DataStrip Ltd, Esher, Surrey has developed high-density bar code technology which is currently being tested in credit card authentication applications by UK high street banks. The cards store up to 15K-bits of data, enough according to company director Ed Malory, to hold a digitised photograph of the cardholder, her signature and some text. A digitised photograph can be condensed into 900 bits but the company is currently working on data compression techniques to reduce this figure quite significantly, says Malory. According to Malory, much effoort has also go into the digitised data recognition technology to optimise the amount of times a card need be swiped before the data can be read. The company has patented technology to account for speed variations and difoferent angles used when swiping the card. DataStrip’s proprietary Card Reader can either be used as a stand-alone device or with a wand for reading bar codes on objects. The wand will retail for roughly #500 with the reader costing slightly more, Malory said. It can also be attached to a personal computer to magnify the digitally-converted data. The Card Reader has a slot through which the card is swiped and a small 3 by 4 monitor on which digitally converted photographs or text appear. Malory sees DataStrip’s bar code technology being used in conjunction with a mega strip data product for cash cards, with the DataStrip holding information that must not be altered such as a photograph and signature, and the mega strip containing regularly-updated information such as customers’ bank balances. However, he believes the technology will extend beyond the banking world and is therefore setting up informal partnerships with value-added resellers and systems integrators to sell the product to vertical markets. Target markets include Electronic Data Interchange and access control applications. DataStrip, a privately-held company, is backed by Blackburn Rovers Football Club’s owner, Jack Walker.
