Chip Cards Are Knocking On The Door.(usage of chip cards )

Two years ago, British consultant Lindsay Robertson wrote a lighthearted column for Card Technology about the year 2010 when, he predicted, he would enter his home by waving a contactless smart card and verifying his identity through an iris-recognition system. He may prove to be a prophet.

From Santiago, Chile, to Osaka, Japan, some high-end residential buildings are starting to replace conventional keys with chip cards or biometrics. To be sure, the numbers are small, and one of the larger experiments has stalled in France. But a growing number of lock-makers are incorporating chip card readers and biometrics into their devices.

"What you're talking about is different ways of identifying who you are at varying levels of security," says Chris Nieshalla, marketing manager for U.S.-based Ingersoll Rand, which owns such access control companies as Schlage and Interflex. A basic electronic lock has a keypad for entering a code; higher-security locks require presenting a card or a tag that slips onto a keychain.

Biometrics add even more security. "It's not even something you can give to somebody," says Nieshalla. "It's got to be you, or it's not going to let the door open."

Nieshalla sees a growing interest in smart cards for access control. With more memory and higher security they can do things less sophisticated cards and tags cannot.

For instance, …