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Innovative printed code for national ID cards

The Republic of Yemen has selected Datastrip's innovative printed bar code as the storage technology for its national ID project. Some five million cards containing encoded fingerprint data will be issued to the population over the next five to eight years, providing a secure national ID system to support the efficient delivery of public services and to foster the development of private enterprise. The project is being managed by Datastrip's systems integrator, DAR.

Following a review of the technologies available for secure portable ID, Yemen's Ministry of the Interior opted for a solution-based on a printed code. The front of the card will contain the holder's photo. The biometric information will be stored in a high-density bar code using Datastrip's 2DSuperscript system, a two-dimensional symbology which is printed onto the rear. This code system stores more than 2 KB of data in the same kind of area occupied by the conventional magnetic stripe - providing around 20 times more memory capacity at a lower cost.

The cards will be decoded using DSVerify2D, a portable handheld terminal and fingerprint verification device.

For further details contact Sue Coutin, Datastrip on tel: (0944) 1844 215668, fax: (0944) 1844 215669, e-mail: [email protected]

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