Modulation and coding used by ISO/IECs 14443-A and 14443-B.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\nVitamin K2 - Vital for Health and Wellbeing has been produced and distributed through the support from Kappa Bioscience, Norway.\r\n',isbn:"978-953-51-3020-8",printIsbn:"978-953-51-3019-2",pdfIsbn:"978-953-51-4895-1",doi:"10.5772/61430",price:139,priceEur:155,priceUsd:179,slug:"vitamin-k2-vital-for-health-and-wellbeing",numberOfPages:338,isOpenForSubmission:!1,isInWos:1,hash:"b2f9f024939ddc4f5da2a8afa3fcd9c9",bookSignature:"Jan Oxholm Gordeladze",publishedDate:"March 22nd 2017",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/5169.jpg",numberOfDownloads:25016,numberOfWosCitations:7,numberOfCrossrefCitations:13,numberOfDimensionsCitations:25,hasAltmetrics:1,numberOfTotalCitations:45,isAvailableForWebshopOrdering:!0,dateEndFirstStepPublish:"October 6th 2015",dateEndSecondStepPublish:"January 31st 2016",dateEndThirdStepPublish:"March 25th 2016",dateEndFourthStepPublish:"May 30th 2016",dateEndFifthStepPublish:"August 31st 2016",currentStepOfPublishingProcess:5,indexedIn:"1,2,3,4,5,6",editedByType:"Edited by",kuFlag:!1,editors:[{id:"36345",title:"Prof.",name:"Jan",middleName:"Oxholm",surname:"Gordeladze",slug:"jan-gordeladze",fullName:"Jan Gordeladze",profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/36345/images/3823_n.jpg",biography:"Dr. Jan O. Gordeladze, Ph.D. (born 25th of April, 1950), holds a triple professor competence (Medical Biochemistry, Physiology, and Pharmacology), and is presently working as a Professor Emeritus at the Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Basic Medical Science, University of Oslo, Norway. He has previously been employed as the Medical Director of MSD, Norway, serving two years as a Fulbright scholar at the NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. From 2006-2009 he was employed as Associate Professor at the University of Montpellier, France. He is a member of the Norwegian Stem Cell Center, and his research has over the past 7-10 years been devoted to differentiation of osteochondral cells from stem cells focusing on the impact of transcription factors and microRNA species constituting regulatory loop interactions with functional target genes. He has published more than 120 scientific articles, reviews/book chapters and presented more than 250 abstracts/posters/talks at conferences worldwide. Dr. Gordeladze has served as a Fulbright Scholar at The National Institute of Health, Bethesda, Washington DC during the years 1990-91.",institutionString:null,position:null,outsideEditionCount:0,totalCites:0,totalAuthoredChapters:"9",totalChapterViews:"0",totalEditedBooks:"3",institution:null}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,coeditorOne:null,coeditorTwo:null,coeditorThree:null,coeditorFour:null,coeditorFive:null,topics:[{id:"379",title:"Vitaminology",slug:"alimentology-vitaminology"}],chapters:[{id:"53889",title:"Introductory Chapter: Vitamin K2",doi:"10.5772/66384",slug:"introductory-chapter-vitamin-k2",totalDownloads:1245,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:0,signatures:"Jan Oxholm Gordeladze",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/53889",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/53889",authors:[{id:"36345",title:"Prof.",name:"Jan",surname:"Gordeladze",slug:"jan-gordeladze",fullName:"Jan Gordeladze"}],corrections:null},{id:"51057",title:"Vitamin K, SXR, and GGCX",doi:"10.5772/63983",slug:"vitamin-k-sxr-and-ggcx",totalDownloads:1179,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:1,signatures:"Kotaro Azuma and Satoshi Inoue",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/51057",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/51057",authors:[{id:"184194",title:"Dr.",name:"Satoshi",surname:"Inoue",slug:"satoshi-inoue",fullName:"Satoshi Inoue"},{id:"189851",title:"Dr.",name:"Kotaro",surname:"Azuma",slug:"kotaro-azuma",fullName:"Kotaro Azuma"}],corrections:null},{id:"51024",title:"Vitamin K2 Rich Food Products",doi:"10.5772/63902",slug:"vitamin-k2-rich-food-products",totalDownloads:1437,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:0,signatures:"Muhammad Yasin, Masood Sadiq Butt and Aurang Zeb",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/51024",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/51024",authors:[{id:"178785",title:"Dr.",name:"Muhammad",surname:"Yasin",slug:"muhammad-yasin",fullName:"Muhammad Yasin"},{id:"182656",title:"Prof.",name:"Masood Sadiq",surname:"Butt",slug:"masood-sadiq-butt",fullName:"Masood Sadiq Butt"},{id:"189674",title:"Dr.",name:"Aurang",surname:"Zeb",slug:"aurang-zeb",fullName:"Aurang Zeb"}],corrections:null},{id:"50921",title:"Menaquinones, Bacteria, and Foods: Vitamin K2 in the Diet",doi:"10.5772/63712",slug:"menaquinones-bacteria-and-foods-vitamin-k2-in-the-diet",totalDownloads:2575,totalCrossrefCites:6,totalDimensionsCites:12,signatures:"Barbara Walther and Magali Chollet",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/50921",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/50921",authors:[{id:"184784",title:"Dr.",name:"Barbara",surname:"Walther",slug:"barbara-walther",fullName:"Barbara Walther"},{id:"188194",title:"Mrs.",name:"Magali",surname:"Chollet",slug:"magali-chollet",fullName:"Magali Chollet"}],corrections:null},{id:"54263",title:"The Impact of Vitamin K2 on Energy Metabolism",doi:"10.5772/67152",slug:"the-impact-of-vitamin-k2-on-energy-metabolism",totalDownloads:1285,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:0,signatures:"Mona Møller, Serena Tonstad, Tone Bathen and Jan Oxholm\nGordeladze",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/54263",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/54263",authors:[{id:"184157",title:"M.Sc.",name:"Mona",surname:"Møller",slug:"mona-moller",fullName:"Mona Møller"}],corrections:null},{id:"52078",title:"Vitamin K2 and Bone Health",doi:"10.5772/64876",slug:"vitamin-k2-and-bone-health",totalDownloads:1516,totalCrossrefCites:1,totalDimensionsCites:1,signatures:"Niels Erik Frandsen and Jan Oxholm Gordeladze",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/52078",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/52078",authors:[{id:"186115",title:"M.D.",name:"Niels Erik",surname:"Frandsen",slug:"niels-erik-frandsen",fullName:"Niels Erik Frandsen"}],corrections:null},{id:"54291",title:"Vitamin K2 and its Impact on Tooth Epigenetics",doi:"10.5772/66383",slug:"vitamin-k2-and-its-impact-on-tooth-epigenetics",totalDownloads:1555,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:0,signatures:"Jan Oxholm Gordeladze, Maria A. Landin, Gaute Floer Johnsen,\nHåvard Jostein Haugen and Harald Osmundsen",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/54291",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/54291",authors:[{id:"36345",title:"Prof.",name:"Jan",surname:"Gordeladze",slug:"jan-gordeladze",fullName:"Jan Gordeladze"}],corrections:null},{id:"51205",title:"Anti-Inflammatory Actions of Vitamin K",doi:"10.5772/63891",slug:"anti-inflammatory-actions-of-vitamin-k",totalDownloads:1672,totalCrossrefCites:2,totalDimensionsCites:4,signatures:"Stephen J. Hodges, Andrew A. Pitsillides, Lars M. Ytrebø and Robin\nSoper",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/51205",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/51205",authors:[{id:"184368",title:"Dr.",name:"Stephen",surname:"Hodges",slug:"stephen-hodges",fullName:"Stephen Hodges"},{id:"184370",title:"Dr.",name:"Robin",surname:"Soper",slug:"robin-soper",fullName:"Robin Soper"},{id:"184371",title:"Prof.",name:"Andrew",surname:"Pitsillides",slug:"andrew-pitsillides",fullName:"Andrew Pitsillides"}],corrections:null},{id:"50916",title:"Vitamin K2: Implications for Cardiovascular Health in the Context of Plant-Based Diets, with Applications for Prostate Health",doi:"10.5772/63413",slug:"vitamin-k2-implications-for-cardiovascular-health-in-the-context-of-plant-based-diets-with-applicati",totalDownloads:3042,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:0,signatures:"Michael S. Donaldson",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/50916",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/50916",authors:[{id:"180516",title:"Dr.",name:"Michael",surname:"Donaldson",slug:"michael-donaldson",fullName:"Michael Donaldson"}],corrections:null},{id:"50958",title:"Menaquinone‐4 Enhances Steroidogenesis in Testis Derived Tumor Cells Via the Elevation of cAMP Level",doi:"10.5772/63982",slug:"menaquinone-4-enhances-steroidogenesis-in-testis-derived-tumor-cells-via-the-elevation-of-camp-level",totalDownloads:1102,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:1,signatures:"Hsin‐Jung Ho, Hitoshi Shirakawa and Michio Komai",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/50958",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/50958",authors:[{id:"180389",title:"Dr.",name:"Hitoshi",surname:"Shirakawa",slug:"hitoshi-shirakawa",fullName:"Hitoshi Shirakawa"},{id:"180489",title:"MSc.",name:"Hsin-Jung",surname:"Ho",slug:"hsin-jung-ho",fullName:"Hsin-Jung Ho"},{id:"180490",title:"Prof.",name:"Michio",surname:"Komai",slug:"michio-komai",fullName:"Michio Komai"}],corrections:null},{id:"54241",title:"Vitamin K2 Facilitating Inter-Organ Cross-Talk",doi:"10.5772/67153",slug:"vitamin-k2-facilitating-inter-organ-cross-talk",totalDownloads:1331,totalCrossrefCites:1,totalDimensionsCites:1,signatures:"Jan O. Gordeladze, Håvard J. Haugen, Gaute Floer Johnsen and\nMona Møller",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/54241",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/54241",authors:[{id:"36345",title:"Prof.",name:"Jan",surname:"Gordeladze",slug:"jan-gordeladze",fullName:"Jan Gordeladze"}],corrections:null},{id:"51126",title:"Vitamin K2 in Animal Health: An Overview",doi:"10.5772/63901",slug:"vitamin-k2-in-animal-health-an-overview",totalDownloads:1292,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:1,signatures:"Jayde O’Neil, Bethany Scarrott, Ragnhild Aven Svalheim, Jonathan\nElliott and Stephen J. Hodges",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/51126",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/51126",authors:[{id:"184368",title:"Dr.",name:"Stephen",surname:"Hodges",slug:"stephen-hodges",fullName:"Stephen Hodges"},{id:"184369",title:"Ms.",name:"Jayde",surname:"O'Neil",slug:"jayde-o'neil",fullName:"Jayde O'Neil"},{id:"184748",title:"Ms.",name:"Bethany",surname:"Scarrott",slug:"bethany-scarrott",fullName:"Bethany Scarrott"},{id:"184749",title:"Prof.",name:"Jonathan",surname:"Elliott",slug:"jonathan-elliott",fullName:"Jonathan Elliott"},{id:"184750",title:"Ms.",name:"Ragnhild",surname:"Svalheim",slug:"ragnhild-svalheim",fullName:"Ragnhild Svalheim"}],corrections:null},{id:"50754",title:"Medicinal Chemistry of Vitamin K Derivatives and Metabolites",doi:"10.5772/63511",slug:"medicinal-chemistry-of-vitamin-k-derivatives-and-metabolites",totalDownloads:1127,totalCrossrefCites:2,totalDimensionsCites:2,signatures:"Shinya Fujii and Hiroyuki Kagechika",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/50754",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/50754",authors:[{id:"180528",title:"Prof.",name:"Hiroyuki",surname:"Kagechika",slug:"hiroyuki-kagechika",fullName:"Hiroyuki Kagechika"},{id:"180529",title:"Dr.",name:"Shinya",surname:"Fujii",slug:"shinya-fujii",fullName:"Shinya Fujii"}],corrections:null},{id:"50681",title:"From Protein Folding to Blood Coagulation: Menaquinone as a Metabolic Link between Bacteria and Mammals",doi:"10.5772/63342",slug:"from-protein-folding-to-blood-coagulation-menaquinone-as-a-metabolic-link-between-bacteria-and-mamma",totalDownloads:1202,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:0,signatures:"Brian M. Meehan and Jonathan Beckwith",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/50681",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/50681",authors:[{id:"180269",title:"Dr.",name:"Brian",surname:"Meehan",slug:"brian-meehan",fullName:"Brian Meehan"},{id:"185054",title:"Prof.",name:"Jon",surname:"Beckwith",slug:"jon-beckwith",fullName:"Jon Beckwith"}],corrections:null},{id:"52618",title:"Vitamin K2 Biosynthesis: Drug Targets for New Antibacterials",doi:"10.5772/65487",slug:"vitamin-k2-biosynthesis-drug-targets-for-new-antibacterials",totalDownloads:1350,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:1,signatures:"Michio Kurosu",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/52618",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/52618",authors:[{id:"33087",title:"Prof.",name:"Michio",surname:"Kurosu",slug:"michio-kurosu",fullName:"Michio Kurosu"}],corrections:null},{id:"50717",title:"Toxicological and Pharmacological Effects of VKOR Inhibitors",doi:"10.5772/63512",slug:"toxicological-and-pharmacological-effects-of-vkor-inhibitors",totalDownloads:1134,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:0,signatures:"Yohei Miyamoto",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/50717",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/50717",authors:[{id:"172105",title:"Ph.D.",name:"Yohei",surname:"Miyamoto",slug:"yohei-miyamoto",fullName:"Yohei Miyamoto"}],corrections:null},{id:"50994",title:"Enhanced Intracellular Delivery and Improved Antitumor Efficacy of Menaquinone-4",doi:"10.5772/63343",slug:"enhanced-intracellular-delivery-and-improved-antitumor-efficacy-of-menaquinone-4",totalDownloads:972,totalCrossrefCites:1,totalDimensionsCites:1,signatures:"Kazuhisa Matsunaga, Munechika Enjoji, Yoshiharu Karube and Jiro\nTakata",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/50994",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/50994",authors:[{id:"179737",title:"Associate Prof.",name:"Kazuhisa",surname:"Matsunaga",slug:"kazuhisa-matsunaga",fullName:"Kazuhisa Matsunaga"},{id:"179741",title:"Prof.",name:"Munechika",surname:"Enjoji",slug:"munechika-enjoji",fullName:"Munechika Enjoji"},{id:"179742",title:"Prof.",name:"Yoshiharu",surname:"Karube",slug:"yoshiharu-karube",fullName:"Yoshiharu Karube"},{id:"179744",title:"Prof.",name:"Jiro",surname:"Takata",slug:"jiro-takata",fullName:"Jiro Takata"}],corrections:null}],productType:{id:"1",title:"Edited Volume",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},relatedBooks:[{type:"book",id:"5483",title:"Adiposity",subtitle:"Epidemiology and Treatment Modalities",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"5f19b6a0755b8a29538e3b2043d4a854",slug:"adiposity-epidemiology-and-treatment-modalities",bookSignature:"Jan Oxholm Gordeladze",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/5483.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"36345",title:"Prof.",name:"Jan",surname:"Gordeladze",slug:"jan-gordeladze",fullName:"Jan Gordeladze"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"6039",title:"Adiposity",subtitle:"Omics and Molecular Understanding",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"7ef4705430dd255e9105eff55b3b21a8",slug:"adiposity-omics-and-molecular-understanding",bookSignature:"Jan Oxholm Gordeladze",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/6039.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"36345",title:"Prof.",name:"Jan",surname:"Gordeladze",slug:"jan-gordeladze",fullName:"Jan Gordeladze"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"5940",title:"Vitamin C",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"e23e79359167bb9d4a53edd78c7b5038",slug:"vitamin-c",bookSignature:"Amal H. Hamza",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/5940.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"188326",title:"Associate Prof.",name:"Amal",surname:"Hamza",slug:"amal-hamza",fullName:"Amal Hamza"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"7263",title:"Vitamin E in Health and Disease",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"6bd8e547b4f3ad7f1675a36b8dbde8f2",slug:"vitamin-e-in-health-and-disease",bookSignature:"Jose Antonio Morales-Gonzalez",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7263.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"109774",title:"Dr.",name:"Jose Antonio",surname:"Morales-Gonzalez",slug:"jose-antonio-morales-gonzalez",fullName:"Jose Antonio Morales-Gonzalez"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"7038",title:"Vitamin D Deficiency",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"ba24f0913341357b0779ff9529c4bbfc",slug:"vitamin-d-deficiency",bookSignature:"Julia Fedotova",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7038.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"269070",title:"Prof.",name:"Julia",surname:"Fedotova",slug:"julia-fedotova",fullName:"Julia Fedotova"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"8594",title:"Fads and Facts about Vitamin D",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"1731029867f0d79c633e3408fc03ebd2",slug:"fads-and-facts-about-vitamin-d",bookSignature:"Edward T. Zawada Jr.",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/8594.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"16344",title:"Dr.",name:"Edward T.",surname:"Zawada Jr.",slug:"edward-t.-zawada-jr.",fullName:"Edward T. Zawada Jr."}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"7978",title:"Vitamin A",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"dad04a658ab9e3d851d23705980a688b",slug:"vitamin-a",bookSignature:"Leila Queiroz Zepka, Veridiana Vera de Rosso and Eduardo Jacob-Lopes",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7978.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"261969",title:"Dr.",name:"Leila",surname:"Queiroz Zepka",slug:"leila-queiroz-zepka",fullName:"Leila Queiroz Zepka"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"7033",title:"Vitamin C",subtitle:"an Update on Current Uses and Functions",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"719a5742e3271393fe43864e13e996cd",slug:"vitamin-c-an-update-on-current-uses-and-functions",bookSignature:"Jean Guy LeBlanc",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7033.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"67023",title:"Dr.",name:"Jean Guy",surname:"LeBlanc",slug:"jean-guy-leblanc",fullName:"Jean Guy LeBlanc"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"6709",title:"B Group Vitamins",subtitle:"Current Uses and Perspectives",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"f34959a0fcc33a2c6fb3d03e9ec544bf",slug:"b-group-vitamins-current-uses-and-perspectives",bookSignature:"Jean Guy LeBlanc and Graciela Savoy de Giori",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/6709.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"67023",title:"Dr.",name:"Jean Guy",surname:"LeBlanc",slug:"jean-guy-leblanc",fullName:"Jean Guy LeBlanc"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"1591",title:"Infrared Spectroscopy",subtitle:"Materials Science, Engineering and Technology",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"99b4b7b71a8caeb693ed762b40b017f4",slug:"infrared-spectroscopy-materials-science-engineering-and-technology",bookSignature:"Theophile Theophanides",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/1591.