OTI wins European ePassport and border contract

On Track Innovations (OTI), a provider of contactless microprocessor-based smart card solutions, is to supply its end-to-end ePassport and border control system for an un-named European country.

OTI says it will be providing eStickers which enable the upgrade of existing passports to ePassports, and an advanced infrastructure for ePassport issuing and border control passenger inspection and verification.

The company claims that the system meets the latest standards for electronic passports set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the European Union. OTI has already received initial orders to supply the system to the country’s passport issuing National Center and border control stations following a successful pilot. Deliveries are expected to begin in the second quarter of 2008 and total orders are expected to reach several millions of dollars over the next few years.

The end-to-end system is based on OTI’s MAGNA platform, and includes: 

• Enrollment and personalization infrastructure including image and fingerprint enrollment, ePassport personalization (utilizing eStickers), secured materials management system, digital signature generator, and ePassport QA and issuing stations.
• OTI’s eSticker (electronic secured sticker) based on OTI’s Hercules Operating System. This enables the upgrade of existing passports to ePassports in a simple, quick and cost effective manner. The upgrade of existing passports is done by placing the secured eSticker, which includes the electronic components, within the existing passport.
• Border control system based on passenger biometric identification applications, electronic passport identification, and both optical and electronic means to detect forged passports. The system, which is operable whether it is online or offline, enables border control officers to receive unequivocal identification using a combination of two biometric means – fingerprints and facial recognition.