bills to thwart the system. A cheaper and more robust solution would embed random length and oriented glass/plastic fibers in the paper. When exposed to a line illuminator as it is passed through a verifier, each bill would have a unique "illuminate here" - "light comes out there" signature that can be read out and matched to a DB generated at the mint. Because of the fiber's resilience it will be more difficult to damage or thwart than RFIDs. steve