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"37194",title:"Dr.",name:"Theophanides",surname:"Theophile",slug:"theophanides-theophile",fullName:"Theophanides Theophile"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}}],ofsBooks:[]},correction:{item:{id:"66304",slug:"corrigendum-to-pulsating-flow-effects-on-hydrodynamics-in-a-desalination-membrane-filled-with-spacer",title:"Corrigendum to: Pulsating Flow Effects on Hydrodynamics in a Desalination Membrane Filled with Spacers",doi:null,correctionPDFUrl:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs/66304.pdf",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/66304",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/66304",totalDownloads:null,totalCrossrefCites:null,bibtexUrl:"/chapter/bibtex/66304",risUrl:"/chapter/ris/66304",chapter:{id:"55536",slug:"pulsating-flow-effects-on-hydrodynamics-in-a-desalination-membrane-filled-with-spacers",signatures:"Armando A. Soares, João Silva, Eliseu Monteiro and Abel Rouboa",dateSubmitted:"September 25th 2016",dateReviewed:"March 27th 2017",datePrePublished:null,datePublished:"August 30th 2017",book:{id:"5768",title:"Desalination",subtitle:null,fullTitle:"Desalination",slug:"desalination",publishedDate:"August 30th 2017",bookSignature:"Taner Yonar",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/5768.jpg",licenceType:"CC BY 3.0",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"32956",title:"Dr.",name:"Taner",middleName:null,surname:"Yonar",slug:"taner-yonar",fullName:"Taner Yonar"}],productType:{id:"1",title:"Edited Volume",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},authors:[{id:"59885",title:"PhD.",name:"Abel",middleName:null,surname:"Rouboa",fullName:"Abel Rouboa",slug:"abel-rouboa",email:"rouboa@utad.pt",position:null,institution:null}]}},chapter:{id:"55536",slug:"pulsating-flow-effects-on-hydrodynamics-in-a-desalination-membrane-filled-with-spacers",signatures:"Armando A. Soares, João Silva, Eliseu Monteiro and Abel Rouboa",dateSubmitted:"September 25th 2016",dateReviewed:"March 27th 2017",datePrePublished:null,datePublished:"August 30th 2017",book:{id:"5768",title:"Desalination",subtitle:null,fullTitle:"Desalination",slug:"desalination",publishedDate:"August 30th 2017",bookSignature:"Taner Yonar",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/5768.jpg",licenceType:"CC BY 3.0",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"32956",title:"Dr.",name:"Taner",middleName:null,surname:"Yonar",slug:"taner-yonar",fullName:"Taner Yonar"}],productType:{id:"1",title:"Edited Volume",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},authors:[{id:"59885",title:"PhD.",name:"Abel",middleName:null,surname:"Rouboa",fullName:"Abel Rouboa",slug:"abel-rouboa",email:"rouboa@utad.pt",position:null,institution:null}]},book:{id:"5768",title:"Desalination",subtitle:null,fullTitle:"Desalination",slug:"desalination",publishedDate:"August 30th 2017",bookSignature:"Taner Yonar",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/5768.jpg",licenceType:"CC BY 3.0",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"32956",title:"Dr.",name:"Taner",middleName:null,surname:"Yonar",slug:"taner-yonar",fullName:"Taner Yonar"}],productType:{id:"1",title:"Edited Volume",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}}},ofsBook:{item:{type:"book",id:"7919",leadTitle:null,title:"NK Cells",subtitle:null,reviewType:"peer-reviewed",abstract:"This book will be a self-contained collection of scholarly papers targeting an audience of practicing researchers, academics, PhD students and other scientists. The contents of the book will be written by multiple authors and edited by experts in the field.",isbn:null,printIsbn:null,pdfIsbn:null,doi:null,price:0,priceEur:null,priceUsd:null,slug:null,numberOfPages:0,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"c80f9dd27c01d74fbd8c0cfaf3faf1fb",bookSignature:"",publishedDate:null,coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7919.jpg",keywords:null,numberOfDownloads:null,numberOfWosCitations:0,numberOfCrossrefCitations:0,numberOfDimensionsCitations:0,numberOfTotalCitations:0,isAvailableForWebshopOrdering:!0,dateEndFirstStepPublish:"April 24th 2018",dateEndSecondStepPublish:"May 15th 2018",dateEndThirdStepPublish:"July 14th 2018",dateEndFourthStepPublish:"October 2nd 2018",dateEndFifthStepPublish:"December 1st 2018",remainingDaysToSecondStep:"3 years",secondStepPassed:!0,currentStepOfPublishingProcess:1,editedByType:null,kuFlag:!1,biosketch:null,coeditorOneBiosketch:null,coeditorTwoBiosketch:null,coeditorThreeBiosketch:null,coeditorFourBiosketch:null,coeditorFiveBiosketch:null,editors:null,coeditorOne:null,coeditorTwo:null,coeditorThree:null,coeditorFour:null,coeditorFive:null,topics:[{id:"13",title:"Immunology and Microbiology",slug:"immunology-and-microbiology"}],chapters:null,productType:{id:"1",title:"Edited Volume",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"},personalPublishingAssistant:null},relatedBooks:[{type:"book",id:"1591",title:"Infrared Spectroscopy",subtitle:"Materials Science, Engineering and Technology",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"99b4b7b71a8caeb693ed762b40b017f4",slug:"infrared-spectroscopy-materials-science-engineering-and-technology",bookSignature:"Theophile Theophanides",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/1591.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"37194",title:"Dr.",name:"Theophanides",surname:"Theophile",slug:"theophanides-theophile",fullName:"Theophanides Theophile"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"3092",title:"Anopheles mosquitoes",subtitle:"New insights into malaria vectors",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"c9e622485316d5e296288bf24d2b0d64",slug:"anopheles-mosquitoes-new-insights-into-malaria-vectors",bookSignature:"Sylvie Manguin",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/3092.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"50017",title:"Prof.",name:"Sylvie",surname:"Manguin",slug:"sylvie-manguin",fullName:"Sylvie Manguin"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"3161",title:"Frontiers in Guided Wave Optics and Optoelectronics",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"deb44e9c99f82bbce1083abea743146c",slug:"frontiers-in-guided-wave-optics-and-optoelectronics",bookSignature:"Bishnu Pal",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/3161.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"4782",title:"Prof.",name:"Bishnu",surname:"Pal",slug:"bishnu-pal",fullName:"Bishnu Pal"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"72",title:"Ionic Liquids",subtitle:"Theory, Properties, New Approaches",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"d94ffa3cfa10505e3b1d676d46fcd3f5",slug:"ionic-liquids-theory-properties-new-approaches",bookSignature:"Alexander Kokorin",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/72.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"19816",title:"Prof.",name:"Alexander",surname:"Kokorin",slug:"alexander-kokorin",fullName:"Alexander Kokorin"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"1373",title:"Ionic Liquids",subtitle:"Applications and Perspectives",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"5e9ae5ae9167cde4b344e499a792c41c",slug:"ionic-liquids-applications-and-perspectives",bookSignature:"Alexander Kokorin",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/1373.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"19816",title:"Prof.",name:"Alexander",surname:"Kokorin",slug:"alexander-kokorin",fullName:"Alexander Kokorin"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"57",title:"Physics and Applications of Graphene",subtitle:"Experiments",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"0e6622a71cf4f02f45bfdd5691e1189a",slug:"physics-and-applications-of-graphene-experiments",bookSignature:"Sergey Mikhailov",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/57.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"16042",title:"Dr.",name:"Sergey",surname:"Mikhailov",slug:"sergey-mikhailov",fullName:"Sergey Mikhailov"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"371",title:"Abiotic Stress in Plants",subtitle:"Mechanisms and Adaptations",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"588466f487e307619849d72389178a74",slug:"abiotic-stress-in-plants-mechanisms-and-adaptations",bookSignature:"Arun Shanker and B. Venkateswarlu",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/371.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"58592",title:"Dr.",name:"Arun",surname:"Shanker",slug:"arun-shanker",fullName:"Arun Shanker"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"878",title:"Phytochemicals",subtitle:"A Global Perspective of Their Role in Nutrition and Health",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"ec77671f63975ef2d16192897deb6835",slug:"phytochemicals-a-global-perspective-of-their-role-in-nutrition-and-health",bookSignature:"Venketeshwer Rao",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/878.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"82663",title:"Dr.",name:"Venketeshwer",surname:"Rao",slug:"venketeshwer-rao",fullName:"Venketeshwer Rao"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"4816",title:"Face Recognition",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"146063b5359146b7718ea86bad47c8eb",slug:"face_recognition",bookSignature:"Kresimir Delac and Mislav Grgic",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/4816.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"528",title:"Dr.",name:"Kresimir",surname:"Delac",slug:"kresimir-delac",fullName:"Kresimir Delac"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"3621",title:"Silver Nanoparticles",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:null,slug:"silver-nanoparticles",bookSignature:"David Pozo Perez",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/3621.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"6667",title:"Dr.",name:"David",surname:"Pozo",slug:"david-pozo",fullName:"David Pozo"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}}]},chapter:{item:{type:"chapter",id:"52083",title:"A Methodology for Evaluating Security in Commercial RFID Systems",doi:"10.5772/64844",slug:"a-methodology-for-evaluating-security-in-commercial-rfid-systems",body:'
In the last years, RFID has been applied throughout industry and services, thanks to its ease of use and its multiple practical applications, including animal identification, access control, passport verification, transportation and payment cards, car access control, supply chain traceability, logistics, or toll payments. However, despite becoming an everyday technology, many public and private entities have not considered the security of RFID systems as a basic requirement. In fact, it is easy to find many commercial systems that contain critical security flaws and vulnerabilities [1, 2] that allow for cloning tags or for straight signal replaying. Such vulnerabilities let attackers access certain services or facilities, get or alter personal information, and even track people.
Fortunately, secure mechanisms can be applied to prevent the attacks aforementioned, including the use of cryptography, the automatic detection of rogue devices [3], the enhancement of the resistance to cloning [4], the secure storage of critical data in remote databases or the use of secure physical modulations and medium access control (MAC) protocols. Nonetheless, it is common to find commercial RFID systems that have such security features disabled or detect already-broken RFID security systems still in use.
Taking the considerations previously mentioned into account, this chapter describes a methodology that allows researchers to evaluate the most common security flaws and details the necessary tools for applying such a methodology.
The rest of this chapter is organized as follows. Section 2 first reviews the most common security threats that can be used against RFID systems and then describes some of the latest RFID hardware/software security tools available. Section 3 exposes the methodology proposed for analyzing RFID security. In Section 4, the methodology is tested in different commercial systems. Finally, Section 5 is devoted to conclusions.
Information security has been classically governed by what is known as the CIA Triad: confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Confidentiality is related to the importance of protecting the most sensitive information from unauthorized access. Integrity consists in protecting data from modification or deletion by unauthorized parties, and ensuring that when authorized people make changes, they can be undone if some damage occurs. Finally, availability is the possibility of accessing the data when needed. If any of these three principles is not met, then security can be said that it has been broken.
Like other technologies, RFID is exposed to security threats and, specifically, to attacks on the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the data stored on the tags or on the information exchanged between a reader and a tag.
The term risk refers to the probability of occurrence of an event that causes damage to an informational asset. Two kinds of risks can be basically distinguished:
Security risks. They are derived from actions able to damage, block, or take advantage from a service in a malicious way. The action is usually carried out with the objective of obtaining a profit or just for damaging the access to certain service. The most common services provided by RFID systems are access control to facilities and payments.
Privacy risks. These risks affect the confidential information of the users. RFID tags can store data of the payments they performed or the transportation route followed by the user/owner.
In real life, most risks are a mixture of both security and privacy risks: they threaten RFID security in order to get access to the information stored or to the data related to a transaction.
A classification of RFID attacks can be seen in [5]. The following are the most common attacks associated with security risks:
Tag isolation. It is technically the simplest attack and probably the most common. It consists in blocking the tag communications to avoid sending data to the reader. It is usually carried out by means of a Faraday cage or by jamming RF signals.
Tag cloning. The unique identifier (UID) and/or the content of the RFID is extracted and inserted into another tag [6]. Cloning is commonly used for accessing restricted areas or for decreasing the price of certain goods in supermarkets.
Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. The reader is flooded with such a large amount of information that it cannot deal with the signals sent by real tags [7]. Other techniques are based on emitting radio noise at the operating frequency of the RFID system.
Command injection. Some readers are vulnerable to remote code execution just by reading the content of a tag [8].
Signal replaying. It consists in recording the RFID signal in certain time instants with the objective of replaying it later.
Remote tag destruction. There exist RFID zappers that are able to send energy remotely that once rectified, is so high that certain components of the tag might be burned. Researchers have also found that it is possible to misuse the kill password in some tags (Electronic Product Code(EPC) Class-1 Gen-2) with a passive eavesdropper and then disable the tags [9].
SQL injection. Like in the case of command injection, it has been found that some reader middleware is susceptible to the injection of random SQL commands [8].
Virus/Malware injection. Although difficult to perform in the vast majority of RFID tags due to their low storage capacity, it is possible in certain tags to insert malicious code that is able to be transmitted to other tags [8].
Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks. They consist in placing an active device between a tag and the reader in order to intercept and alter the communications between both elements [10, 11].
Relay/Amplification attacks. They consist in amplifying the RFID signal using a relay; thus, the range of the RFID tag is extended beyond its intended use [12].
RFID skimming. They consist in the use of portable point of sales terminals to make unauthorized and fraudulent charges on payment cards.
Attacks associated with privacy risks include the following:
Unauthorized access to personal data. Many systems store private data on the tag or transmit them when a tag and reader exchange information.
Personal tracking. This is probably the most feared, since an attacker might determine routes, purchases, and habits of a specific person. The information may be even used for marketing purposes.
In recent years, a number of projects have been developed with the aim of facilitating researchers’ low-level access to RFID communications. Some of them are just software tools that can be used with commercial RFID readers (RFIDiot [13]), while others involve specific hardware (Proxmark 3 [14], Tastic [15], OpenPCD [16], OpenPICC [17], Chameleon Mini [18]), or certain firmware (Proxbrute for Proxmark 3 [19]). Hardware developments are specially interesting: some devices can emulate readers (Tastic, OpenPCD); others can emulate just tags (OpenPICC); and a few can emulate both kinds of devices (Proxmark 3, Chameleon Mini).
There are not many academic platforms developed to test RFID security. An example can be found in [20], where a microcontroller and Field-Programmable Gate-Array(FPGA)-based tag platform is presented with the aim of evaluating high-frequency (HF) and ultra-high-frequency (UHF) RFID tags. The latest development as of writing is the Chameleon Mini, which has been promoted by the Ruhr University (Bochum, Germany): it is a versatile RFID tag emulator compliant with ISO/IEC 14443 and ISO/IEC 15693 (for instance, it currently supports MIFARE Classic 1K/4K/Ultralight emulation).
The platform selected in this chapter to analyze RFID security was Proxmark 3, which is an open-source system able to transmit at LF (125–134 KHz) and HF (13.56 MHz). The system contains an Atmel AT91SAM7S256 (256 KB of flash and 64 KB of RAM), an FPGA (Xilinx Spartan-II), and an 8-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC). It is powered through an USB and has a SV2 connector for the antenna, which contains four pins: two are for the HF antenna, and the other two are for the LF antenna. All these components can be observed in Figure 1. Among Proxmark features, it is relevant its ability to sniff the communications between a reader and different tags, and the possibility of emulating a reader or a specific tag.
Main components of Proxmark 3.
When the Proxmark acts as an RFID receiver, the signal that comes from the antenna goes through the ADC and is converted from analog to digital. Then, the digital data are sent through an 8-bit bus to the FPGA, where it is demodulated. Finally, the signal is sent from the FPGA to the microcontroller through the Serial Peripheral Interface(SPI) to deal with the RFID protocol. When the Proxmark acts as a transmitter, the same steps are performed but in reverse order. The FPGA modulators/demodulators are developed in Verilog, while the Atmel microcontroller is programmed in C.
In order to automate the evaluation of security in commercial RFID systems, a methodology has been devised. A reduced flow diagram is depicted in Figure 2. It consists of the following main steps:
Flow diagram of the methodology.
Visual inspection of the tag. Many tags include the name of manufacturer, the model and, sometimes, the RFID standard. With such data, it is usually easy to get more specific information on the way the tags behave and how to perform security tests.
Radio frequency detection. If there are no external signs on the tag, it is first recommended to determine the tag’s frequency. In such a case, LF, HF, UHF, and super-high frequency (SHF) tags can be found. There are software and hardware mechanisms to determine which is the operating frequency, like using a spectrum analyzer, or disassembling the tag or the reader to observe the hardware components of the radio interface.
Modulation and coding detection.
Standard identification. Once obtained the three previous parameters (frequency, modulation, and coding), it is straightforward to determine whether there exists an RFID standard compliant with such configuration. If it is not the case, the research could become tricky, since it might involve a proprietary protocol. However, when working with LF, HF, and UHF tags, standards are usually followed.
Sniff and emulate communications to perform security tests.
The methodology presented in this chapter can be easily applied to any unknown HF and LF RFID tags. In the next subsections, the analysis is divided into LF and HF tags, since the way they work varies noticeably. As it will be detailed, it is possible to work at a physical level with LF tags, but that is not easy in the case of HF devices.
The first step of the methodology consists in obtaining the operation frequency. For such a purpose, one of the antennas (LF or HF) has to be placed far from any tag and the Proxmark command hw tune has to be executed. The command gives us the received voltage in the different supported frequencies. Then, the operation has to be performed next to the unknown tag: if one of the voltages has decreased remarkably for a specific frequency, it means that such a frequency is the operating frequency.
Figures 3 and 4 show an example of the process for an LF tag. First, the voltages are checked with the HF antenna connected (note in Figure 3 that the LF antenna is said to be unusable), and it can be observed that they almost do not change between tests (i.e., just around 1 V). When the same procedure is carried out with the LF antenna (Figure 4), the voltages associated with LF frequencies drop substantially (especially of 134 KHz), and therefore, it is concluded that the tag is indeed LF.
HF voltages for an LF tag when is present (second command) or not in the field.
LF voltages when an LF tag is not in the field (first command) and when it is.
When determining whether a tag follows an LF standard, the first step consists in figuring out the data modulation and coding. For such a purpose, the following sequence of Proxmark commands has to be executed:
LF read [h]: the tag is powered with the selected frequency (125 KHz by default, or 134 KHz using the parameter h). The command also records the signal transmitted by the tag.
Data sample x: it downloads x of the previously recorded samples to the PC.
Data plot: it allows the user to open a new window to plot the signal. It is useful for evaluating the signal visually.
