Michel Leduc, Neowave

“We believe in RFID and we believe in smart objects. The tipping point is behind us now: RFID is here to stay. It opens up a world of possibilities.”

Michel Leduc, Vice President Marketing & Sales, Neowave

How is your company involved with RFID technology?
Neowave is all about smart objects used as part of secure, contactless transactions. We create and produce portable and personal smart objects that use RFID to connect to certain services and can also access other services by plugging directly into a person’s PC thanks to their USB interface.

So, for example, we make a smart object for paying your fare in the bus or the subway. It uses RFID to pay the fare, which you can do just by waving the object over the RFID-enabled reader at your subway station. Then, when you get home, you can plug it into your computer’s USB port to safely and securely load money onto your fare account over the Internet.

Our smart objects have many other uses, too. For instance, we also provide businesses with identity badge smart objects that let them create secure access to buildings and factories for their employees; meanwhile, the employees can also plug these ID badges into their computers to have a secure access to their company network and as well to charge their cafeteria cards.

Why are enterprises like your customers interested in RFID technology?
One reason is that RFID systems are much easier and less costly to maintain.  Because RFID systems can read badges and cards without contact, they don’t have as many mechanical parts as traditional systems. There are fewer pieces that could break, fewer elements that wear down or need replacing. The mass transit systems around the world that have introduced contactless fare collection systems have seen their maintenance costs drop significantly.

Another reason enterprises are interested in RFID is that it can make things smoother and easier for their consumers and their end users: it’s so much faster to move through an RFID-enabled badge reader. The flow of people moves more quickly and more fluidly.

What about security concerns?
Neowave – frankly, like all legitimate companies in this field – takes these sorts of concerns very seriously and pays very close attention to security. We use very advanced algorithms embedded on built-in smart cards to authenticate both parties before any transaction is permitted, for example. Nevertheless, the truth is that there is not much more risk from using an RFID-enabled card than there is using a credit card or a cellphone  – the same data, protocols and algorithms mean the same levels of risk.

What is your vision for RFID in the future?
We believe in RFID and we believe in smart objects. The tipping point is behind us now: RFID is here to stay. It opens up a world of possibilities for identifying objects and, as a result, the people carrying them. We strongly support the concept of multi-application smart objects to answer common needs from communities of users such as students, enterprise employees, or commuters. The first European commercial deployments and pilots are confirming that these types of services answer a real need on the part of consumers. That makes a whole range of exciting and personalised services possible as we move forward.


Smart Objects are the core business of Neowave, a company at the heart of the contactless revolution in the world of secured transactions. Relying on smart card security and adding PC interface and web access, Neowave Smart Objects are portable and personal objects performing contactless transactions and offering NFC /RFID services. Neowave Smart Objects offer new opportunities in a wide range of applications such as mass transit, identity and access management, payment, telecom, education, multimedia, e-ticketing, or healthcare. Created in June 2007, Neowave is located in Gardanne in the south of France. www.neowave.fr