Example Applications - RFID: Fundamentals and Applications in Contactless Smart Cards and Identification - page 343

in January 1998. In this second trial the cashcard of the local savings bank is used in
conjunction with an envelope to form the 'FlexPass' (Lorenz, 1998b), which can be
used in local transport (Figure 13.11).
A hands-free antenna with a range of 1m allows statistical data on card use to be
recorded without the customer having to hold the envelope near to the reader.
In Lisbon, a medium-sized European capital city with a complex local public trans-
port system and numerous public and private operating companies, the development
of a handsfree antenna was also central to the project.
Since 1998, research activities have been continued under the EU CALYPSO project
('Contact And contactLess environments Yielding a citizen Pass integrating urban Ser-
vices and financial Operations'). Transport companies have increased their efforts to
build up a partnership with the operators of automated exchange systems. Among other
companies from the German credit industry, the Deutsche Sparkassen- und Giroverband
(DSGV) has been recruited as a partner (Ampelas, 1998; Lorenz, 1998c).
The objective of the CALYPSO project is the 'FlexPass'. The intention is that this
will replace both the paper ticket and the cash used by the customer for payment. A
new aspect of the project is the introduction of further services on the envelope, for
example a dynamic passenger information service, i.e. departure times and connections
Figure 13.11 Contactless transaction using the FlexPass at a reader (reproduced by permission
of TCAC GmbH, Dresden)