Different instructions can be used to modify, amplify, decimate, or normalize signal values to ease signal identification.
If the signal is clean enough, and its modulation has been recognized, the user can try to demodulate it. For instance, if the signal is modulated in amplitude-shift keying (ASK), the command data askdemod can be executed. In the case of frequency-shift keying (FSK) modulated signals, fskdemod is the right command.
Figure 5 shows an example of the signal obtained after carrying out the first three steps previously mentioned. Such a signal can then be demodulated, as it seems to be modulated either in ASK or FSK.
In this case, when the command askdemod was executed, it returned an error indicating that it had not been detected an ASK-modulated signal, and in fact, taking a closer look at Figure 5 it can be observed that the period of the pulses with less amplitude is different from the others. Therefore, it had to be FSK and fskdemod demodulated the signal (Figure 6).
Example of an LF tag signal received.
LF tag signal demodulated with fskdemod.
The next step consists in searching for a bit pattern, which might lead to determine the length of the identifier. Thus, the signal has to be observed during certain periods of time and look for similarities. In order to understand the transmitted data, it can be useful to find the standard that defines and structures them. For instance, in the previous example, the LF tag was an access control card manufactured by HID [21], whose well-known LF data structures can be extracted and then the UID obtained, as it is shown in Figure 7.
Obtaining the tag UID of an access control LF tag manufactured by HID.
At this point, the HID tag can be emulated with the Proxmark using the command lf hid sim; and it can even be cloned with a rewritable tag like Atmel T5557.
HF tags behave in a slightly different way than the LF ones: their signal is so fast that it cannot be processed so easily at plain sight. Moreover, in general, HF tags are smarter than LF tags, and they not only transmit an identifier repeatedly but also perform more complex communications with the reader. There exist many HF transmission modes and protocols. Furthermore, HF tags and readers can vary their modulation during the same transmission. For example, a tag can send FSK-modulated data, while the reader responds in ASK.
The steps required to analyze HF tags are not as clear as in LF, so the study becomes more like a trial-and-error process. For instance, the case of a public transportation card whose data were decoded after trying one by one all the possible combinations defined by the most popular standards until the right one was found is shown in Figure 8: first, it was tested ISO/IEC 14443-A, then ISO/IEC 15693 and, finally, ISO/IEC 14443-B.
Determining the RFID standard of an HF tag.
The command for reading ISO/IEC 14443-B tags sends an Answer to Request Type B(ATQB) command (0x05, 0x00, 0x08, 0x39, 0x73) and records the tag’s answer. The second value of the output can be either 0x00000000 or 0x00000001: if it is “1”, it means the reply of the tag was received properly. If it is “0”, it means that not all bytes (or none) were received.
In the specific case of the previous tag, the answer of the tag is “3 1 e,” so the second value (“1”) means that the tag is actually compliant with ISO/IEC 14443-B. The Proxmark is able to return the data after issuing the command hexsamples, which shows the UID and additional control bytes (in Figure 9).
UID and control bytes from an ISO/IEC 14443-B compliant card.
In order to validate the methodology proposed, three different commercial RFID systems were analyzed and tested. The next subsections first introduce the tags audited and then give details on the analysis and the steps required testing their security.
In this section, what we have called “M” and “T” cards are analyzed. Please note that such aliases were given to avoid legal issues, since there are still several hundred thousand units of the cards still in use.
In the case of the M card, it has been used in the last years by the city council of a relevant city in Spain for paying different services such as public transportation, museum access, or sport events. It is said that the council has sold more than 200,000 units of the card.
Regarding the T card, it is an RFID card developed by a Spanish regional government that provides public transportation payment to a population of 2.7 million people. It was designed to be compatible with the M card; therefore, in the next subsection a joint analysis of both cards is performed.
In plain sight, there are no signs or symbols that indicate the frequency band of the RFID cards. It can be assumed that by the reading range and the amount of information stored, they could be HF tags, but a deeper analysis should be performed to verify it accurately.
Radio frequency. Although both cards seem to be HF, the steps described in Section 3.2.1 have to be carried out to determine whether they are LF or HF. Such steps confirm that they are HF tags.
Modulation. Once the radio frequency is obtained, it has to be decided which of the possible standards the tags follow, and then, the modulation can be determined. A first fast test consisting in sending commands for ISO/IECs 14443-A, 14443-B, and 15693 standards show that the tags only answer correctly to the ones issued following ISO/IEC 14443-B.
ISO/IEC 14443 [22] is a 13.56 MHz-based standard that defines proximity RFID systems that are usually related to payment cards. ISO/IEC 14443 consists of four parts: (1) physical characteristics, (2) RF power and signal interface, (3) initialization and anti-collision, and (4) transmission protocol. It also defines two kinds of tags (type A and type B), which differ in parts (2) and (3). Table 1 shows the differences in terms of modulation and coding between both types [in such a table, the reader is called proximity coupling device (PCD), and the tag is the proximity integrated circuit card (PICC)].
Type A | Type B | |
---|---|---|
PCD to PICC | ASK 100% | ASK 10% |
Modified Miller, 106 kbps | NRZ, 106 kbps | |
PICC to PCD | Load modulation | Load modulation |
Subcarrier fc/16 | Subcarrier fc/16 | |
OOK | BPSK | |
Manchester, 106 kbps | NRZ-L, 106 kbps |
Modulation and coding used by ISO/IECs 14443-A and 14443-B.
The first step for the security analysis consisted in obtaining a good set of data samples of the communications carried out between each card and the reader. Note that data samples were taken during real trips in public transportation. Thus, a laptop with the Proxmark was carried in a backpack, while the RFID antenna cable was placed along the sleeve of a jacket until reaching the tester’s hand, where the antenna captured the dialog between the card and the reader.
Once the radio signals were captured by the antenna, they were demodulated and decoded with the Proxmark. The main problem with this setup was electric noise: many samples were lost because they became corrupted. In fact, none of the first 10 capturing attempts was successful, and it was necessary to perform numerous tests and try three different M/T cards to get a good data set. An example of captured data is shown in Table 2.
Timestamp | RSSI | Device | Payload | Additional information |
---|---|---|---|---|
0 | 142 | TAG | 50 08 10 2a 1d 53 4e 44 4b 33 81 93 bc 3f | |
1398 | 112 | TAG | 00 78 f0 | |
854 | 05 00 00 71 ff | |||
11500 | 05 00 00 71 ff | |||
11478 | 06 00 97 5b | |||
46342 | 05 00 08 39 73 | |||
1908 | 1d 08 10 2a 1d 00 08 01 00 94 60 | |||
554 | 296 | TAG | 00 78 f0 | |
3566 | 02 80 26 4f 11 0a e7 de | |||
3146 | 116 | TAG | 02 00 14 98 70 10 01 01 76 55 72 90 00 73 65 | |
36188 | 03 80 32 00 00 18 ea 98 | |||
1852 | 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 | **Fail CRC** | ||
480 | 00 90 00 1d fe | **Fail CRC** | ||
3676 | 02 80 2e 01 00 20 43 2f | |||
2870 | 203 | TAG | 02 01 01 e0 f5 ff f5 ff 00 00 00 00 01 f4 07 06 a9 8c ff 00 11 03 e8 00 00 b9 0b ff 00 02 00 01 48 90 00 26 57 | |
48 | (SHORT) | |||
3798 | 03 80 30 00 00 1d 31 f6 | |||
1580 | 03 | (SHORT) | ||
17462 | 02 80 28 00 00 04 75 39 34 0d 3a 07 d3 | |||
5778 | (SHORT) | |||
34972 | 03 80 2a 01 00 24 00 15 00 4b 00 01 48 41 19 09 01 00 28 01 37 e5 8c 18 21 10 00 c2 01 01 09 23 00 10 01 00 00 4b d4 72 2b eb 04 ca 20 | |||
14542 | 203 | TAG | 03 b3 56 ee 2c 90 00 e6 01 | |
197304 | 05 00 08 39 73 | |||
804 | 33 81 93 bc 3f | **FAIL CRC** |
Example of a M/T trace.
It is important to emphasize that the communications of the system analyzed were not encrypted. Furthermore, it is first necessary to understand ISO/IEC 14443-B to determine the meaning of the different messages. The following are the steps performed by a regular ISO/IEC 14443-B system:
The tag awaits for a Request Type B(REQB) command.
The reader sends the REQB.
If the application family identifier (AFI) of the REQB is the one expected, the tag answers with the ATQB and waits for an ATTRIB command.
The reader sends the ATTRIB command.
If the ATTRIB command is the one expected, the tag sends the ATA (also known as the ATATTRIB, answer-to-ATTRIB).
Finally, the tag commutes to the active state, where it is able to exchange data commands with the reader until it receives a DESELECT and commutes to a HALT state.
Regarding the messages transmitted when the tag is in the active state, they can be of three types: i-block, s-block, and r-block. The first one is used for transmitting and asking for data from the application layer. The other ones are for protocol operations or are related to data from lower layers. Table 3 describes the structure of an i-block, which is the only block that appears in the traces of the communications of the M/T cards.
PCB | CID | NAD | Payload | CRC-B | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Length | 1 byte | 1 byte (optional) | 1 byte (optional) | N bytes | 2 bytes |
Meaning | Protocol control | Card ID number | Node address (for logic addresses) | Cyclic-redundancy check |
Structure of an i-block.
After analyzing a number of traces, it was concluded that the information contained in the i-block was compliant with ISO/IEC 7816 [23], which has been massively used in credit, debit, and other payment cards. Therefore, it is first necessary to describe briefly the structure of the ISO/IEC 7816 requests and answers.
The typical ISO/IEC 7816 application protocol data unit (APDU) follows the structure shown in Table 4.
Field | Description | Length (bytes) |
---|---|---|
Header | CLA | 1 |
INS | 1 | |
P1 and P2 | 2 | |
Lc | Number of bytes transmitted | 0, 1 or 3 |
Data | Payload | Lc |
Le | Number of bytes of the response | 0–3 |
Structure of an ISO/IEC 7816 APDU command.
In Table 4, the CLA byte specifies the command class: in case of being equal to 80 or greater (except for FF that is not a valid value), it means that proprietary commands are used. The same happens with the byte INS, which identifies the type of command. The third field on the header is bytes P1 and P2 that in general, refer to memory positions on the card, but they may actually be any parameter(PARAM) of the command.
Regarding the answers to such commands, they are conformed by two bytes (SW1 and SW2), which are coded according to Table 5. The most common answer during a correct sequence of commands is 90-00, but, sometimes, the execution of the sequence can be successful and return a different value.
SW1–SW2 | Meaning | |
---|---|---|
Normal processing | 90 00 | Ok |
Warning processing | 61 XX | XX bytes are still pending to be sent |
62 XX | State of nonvolatile memory is unchanged | |
63 XX | State of nonvolatile memory has changed | |
Execution error | 64 XX | State of nonvolatile memory is unchanged |
65 XX | State of nonvolatile memory has changed | |
66 XX | Security-related issues | |
Checking error | 67 00 | Wrong length |
68 XX | Not supported functions in CLA | |
69 XX | Command not allowed | |
6A XX | Wrong P1–P2 parameters | |
6B 00 | Wrong P1–P2 parameters | |
6C XX | Wrong LE field. There are XX bytes available | |
6D 00 | Instruction code not supported or invalid | |
6E 00 | Class not supported | |
6F 00 | No precise diagnosis |
Common answers to ISO/IEC 7816 commands.
Once the basics of ISO/IECs 14443-B and 7816 are understood, it is possible to process the traces generated by the system.
Contrary to what was illustrated in Table 2, the messages “**FAIL CRC**” and “(SHORT)” should not be present, since they are related to data corruption. In the same way, a good trace should have alternating messages from the tag and the reader, instead of containing two consecutive messages from the same device (except from the case when the reader is looking for tags). Taking these facts into account, Table 6 indicates the relationship between the standard commands and the trace shown in Table 2. As it can be observed, the sequence of messages is not correct: some are missing, and others have not been received in the correct order.
Timestamp | RSSI | Device | Payload | Additional information | Message |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | 142 | TAG | 50 08 10 2a 1d 53 4e 44 4b 33 81 93 bc 3f | ATQB | |
1398 | 112 | TAG | 00 78 f0 | ATATTRIB | |
854 | 05 00 00 71 ff | REQB | |||
11500 | 05 00 00 71 ff | REQB | |||
11478 | 06 00 97 5b | ||||
46342 | 05 00 08 39 73 | REQB | |||
1908 | 1d 08 10 2a 1d 00 08 01 00 94 60 | ATTRIB | |||
554 | 296 | TAG | 00 78 f0 | ATATTRIB | |
3566 | 02 80 26 4f 11 0a e7 de | i-Block | |||
3146 | 116 | TAG | 02 00 14 98 70 10 01 01 76 55 72 90 00 73 65 | ||
36188 | 03 80 32 00 00 18 ea 98 | ||||
1852 | 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 | ** Fail CRC ** | |||
480 | 00 90 00 1d fe | ** Fail CRC ** | |||
3676 | 02 80 2e 01 00 20 43 2f | ||||
2870 | 203 | TAG | 02 01 01 e0 f5 ff f5 ff 00 00 00 00 01 f4 07 06 a9 8c ff 00 11 03 e8 00 00 b9 0b ff 00 02 00 01 48 90 00 26 57 | ||
48 | (SHORT) | ||||
3798 | 03 80 30 00 00 1d 31 f6 | ||||
1580 | 03 | (SHORT) | |||
17462 | 02 80 28 00 00 04 75 39 34 0d 3a 07 d3 | ||||
5778 | (SHORT) | ||||
34972 | 03 80 2a 01 00 24 00 15 00 4b 00 01 48 41 19 09 01 00 28 01 37 e5 8c 18 21 10 00 c2 01 01 09 23 00 10 01 00 00 4b d4 72 2b eb 04 ca 20 | ||||
14542 | 203 | TAG | 03 b3 56 ee 2c 90 00 e6 01 | ||
197304 | 05 00 08 39 73 | REQB | |||
804 | 33 81 93 bc 3f | **FAIL CRC** |
M/T trace messages analyzed.
First, at timestamp 12350, the reader sends different REQB commands to wake up tags that are in its surroundings. The first byte of the command is always set to 05, while the second one is the AFI, that is, equal to 0 (i.e., every tag should respond to the request). The byte PARAM varies between both commands, being 00 in the first case and 08 in the second one (they are aimed at waking up tags in different states). Finally, the last two bytes conform the CRC-B field, which checks the integrity of the message.
The second command is the ATQB:
It always begins with 50.
The next four bytes are 08 10 2a 1d, which are the pseudo-unique PICC identifier (PUPI, which is fixed for each tag of the system analyzed, but it might be random in other systems).
Then, the command continues with another four bytes (53 4e 44 4b) that indicate the applications of the tag.
Next, three bytes (33 81 93) specify different aspects of the communications protocol. Their description and use are beyond the scope of this chapter, but the interested reader can obtain such details in ISO/IEC 14443-3.
The last two bytes contain the CRC-B.
Another imperfect trace is shown in Table 7. However, this trace is useful for illustrating the sequence of commands executed during the exchange.
Timestamp | RSSI | Device | Payload | Additional information | Message |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | 05 00 00 71 ff | REQB | |||
804 | 138 | TAG | 50 08 10 2a 1d 53 4e 44 4b 33 81 93 bc 3f | ATQB | |
936 | 50 08 10 2a 1d 7f cf | ||||
464 | 178 | TAG | 00 78 f0 | ATATTRIB | |
12350 | 05 00 00 71 ff | REQB | |||
11472 | 06 00 97 5b | ||||
46082 | 05 00 08 39 73 | REQB | |||
804 | 214 | TAG | 50 08 10 2a 1d 53 4e 44 4b 33 81 93 bc 3f | ATQB | |
1618 | 00 00 | (SHORT) | |||
3578 | 02 80 26 4f 11 0a e7 de | ||||
3050 | 02 00 16 98 70 10 01 01 76 55 00 | ** FAIL CRC ** | |||
8198 | 03 80 32 00 00 18 ea 98 | ||||
2334 | 186 | TAG | 03 0b 09 87 00 00 10 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 90 00 1d ce | ||
3540 | 02 80 2e 01 00 20 43 2f | ||||
1708 | 02 01 01 e0 f5 ff f5 ff | ** FAIL CRC ** | |||
1162 | 275 | TAG | 02 00 00 b2 90 00 d3 b4 | ** FAIL CRC ** | |
3846 | 03 80 30 00 00 1d 31 f6 | ||||
2124 | (SHORT) | ||||
840 | 93 | TAG | 04 34 | (SHORT) | |
13524 | 02 80 28 00 00 04 17 67 7f 16 3a 81 41 | ||||
6012 | 230 | TAG | 02 e7 | (SHORT) | |
33958 | 03 80 2a 01 00 24 00 17 00 4b 00 00 b2 41 19 09 01 00 28 01 30 ed 8c 17 36 10 00 c2 01 01 09 23 00 10 01 00 00 4b 99 76 da 3b 04 46 49 | ||||
14544 | 162 | TAG | 03 79 a0 ac 57 90 00 1a 0d | ||
218628 | 05 00 08 39 73 | ||||
804 | 138 | TAG | 50 08 10 2a 1d 53 4e 44 4b 33 81 93 bc 3f | ||
1104 | 1d 08 10 2a 1d 00 08 01 00 94 60 | ATTRIB | |||
554 | 206 | TAG | 00 78 f0 | ATATTRIB |
Second example of M/T trace.
After the ATQB, at timestamp 1104, the reader sends the ATTRIB command. The command is composed by a first byte (1d) that identifies the command, four bytes that indicate the PUPI from the previous command (08 10 2a 1d), three bytes that determine the communications protocol, a byte (00, the Card Identifier(CID)) that selects a tag and two final bytes that contain the CRC-B.
Then, the tag answers with an ATATTRIB command, which consists in 3 bytes: the first one is the CID (as indicated by the previous command: 00), while the two last bytes are the CRC-B of the message.
After the ATATTRIB, the RFID session is established and the tag is in the active state, ready for transmitting data.
After analyzing a great deal of traces of the M/T system, it was found that a sequence of six pairs of commands was repeated constantly. Since this is just an example of what can be done with the methodology proposed, we will not deepen into the details, but it will be mentioned briefly the structure of the first two pairs of commands.
The first command is always the same: “02 80 26 4f 11 0a e7 de.” The standard ISO/IEC 14443-B indicates that it is an i-block, whose first byte means that it is block number 0 and that it does not contain CID or NAD. The last two bytes of the message are the CRC-B, so the transmitted data are composed by five bytes (80 26 4f 11 0a). These bytes follow ISO/IEC 7816: the first one is the CLA byte (80, proprietary command); the second one is the field INS (26); the third and the fourth (4f 11) are P1 and P2 (parameters of the command); and the fifth (0a) is the field LE, which indicates the number of expected bytes to be received from the tag (i.e., 10 bytes are expected).
