# Dedicated electronic token — future concept

## Status
Industrial-design study only. No prototype, bill of materials, supplier,
certification, validated battery life, price, preorder or release date.
The SVG is an editable illustration, not a manufacturing drawing.

## Purpose
A focused carrier for provider-specific optical codes and selected native
credentials, without requiring a smartphone for every interaction.

## Candidate functions
- Low-power display for choosing an organisation and presenting an approved code.
- Secure element with independent device keys and controlled provisioning.
- A defined NFC application profile, not arbitrary legacy card emulation.
- Physical controls, visible relationship selection and confirmation where needed.
- Authenticated management, signed updates, documented recovery and secure erasure.

## Open engineering work
Display refresh/contrast and scanner compatibility; NFC antenna/reader testing;
power budget and charging or energy-harvesting feasibility; accessibility;
secure boot/update chain; provisioning authority; revoked-device containment;
radio/market compliance; privacy of hardware identifiers; physical durability.

A retained e-paper image does not make the entire device battery-free. Display
updates and selection need energy. Dynamic proofs need a compatible verifier;
a static-value backend will not understand a rotating cryptographic payload.

## First bench prototype
1. Display and switch between two approved static codes.
2. Test real scanners at practical angles, brightness and distance.
3. Perform one defined secure NFC exchange with an authorised reader.
4. Demonstrate device-specific enrolment, replacement and revocation.
5. Measure the actual energy budget before making lifetime claims.

## Carrier independence
A physical card and phone remain valid alternatives. The future token must not
become the only way to access essential membership or employment services.