NXP's contactless MCU IC to handle fare
collection at the winter Olympics
NXP Semiconductors has announced that its contactless microcontroller
IC, MIFARE Plus, has been chosen by the Russian city of
Sochi, host of the 2014 Winter Olympics, to power the Automatic
Fare Collection (AFC) system of its ground transportation
network. NXP says that this is the first rollout of MIFARE
Plus in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Working with partners including the solution provider and
equipment manufacturer Strikh-M, inlay manufacturer SMARTRAC
and card manufacturer Novacard, the project, which is currently
in the pilot phase, will offer all the benefits associated
with a contactless AFC to both passenger and transport operator
alike.
NXP's MIFARE Plus was launched in 2009 as an upgrade to
NXP's MIFARE Classic with more security features and functionalities.
NXP says serving Sochi's population of 500,000 residents
and one million tourists annually, the MIFARE Plus-based
systems will help improve the overall passenger experience
and drive operational efficiencies. Passengers will be able
to purchase and fill up contactless travel cards and season
tickets at the automatic smart-card payment terminals, speeding
up passenger embarkation.
"This is a significant project for NXP, Strikh-M and
the other partners involved in this project and serves as
a role model for other similar projects in the region. We
are confident that all residents of Sochi will benefit from
this contactless solution and that it will enable the city
to prepare for the upcoming Olympics," said Henri Ardevol,
general manager of secure transactions, NXP Semiconductors.
"At NXP we are seeing increasing demand for contactless
technology in Russia and the other CIS states. Major operators
such as the Moscow Metro already use our technology, and
the MIFARE portfolio of products provides system integrators
with the flexibility to create an AFC system based on the
individual needs of the customer, while offering a clear
upgrade path to help increase levels of security when required."
The project is an essential part of Sochi's preparation
for building a highly secure AFC system for the Olympic
Games. At present, the city expects to receive about 400,000
additional visitors to the city during February 2014, and
the MIFARE Plus-based AFC system will enable the local transport
operator to scale up for the larger number of passengers
it will be required to carry.
"Moving to a contactless based AFC system offers a
huge number of benefits. Offering a 100 percent contactless
system eliminates the need for our passengers to search
through pockets for change, as the fare will be automatically
deducted from their smartcard. In addition, the contactless
AFC will allow the city government to better manage regular
and discounted fares, while also eliminating potential misuse
and unapproved tariff changes. As a result, the quality
of transportation service will increase, the time spent
queuing to board the bus is reduced and the overall passenger
experience is improved," said Alexey Smaglyuk, director
of the transport and communication department, Sochi City
Administration. "We're incredibly proud to be hosting
the Olympic Games in 2014, and this project will be vital
to the success of the games and provide an efficient transportation
service for all visitors to the city."
MIFARE Plus is designed for contactless applications that
require additional layers of security such as public transport
tickets schemes, road tolling, loyalty cards, closed loop
micro payments and in access management in both the public
and private sectors, features 128-bit Advanced Encryption
Standard (AES) and supports migration from existing MIFARE
Classic implementations. The contactless MCU IC has received
Common Criteria EAL 4+ certification by the German Federal
Office for Information Security, and has undergone thorough
security and privacy assessment by the Universities of Bochum
and Leuven.
NXP has also recently announced that its MIFARE Plus is
been used in Turkish highway card based tolling system.