This first command is followed by the first response of the tag. As it can be observed in Table 8, it is almost the same for every tag. Its structure is as follows:
Trace\\#Byte | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Card1-Trace 1 | 02 | 00 | 14 | 98 | 70 | 10 | 01 | 01 | 76 | 55 | 72 | 90 | 00 | 73 | 65 |
Card1-Trace 2 | 02 | 00 | 15 | 98 | 70 | 10 | 01 | 01 | 76 | 55 | 72 | 90 | 00 | e2 | 30 |
Card1-Trace 3 | 02 | 00 | 17 | 98 | 70 | 10 | 01 | 01 | 76 | 55 | 72 | 90 | 00 | c0 | 9b |
Card2-Trace 1 | 02 | 01 | 40 | 98 | 70 | 10 | 01 | 02 | 07 | 90 | 31 | 90 | 00 | 65 | ac |
Card2-Trace 2 | 02 | 01 | 42 | 98 | 70 | 10 | 01 | 02 | 07 | 90 | 31 | 90 | 00 | 47 | 07 |
Card3-Trace 1 | 02 | 00 | 0c | 98 | 70 | 20 | 01 | 01 | 69 | 87 | 97 | 90 | 00 | ba | 6a |
Responses collected for the first command.
Byte 1 (02): it indicates that it is an i-block 0.
Bytes 2–13: ISO/IEC 7816 data. For instance, bytes 2–3 indicate the total number of trips carried out with the card and bytes 12–13 contain the state of the execution of the command (90-00, successful execution).
Bytes 14–15: CRC-B.
The second request is also always the same: 03 80 32 00 00 18 ea 98.
Byte 1 (03): i-block 1.
Bytes 2–6: ISO/IEC 7816 data. Since CLA is 80, the command is proprietary. INS is equal to 32; P1 and P2 are 00 and 00; and LE (expected length of the answer) is 24 bytes.
Bytes 7–8: CRC-B.
The second answer is related to the use of special fares during a trip. Tables 9 and 10 show examples of traces for different cards. The data are structured as follows:
Byte 1 (03): i-block 1.
Bytes 2–27: ISO/IEC 7816 data. For instance, bytes 12–13 and 14–15 indicate the activation and expiration dates of a special fare, and byte 11 the type of fare (e.g., “1” for standard, “3” for reduced fare).
Bytes 28–29: CRC-B.
Trace\\#Byte | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Card 1-Trace 1 | 03 | 0b | 89 | 87 | 00 | 00 | 10 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 |
Card 1-Trace 2 | 03 | 0b | 89 | 87 | 00 | 00 | 10 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 |
Card 2-Trace 1 | 03 | 0b | 89 | 87 | 00 | 00 | 10 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 03 | b5 | 8c | f5 | 8d |
Card 3-Trace 1 | 03 | 0b | 89 | 87 | 00 | 00 | 20 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 |
First half of different responses to the second commands.
Trace\\#Byte | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Card 1-Trace 1 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 90 | 00 | 1d | ce |
Card 1-Trace 2 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 90 | 00 | 1d | ce |
Card 2-Trace 1 | 00 | 10 | 30 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 90 | 00 | a8 | 0c |
Card 3-Trace 1 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 90 | 00 | 08 | 7d |
Second half of the responses to the second command.
The rest of the pairs answer-response contain other interesting information such the balance of the card, the place where the card was recharged (e.g., ATM, bank) or the data about each trip performed (i.e., cost, date, time, line, and vehicle number).
After all the analysis, it was not found a severe security threat in the system, but there are several issues regarding data privacy that developers should consider.
The main problem is that the RFID communications are performed in plain text, without any kind of ciphering, what leads to the possibility of snooping and emulating them. Thanks to that, an attacker can emulate an unauthorized reader and obtain private data such as the credit balance or the specific characteristics of the trips of a user. Note also that many smartphones currently support NFC (near-field communication), which is partially compatible with ISO/IEC 14443-B tags, and it is straightforward to develop an Android application to read the data (there have already been attacks to ISO/IEC 14443-A tags using mobile phones [24]).
The complete disassembling of the protocol opens the possibility to perform MitM attacks, where a third device might alter the data on the RFID transactions in order to get certain benefits (e.g., for instance, to avoid discounting credit on the card).
This RFID card was used until recently in the city of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) to pay for public transportation.
Like M/T cards, there is no external sign that identifies the underlying RFID technology. We can only see the contacts of traditional smart card interfaces, so there are at least two interfaces: one wired and another wireless.
Operating frequency. Like the previous cards, it is fair to assume that due to its use for public transportation, there is a high likelihood that it is an HF card. And this fact was confirmed by following the verification steps described in Section 3.2.1.
Modulation. Once determined the frequency band, it is possible to test the commands for the different ISO/IEC standards. After testing, the ones for ISO/IEC 14443-B and ISO/IEC 15693, it was found that the tag responded correctly to ISO/IEC 14443-A commands that indicated that the tag was a MIFARE Classic 1K.
MIFARE is a contactless smartcard technology from NXP Semiconductors [25] that has sold more than 5 billion tags and fifty million RFID readers. It started to be manufactured around 1994–1995, being its first major deployment performed in Seoul’s city transportation.
MIFARE is compliant with the first three parts of ISO/IEC 14443-A at 13.56 MHz, although there are certain differences depending on the version of the tag, which has been evolving during the last years.
MIFARE Classic is probably the most popular version of MIFARE cards. These tags use a really simple application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) that basically stores data. Their memory is divided into sectors and blocks that are protected with a simple access control system. Each sector is divided into four blocks: three of them contain data, while the other one stores the data access permissions and the access keys.
There is not a fixed data format, although there is a special format called value block with specific operations for incrementing and decrementing values. Sectors use two keys (A and B). Each key allows for managing different permissions: a key could be valid only for reading data, while the other one could be dedicated to modify them. The first 16 bytes of the internal memory are read-only and contain the serial number and other data related to the model and the manufacturer. Data are coded in Crypto-1, an already-broken cryptographic protocol [26–28].
There are different MIFARE Classic versions:
MIFARE Classic 1K. Its name derives from its 1024-byte internal storage, which is divided into 16 64-byte sectors.
MIFARE Classic 4K. It has 4096 bytes for data divided into 40 sectors.
MIFARE Classic Mini. It stores 320 bytes in 5 sectors (the actual useful data space is 224 bytes).
After MIFARE Classic, NXP created other versions: Ultralight, Ultralight C, DESFire (whose security was broken in 2011 [29]), Plus, DESFire V1 and V2, etc.
As it was explained in the previous subsection, MIFARE Classic cards implement a security system that prevents reading or writing the internal data. However, this system is outdated and has already been broken.
To get the access keys to read and write the different internal blocks, the Proxmark official firmware offers several options. For instance, the command hf mf mifare executes the darkside attack [28] to obtain a valid key. Such an attack usually takes from 30s to half an hour (sometimes it has to be executed several times). An example of the output of the system is shown in Figure 10, where the A key of the first block is obtained. Then, another attack called “nested authentication” [30] can be performed: it allows remote attackers to obtain the keys of all the other blocks (in Figure 11). Once all the keys have been obtained, a dump of the memory can be extracted.
With the dump, it is possible to study the different parameters (e.g., detect memory changes as more trips are carried out) or save it to restore it later and recover the previous credit balance.
Obtaining access key A from a MIFARE Classic card with Proxmark.
Access keys cracked for every sector.
Pet identification has been carried out throughout Europe since the late 1990s. RFID tags are generally implanted subcutaneously. The main purpose of this identification was animal health of the most common pets, including cats, dogs, and ferrets (European Regulation 998/2003). The same system is used in Europe for breeding and production of equidae (European Regulation 504/2008), and for public health in ovine and caprine animals (European Regulation 21/2004).
In this case, a visual assessment to detect any sign of the underlying technology is not necessary, since these kinds of tags are regulated and specified by the different European regulations previously mentioned.
In the case of pet identification, European Regulation 998/2003 specifies that tags have to be compliant with ISO/IEC 11784 [31] and ISO/IEC 11785 [32]. They both describe LF tags, existing two different versions: half-duplex (HDX) and full-duplex (FDX and FDX-B). In Spain, most pets wear FDX-B tags, which use biphasic coding.
Operating frequency. It was verified with the Proxmark that a sample tag (already implanted on a dog) was LF, as it was expected from the information given in the previous section.
Modulation. In this case, it was not straightforward to recognize the modulation used, because the signals captured had a lot of noise (the tag had been implanted on the dog a year before these tests were performed). An example of the signals received is shown in Figure 12. It was usually required to filter the signal to reduce the noise, obtaining a figure like the one shown in Figure 13, which resembles a biphasic coding.
When these experiments were carried out, the official Proxmark firmware did not support FDX-B, so it was necessary to implement it. Such an implementation first filters and demodulates the signal, and then decodes it.
Noisy signal from an animal identification tag.
Animal identification tag signal after filtering it.
ISO/IEC 11784 and ISO/IEC 11785 are international standards that regulate RFID for animal identification. Each animal transponder contains 64 bits with the information shown in Table 11 (the data values included were generated randomly).
Internal memory structure of an animal identification tag.
The system works at 134.2 KHz, and there are two different transmission modes: half-duplex (HDX) and full-duplex (FDX or FDX-B). In HDX mode, the tag is not able to send data and receive power at the same time. Thus, reading consists in powering the tag for a short interval and then waiting for the tag to transmit the data. In this mode, an 8-bit header (always “01111110”) and a 16-bit cyclic-redundancy check (CRC) are sent. An additional chunk of 24 bits is also sent and includes information on the application. Data are modulated in FSK and coded with non-return-to-zero (NRZ).
The tags that operate in FDX-B mode are able to transmit data and be powered at the same time. As it can be seen in Table 11, this kind of tags transmits an 11-bit header (“10000000000”), 50 bits of data, 24-bits with the application information and a 16-bit CRC. Moreover, every 8 bits (except for the header) a control bit is added (always “1”). Data are sent in less-significant bit (LSB) order, so, when the reader receives the bits, it can reconstruct them just using simple binary shifts. The bits are modulated in Amplitude-Shift Keying(ASK) and are coded in differential biphase (DBP).
By making use of the functions implemented, it was straightforward to read data from any FDX-B tag. The software extracts the two main parameters: the country code and the national code (the actual identifier). Figure 14 shows an example where two consecutive readings were performed: the first one is successful, while the second one shows errors related to a bad reading.
Example of readings from an animal identification tag.
Security is almost nonexistent in this kind of tags: although writing is not allowed, the tag continuously sends the stored data without any authentication requirement. It may seem that the scenario is not susceptible for including high-security mechanisms, since the objective is to identify the clinical records and the owner of a dog, but in terms of privacy and uniqueness of the identifier, the current system is not effective. Note that, using a device such as Proxmark, it is not only easy to read the data, but also to emulate tags and clone them.
This security problem is even worse when tags are attached to animals aimed at producing human food (e.g., ovine and caprine animals). Cloning or erasing the data breaks traceability, which is the way to determine where an epidemic outbreak was originated.
The methodology proposed in this chapter for evaluating security in commercial RFID systems has allowed for detecting relevant flaws in real-world developments, including the following:
Ability to clone animal identification information.
Possibility of altering data of certain payment cards.
Extraction of private information from different transportation cards.
Possibility of capturing tag-reader communications.
Possibility of emulating both readers and tags.
Most of the flaws detected were reported to the respective companies, and they have taken the proper measures to mitigate them: in some cases, the system was redesigned to increase security, but most companies had to replace the whole hardware with updated and more secure devices.
The final conclusion is that although RFID systems can implement sophisticated security measures, certain developers have adopted the technology without taking such mechanisms into account. A methodology like the one proposed in this chapter can help to perform audits and determine the security level of an RFID system before taking it from a test environment to a real situation.
This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under grants TEC2013-47141-C4-1-R and TEC2015-69648-REDC.
Bitcoin is based on three technologies: the Internet, encryption methods, and the new blockchain technology. Unlike these technologies, the Bitcoin revolution was both a technological revolution and a monetary one. It completely changed the monetary world, and it seems that its invention opened a Pandora box, whose effect cannot be underestimated or predicted. Since its inception in 2009, the Bitcoin project had many opponents, and like any successful project, their number increases gradually.
\nIt is not very surprising to hear criticism from the industries and organization, which feel intimidated by the new invention. One would expect to find criticism from leaders in the banking industries, the insurance, and investment industries and, of course, from politicians. It is not even surprising to find criticism in the academic world, since, after all, one of the main tasks of the academic world is to instill past knowledge into the future generation and to be skeptical of new ideas.
\nOn the other hand, since Bitcoin is a decentralized technology, it was warmly adopted by anarchist organizations worldwide [1, 2, 3], but for similar reasons, it was attacked by many others [4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]. Some attacked the Bitcoin from the fear of shaking the current centers of powers, but most attacked it out of ignorance. Strangely enough, even in the libertarian community, which in general embraced the new currency, there are some that used allegedly Austrian economics arguments to debunk the foundation of the Bitcoin economy [10, 11, 12, 13, 14].
\nIn general, we encounter two strategies to attack Bitcoin: (1) presenting multiple minor or even clearly erroneous arguments. Consequently, the arguments keep reappearing, despite the fact that they are constantly refuted. And (2) using fundamental economic laws to allegedly demonstrate that Bitcoin does not possess the essential properties of money.
\nThe object of the chapter is twofold: (1) to present and refute all the main arguments in a single chapter and (2) to utilize these arguments to reinvestigate the origin of the source of money in general and cryptocurrency in particular.
\nSo, let us begin with the simple arguments:
\nThe most common criticism against Bitcoin is that Bitcoin is actually a Ponzi scheme [7, 10]. Clearly, there is no resemblance between the two. A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation. The investors are made to believe that they gain from the investment operation, while in fact, the money comes from new investment, that is, a Ponzi scheme is a pyramid fraud.
\nWhile some cryptocurrencies or tokens do seem to be a Ponzi scheme, Bitcoin is definitely not. Everything about Bitcoin: its algorithm, its network, and its development projects are completely transparent. The network, the mining process, and the entire project are all decentralized. There are no managers, no organizers, and no control. Therefore, there could be no fraud.
\nBitcoin does not even have a pyramid structure. An investor in Bitcoin can make a profit by selling it at a higher price, just like in any other trade. Unlike pyramid structures, the owner of Bitcoins does not have to convince multiple people to invest in order to make a profit.
\nIt is true that in both cases, the first investors gain more than the last ones, and that their profit rises with the number of traders. However, by the law of demand, it is clear that the price rises with the increase in demand, that is, the price increases with the number of buyers. This is valid for any commodity, and Bitcoin is no exception. This is definitely not a pyramid structure’s fingerprint. Moreover, the whole network structure is different. A pyramid is a centralized structure, where there is a clear asymmetry between investors and all profits eventually dissipate toward the founders of the pyramid (this is a “top-down” business model). Bitcoin is a decentralized network, where all the Bitcoins’ owners have the same status. Moreover, the founders of a crypto network may not even own a share in this network, or they can sell their share, if they have one (like Charlie Lee, the founder of the Litecoin network, who recently sold all his Litecoins).
\nAnother common criticism is that Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies are a bubble [4, 6, 8]. This claim is not a very informative one. What does it mean? Does it mean that the Bitcoin price is too high? In a free market, the price is always right. If there is something “wrong” with the price, then it means that the market is not really free. When there is a housing bubble, it does not mean that there is something wrong with the houses, or that the sellers are greedier than they usually are, but it does mean that the government manipulates the interest rate and subsidizes bad mortgages, etc.
\nTherefore, any “bubble” claim is actually not a criticism against Bitcoin, but a claim against something external to its network—probably against governments. If everyone buys cryptocurrencies, it is probably because the public has no other investment channels. The banking interest is practically zero; the stock market is too high after 10 consecutive years of rising prices; and the housing market is recovering from the latest collapse. The fact that Bitcoin is in a state of a bubble, whatever that means, cannot be used as evidence to the argument that Bitcoin is worthless.
\nAs Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote, “For whenever we test anything, we are already presupposing something that is not tested.” Similarly, when one believes the price of Bitcoin is too high, he presupposes that Bitcoin has some value.
\nAnother repeating argument is that Bitcoin is not a real asset in the sense that it does not yield any return. Unlike stocks or real estates, which yield dividends and rents, Bitcoin does not “yield” anything. People purchase Bitcoin only to sell it later.
\nBut this is a strange argument, since, after all, money never yields return. A one-dollar note does not yield a return. It will be worth 1$ forever. Nevertheless, people “purchase” dollars only to “sell” them later for goods. This is exactly the function of money and the same applies to Bitcoin.
\nOne very common attack on Bitcoin is that it must be useless as money (or currency) since it has very high volatility [12, 13].
\nClearly, if an asset’s value is very volatile, then it is less likely to be adopted as a unit of account, which is one of the properties of money. However, it should not considerably affect its prospects to be used as a medium of exchange. Even today, most Bitcoin transactions are quantified in US dollars, that is, in these transactions, Bitcoin is used as a medium of exchange, while the US dollar is used as a unit of account. However, it should be stressed that in these transactions, the dollar takes no role. Bitcoin is currently exploring a new territory, in which it is used as a medium of exchange, but yet to be used as a unit of account (on this discrepancy see Ref. [15]).
\nMoreover, the usage of the volatility criterion is useful only in close-to-equilibrium’s markets. In the case of Bitcoin, the price increases exponentially, which is a clear sign of a nonequilibrium scenario. Exponential rise is an indication of a constant amplification process, which cannot occur in the vicinity of equilibria. In this case, it is clear that the volatility will increase exponentially as well. Therefore, there could be two options: (A) the approximately constant amplification process is close to its end, in which case the market will converge to a semiequilibrium state, and the volatility will decrease dramatically. (B) The constant amplification process is going to last for some time, in which case the value of Bitcoin will continue to rise dramatically.
\nTherefore, in both cases, the attractiveness of Bitcoin will increase, and in any case, the high volatility in an exponentially growing process cannot be used as an argument for the claim that Bitcoin is worthless. It is only a sign that the crypto market is in its infancy stages.
\nIn an exponentially growing economy, the volatility should be evaluated in logarithmic scale, and in this scale, the Bitcoins’ volatility actually declines.
