ARCHITECTURAL CHALLENGES OF SMART CARD DESIGN
This webpage has been developed as part of a team project for the Fall 2000 CS 322 Computer Architecture class of Rick Stevens at the University
of Chicago. It is devoted to Smart Cards, objects that have been proliferating
in the modern world and are likely to become ubiquitous in the near future.
An extensive amount of literature on this vast subject (including
the numerous internet sources) has become available to the interested reader
in recent years. Few, if any, try to achieve a balance between explanation, technicalities and brevity - and this is what we have set out to achieve.
We analyze basic elements of Smart Card architecture
and their standards, and present detailed
case studies of the recently introduced multi-functional Smart (Java)
Card architectural platforms SmartJ and TinyJ.
We also discuss Java Cards as a modern trend
in the Smart Card industry, and consider applications of the Java Card technology
not only to the traditional plastic cards, but also to the related devices
of various form factors e.g. Java Rings. We touch on the architectural
problems with respect to the Smart Card security
issues and list current applications of Smart
Cards as well as project their applications and architectural design
characteristics into the future.