Toronto, ON
July 15, 2002

New high-speed machine for chip cards

PowerForward Inc. has announced the introduction of their new Smart Card Engine. This modular device can process chip cards up to 10,000 per hour, and can be supplied in several configurations to meet the needs of different applications.

This new multiple-reader device can do 100% card verification, vision inspection, sorting and initialize up to 112Kbytes of information, at a speed of 4,000 cards per hour. The system can operate up to 10,000 cards per hour and still write up to 16Kbytes on each I2C EEPROM chip. Since cards are confirmed with database information, functions are tailored for every card – while processing 30 cards simultaneously.

The modular design allows the system to be used for card/chip inspection in manufacturing, counting and sorting for packaging, or creating a personalized carrier for each card then folding and mailing, for government or security applications. According to Kevin Quinn, President of PowerForward: “This new approach to chip card processing will benefit any project needing total verification, chip initialization and tracking. Now it’s possible to issue up to 1,000,000 smart cards per month with one machine, making it secure and practical for any large-scale card program”.

PowerForward custom builds machines and systems for magnetic stripe cards, PDF 417 bar codes and chip card applications. The company has applied for patents on the Smart Card Engine.