\nAnother important claim is that Bitcoin is worthless as a medium of exchange because most people, who purchased it, hoard the coins [12, 13]. Since most people regard Bitcoin as a store of value and “Hodl” (the crypto nickname for hold) the coins, how can it be used as a medium of exchange? This claim is often heard even in the crypto community, where the holders are encouraged to exchange their coins with goods, that is, to sell and buy the coins repeatedly (e.g., Ivan Liljeqvist and Rick Falkvinge). However, the two properties of money are tightly linked. A good cannot be a store of value unless it is a medium of exchange and vice versa. How can an object be valuable, without the option of exchanging it for something else? How can something be a medium of exchange, unless it is valuable?
\nMoreover, hoarding takes place only when people expect that the coins’ price will rise in the future. In this case, fewer coins are used in circulation and, as a consequence, their price increases. This is the mechanism that persuades the hoarders to part with their coins.
\nThe hoarding dilemma is a very important point because it is related to another criticism: how can Bitcoin be used as a medium of exchange while being a deflationary currency? In a deflationary monetary economy, the argument continues, prices decrease perpetually, and therefore people have no incentive to buy anything, for they know that they will probably get it for less money in the future. In such an economy, consumption decreases, and the economy stagnates.
\nThere are several problems with this argument. First, there is a problem of definition. Bitcoin is an inflationary currency, not a deflationary one since the number of coins increases gradually. It is true, however, that its rate decreases, and eventually the total number of coins is limited (around 21 million). Consequently, in a progressing economy, which is based on Bitcoin, eventually, the Bitcoin inflation will be lower than the economy’s growth rate. In such an economy, the products’ prices will eventually decrease. This state is wrongly termed “deflationary” [16, 17]. However, and this brings us to the second misconception, there is nothing wrong with rising prices. In fact, the economic sectors, which experience decreasing prices, are the sectors with the highest growth rate. The computer industry belongs to this category. Computer prices perpetually decline for decades, while the industry is growing. Not only that people did not stop from buying computers, but computers’ sales are gradually increasing.
\nPeople have needs, and as economists explain, they have a time preference, that is, they do not like to postpone gratifications [16, 17, 18]. If they need a computer, they will eventually buy it, and decreasing prices is a good incentive to make the purchase. Eventually, they will buy the computer.
\nThe third misconception is that saving is worse than spending and therefore people should be encouraged to spend their money. In fact, unlike the Keynesian thinking, over consumption is the enemy of economic growth. Clearly, people have to buy to encourage production; however, the economy cannot grow unless there is enough savings and investments. That is, as was explained by Hayek (in “the paradox of savings” [19]), when people save their money, they only postpone their consumption; they do not stop consumption altogether. Saving is a crucial ingredient in any economic growth, and therefore, there is nothing harmful in an economy with rising prices. In fact, at the end of the nineteenth century, when the American economy was based on the gold standard, the US experienced one of its best economic eras during a deflationary period [20, 21].
\nEvidence shows that any economy will gain from a “deflationary” currency, such as Bitcoin (or even gold, for that matter). However, if, in the future, it will be clear that there are some benefits to inflationary currency, then there are many other coins, in which inflation is part of their algorithm, for which case there is no upper limit to the number of coins. Let the market decide on the best inflationary/deflationary algorithm.
\nThere is a claim that governments may create a competitive coin to Bitcoin, and simultaneously, the governments can outlaw Bitcoin. Indeed, the government can create a token of its own, and it seems that some governments seriously think about such an enterprise [22, 23, 24]. However, it is not clear what would be their motives. If these governments intend to create simply a true decentralized competitor to Bitcoin, then they would face two problems: (1) a government would never be able to compete against the decentralization level of Bitcoin and (2) with a decentralized coin, the government would lose all its benefits of controlling the national currency, that is, by replacing fiat currency with cryptocurrency, the government literally kills the goose that lays golden eggs.
\nIf the government plans on creating a centralized coin (i.e., government-controlled currency), then it could not rely on the good reputation of decentralized coins. In this case, the government would encounter a great difficulty to sell the coin to the Bitcoin community (see what happens with the new Venezuela’s Petro).
\nGovernments can confront the problem differently, and it can try to ban Bitcoin. This is evidently possible de jure but not de facto. The more the government manipulates the currency, the more the people need cryptocurrencies (see, e.g., the case of Zimbabwe, India, and Venezuela).
\nThere is a good question regarding Bitcoin’s longevity. Bitcoin, the claim argues, is a technological invention. In principle, there is no reason that it would not be defeated by competing technologies. Unlike gold, which would exist forever, Bitcoin is a technology that changes in time. This is an interesting argument; however, in fact, this argument only emphasizes the similarities between gold and Bitcoin. Gold is here to stay, but so does Bitcoin. Actually, due to its decentralization, it would be extremely difficult to eliminate the entire Bitcoin blockchain. To achieve that, every copy of the blockchain should be erased. The chances of that are extremely low. Clearly, the value of the blockchain can decline substantially, but this is equivalent to a decline in the price of gold due to a lack of (technological or financial) interest. Therefore, gold is not better money than Bitcoin due to the fact that “while Bitcoin can be overthrown by competitive technologies, gold will exist forever.” In fact, they both will probably survive for a very long time, and both may lose their value due to competitive technologies, because, in its essence, gold is also a monetary technology.
\nHaving said that, it must be emphasized that a replacement of a monetary technology is a very challenging task. Financial markets are very conservative.
\nGold has no clear chemical advantage over (for example) platinum, palladium, or iridium, and the main reason that gold is preferred over these precious metals is its early adoption as a medium of exchange (possibly due to its unique yellowish color). It may be instructive to note that there have been several attempts in the history to replace gold with other metals (iron in Sparta, copper in Rome, and even silver in the US); however, these attempts did not affect the gold’s hegemony worldwide.
\nThe same thing applies to Bitcoin. Bitcoin enjoys the network effect due to its early adoption. The gold’s unique color and its plasticity made it relatively resistant to counterfeiting. However, gold counterfeiting is still possible (e.g., by covering tungsten with a layer of gold, because tungsten and gold have almost the same density), while Bitcoin cannot be counterfeited.
\nThis brings us to a well-known argument, that says that Bitcoin, like any other digital asset, is not scarce, and therefore can be repeatedly reproduced. The knowledgeable Bitcoin’s opponent, which uses this argument, does not mean that the number of Bitcoins can be increased ad infinitum. He means that the algorithm can be copied and an infinite amount of rival crypto networks can be created. In fact, during the writing of these lines, there are literally thousands of cryptocurrencies networks: Bitcoins, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Cardano, Litecoin, Stellar, NEO, EOS, and IOTA to mention only the first 10 within the highest market cap list. Moreover, each one of these coins can be forked to other coins. The original Bitcoin network was forked many times to Bitcoin cash, Bitcoin gold, Bitcoin diamond, Bitcoin segwit2x, etc.
\nThe argument is, therefore, that digital assets, like cryptocurrencies, can be even worse than fiat currencies, for while fiat currencies’ inflation is regulated by central banks, and the number of cryptocurrencies can be inflated uncontrollably. However, Bitcoin is not only an algorithm. Indeed, the cost of copying the algorithm is negligible. But Bitcoin is also a very secure network. Every new Bitcoin-clone does not benefit from the same level of security. The more computational power is invested in the network; the more secure the network is, and the more people would find it safe to invest their money in it.
\nBitcoin may lose its hegemony in the crypto sphere; however, as was explained above, it would be very difficult for new networks to pose a real threat to Bitcoin due to its proven high security and reliability.
\nRecently, the Bitcoin adversaries took advantage of the heavy load on the Bitcoin network, which caused slow and high fee transactions, to claim that the Bitcoin does not deliver its promises—Bitcoin transactions are too slow and too expensive. Soon, they predict, the Bitcoin network will be so cumbersome, that transactions will become unfeasible, and the Bitcoin project will be abandoned. This is indeed a problem. But this is a technological problem and not a fundamental one. It may explain why the Bitcoin market dominance declines, but it can never be used to explain why Bitcoin should be worthless. Clearly, the Bitcoin developers are aware of these problems and work constantly to mitigate the harmful effects of the network load.
\nSeveral technological improvements have been suggested and implemented (SegWit, lighting network, atomic swap, and even raising block size in a forked versions of Bitcoin).
\nMoreover, there are countless other currencies, whose transactions are much quicker and cheaper, and yet their value is considerably lower than the value of the Bitcoin network. Despite the fact that the technology is yet in its infancy stages, and there are still numerous technological challenges, the value of Bitcoin keeps on growing.
\nTherefore, these facts should be an argument for Bitcoin and not against it, because these problems show that the need for reliable decentralized currency in the modern markets is so high, that people keep purchasing it despite the high transaction costs (and despite the fact that there are low cost but less proven alternatives).
\nA very popular argument against cryptocurrencies is that they are backed by nothing: “They are neither backed by gold nor are they backed by governments.”
\nClearly, these are two different arguments. President Nixon, in 1971, was responsible to complete the monetary experiment that began at 1944 with the Bretton Woods system. Since then, there is not a single fiat currency in the entire globe, which is backed by gold or by any other commodity. Hence, a commodity backup is not a crucial ingredient in the making of money. As for the second argument, what does it mean that the currency is backed by the government?
\nClearly, if the government backs its currency by forbidding the usage of other currencies (in its geographical territory), then it enforces a certain minimum value for the currency. However, not all governments can or do that. In most countries, the population can make economic transactions with many currencies. Most governments back their currencies by enforcing tax payment with them. Similarly, the governments pay their employees with the national currency. However, these conducts are equivalent to the presence of a rich man in a market, who declares that any economic transaction with him can take place only with a certain currency. As richer this man is, the higher will be the value of this currency. Clearly, a government is equivalent to a very rich man, but the differences are quantitative rather than qualitative ones.
\nOne of the most instructive examples in this regard is the Swiss dinars in northern Iraq during the gulf war [25]. This is a very interesting example, which vividly illustrates the fact that paper money can be used as a medium of exchange, despite the fact that it is backed neither by any commodity nor by any government.
\nAn argument against Bitcoin, which was very common in its early years, is that Bitcoin is not a real medium of exchange because most traders, which accept Bitcoin, convert them to fiat currency almost immediately after the transaction.
\nNowadays, this argument is heard less since many sellers prefer Bitcoin over fiat money. They prefer spending their fiat money and receive and keep their cryptos. Moreover, nowadays many employees are paid in cryptocurrency.
\nHowever, it is important to stress that whether the users of Bitcoin prefer to make an additional transaction after selling a product, that is, to convert the crypto to fiat, is irrelevant to the validity of Bitcoin as a medium of exchange. First, there is no praxeological difference between the exchange of Bitcoin with fiat and the exchange of Bitcoin with other goods. If a seller prefers to convert Bitcoin into fiat currencies, it only means that he had decided to use Bitcoin as a medium of exchange to purchase the fiat currencies. Moreover, one should not ignore the fact that the main reason that sellers prefer to convert their cryptos back into fiat is due to government regulations (mainly taxation) and has nothing to do with the fundamental monetary properties of Bitcoin.
\nSome Austrian economists used the volatility problem and the last argument to claim that Bitcoin cannot be used for economic calculations. Since economic calculations are essential to any modern economy [16], it is futile, according to them, to replace the current fiat currency with Bitcoin. However, economic calculations can be made with any commodity. When a businessman has four bottles of wines, and he needs to choose between two production alternatives: one alternative that will eventually yield three additional bottles and a second one that will eventually yield five bottles, he will choose the latter. The same thing applies to Bitcoin. Crypto traders already practice this kind of economic calculations using Bitcoin.
\nHowever, volatility is indeed a problem (mainly in intra-temporal calculations, i.e., interest rates), which prevents wide adoption. Nevertheless, as was explained above, the volatility gradually declines, and it is one of the infancy problems of Bitcoin, and it is not a fundamental one.
\nDivision of labor cannot exist in a nonmonetary economy. The presence of money drives people to specialize and increases their productivity beyond their personal needs. They can trade the surplus of their production in order to pursue higher gratifications (for the analysis of production in the presence of specialization, see Ref. [26]).
\nTherefore, any adoption of Bitcoin as a medium of exchange should be accompanied by an upgrade of the division of labor. Is there any evidence for this?
\nThe problem is that it is almost impossible to attribute scientifically a specific improvement in the division of labor to a specific cause. However, it is clear that if a person prefers using Bitcoin than other currency, then he must have found it useful and more efficient for him. Therefore, this individual can spend the surplus time in further specialization.
\nConsequently, in a free market, any unregulated usage of Bitcoin (or anything else for that matter) is a circumstantial evidence for upgrading the division of labor.
\nProperty rights are subtle issues. There is a fundamental claim that intangible objects, like digital assets or ideas, cannot be owned. The claim is based on the presumption that property rights and private ownership are essential to manage scarce resources in the real world. Thus, according to this view, only scarce resources (like, land, houses, gold, etc.) can be owned, while resources that are not scarce (like, ideas, patents, text, digital pictures, etc.) and that can be easily reproduced cannot be owned [27]. Bitcoin is a chimera, in that regard, since it is both digital, that is, intangible, and scarce. In fact, the essence of the blockchain technology is the creation of scarce digital assets. That is, the blockchain creates artificial scarcity.
\nTherefore, despite the complex philosophical issue, I believe there is a consensus that Bitcoins can be owned, and property rights can and should be applied to it.
\nThere is a claim, however, that Bitcoin advocates ignore traditional property rights, contracts, and traditional legal systems, which were developed and refined for millennia [12].
\nIt is true that currently, it is easier to evade law enforcement using cryptocurrencies than using most bank transactions. The facts that there is nothing tangible in the Bitcoin network and that digital transactions can take place without the regulated banking system complicate law enforcement. However, on the one hand, it can be regarded as a technical difficulty, which may be solved using artificial intelligence technologies, and on the other hand, one may argue that these properties of the Bitcoin network only strengthen property rights, because they prevent government confiscation of private property (private money).
\nNot only aren’t crypto networks against contracts, but also smart contracts are an integral part of these networks. The most well-known is the Ethereum network, but there are many more cryptocurrencies with this property (like Neo, EOS, Cardano, etc.), and even the Bitcoin network can support smart contracts (Mastercoin, Rootstock, Particl, etc.).
\nTherefore, the blockchain technology eliminates the need for (external) law enforcement in some cases, because the contracts are enforced within the blockchain itself.
\nIn general, cryptocurrencies strengthen private property and property rights. They do not weaken them.
\nSome politicians and economists believe that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have no value to society since most of their users are outlaws and criminals [28].
\nFor one thing, one has to make a distinction between the different cryptocurrencies. Most of the criminal activity was transferred from the Bitcoin network to the more private cryptos (such as Monero, Zcash, Verge, etc.) since transactions in the Bitcoin network can be traced.
\nMoreover, most of the illegal trade that takes place on the Internet belongs to the category of victimless crimes (like drugs, gambling, and tax evasion), whose prohibition is disputed.
\nIn any case, the illegal activities that take place on the network only emphasize the fact that the crypto networks are valuable for at least some of the people, and in a market economy, when a commodity is valuable for some of the people, then it is valuable to the entire economy.
\nThere is a claim that a Bitcoin-based economy would increase wealth inequality. This argument is based on the fact that most of the Bitcoin wealth is concentrated in a minuscule amount of Bitcoin addresses [29]. But clearly, wallets and addresses are not persons. Almost every user holds several wallets, and a wallet can and does generate multiple addresses mainly for privacy reasons.
\nThis argument suffers from an additional fallacy: the distribution of money in a population does not determine the distribution of wealth. Quite the contrary, the distribution of wealth determines the distribution of money. In a free economy, people are paid for creating wealth. Since Bitcoin economy has a higher resemblance to a free economy than our current fiat economy, it seems that in a Bitcoin-based economy, the money distribution will be fairer than the current one.
\nThere is a claim that Bitcoin is worthless, because it answers no real need and solves no real problem. This claim can easily be refuted.
\nBitcoin is a global, decentralized, highly liquid, and pseudo-anonymous asset. Therefore, in any transaction, which requires all these properties, the benefits of using Bitcoin over other currencies are clear. Moreover, that is exactly the reason that most people do not appreciate these properties. First, most people are unaware of the damage caused by centralized monetary systems. Second, only rarely do they perform international financial transactions in large volumes. Third, most people are against anonymous transactions.
\nHowever, the benefits of Bitcoin are widely recognized in the following cases:
\n(1) Where the centralized monetary system completely collapses (e.g., Venezuela and Zimbabwe). (2) Where the government confiscates its own citizen’s assets (e.g., Cyprus and Saudi Arabia). (3) Among populations, which are excluded from the financial and banking systems (e.g., bankrupted citizens and minors). (4) Among outcasted populations (e.g., drug users and gamblers). (5) Among people who are keener on their privacy (e.g., tax evaders and porn users). (6) Among frequent travelers/flyers.
\nIn general, it is clear that the Bitcoin technology has a clear value wherever censorship-resistance is required. Money is one example, social media is another (e.g., Steem, LBRY, Memo).
\nAs was mentioned above, in a market economy, when an asset is valuable to some people, then it is valuable to the entire economy. Consequently, people who do not belong to any of these populations can still regard Bitcoin as a safe haven for their money.
\nHowever, the fact that Bitcoin is valuable only increases the mystery as for the origin of its value. In the previous sections, we have presented the problems in arguments, which claim that Bitcoin should be worthless. Before we present the last argument, which will lead us to the origin of the Bitcoin’s value, it is instructive to discuss incorrect explanations, from which we will learn what cannot explain the origin of the value of Bitcoin.
\nIt is repeatedly mentioned by crypto advocates that Bitcoin is backed by proof-of-work, or, that it is backed by energy or by the mining’s electricity.
\nIn particular, such an explanation was used by John McAfee to justify his prediction of the Bitcoin price at the end of 2020 [30]. The argument goes like that: currently, it costs several million dollars to mine 1800 BTC (the current daily yield). Within few decades, the mining rate will decrease substantially, while there is no reason to assume that the cost will decline (more plausible that it will rise). Therefore, one may conclude that because Bitcoin’s mining cost will rise, its price must rise as well.
\nThis is a very common error that is based on the classical economists’ theory of value—the labor theory of value. This theory, which was developed by Smith, Ricardo and their followers (including Marx), was based on the premises that the labor is the source of value. This theory helped them to explain the water-diamond paradox, namely, why the value of diamonds is higher than the value of water, while clearly water is much more useful than diamonds. The classical economists would reply that it costs more to mine and to shape diamonds than to pump water from a nearby well. The subjectivist schools of economics, in general, and the Austrian school, in particular, would strongly disagree. Bohm-Bawerk, the well-known economist, would argue that it may be very costly to prepare a mud pie, nevertheless, the mud pie is still worthless. The Austrian economists would argue that the classical economists made it all wrong. It is the price of the product that determines its cost and not the vice-versa. That is, if a producer evaluates that he can sell a product for 1000$, he will be willing to pay production costs, which are lower than 1000$. Clearly, the competition enforces the producer to lower the product’s price until it is close to the product’s cost. However, had he not known that he could sell the product at a price higher than the cost he would not have produced it.
