Innovision Research&technology Share Discussion Threads

[garth] 11/4/2007 14:03

Latest ITSO newsletter:


G.

[katylied] 11/4/2007 08:08

Article at the weekend (ST I think), about RFID (not NFC) being used at airports to track passengers. The boarding card will have an RFID component, so the whereabouts of the passenger can be monitored. Useful for tracking down lost passengers and general movements within the terminals. Seems like quite a good idea, though no doubt the 'security' forces will want a piece, by 'marking' passengers who fit their 'risk' profiles...

[garth] 08/4/2007 16:42

April 5, 2007

Payment, in a swipe of the mobile
A new technology, which allows customers to make purchases with their phones, could dispense with cash - and credit cards
Jonathan Richards

In the future, mobile phones will take a lot of weight from your wallet. As well as being your digital camera, diary and internet portal, mobiles could take the place of your cash and credit cards, too.

A tap of the phone near the cash register will serve to debit a customer's account – either using pre-pay or from the bank direct - a swipe at the train station will make the barriers swing open, much in the way an Oyster card does now, and waving it in front of a scanner at a club will confirm the owner is a member.

That is the vision of researchers at the major handset manufacturers and technology companies, who are racing to develop ways for phones to interact in a more sophisticated fashion with their surrounds.

The revolution in so-called 'near-field-communication' (NFC), as the technology is called, is potentially so wide-reaching that more than 100 companies, including major players MasterCard, Visa, Microsoft, Sony and Nokia, have now signed up to the organisation which is in charge of developing standards.

During a trial, in which Nokia is currently involved in New York, participants are using their phones to ride the subway and buy goods from a range of stores, including pharmacies.

British mobile phone companies are also experimenting with the technology, although none will confirm when it will be introduced on a large scale.

To make a payment - a video demonstration of which is available here - the phone would be brought to within 2cm of the Visa terminal, which would recognise it as belonging to a particular bank customer.

The customer would confirm the amount to be paid on the phone screen, enter their PIN on the handset, before seeing the payment debited - either from a pre-paid cash account or from the customer's account, using the regular payment network.

Gerhard Romen, head of market development for NFC at Nokia said: "When you think about it, the security offered by a card is built upon two things: something you have – the card – and something you know – the password.

"Both these criteria can be met by the phone. The credentials identifying the customer are passed through the air to the terminal, and the password can obviously also be entered."

Only a small number of handsets currently have NFC technology built-in, but in a couple of years' it will become as widespread as Bluetooth, according to industry experts.

It's not just store payments that stand to be revolutionised.

Marketing companies are planning to use NFC to attract customers by embedding chips in posters that will offer passers-by more information – or the chance to be entered in to a competition.

In a trial by Orange in the Manchester City football stadium last summer, spectators were invited to wave their phone in front of a poster to receive additional information about the team.

Tourist operators and museums will be able to offer additional information to customers – especially in remote locations – without them needing to connect to a network.

As with any advance in communications technology there is a battle on to determine which standard will be adopted.

NFC, which is supported by the 110 members of the NFC Forum, including heavyweights such as Samsung and American Express, is effectively a kind of radio-based communication that is prompted by the phone's proximity to a 'tag'.

A rival group is advocating that a phone receives information by a camera taking a photo of a code printed on an object.

2D barcodes, as they are known, have become widespread in Japan, and according to the Mobile Codes Consortium – a group of companies including H-P and Publicis, the advertising group, are cheaper and simpler to use than NFC.

Thomas Curwen, interactive planning director at Publicis, said: "Some barcodes could contain weblinks, others could call up a telephone number and ask you if you'd like to ring it – and the only cost is ink."

NFC supporters have criticised barcodes for being too slow because of the precision by which users have to position the camera – usually at a distance of about 10cm – and because they are subject to constraints such as lighting.

Security experts said that payments via NFC should be safe, but there is always the possibility that a communication could be intercepted – especially from several yards away, which means that phone owners should be extra-vigilant with their handsets if using them to store currency.

Stuart Criddle, a consultant with the firm NCC, explained: "Just because a device supports encryption doesn't mean an application will implement it well, which was a problem for Bluetooth in the early days. That kind of network shouldn't be anything someone without a high level of Government training will be able to break into, though."

[ole2] 03/4/2007 23:25

Still going down..........

[katylied] 29/3/2007 18:17

Last time the press hinted at something like that
it was supposed to be.... ST Microelectronics

That was some while back though. The inference
is, that some big competitors to NXP/Sony will
do so via INN licenced IP...

One can only hope...

[garth] 29/3/2007 18:10

News and a 15% rise.....

RNS Number:0081U
Innovision Research&Technology PLC
29 March 2007


Innovision Research & Technology Plc

New Engagement

Innovision Research & Technology plc ("Innovision") has entered into an
engagement with a leading international semiconductor company in the Near Field
Communications (NFC) market. The initial activity could lead to a longer term
collaboration for the exploitation of Innovision's intellectual property and
further developments in a series of Integrated Circuits (ICs) within the NFC
market over the next two years

[garth] 27/3/2007 18:31

Katie,

Thanks for that.

