Jul 27, 2007This article was originally published by RFID Update.
July 27, 2007—Secure identity and media management solutions provider Digimarc has been selected by the state of Washington to produce the new RFID-enabled Enhanced Driver License (EDL), which can be used as a travel document to re-enter the US by sea or land, the company announced this week.
As its name suggests, the EDL is a driver's license that includes a number of technological enhancements sanctioned by the US Department of Homeland Security that allow it to serve as an alternative travel document. With the EDL, citizens can re-enter the United States at land and sea border crossings without also having to present a passport or PASS card. The concept was advocated by US states and Canadian provinces, who sought to maintain the ubiquitous driver's license as a permissible border-crossing credential that offered citizens the convenience of a single document for travel, driving, and general identification.
The enhancements to the EDL include digital watermarking, a "machine readable zone" (the multi-line jumble of text characters already found on many passports), and an RFID chip. The RFID capabilities are compatible with the DHS Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative program.
Publicly-traded Digimarc, which already produces 60 million identification documents for more than 25 countries, last year established an end-to-end service to develop and issue EDLs. For the state of Washington, Digimarc will not only manufacture the documents, it will also provide the document authentication and personal data verification for all the citizens that apply for an EDL.
Read the announcement from Digimarc