\nThe same thing applies to any product, and mining is not an exception. As long as the market price of gold is higher than the cost of mining, then mining will continue, otherwise, the miners would stop the mining process. That is, the market cost of gold (approximately 1200$/ounce today) determines the maximum cost of mining. In the case of Bitcoin, the mining process cannot stop. In fact, since every 10 min a new block is added to the blockchain, then the algorithm keeps adjusting the mining difficulty to maintain a constant rate of block production. Therefore, the algorithm makes sure that the mining cost would remain below the market price so that mining would never stop.
\nA similar reasoning appears in a different argument against Bitcoin: the Bitcoin mining costs are extremely high, and even now, its electricity consumption is equal to that of a small country (like Ireland). Within several years, the costs would be gigantic, and it would be unprofitable to mine additional coins.
\nAgain, this is a complete misunderstanding of the mining process. As was explained above, unlike gold mining, there is no given external cost for mining Bitcoin. The causality between cost and prices works in the opposite direction—Bitcoin prices determine the cost of mining. Therefore, at any given time, the users of the Bitcoin network are the ones who determine the amount of money they are willing to invest in the network security. That is, first, the mining cost cannot increase beyond the amount the users are willing to pay, and second, the electricity cost is not a wasted investment; it is a measure of the network security. The more people trust the Bitcoin network, the more they are willing to invest in it. Consequently, the Bitcoin price increases, and so does, as a byproduct, the mining cost, which measures the network computation power. That is, the more secure the network is, the more trustworthy it becomes in practice via the price mechanism. This is a positive feedback, which strengthens the network. However, there is a limit to the cost of security, which people are willing to pay in any financial transaction. This limit determines the mining cost.
\nIt is interesting that a similar argument was put against the gold standard. Followers of the monetary school of economics argued that unlike fiat money, gold mining is a waste of useful resources, which can be directed to other useful industrial sectors. The answer of the Austrian school was that it is a small price to pay to prevent the government from inflating the amount of money [31]. The Austrian economists have a nice analogy: why so many resources are invested in steel locks? Wouldn’t it be smarter had we replaced them with paper locks and allocate the steel to better uses? This is clearly a rhetorical question. Security is a costly business. We pay for security and safety.
\nThis is an important point. In a stationary economy, or, in the Austrian school terminology, the Evenly Rotating Economy (ERE), the future is already known, and there are neither surprises nor risks. Consequently, there is no need for money. In the ERE, money has no function. People need money only in states of uncertainty. Money helps relieve the sense of uncertainty. However, counterfeiting is a source of concern. Fiat money is susceptible to the whims of the government. Governments can (and do) inflate the money supply indefinitely.
\nThe supply of gold, on the other hand, is regulated by the market, since gold counterfeiting is extremely difficult. Only when the market price exceeds the mining cost, new gold is generated by mining.
\nThe same reasoning applies to Bitcoin. However, there are some very important differences: as was explained above, it is more difficult to counterfeit Bitcoin than gold, let alone fiat currency. Moreover, the ability to counterfeit fiat currency and gold is independent of their value. Therefore, as their value rises, additional counterfeiting attempts are made.
\nThe opposite is true for Bitcoin. The difficulty to attack the Bitcoin network is proportional to the Hash power of the Bitcoin mining; however, the cost of this power is proportional to the price of Bitcoin (since most of the Bitcoins have already been mined). Therefore, unlike fiat money and unlike gold, as the price of Bitcoin rises, it becomes more difficult to attack the network (Bitcoin’s equivalent of counterfeiting).
\nTo summarize this point, the high mining cost is not a waste—it is a security investment.
\nAnother misconception about the origin of the value of Bitcoin is that unlike fiat money, which is created “out of thin air,” the number of Bitcoins is fixed and cannot be changed, and this inherent scarcity is the source of its value.
\nFirst, as was explained above, Bitcoin is also inflationary. In fact, the important characteristic of the decentralized crypto coins is not that coins cannot be created “out of thin air,” but that their creation is fully determined by the well-known protocol and cannot be manipulated by a central entity (i.e., governments). Therefore, the users can take account of the inflation parameters into their future financial contracts. This property of cryptocurrencies is a clear advantage they have over fiat currencies. In fact, this is a major advantage even over commodities backed currencies, such as gold, since the future mining rate of gold is unknown, while cryptocurrencies are created in a predetermined manner.
\nSecond, scarcity, by itself, cannot be the source of value. Using Bohm-Bawerk example, the fact that a certain mud pie cannot be reproduced is, in itself, an insufficient demand to make it valuable. Scarcity is a necessary but insufficient condition for value creation.
\nIt was Karl Helfferich who formulated in 1903 the vicious circle of money [32]. The marginal value theory of Menger, the forefather of the Austrians school, can explain why a handful of diamond worth considerably more than the buckets of water, despite the fact that water is clearly more essential to human existence than diamonds are [33]; however, it could not explain why a seemingly worthless object like pieces of papers can have a high value. In other words, it cannot explain why people would be willing to exchange them with commodities, which have a clear intrinsic value. It was clear that if people, for some reason, attribute value to money, then it would be a logical behavior for the individual to attribute value for money, even if he does not find it useful to himself. However, how did money gain its value in the first place, or, in others word, it is a vicious circle to say that people want money simply because people want money [32].
\nMises, apparently, solved this conundrum. He said that people want money today because they anticipate that other people would want it tomorrow since they wanted it yesterday, that is, money has value today because it has value yesterday. By introducing time schedule into the description of the process, Mises circumvented the vicious circle. But he did it with a cost. This logic leads to the unavoidable conclusion that any money had, prior to its use as a medium of exchange, an intrinsic value [34].
\nThus, there is an argument that Bitcoin cannot be money since it never had an intrinsic value, that is, while the US fiat dollar is valuable today since it was based on the original value of the gold dollar, which was based for millennia on the currency value of gold, which was based somewhere in the past on the commodity value of gold, they claim that Bitcoin does not have such a chain of events. One cannot find any intrinsic value in the Bitcoin genesis. While gold has an extensive commodity use in its premonetary era, Bitcoin, according to them, had no nonmonetary history and therefore cannot evolve into money.
\nThis claim has several flaws. First, they turn Mises’ argument on its head—Mises used his argument to explain how apparently worthless object can be used as a medium of exchange. Bitcoin is already a medium of exchange, which means that there are only two options, either Mises argument is erroneous or that they are missing something about Bitcoin. In fact, Mises was not entirely accurate and Bitcoin does have a nonmonetary value.
\nI would like to harness a physical analogy to explain this point—the laser.
\nWhen a laser is connected to a power supply, it emits coherent light almost instantaneously. Nowadays, lasers are very common and there is nothing special about this; however, a laser is not a light bulb, the origin of light in a laser can be regarded as a similar mystery. A laser consists of two basic elements: a light amplifier and a resonator, which is actually a feedback mechanism. Hence, a laser is a giant amplifying machine. Using the feedback, the laser keeps on amplifying the light. But wait! Where did the light originally come from? The laser has no element that generates the “original” light (i.e., the primordial photons), it only amplifies it. So where did the light originally come from? Well, actually, this is quite a mystery that nobody really knows. The source can be thermal noise, scattered light, or maybe the zero point energy. While academically it may be an interesting question, it is practically irrelevant to the laser operation. Moreover, it teaches us an important lesson—in the presence of a highly efficient amplifying process, the increase is exponential, and therefore the initial trigger is practically irrelevant. It doesn’t matter whether the process started from a single photon, ten photons or a hundred, the changes in the time till it reaches equilibrium (the time, in which it grows exponentially) is negligible.
\nThe same goes for Bitcoin. It was proven to be a rapidly accelerating phenomenon. In fact, just like the laser intensity or any other phenomenon with an approximately constant rate increase, the value of Bitcoin grew exponentially: within about 4 years it increased by a factor of a million! The technology was proven so successful that the initial value, people attributed to Bitcoin, is unimportant.
\nThe legendary pizza transaction, which allegedly determined its initial market value (in which a couple of pizzas were sold for 10,000 BTC), could be totally different. It could have been sold for 1000 or 100,000 BTCs, and the final outcome would be almost the same and it would be determined by the equilibrium value. In fact, the entire process can start from a whim of a handful of strange geeks (see, for example [35]). That is totally sufficient, exactly like the amplifying process in a laser, which can start, for all we know, from a single photon, which accidentally was present in the laser’s cavity.
\nIn the previous paragraphs, it was explained why one does not have to prove that Bitcoin currently has an intrinsic use value in order to show that its exchange value, that is, its value as a medium of exchange, does not contradict Mises’ regression theorem; nevertheless, Bitcoin had and still has an intrinsic use value.
\nClearly, even prior to the Pizza transaction, the initial miner group attributed value to Bitcoin since they spent their time and the energy consumption of their computers to generate these Bitcoins.
\nBitcoin is not the only thing that can be sent via the blockchain, in fact, almost any kind of information can be sent via the transactions, and this is an irreversible process, since any such information will remain in the blockchain for eternity, and everyone in the network will have an access to this information. Bitcoins are the cost of perpetuating the information. In other words, Bitcoins can be regarded as the “real estate” of the blockchain. The more Bitcoins a person has, the more information he can send on the blockchain. There are all kinds of data encapsulated on the blockchain: poems, prays, political statements, commercials, and even photos [36]. In fact, it is amazing how many kinds of information can be found there. It is not difficult to find many applications for this kind of information retention.
\nOne of the special applications is the announcement of contracts. Such contracts will be confirmed by the blockchain. Or another important application is a decentralized registrar of real estate (or any other type of property). With the Bitcoin network, one can announce ownership of objects, the information will be available instantaneously, and since it is not centralized, then there is no fear of losing this information.
\nThe important thing is to realize that there is no direct connection between this information and the value of Bitcoin. The relation is indirect. The value of these announcements is directly related to the number of nodes in the network. The more people are connected to the Bitcoin network, the more valuable this information is. Therefore, if the network is large enough, then people will like to use it by sending and announcing information. However, it is clear that when the network grows, sending information becomes more valuable, and therefore the value of the network’s coin, which controls it, increases as well. The more coins a person owns, the more he controls the network. Again we see that owning Bitcoin is like owning real estate on the blockchain.
\nClearly, at its inception, when the Bitcoin network was small, the value of publishing data over it was low, but then the Bitcoin’s value was accordingly small. In fact, in its genesis, the Bitcoin’s value could have been only the subjective value of the first few geeks, who mined it (including Satoshi himself). When the network grows, the Bitcoin value increases exponentially, just like the laser power.
\nNowadays, the fees of sending information over the blockchain are quite high, and therefore people seldom use the blockchain for broadcasting information. As a consequence, they tend to forget that the Bitcoin network has a clear nonmonetary use, and therefore it has a subjective use value. In any case, the fact that Bitcoin has a nonzero value does not and cannot contradict Mises’ regression theorem.
\nBitcoin has many enemies, and, as a consequence, there are many arguments, which allegedly explains, why Bitcoin should be worthless or should be banned. The truth is that Bitcoin is extremely valuable and is here to stay because it cannot be banned. On the other hand, Bitcoin has many advocates, which use inaccurate arguments to justify the origin of its value.
\nThe fact that these arguments were presented by renowned economists shows us that our understanding about the origin of money did not change much during the last century. The mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto gave us the opportunity to revive these century-old conundrums.
\nThe main conclusions are:
Bitcoin is not a scheme; it is a great monetary invention, which has a clear economic value.
It cannot and should not be banned by governments. In fact, any government’s manipulation and regulation emphasize and increase the need for cryptocurrencies.
Criminals are not the only ones who see the benefits in using cryptocurrencies. In the third world (e.g., Venezuela and Zimbabwe), cryptos are lifesavers. In general, cryptos are extremely valuable wherever censorship resistance is required, and in a global market economy, that fact creates value for everyone.
Bitcoin does suffer from infancy problems (high volatility and high transaction costs); however, these issues are not fundamental and will be resolved eventually (we already see many signs for that). The fact that the crypto market exceeded 800B$, despite these issues, only emphasizes the need of the markets in them.
The energy which is spent in crypto mining is not a wasted energy. It is the source of the network’s security which increases the trust in the system, and in a market economy trust is a very valuable commodity.
The easiness in the creation of new coins is not equivalent to fiat money inflation. Fiat inflation is a counterfeiting process, while the creation of new cryptos is equivalent to the creation of a new invention, which may be better, but it has to surmount the former coins’ network effect.
Bitcoin does not contradict any economical law. In particular, it does not contradict Mises’ regression theorem for two grounds: first, Bitcoin was valuable for the first miners even before it was used as a medium of exchange, and the regression process can be kindled by any subjective whim; second, even now Bitcoin has a nonmonetary value (just like gold) as a “real-estate” on the Bitcoin network.
Authors are listed below with their open access chapters linked via author name:
",metaTitle:"IntechOpen authors on the Global Highly Cited Researchers 2018 list",metaDescription:null,metaKeywords:null,canonicalURL:null,contentRaw:'[{"type":"htmlEditorComponent","content":"New for 2018 (alphabetically by surname).
\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\nJocelyn Chanussot (chapter to be published soon...)
\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\nYuekun Lai
\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\nPrevious years (alphabetically by surname)
\\n\\nAbdul Latif Ahmad 2016-18
\\n\\nKhalil Amine 2017, 2018
\\n\\nEwan Birney 2015-18
\\n\\nFrede Blaabjerg 2015-18
\\n\\nGang Chen 2016-18
\\n\\nJunhong Chen 2017, 2018
\\n\\nZhigang Chen 2016, 2018
\\n\\nMyung-Haing Cho 2016, 2018
\\n\\nMark Connors 2015-18
\\n\\nCyrus Cooper 2017, 2018
\\n\\nLiming Dai 2015-18
\\n\\nWeihua Deng 2017, 2018
\\n\\nVincenzo Fogliano 2017, 2018
\\n\\nRon de Graaf 2014-18
\\n\\nHarald Haas 2017, 2018
\\n\\nFrancisco Herrera 2017, 2018
\\n\\nJaakko Kangasjärvi 2015-18
\\n\\nHamid Reza Karimi 2016-18
\\n\\nJunji Kido 2014-18
\\n\\nJose Luiszamorano 2015-18
\\n\\nYiqi Luo 2016-18
\\n\\nJoachim Maier 2014-18
\\n\\nAndrea Natale 2017, 2018
\\n\\nAlberto Mantovani 2014-18
\\n\\nMarjan Mernik 2017, 2018
\\n\\nSandra Orchard 2014, 2016-18
\\n\\nMohamed Oukka 2016-18
\\n\\nBiswajeet Pradhan 2016-18
\\n\\nDirk Raes 2017, 2018
\\n\\nUlrike Ravens-Sieberer 2016-18
\\n\\nYexiang Tong 2017, 2018
\\n\\nJim Van Os 2015-18
\\n\\nLong Wang 2017, 2018
\\n\\nFei Wei 2016-18
\\n\\nIoannis Xenarios 2017, 2018
\\n\\nQi Xie 2016-18
\\n\\nXin-She Yang 2017, 2018
\\n\\nYulong Yin 2015, 2017, 2018
\\n"}]'},components:[{type:"htmlEditorComponent",content:'New for 2018 (alphabetically by surname).
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJocelyn Chanussot (chapter to be published soon...)
