Introduction to the iButton
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE SURVEY
2.1 Introduction
The iButton is a computer chip enclosed in a 16mm thick stainless steel can. Because of this unique and durable container, up-to-date information can travel with a person or object anywhere they go. The steel iButton can be mounted virtually anywhere because it is rugged enough to withstand harsh environments, indoors or outdoors. It is small and portable enough to attach to a key fob, ring, watch, or other personal items, and be used daily for applications such as access control to buildings and computers, asset management, and various data logging tasks.
The physical device is a 16mm dime-sized metal can. There are a number of advantages to the iButton™ compared to previously used hardware token devices: • Rugged. The iButton™ is housed in a water-proof, stainless steel metal housing. Due to the housing armor, the iButton™ can withstand extreme environmental conditions and handling with no loss of data or performance. The device has been wear-tested for 10-year durability. The ruggedness of the device is an extreme advantage over smartcards and other devices that contain only minimal circuitry protection. For example, smartcard contacts are inherently fragile and any mishandling often leads to wirebond breakage and irrepairable damage. • Wearable. Unlike credit card-sized smartcards and large keychain-sized USB keys and other hardware tokens, the iButton™ is small enough to mount onto wearable accessories. • Tamper Responsive. The iButton™ has been touted as having a number of tamper proofing features which prevent the device from being physically attacked with invasive methods. A later section describes these specific features.
2.2 Ibutton and its Classification:
The family of iButtons™ is split into two sections: • Touch Memory iButtons™ make up a large portion of the family. These devices can serve as replacements for stored-value or debit card applications, the majority of which are
LITERATURE SURVEY
2.1 Introduction
The iButton is a computer chip enclosed in a 16mm thick stainless steel can. Because of this unique and durable container, up-to-date information can travel with a person or object anywhere they go. The steel iButton can be mounted virtually anywhere because it is rugged enough to withstand harsh environments, indoors or outdoors. It is small and portable enough to attach to a key fob, ring, watch, or other personal items, and be used daily for applications such as access control to buildings and computers, asset management, and various data logging tasks.
The physical device is a 16mm dime-sized metal can. There are a number of advantages to the iButton™ compared to previously used hardware token devices: • Rugged. The iButton™ is housed in a water-proof, stainless steel metal housing. Due to the housing armor, the iButton™ can withstand extreme environmental conditions and handling with no loss of data or performance. The device has been wear-tested for 10-year durability. The ruggedness of the device is an extreme advantage over smartcards and other devices that contain only minimal circuitry protection. For example, smartcard contacts are inherently fragile and any mishandling often leads to wirebond breakage and irrepairable damage. • Wearable. Unlike credit card-sized smartcards and large keychain-sized USB keys and other hardware tokens, the iButton™ is small enough to mount onto wearable accessories. • Tamper Responsive. The iButton™ has been touted as having a number of tamper proofing features which prevent the device from being physically attacked with invasive methods. A later section describes these specific features.
2.2 Ibutton and its Classification:
The family of iButtons™ is split into two sections: • Touch Memory iButtons™ make up a large portion of the family. These devices can serve as replacements for stored-value or debit card applications, the majority of which are