A "chip sandwich," an all-in-one payment and metering device for taxi cabs, and specially-designed paper that can include an RFID antenna, were some of the nine innovative SESAMES award winners at CARTES in Paris earlier this month.

One of the big winners was Gemplus. The smart card company walked away with two honors–one for its BioEasy solution and another for its TLS-based secure channel. A handful of other companies, most based in France, were recipients of the highly touted awards.