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYuekun Lai
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPrevious years (alphabetically by surname)
\n\nAbdul Latif Ahmad 2016-18
\n\nKhalil Amine 2017, 2018
\n\nEwan Birney 2015-18
\n\nFrede Blaabjerg 2015-18
\n\nGang Chen 2016-18
\n\nJunhong Chen 2017, 2018
\n\nZhigang Chen 2016, 2018
\n\nMyung-Haing Cho 2016, 2018
\n\nMark Connors 2015-18
\n\nCyrus Cooper 2017, 2018
\n\nLiming Dai 2015-18
\n\nWeihua Deng 2017, 2018
\n\nVincenzo Fogliano 2017, 2018
\n\nRon de Graaf 2014-18
\n\nHarald Haas 2017, 2018
\n\nFrancisco Herrera 2017, 2018
\n\nJaakko Kangasjärvi 2015-18
\n\nHamid Reza Karimi 2016-18
\n\nJunji Kido 2014-18
\n\nJose Luiszamorano 2015-18
\n\nYiqi Luo 2016-18
\n\nJoachim Maier 2014-18
\n\nAndrea Natale 2017, 2018
\n\nAlberto Mantovani 2014-18
\n\nMarjan Mernik 2017, 2018
\n\nSandra Orchard 2014, 2016-18
\n\nMohamed Oukka 2016-18
\n\nBiswajeet Pradhan 2016-18
\n\nDirk Raes 2017, 2018
\n\nUlrike Ravens-Sieberer 2016-18
\n\nYexiang Tong 2017, 2018
\n\nJim Van Os 2015-18
\n\nLong Wang 2017, 2018
\n\nFei Wei 2016-18
\n\nIoannis Xenarios 2017, 2018
\n\nQi Xie 2016-18
\n\nXin-She Yang 2017, 2018
\n\nYulong Yin 2015, 2017, 2018
\n'}]},successStories:{items:[]},authorsAndEditors:{filterParams:{sort:"featured,name"},profiles:[{id:"6700",title:"Dr.",name:"Abbass A.",middleName:null,surname:"Hashim",slug:"abbass-a.-hashim",fullName:"Abbass A. Hashim",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/6700/images/1864_n.jpg",biography:"Currently I am carrying out research in several areas of interest, mainly covering work on chemical and bio-sensors, semiconductor thin film device fabrication and characterisation.\nAt the moment I have very strong interest in radiation environmental pollution and bacteriology treatment. The teams of researchers are working very hard to bring novel results in this field. I am also a member of the team in charge for the supervision of Ph.D. students in the fields of development of silicon based planar waveguide sensor devices, study of inelastic electron tunnelling in planar tunnelling nanostructures for sensing applications and development of organotellurium(IV) compounds for semiconductor applications. I am a specialist in data analysis techniques and nanosurface structure. I have served as the editor for many books, been a member of the editorial board in science journals, have published many papers and hold many patents.",institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Sheffield Hallam University",country:{name:"United Kingdom"}}},{id:"54525",title:"Prof.",name:"Abdul Latif",middleName:null,surname:"Ahmad",slug:"abdul-latif-ahmad",fullName:"Abdul Latif Ahmad",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:null},{id:"20567",title:"Prof.",name:"Ado",middleName:null,surname:"Jorio",slug:"ado-jorio",fullName:"Ado Jorio",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais",country:{name:"Brazil"}}},{id:"47940",title:"Dr.",name:"Alberto",middleName:null,surname:"Mantovani",slug:"alberto-mantovani",fullName:"Alberto Mantovani",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:null},{id:"12392",title:"Mr.",name:"Alex",middleName:null,surname:"Lazinica",slug:"alex-lazinica",fullName:"Alex Lazinica",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/12392/images/7282_n.png",biography:"Alex Lazinica is the founder and CEO of IntechOpen. After obtaining a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, he continued his PhD studies in Robotics at the Vienna University of Technology. Here he worked as a robotic researcher with the university's Intelligent Manufacturing Systems Group as well as a guest researcher at various European universities, including the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). During this time he published more than 20 scientific papers, gave presentations, served as a reviewer for major robotic journals and conferences and most importantly he co-founded and built the International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems- world's first Open Access journal in the field of robotics. Starting this journal was a pivotal point in his career, since it was a pathway to founding IntechOpen - Open Access publisher focused on addressing academic researchers needs. Alex is a personification of IntechOpen key values being trusted, open and entrepreneurial. Today his focus is on defining the growth and development strategy for the company.",institutionString:null,institution:{name:"TU Wien",country:{name:"Austria"}}},{id:"19816",title:"Prof.",name:"Alexander",middleName:null,surname:"Kokorin",slug:"alexander-kokorin",fullName:"Alexander Kokorin",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/19816/images/1607_n.jpg",biography:"Alexander I. Kokorin: born: 1947, Moscow; DSc., PhD; Principal Research Fellow (Research Professor) of Department of Kinetics and Catalysis, N. Semenov Institute of Chemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow.\r\nArea of research interests: physical chemistry of complex-organized molecular and nanosized systems, including polymer-metal complexes; the surface of doped oxide semiconductors. He is an expert in structural, absorptive, catalytic and photocatalytic properties, in structural organization and dynamic features of ionic liquids, in magnetic interactions between paramagnetic centers. The author or co-author of 3 books, over 200 articles and reviews in scientific journals and books. He is an actual member of the International EPR/ESR Society, European Society on Quantum Solar Energy Conversion, Moscow House of Scientists, of the Board of Moscow Physical Society.",institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Semenov Institute of Chemical Physics",country:{name:"Russia"}}},{id:"62389",title:"PhD.",name:"Ali Demir",middleName:null,surname:"Sezer",slug:"ali-demir-sezer",fullName:"Ali Demir Sezer",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/62389/images/3413_n.jpg",biography:"Dr. Ali Demir Sezer has a Ph.D. from Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Marmara (Turkey). He is the member of many Pharmaceutical Associations and acts as a reviewer of scientific journals and European projects under different research areas such as: drug delivery systems, nanotechnology and pharmaceutical biotechnology. Dr. Sezer is the author of many scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals and poster communications. Focus of his research activity is drug delivery, physico-chemical characterization and biological evaluation of biopolymers micro and nanoparticles as modified drug delivery system, and colloidal drug carriers (liposomes, nanoparticles etc.).",institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Marmara University",country:{name:"Turkey"}}},{id:"61051",title:"Prof.",name:"Andrea",middleName:null,surname:"Natale",slug:"andrea-natale",fullName:"Andrea Natale",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:null},{id:"100762",title:"Prof.",name:"Andrea",middleName:null,surname:"Natale",slug:"andrea-natale",fullName:"Andrea Natale",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:{name:"St David's Medical Center",country:{name:"United States of America"}}},{id:"107416",title:"Dr.",name:"Andrea",middleName:null,surname:"Natale",slug:"andrea-natale",fullName:"Andrea Natale",position:null,profilePictureURL:"//cdnintech.com/web/frontend/www/assets/author.svg",biography:null,institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia",country:{name:"United States of America"}}},{id:"64434",title:"Dr.",name:"Angkoon",middleName:null,surname:"Phinyomark",slug:"angkoon-phinyomark",fullName:"Angkoon Phinyomark",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/64434/images/2619_n.jpg",biography:"My name is Angkoon Phinyomark. I received a B.Eng. degree in Computer Engineering with First Class Honors in 2008 from Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla, Thailand, where I received a Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering. My research interests are primarily in the area of biomedical signal processing and classification notably EMG (electromyography signal), EOG (electrooculography signal), and EEG (electroencephalography signal), image analysis notably breast cancer analysis and optical coherence tomography, and rehabilitation engineering. I became a student member of IEEE in 2008. During October 2011-March 2012, I had worked at School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, University of Essex, Colchester, Essex, United Kingdom. In addition, during a B.Eng. I had been a visiting research student at Faculty of Computer Science, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain for three months.\n\nI have published over 40 papers during 5 years in refereed journals, books, and conference proceedings in the areas of electro-physiological signals processing and classification, notably EMG and EOG signals, fractal analysis, wavelet analysis, texture analysis, feature extraction and machine learning algorithms, and assistive and rehabilitative devices. I have several computer programming language certificates, i.e. Sun Certified Programmer for the Java 2 Platform 1.4 (SCJP), Microsoft Certified Professional Developer, Web Developer (MCPD), Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist, .NET Framework 2.0 Web (MCTS). I am a Reviewer for several refereed journals and international conferences, such as IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, Optic Letters, Measurement Science Review, and also a member of the International Advisory Committee for 2012 IEEE Business Engineering and Industrial Applications and 2012 IEEE Symposium on Business, Engineering and Industrial Applications.",institutionString:null,institution:{name:"Joseph Fourier University",country:{name:"France"}}},{id:"55578",title:"Dr.",name:"Antonio",middleName:null,surname:"Jurado-Navas",slug:"antonio-jurado-navas",fullName:"Antonio Jurado-Navas",position:null,profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/55578/images/4574_n.png",biography:"Antonio Jurado-Navas received the M.S. degree (2002) and the Ph.D. degree (2009) in Telecommunication Engineering, both from the University of Málaga (Spain). He first worked as a consultant at Vodafone-Spain. From 2004 to 2011, he was a Research Assistant with the Communications Engineering Department at the University of Málaga. In 2011, he became an Assistant Professor in the same department. From 2012 to 2015, he was with Ericsson Spain, where he was working on geo-location\ntools for third generation mobile networks. Since 2015, he is a Marie-Curie fellow at the Denmark Technical University. His current research interests include the areas of mobile communication systems and channel modeling in addition to atmospheric optical communications, adaptive optics and statistics",institutionString:null,institution:{name:"University of Malaga",country:{name:"Spain"}}}],filtersByRegion:[{group:"region",caption:"North America",value:1,count:5681},{group:"region",caption:"Middle and South America",value:2,count:5161},{group:"region",caption:"Africa",value:3,count:1683},{group:"region",caption:"Asia",value:4,count:10200},{group:"region",caption:"Australia and Oceania",value:5,count:886},{group:"region",caption:"Europe",value:6,count:15610}],offset:12,limit:12,total:117095},chapterEmbeded:{data:{}},editorApplication:{success:null,errors:{}},ofsBooks:{filterParams:{sort:"dateEndThirdStepPublish",topicId:"25"},books:[{type:"book",id:"8737",title:"Rabies Virus",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!0,hash:"49cce3f548da548c718c865feb343509",slug:null,bookSignature:"Dr. Sergey Tkachev",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/8737.jpg",editedByType:null,editors:[{id:"61139",title:"Dr.",name:"Sergey",surname:"Tkachev",slug:"sergey-tkachev",fullName:"Sergey Tkachev"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"10830",title:"Animal Feed Science",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!0,hash:"b6091426454b1c484f4d38efc722d6dd",slug:null,bookSignature:"",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/10830.jpg",editedByType:null,editors:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"10496",title:"Feed Additives in Animal Nutrition",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!0,hash:"8ffe43a82ac48b309abc3632bbf3efd0",slug:null,bookSignature:"Prof. László Babinszky",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/10496.jpg",editedByType:null,editors:[{id:"53998",title:"Prof.",name:"László",surname:"Babinszky",slug:"laszlo-babinszky",fullName:"László Babinszky"}],productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}}],filtersByTopic:[{group:"topic",caption:"Agricultural and Biological Sciences",value:5,count:9},{group:"topic",caption:"Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology",value:6,count:17},{group:"topic",caption:"Business, Management and Economics",value:7,count:2},{group:"topic",caption:"Chemistry",value:8,count:7},{group:"topic",caption:"Computer and Information Science",value:9,count:10},{group:"topic",caption:"Earth and Planetary Sciences",value:10,count:5},{group:"topic",caption:"Engineering",value:11,count:15},{group:"topic",caption:"Environmental Sciences",value:12,count:2},{group:"topic",caption:"Immunology and Microbiology",value:13,count:5},{group:"topic",caption:"Materials Science",value:14,count:4},{group:"topic",caption:"Mathematics",value:15,count:1},{group:"topic",caption:"Medicine",value:16,count:60},{group:"topic",caption:"Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials",value:17,count:1},{group:"topic",caption:"Neuroscience",value:18,count:1},{group:"topic",caption:"Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science",value:19,count:6},{group:"topic",caption:"Physics",value:20,count:2},{group:"topic",caption:"Psychology",value:21,count:3},{group:"topic",caption:"Robotics",value:22,count:1},{group:"topic",caption:"Social Sciences",value:23,count:3},{group:"topic",caption:"Technology",value:24,count:1},{group:"topic",caption:"Veterinary Medicine and Science",value:25,count:2}],offset:12,limit:12,total:3},popularBooks:{featuredBooks:[{type:"book",id:"9343",title:"Trace Metals in the Environment",subtitle:"New Approaches and Recent Advances",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"ae07e345bc2ce1ebbda9f70c5cd12141",slug:"trace-metals-in-the-environment-new-approaches-and-recent-advances",bookSignature:"Mario Alfonso Murillo-Tovar, Hugo Saldarriaga-Noreña and Agnieszka Saeid",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9343.jpg",editors:[{id:"255959",title:"Dr.",name:"Mario Alfonso",middleName:null,surname:"Murillo-Tovar",slug:"mario-alfonso-murillo-tovar",fullName:"Mario Alfonso Murillo-Tovar"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"7769",title:"Medical Isotopes",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"f8d3c5a6c9a42398e56b4e82264753f7",slug:"medical-isotopes",bookSignature:"Syed Ali Raza Naqvi and Muhammad Babar Imrani",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7769.jpg",editors:[{id:"259190",title:"Dr.",name:"Syed Ali Raza",middleName:null,surname:"Naqvi",slug:"syed-ali-raza-naqvi",fullName:"Syed Ali Raza Naqvi"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"9376",title:"Contemporary Developments and Perspectives in International Health Security",subtitle:"Volume 1",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"b9a00b84cd04aae458fb1d6c65795601",slug:"contemporary-developments-and-perspectives-in-international-health-security-volume-1",bookSignature:"Stanislaw P. Stawicki, Michael S. Firstenberg, Sagar C. Galwankar, Ricardo Izurieta and Thomas Papadimos",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9376.jpg",editors:[{id:"181694",title:"Dr.",name:"Stanislaw P.",middleName:null,surname:"Stawicki",slug:"stanislaw-p.-stawicki",fullName:"Stanislaw P. Stawicki"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"7831",title:"Sustainability in Urban Planning and Design",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"c924420492c8c2c9751e178d025f4066",slug:"sustainability-in-urban-planning-and-design",bookSignature:"Amjad Almusaed, Asaad Almssad and Linh Truong - Hong",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7831.jpg",editors:[{id:"110471",title:"Dr.",name:"Amjad",middleName:"Zaki",surname:"Almusaed",slug:"amjad-almusaed",fullName:"Amjad Almusaed"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"9279",title:"Concepts, Applications and Emerging Opportunities in Industrial Engineering",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"9bfa87f9b627a5468b7c1e30b0eea07a",slug:"concepts-applications-and-emerging-opportunities-in-industrial-engineering",bookSignature:"Gary Moynihan",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9279.jpg",editors:[{id:"16974",title:"Dr.",name:"Gary",middleName:null,surname:"Moynihan",slug:"gary-moynihan",fullName:"Gary Moynihan"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"7807",title:"A Closer Look at Organizational Culture in Action",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"05c608b9271cc2bc711f4b28748b247b",slug:"a-closer-look-at-organizational-culture-in-action",bookSignature:"Süleyman Davut Göker",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7807.jpg",editors:[{id:"190035",title:"Associate Prof.",name:"Süleyman Davut",middleName:null,surname:"Göker",slug:"suleyman-davut-goker",fullName:"Süleyman Davut Göker"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"7796",title:"Human 4.0",subtitle:"From Biology to Cybernetic",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"5ac5c052d3a593d5c4f4df66d005e5af",slug:"human-4-0-from-biology-to-cybernetic",bookSignature:"Yves Rybarczyk",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7796.jpg",editors:[{id:"72920",title:"Prof.",name:"Yves",middleName:"Philippe",surname:"Rybarczyk",slug:"yves-rybarczyk",fullName:"Yves Rybarczyk"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"9711",title:"Pests, Weeds and Diseases in Agricultural Crop and Animal Husbandry Production",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"12cf675f1e433135dd5bf5df7cec124f",slug:"pests-weeds-and-diseases-in-agricultural-crop-and-animal-husbandry-production",bookSignature:"Dimitrios Kontogiannatos, Anna Kourti and Kassio Ferreira Mendes",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9711.jpg",editors:[{id:"196691",title:"Dr.",name:"Dimitrios",middleName:null,surname:"Kontogiannatos",slug:"dimitrios-kontogiannatos",fullName:"Dimitrios Kontogiannatos"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"10178",title:"Environmental Emissions",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"febf21ec717bfe20ae25a9dab9b5d438",slug:"environmental-emissions",bookSignature:"Richard Viskup",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/10178.jpg",editors:[{id:"103742",title:"Dr.",name:"Richard",middleName:null,surname:"Viskup",slug:"richard-viskup",fullName:"Richard Viskup"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"8511",title:"Cyberspace",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"8c1cdeb133dbe6cc1151367061c1bba6",slug:"cyberspace",bookSignature:"Evon Abu-Taieh, Abdelkrim El Mouatasim and Issam H. Al Hadid",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/8511.jpg",editors:[{id:"223522",title:"Dr.",name:"Evon",middleName:"M.O.",surname:"Abu-Taieh",slug:"evon-abu-taieh",fullName:"Evon Abu-Taieh"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"9534",title:"Banking and Finance",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"af14229738af402c3b595d7e124dce82",slug:"banking-and-finance",bookSignature:"Razali Haron, Maizaitulaidawati Md Husin and Michael Murg",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9534.jpg",editors:[{id:"206517",title:"Prof.",name:"Razali",middleName:null,surname:"Haron",slug:"razali-haron",fullName:"Razali Haron"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"2160",title:"MATLAB",subtitle:"A Fundamental Tool for Scientific Computing and Engineering Applications - Volume 1",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"dd9c658341fbd264ed4f8d9e6aa8ca29",slug:"matlab-a-fundamental-tool-for-scientific-computing-and-engineering-applications-volume-1",bookSignature:"Vasilios N. Katsikis",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/2160.jpg",editors:[{id:"12289",title:"Prof.",name:"Vasilios",middleName:"N.",surname:"Katsikis",slug:"vasilios-katsikis",fullName:"Vasilios Katsikis"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}}],offset:12,limit:12,total:5126},hotBookTopics:{hotBooks:[],offset:0,limit:12,total:null},publish:{},publishingProposal:{success:null,errors:{}},books:{featuredBooks:[{type:"book",id:"9343",title:"Trace Metals in the Environment",subtitle:"New Approaches and Recent Advances",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"ae07e345bc2ce1ebbda9f70c5cd12141",slug:"trace-metals-in-the-environment-new-approaches-and-recent-advances",bookSignature:"Mario Alfonso Murillo-Tovar, Hugo Saldarriaga-Noreña and Agnieszka Saeid",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9343.jpg",editors:[{id:"255959",title:"Dr.",name:"Mario Alfonso",middleName:null,surname:"Murillo-Tovar",slug:"mario-alfonso-murillo-tovar",fullName:"Mario Alfonso Murillo-Tovar"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"7769",title:"Medical Isotopes",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"f8d3c5a6c9a42398e56b4e82264753f7",slug:"medical-isotopes",bookSignature:"Syed Ali Raza Naqvi and Muhammad Babar Imrani",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7769.jpg",editors:[{id:"259190",title:"Dr.",name:"Syed Ali Raza",middleName:null,surname:"Naqvi",slug:"syed-ali-raza-naqvi",fullName:"Syed Ali Raza Naqvi"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"9376",title:"Contemporary Developments and Perspectives in International Health Security",subtitle:"Volume 1",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"b9a00b84cd04aae458fb1d6c65795601",slug:"contemporary-developments-and-perspectives-in-international-health-security-volume-1",bookSignature:"Stanislaw P. Stawicki, Michael S. Firstenberg, Sagar C. Galwankar, Ricardo Izurieta and Thomas Papadimos",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9376.jpg",editors:[{id:"181694",title:"Dr.",name:"Stanislaw P.",middleName:null,surname:"Stawicki",slug:"stanislaw-p.