There are a number of news item from the last couple of weeks that seem to indicate that NFC is beginning to take hold as the 'next big idea' (I'll add a couple of links when I get a moment).

Putting together stuff on teh SMRT and ITSO websites also seems to suggest that NFC enabled ITSO compatible transport payments may be in the offing. As a certified ITSO provider INN would seem to have the potential to position themselves.

Your consultancy comments are interesting - it will be interesting to see what sort of growth they are achieving there. 2008-10 look to be the first really significant ITSO years.

G.

[katylied] 27/3/2007 13:56

"Will they ever?"... You are not alone in wondering that. Ok, if we discount the 'consultancy' side for the moment, then Topaz is their latest chip and relates more to mobile phones. Historically, there has been some linkage with Nokia, but the exact relationship remains as vague as ever. Then there is the 'smart poster' wheeze. Will that ever fly? Search me, don't have a clue. Finally, they seem to stay very close to NFC promotional activities. Maybe that keeps them in the picture, maybe it generates some business. However, the bottom line is still the chips. If they don't make a success of either Jewel/Topaz, then I cannot see big revenues...

As a consultancy, they haven't done at all badly (bearing in mind, that most bluesky techies have only 1 big idea, but no independant revenue streams to help support it). They could attract a buyer. CSR for example, could easily launch an NFC division via a buyout of Innovision. That would make perfect sense, as long as the NFC market was perceived to be worth the effort.

Thats it. No more straws to grasp at...

[garth] 27/3/2007 13:41

Katy,

I don't see myself as being in conflict with you......

Yes. You stated clearly that sales were short of expectations.

My question is where INN stand moving forward...... and therefore, at what point (if any)they become an attractive investment. There seem to be challenges to the territory staked out for both lead products: Jewel & Topaz. The question is whether there is a sufficient niche still to exploit in spite of that.

ITSO compliance clearly differentiates Jewel in an environment in which ITSO is being increasingly specified. But ITSO roll-out has so far been slow - which has presumably, in large part, impacted Jewel sales (which you note)

Large players fill the NFC space along with this tiddler. Is there room for INN to make a living? They have not thus far proved the business model through to profitability. My question is will they ever? (even if it takes a couple of years to do so)

Kind regards,

G.

[katylied] 27/3/2007 12:47

Yes, the Jewel chip specifically targets low-cost single-use ticketing, mass-transport or otherwise. The oyster-card has been around longer than the jewel chip. It has never been an issue either/or single-use/oyster ticketing. LT's current system has always included both 'day' tickets and 'season' tickets. I doubt that model will change much, in any city frequented by large numbers of transient tourists. Similarly, arena events have always tended far more towards 'day' tickets than 'season' tickets and the whole cost structure of these ticket types, is quite different...

And garth... before you start banging on again about INN not being able to compete, please reflect for a moment that at the very outset of this discussion I stated unambiguously, that sales (if any) were already far short of historical investor expectations. That doesn't need speculation... it is fact...

[garth] 27/3/2007 12:00

Katie,

I'm not meaning to be adversarial - and have no desire to be. Please don't interpret my comments in that way. I'm trying to understand - and you appear to be an informed, longer term holder.....

The Jewel chip is low cost. It it is ITSO compliant. Are you saying that it is only used for disposable tickets?

If that is the case, then recents re-pricing in London to encourage Oyster uses has got to be bad news hasn't it? And with the DfT stipulating ITSO smartcard use from 2009/10 then the market shrinks further for Jewel?

At the same time, Cubic (partly responsible for Oyster) have added Jewel compliance to their readers and Jewel chips have been operating within the London trials (i'll have to go back and check on the prooprtion of Jewel journeys if I get time)

One assumes that the Concessionary Bus Travel bill will also go for cards rather than disposable ticketing?

So does that, in opinion, leave INN as something of a dead duck?

G.

[katylied] 27/3/2007 08:11

garth... I meant 'LT update' to NFC style low-cost single-use ticketing. Given the context of the discussion, I should have thought that was obvious. If that application were ever mainstream, the chips would be produced worldwide in the zillions. The phone chips (including Topaz) can have related payment applications, but are not the same ultra low-cost disposable products. Unfortunately, INN's main hope (Jewel) of 1 year or more ago, related to the former...

[garth] 27/3/2007 06:19

Perhaps this explains some of the weakness? More competition for INN.... The piece is 7 hours old.

Chip Suppliers Join To Target NFC Market

France-based Inside Contactless and Infineon Technologies of Germany say they will work together on producing chips for mobile phones that comply with Near Field Communication.

The agreement would combine Inside's contactless, NFC, chips with the secure semiconductors Infineon can provide that also support the Mifare protocol. This protocol is used in several large contactless transit-ticketing projects around the world, including London's Oyster card program. The Mifare application would be stored on secure chips produced by Infineon, then connected to Inside's NFC chip in the handsets or other devices.

