CNA announces Eclipse Keyple 2.0 to support easier smart ticketing integrations

Calypso Networks Association (CNA) has released its Eclipse Keyple® 2.0, an open source framework supported by the Eclipse IoT Working Group at the Eclipse Foundation that facilitates quick and low-cost implementations of smart card readers and terminals for secure transport ticketing.

Keyple, developed with the Eclipse Foundation open source software community, enables transit agencies to easily implement ticketing terminal software independent from their existing hardware and infrastructure. This enables choice and freedom from proprietary vendor lock-in, while reducing the investment required to implement and maintain digital ticketing based on Calypso® open standards.

“Our goal at CNA is to empower the transport community to control and evolve the smart ticketing ecosystem and help make mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) a reality. Keyple 2.0 means transport organizations can now modify ticketing software independently from their hardware solutions, for example whenever they want to implement a new tariff," said Philippe Vappereau, CEO, CNA. "Ticketing suppliers no longer need to develop and maintain their own complex library to handle Calypso processing or solution evolutions, nor do they need to adapt solutions specifically to integrate an existing ticketing system. Keyple’s modular approach enables developers – even those who are new to Calypso – to quickly, easily and inexpensively integrate advanced smart ticketing solutions into their public transport offer.”

Keyple 2.0 is built around three independent component layers: Plug-in, Core and Calypso. All components of Eclipse Keyple are now separated with limited dependencies to enable flexibility and greater stability.

• The Keyple ‘Plug-in API’ reduces the complexities of integrating a smart card reader solution by implementing a single interface.
• Keyple Core implements the Calypso terminal Reader API and Card API, a universal interface to manage reader and smart card solutions, independently to the terminal architecture (embedded or distributed).
• Keyple Calypso implements the Calypso terminal Calypso API, a high-level interface to implement fast and secure contactless ticketing transactions based on the Calypso standard.

These tools can reduce development cost and time as developers do not have to familiarize themselves with any legacy proprietary specifications. Transit agencies can also turn to other suppliers for infrastructure upgrades as part of their ticketing strategy, or when new fare structures and lines are added to their network. CNA says it plans to introduce functional certification for developers using Keyple in the future to further support the creation of ticketing terminal applications.

“Open source provides the best means for global communities to collaborate,” said Frederic Desbiens, program manager, IoT and Edge computing, Eclipse Foundation. “We are pleased that Eclipse Keyple and the Calypso open standard will continue supporting transit networks and developers alike as public transport ticketing continues to evolve. Thanks to such developments, a process that often takes years and requires significant investment can now take less time at a fraction of the cost.”