-stawicki",fullName:"Stanislaw P. Stawicki"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"7831",title:"Sustainability in Urban Planning and Design",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"c924420492c8c2c9751e178d025f4066",slug:"sustainability-in-urban-planning-and-design",bookSignature:"Amjad Almusaed, Asaad Almssad and Linh Truong - Hong",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7831.jpg",editors:[{id:"110471",title:"Dr.",name:"Amjad",middleName:"Zaki",surname:"Almusaed",slug:"amjad-almusaed",fullName:"Amjad Almusaed"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"9279",title:"Concepts, Applications and Emerging Opportunities in Industrial Engineering",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"9bfa87f9b627a5468b7c1e30b0eea07a",slug:"concepts-applications-and-emerging-opportunities-in-industrial-engineering",bookSignature:"Gary Moynihan",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9279.jpg",editors:[{id:"16974",title:"Dr.",name:"Gary",middleName:null,surname:"Moynihan",slug:"gary-moynihan",fullName:"Gary Moynihan"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"7807",title:"A Closer Look at Organizational Culture in Action",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"05c608b9271cc2bc711f4b28748b247b",slug:"a-closer-look-at-organizational-culture-in-action",bookSignature:"Süleyman Davut Göker",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7807.jpg",editors:[{id:"190035",title:"Associate Prof.",name:"Süleyman Davut",middleName:null,surname:"Göker",slug:"suleyman-davut-goker",fullName:"Süleyman Davut Göker"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"7796",title:"Human 4.0",subtitle:"From Biology to Cybernetic",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"5ac5c052d3a593d5c4f4df66d005e5af",slug:"human-4-0-from-biology-to-cybernetic",bookSignature:"Yves Rybarczyk",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/7796.jpg",editors:[{id:"72920",title:"Prof.",name:"Yves",middleName:"Philippe",surname:"Rybarczyk",slug:"yves-rybarczyk",fullName:"Yves Rybarczyk"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"9711",title:"Pests, Weeds and Diseases in Agricultural Crop and Animal Husbandry Production",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"12cf675f1e433135dd5bf5df7cec124f",slug:"pests-weeds-and-diseases-in-agricultural-crop-and-animal-husbandry-production",bookSignature:"Dimitrios Kontogiannatos, Anna Kourti and Kassio Ferreira Mendes",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9711.jpg",editors:[{id:"196691",title:"Dr.",name:"Dimitrios",middleName:null,surname:"Kontogiannatos",slug:"dimitrios-kontogiannatos",fullName:"Dimitrios Kontogiannatos"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"10178",title:"Environmental Emissions",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"febf21ec717bfe20ae25a9dab9b5d438",slug:"environmental-emissions",bookSignature:"Richard Viskup",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/10178.jpg",editors:[{id:"103742",title:"Dr.",name:"Richard",middleName:null,surname:"Viskup",slug:"richard-viskup",fullName:"Richard Viskup"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}},{type:"book",id:"8511",title:"Cyberspace",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"8c1cdeb133dbe6cc1151367061c1bba6",slug:"cyberspace",bookSignature:"Evon Abu-Taieh, Abdelkrim El Mouatasim and Issam H. Al Hadid",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/8511.jpg",editors:[{id:"223522",title:"Dr.",name:"Evon",middleName:"M.O.",surname:"Abu-Taieh",slug:"evon-abu-taieh",fullName:"Evon Abu-Taieh"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}}],latestBooks:[{type:"book",id:"8468",title:"Sheep Farming",subtitle:"An Approach to Feed, Growth and Sanity",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"838f08594850bc04aa14ec873ed1b96f",slug:"sheep-farming-an-approach-to-feed-growth-and-sanity",bookSignature:"António Monteiro",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/8468.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"190314",title:"Prof.",name:"António",middleName:"Cardoso",surname:"Monteiro",slug:"antonio-monteiro",fullName:"António Monteiro"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"9523",title:"Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"5eb6ec2db961a6c8965d11180a58d5c1",slug:"oral-and-maxillofacial-surgery",bookSignature:"Gokul Sridharan",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9523.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"82453",title:"Dr.",name:"Gokul",middleName:null,surname:"Sridharan",slug:"gokul-sridharan",fullName:"Gokul Sridharan"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"9785",title:"Endometriosis",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"f457ca61f29cf7e8bc191732c50bb0ce",slug:"endometriosis",bookSignature:"Courtney Marsh",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9785.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"255491",title:"Dr.",name:"Courtney",middleName:null,surname:"Marsh",slug:"courtney-marsh",fullName:"Courtney Marsh"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"9018",title:"Some RNA Viruses",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"a5cae846dbe3692495fc4add2f60fd84",slug:"some-rna-viruses",bookSignature:"Yogendra Shah and Eltayb Abuelzein",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9018.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"278914",title:"Ph.D.",name:"Yogendra",middleName:null,surname:"Shah",slug:"yogendra-shah",fullName:"Yogendra Shah"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"8816",title:"Financial Crises",subtitle:"A Selection of Readings",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"6f2f49fb903656e4e54280c79fabd10c",slug:"financial-crises-a-selection-of-readings",bookSignature:"Stelios Markoulis",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/8816.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"237863",title:"Dr.",name:"Stelios",middleName:null,surname:"Markoulis",slug:"stelios-markoulis",fullName:"Stelios Markoulis"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"9585",title:"Advances in Complex Valvular Disease",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"ef64f11e211621ecfe69c46e60e7ca3d",slug:"advances-in-complex-valvular-disease",bookSignature:"Michael S. Firstenberg and Imran Khan",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9585.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"64343",title:null,name:"Michael S.",middleName:"S",surname:"Firstenberg",slug:"michael-s.-firstenberg",fullName:"Michael S. Firstenberg"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"10150",title:"Smart Manufacturing",subtitle:"When Artificial Intelligence Meets the Internet of Things",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"87004a19de13702d042f8ff96d454698",slug:"smart-manufacturing-when-artificial-intelligence-meets-the-internet-of-things",bookSignature:"Tan Yen Kheng",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/10150.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"78857",title:"Dr.",name:"Tan Yen",middleName:null,surname:"Kheng",slug:"tan-yen-kheng",fullName:"Tan Yen Kheng"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"9386",title:"Direct Numerical Simulations",subtitle:"An Introduction and Applications",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"158a3a0fdba295d21ff23326f5a072d5",slug:"direct-numerical-simulations-an-introduction-and-applications",bookSignature:"Srinivasa Rao",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9386.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"6897",title:"Dr.",name:"Srinivasa",middleName:"P",surname:"Rao",slug:"srinivasa-rao",fullName:"Srinivasa Rao"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"9139",title:"Topics in Primary Care Medicine",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"ea774a4d4c1179da92a782e0ae9cde92",slug:"topics-in-primary-care-medicine",bookSignature:"Thomas F. Heston",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9139.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"217926",title:"Dr.",name:"Thomas F.",middleName:null,surname:"Heston",slug:"thomas-f.-heston",fullName:"Thomas F. Heston"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},{type:"book",id:"9208",title:"Welding",subtitle:"Modern Topics",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"7d6be076ccf3a3f8bd2ca52d86d4506b",slug:"welding-modern-topics",bookSignature:"Sadek Crisóstomo Absi Alfaro, Wojciech Borek and Błażej Tomiczek",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/9208.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"65292",title:"Prof.",name:"Sadek Crisostomo Absi",middleName:"C. Absi",surname:"Alfaro",slug:"sadek-crisostomo-absi-alfaro",fullName:"Sadek Crisostomo Absi Alfaro"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}}]},subject:{topic:{id:"1292",title:"Robotics Navigation",slug:"kinematics-robotics-navigation",parent:{title:"Kinematics",slug:"kinematics"},numberOfBooks:1,numberOfAuthorsAndEditors:35,numberOfWosCitations:30,numberOfCrossrefCitations:34,numberOfDimensionsCitations:62,videoUrl:null,fallbackUrl:null,description:null},booksByTopicFilter:{topicSlug:"kinematics-robotics-navigation",sort:"-publishedDate",limit:12,offset:0},booksByTopicCollection:[{type:"book",id:"1876",title:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators",subtitle:"Kinematics, Dynamics, Control and Optimization",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"ccdd21118a081fb3fada9ceddafa4192",slug:"serial-and-parallel-robot-manipulators-kinematics-dynamics-control-and-optimization",bookSignature:"Serdar Kucuk",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/1876.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"5424",title:"Dr.",name:"Serdar",middleName:null,surname:"Küçük",slug:"serdar-kucuk",fullName:"Serdar Küçük"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}}],booksByTopicTotal:1,mostCitedChapters:[{id:"34392",doi:"10.5772/32470",title:"Dynamic Modeling and Simulation of Stewart Platform",slug:"dynamic-modelling-of-stewart-platform",totalDownloads:7754,totalCrossrefCites:12,totalDimensionsCites:19,book:{slug:"serial-and-parallel-robot-manipulators-kinematics-dynamics-control-and-optimization",title:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators",fullTitle:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators - Kinematics, Dynamics, Control and Optimization"},signatures:"Zafer Bingul and Oguzhan Karahan",authors:[{id:"35914",title:"Prof.",name:"Zafer",middleName:null,surname:"Bingul",slug:"zafer-bingul",fullName:"Zafer Bingul"},{id:"129698",title:"MSc.",name:"Oğuzhan",middleName:null,surname:"Karahan",slug:"oguzhan-karahan",fullName:"Oğuzhan Karahan"}]},{id:"34395",doi:"10.5772/31891",title:"On the Stiffness Analysis and Elastodynamics of Parallel Kinematic Machines",slug:"on-the-stiffness-analysis-and-elastodynamics-of-parallel-kinematic-machines-",totalDownloads:2092,totalCrossrefCites:4,totalDimensionsCites:8,book:{slug:"serial-and-parallel-robot-manipulators-kinematics-dynamics-control-and-optimization",title:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators",fullTitle:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators - Kinematics, Dynamics, Control and Optimization"},signatures:"Alessandro Cammarata",authors:[{id:"89202",title:"Prof.",name:"Alessandro",middleName:null,surname:"Cammarata",slug:"alessandro-cammarata",fullName:"Alessandro Cammarata"}]},{id:"34406",doi:"10.5772/30110",title:"Heuristic Optimization Algorithms in Robotics",slug:"heuristic-optimization-algorithms-in-robotic",totalDownloads:3734,totalCrossrefCites:5,totalDimensionsCites:7,book:{slug:"serial-and-parallel-robot-manipulators-kinematics-dynamics-control-and-optimization",title:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators",fullTitle:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators - Kinematics, Dynamics, Control and Optimization"},signatures:"Pakize Erdogmus and Metin Toz",authors:[{id:"80893",title:"Dr.",name:"Pakize",middleName:null,surname:"Erdogmus",slug:"pakize-erdogmus",fullName:"Pakize Erdogmus"},{id:"94970",title:"Mr.",name:"Metin",middleName:null,surname:"Toz",slug:"metin-toz",fullName:"Metin Toz"}]}],mostDownloadedChaptersLast30Days:[{id:"34410",title:"Optimization of H4 Parallel Manipulator Using Genetic Algorithm",slug:"optimization-of-h4-parallel-manipulator-using-genetic-algorithm",totalDownloads:2417,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:0,book:{slug:"serial-and-parallel-robot-manipulators-kinematics-dynamics-control-and-optimization",title:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators",fullTitle:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators - Kinematics, Dynamics, Control and Optimization"},signatures:"M. Falahian, H.M. Daniali and S.M. Varedi",authors:[{id:"91477",title:"Prof.",name:"Hamidreza",middleName:null,surname:"Mohammadi Daniali",slug:"hamidreza-mohammadi-daniali",fullName:"Hamidreza Mohammadi Daniali"}]},{id:"34395",title:"On the Stiffness Analysis and Elastodynamics of Parallel Kinematic Machines",slug:"on-the-stiffness-analysis-and-elastodynamics-of-parallel-kinematic-machines-",totalDownloads:2092,totalCrossrefCites:4,totalDimensionsCites:8,book:{slug:"serial-and-parallel-robot-manipulators-kinematics-dynamics-control-and-optimization",title:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators",fullTitle:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators - Kinematics, Dynamics, Control and Optimization"},signatures:"Alessandro Cammarata",authors:[{id:"89202",title:"Prof.",name:"Alessandro",middleName:null,surname:"Cammarata",slug:"alessandro-cammarata",fullName:"Alessandro Cammarata"}]},{id:"34400",title:"Position Control and Trajectory Tracking of the Stewart Platform",slug:"position-control-and-trajectory-tracking-of-the-stewart-platform-",totalDownloads:8508,totalCrossrefCites:2,totalDimensionsCites:4,book:{slug:"serial-and-parallel-robot-manipulators-kinematics-dynamics-control-and-optimization",title:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators",fullTitle:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators - Kinematics, Dynamics, Control and Optimization"},signatures:"Selçuk Kizir and Zafer Bingul",authors:[{id:"105018",title:"Mr.",name:"Selçuk",middleName:null,surname:"Kizir",slug:"selcuk-kizir",fullName:"Selçuk Kizir"}]},{id:"34397",title:"Design and Postures of a Serial Robot Composed by Closed-Loop Kinematics Chains",slug:"design-and-analysis-of-postures-of-a-serial-robot-composed-by-closed-loop-kinematic-chains-",totalDownloads:2785,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:0,book:{slug:"serial-and-parallel-robot-manipulators-kinematics-dynamics-control-and-optimization",title:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators",fullTitle:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators - Kinematics, Dynamics, Control and Optimization"},signatures:"David Ubeda, Jose Maria Marin, Arturo Gil and Oscar Reinoso",authors:[{id:"11214",title:"Dr.",name:"Oscar",middleName:null,surname:"Reinoso",slug:"oscar-reinoso",fullName:"Oscar Reinoso"}]},{id:"34403",title:"Estimation of Position and Orientation for Non-Rigid Robots Control Using Motion Capture Techniques",slug:"estimation-of-position-and-orientation-for-non-rigid-robots-control-using-motion-capture-techniques",totalDownloads:2200,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:0,book:{slug:"serial-and-parallel-robot-manipulators-kinematics-dynamics-control-and-optimization",title:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators",fullTitle:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators - Kinematics, Dynamics, Control and Optimization"},signatures:"Przemysław Mazurek",authors:[{id:"91414",title:"Dr.",name:"Przemyslaw",middleName:null,surname:"Mazurek",slug:"przemyslaw-mazurek",fullName:"Przemyslaw Mazurek"}]},{id:"34406",title:"Heuristic Optimization Algorithms in Robotics",slug:"heuristic-optimization-algorithms-in-robotic",totalDownloads:3734,totalCrossrefCites:5,totalDimensionsCites:7,book:{slug:"serial-and-parallel-robot-manipulators-kinematics-dynamics-control-and-optimization",title:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators",fullTitle:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators - Kinematics, Dynamics, Control and Optimization"},signatures:"Pakize Erdogmus and Metin Toz",authors:[{id:"80893",title:"Dr.",name:"Pakize",middleName:null,surname:"Erdogmus",slug:"pakize-erdogmus",fullName:"Pakize Erdogmus"},{id:"94970",title:"Mr.",name:"Metin",middleName:null,surname:"Toz",slug:"metin-toz",fullName:"Metin Toz"}]},{id:"34391",title:"Inverse Dynamics of RRR Fully Planar Parallel Manipulator Using DH Method",slug:"inverse-dynamics-of-rrr-fully-planar-parallel-manipulator-using-dh-method",totalDownloads:5636,totalCrossrefCites:1,totalDimensionsCites:1,book:{slug:"serial-and-parallel-robot-manipulators-kinematics-dynamics-control-and-optimization",title:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators",fullTitle:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators - Kinematics, Dynamics, Control and Optimization"},signatures:"Serdar Küçük",authors:[{id:"5424",title:"Dr.",name:"Serdar",middleName:null,surname:"Küçük",slug:"serdar-kucuk",fullName:"Serdar Küçük"}]},{id:"34401",title:"Obstacle Avoidance for Redundant Manipulators as Control Problem",slug:"obstacle-avoidance-for-redundant-manipulators-as-a-control-problem",totalDownloads:3275,totalCrossrefCites:5,totalDimensionsCites:6,book:{slug:"serial-and-parallel-robot-manipulators-kinematics-dynamics-control-and-optimization",title:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators",fullTitle:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators - Kinematics, Dynamics, Control and Optimization"},signatures:"Leon Žlajpah and Tadej Petrič",authors:[{id:"6001",title:"Dr.",name:"Leon",middleName:null,surname:"Zlajpah",slug:"leon-zlajpah",fullName:"Leon Zlajpah"}]},{id:"34405",title:"Fuzzy Modelling Stochastic Processes Describing Brownian Motions",slug:"fuzzy-modelling-of-stochastic-processes-describing-brownian-motion",totalDownloads:2418,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:0,book:{slug:"serial-and-parallel-robot-manipulators-kinematics-dynamics-control-and-optimization",title:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators",fullTitle:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators - Kinematics, Dynamics, Control and Optimization"},signatures:"Anna Walaszek-Babiszewska",authors:[{id:"97050",title:"Prof.",name:"Anna",middleName:null,surname:"Walaszek-Babiszewska",slug:"anna-walaszek-babiszewska",fullName:"Anna Walaszek-Babiszewska"}]},{id:"34396",title:"Parallel, Serial and Hybrid Machine Tools and Robotics Structures: Comparative Study on Optimum Kinematic Designs",slug:"parallel-serial-and-hybrid-machine-tools-and-robotics-structures-comparative-study-on-optimum-kinema",totalDownloads:4301,totalCrossrefCites:1,totalDimensionsCites:5,book:{slug:"serial-and-parallel-robot-manipulators-kinematics-dynamics-control-and-optimization",title:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators",fullTitle:"Serial and Parallel Robot Manipulators - Kinematics, Dynamics, Control and Optimization"},signatures:"Khalifa H. Harib, Kamal A.F. Moustafa, A.M.M. Sharif Ullah and Salah Zenieh",authors:[{id:"97122",title:"Prof.",name:"Khalifa",middleName:null,surname:"Harib",slug:"khalifa-harib",fullName:"Khalifa Harib"},{id:"97123",title:"Prof.",name:"A.M.M.",middleName:null,surname:"Sharif Ullah",slug:"a.m.m.-sharif-ullah",fullName:"A.M.M. Sharif Ullah"},{id:"97125",title:"Prof.",name:"Kamal",middleName:null,surname:"Moustafa",slug:"kamal-moustafa",fullName:"Kamal Moustafa"},{id:"140479",title:"Dr.",name:"Salah",middleName:null,surname:"Zenieh",slug:"salah-zenieh",fullName:"Salah Zenieh"}]}],onlineFirstChaptersFilter:{topicSlug:"kinematics-robotics-navigation",limit:3,offset:0},onlineFirstChaptersCollection:[],onlineFirstChaptersTotal:0},preDownload:{success:null,errors:{}},aboutIntechopen:{},privacyPolicy:{},peerReviewing:{},howOpenAccessPublishingWithIntechopenWorks:{},sponsorshipBooks:{sponsorshipBooks:[{type:"book",id:"10176",title:"Microgrids and Local Energy Systems",subtitle:null,isOpenForSubmission:!0,hash:"c32b4a5351a88f263074b0d0ca813a9c",slug:null,bookSignature:"Prof. Nick Jenkins",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/10176.jpg",editedByType:null,editors:[{id:"55219",title:"Prof.",name:"Nick",middleName:null,surname:"Jenkins",slug:"nick-jenkins",fullName:"Nick Jenkins"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter"}}],offset:8,limit:8,total:1},route:{name:"profile.detail",path:"/profiles/167635/alok-singh",hash:"",query:{},params:{id:"167635",slug:"alok-singh"},fullPath:"/profiles/167635/alok-singh",meta:{},from:{name:null,path:"/",hash:"",query:{},params:{},fullPath:"/",meta:{}}}},function(){var e;(e=document.currentScript||document.scripts[document.scripts.length-1]).parentNode.removeChild(e)}()