Tim Baker, advanced marking director at Inside, says transit ticketing and retail payment are the two big applications expected to be offered when NFC phones are eventually deployed by mobile operators. "And the one most likely to roll out first is transport, and in transportation, there's a huge part of the market that is Mifare compatible."

The deal most threatens Netherlands-based NXP Semiconductors, a rival to both Inside Contactless and Infineon. NXP, a co-creator of NFC and owner of Mifare, produces both NFC and secure chips for NFC phones. It is the largest producer of Mifare-based cards, but also licenses the technology to Infineon.

NXP was unavailable late today for comment on the Inside-Infineon deal. NXP recently announced its own partnership with another chip supplier, Japan's Sony Corp., aimed at the budding NFC market. The two would go further than Inside and Infineon and would form a joint venture to produce secure chips for NFC phones. The venture, to be formed later this year, would put both Mifare and Sony's FeliCa contactless applications onto the same secure chip. By supporting both applications, the companies believe they can sell the chip for global distribution to handset makers and mobile operators. They could also put open operating systems on the chip, which would allow the phones to run such payment applications as Visa Contactless or Visa Wave from Visa International and PayPass from MasterCard Worldwide.

Inside and Infineon also plan to support credit or debit applications on their chips for NFC phones, along with transit applications.

Infineon, which is the largest supplier of chips to the smart card industry, at least in terms of revenue, was apparently not far along on its development of NFC chips, which is likely why it has entered into the agreement with the much-smaller Inside. Inside is a fabless supplier of contactless chips, mainly for Visa International-branded credit and debit cards issued in the United States. Inside also has produced NFC chips for some trials in France that store the payment or transit applications on SIM cards in NFC phones. This is the preferred place for storing applications by mobile network operators, which will play a key role in determining when NFC gets rolled out in handsets.

Infineon is among the largest suppliers of SIM chips worldwide. But Inside also proposes stacking the secure chip on top of its NFC chip, while allowing the separate SIM chip to control the applications. (2007-03-26)

[garth] 26/3/2007 22:30

Katie,

Still not sure that I agree with your logic on NXP/Sony, but still....

Will London Transport update their equipment any time soon? You haven't been reading the SMRT thread, have you? SMRT should be a significant winner soon on the back of it. Will INN? They should be if they have any real product....

DYOR ;0)

G.

[katylied] 26/3/2007 16:02

I don't see much difference choosing between Philips/Sony/Innovision, and choosing between NXP-Sony/Innovision. If anything the competition is less (but by now, there are probably other players out there as well). With low cost single use tickets, the cost is the key factor. With standards, the tickets should be interchangable. So, even if you start out with one type, you should be able to switch to another for any future cost advantage. The tickets would become commoditized. You would be buying from the ticket makers/suppliers, not directly from the chip manufacturers.

INN are a UK company. Do London Transport use NFC single-use tickets? Not as far as I know. Do major UK arena events use them? Not as far as I know. Look ahead. Will LT someday renew their equipment? Will the London olympics use them? The answer I reckon is probably. But that is still some way off. Meanwhile, INN can go quiety bust if the consultancy business fails to sustain them. Still, I suppose if INN get cheap enough, someone (like CSR) may decide to buy them...

[garth] 26/3/2007 15:54

Katy,

My understanding was that Innovision's technology was one of only 3 or 4 certified platforms. When 2 of those platform provides combine their efforts and those providers carry the weight of Sony & Philips, doesn't that leave Innovision looking a little squeezed? Why go for Innovision when you can go for something as ubiquitous as Sony/Philips?

G.

[katylied] 26/3/2007 15:29

garth - You probably know that NXP was Philips and that Sony and Philips were the founders of the whole NFC thingy with their respective (but different)chips. With the arrival of NFC standards they have clearly decided to work together (NXP are independent of Philips now), but that doesn't mean the overall situation has changed that much. The INN Jewel chip (Topaz differs) always targeted the low cost single use end of the market. That is mainly about tickets. The problem seems to be the very slow market adoption of this type of NFC product. I don't doubt that one day such things will be common place, but for the moment it appears to be rather heavy going...

[garth] 26/3/2007 14:06

Katy,

As about the only thread contributor to have posted anything of any real value over the last few months, could you please comment on my post of a few weeks ago (post 615) re. the Sony/NXP JV and where that might leave INN?

My reading is: squeezed out rather.....

ITSO have got stuff on their site about use of NFC/RFID as have Advanced Smartcard Technologies (ticker: SMRT). With Barclaycard and Mastercard both pushing tap and go cash cards and major ITSO projects due January 2008-1210 there should be plenty to play for.... I'm just not convinced - and that is symptomatic of a lack of information from management.

G.

[katylied] 26/3/2007 13:40

Must confess, I am getting pretty fed-up with this outfit.
The consultancy business seems to be doing OK, but the
flagship chip Jewel/Topaz product-sales are now well
behind historical expectations of investors. This is
supposed to be the RFID era, but you have to wonder
if INN, have in fact fallen at the first fence?...

[garth] 26/3/2007 12:23

50K on a t-trade 3p below bid looks an interesting trade..... Someone in the know or just gambling?