STRATEGIC PARTNERS
October 30, 2002
TORONTO -- NCR Corporation unveiled another prototype ATM from its Room 504 research laboratory at Canada's eBusiness Intelligence Symposium 2002. The ATM, called HARP (Handy Access in Remote Places), is a small, mobile unit that can be quickly installed in special event locations or in remote locales.
According to an IDG News Service report, the prototype weighs about 50 kilograms (110 pounds), supports a 7-inch diagonal screen, and measures approximately 24 inches by 14 inches by 18 inches. It can be mounted on a table, on a wall or in a freestanding frame.
HARP ATMs will communicate with EFT networks using GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technology. Data will be encrypted using Triple DES security.
The ATM will be powered by either battery (12 volt lithium) or solar panels, and will be designed to run for three days.
GPS devices will be included "so we can tell if somebody moves it even within a couple of meters," said Mark Grossi, chief technology officer for NCR's Financial Solutions Group. "It will also have knowledge of self. It knows where it should be and what state it should be in. If it is attacked it can defend itself."
HARP's defenses could include exploding a dye packet, rendering the money useless, to going into a sleep/shut down mode, Grossi said.
HARP resembles a small telephone box, as the ATM itself is contained in a metal box with a lockable front door.
NCR is targeting deployment at locations like county fairs, festivals and sporting events.
"We have taken the ATM out of the hole in the wall and are putting cash where the consumer is," said Mark Grossi, chief technology officer at NCR Financial Solutions Group.
Grossi said NCR also believes HARP will be popular in such countries as India, where there is a limited infrastructure to support ATMs with standard telephone lines.
NCR also showed HARP at the Beijing Banking Exhibition in September, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.
Other ATM prototypes from NCR's Room 504, in Dundee, Scotland, have included the Freedom series of machines, one of which rather infamously resembled a red egg and lacked a card reader or screen. That design was equipped with an electronic sensor that responds either to infrared or Bluetooth signals.
(See related stories NCR's Freedom is just another word for "advanced" at NACS and Freedom from cards, buttons, screens)
