RFID News Roundup

June 23, 2006—The following are news announcements made during the week of June 19.

AeroScout Partnering on Tracking System for Mines
AeroScout, a provider of Wi-Fi-based RFID asset-tracking solutions, and Mine Site Technologies (MST), a company specializing in mining communication systems, have partnered to develop a location-tracking and communications solution for underground mines. The companies say the system uses active Wi-Fi-based RFID tags to enhance the safety and health of miners without adding unnecessary networking equipment to the mines. An AeroScout battery-powered tag is embedded into an MST Integrated Communications Cap Lamp (ICCL), worn by a miner. The lamp is tracked in real-time, through MST's ImPact Digital communications hub, enabling mine operators to track the miner's position as he moves throughout the underground mine. The location can be continually logged and viewed on a map in real time from a standard Web browser. According to the company, the combined solution is now available. For pricing information, contact MST directly.

Innovision Announces NFC Platform
Innovision Research & Technology manufactures an NFC-compliant passive tag for use in smart posters, information kiosks and other consumer-facing NFC applications. The company says it has developed Topaz, an NFC chipset and NFC software platform designed for use in NFC phones and other NFC-enabled consumer electronics. The platform is designed to allow NFC applications such as mobile payments and ticketing transactions access to digital content via NFC-enabled mobile devices. Built for applications requiring a small amount of memory (1 to 2 kilobytes), such as smart poster or one-touch set-up applications, Topaz can also accommodate RFID-enabled payments using the ISO 14443A air interface protocol.

RFID4U, ODIN Offering Training in D.C. Area
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based RFID4U, a company that offers RFID technology training courses, is partnering with RFID systems integrator ODIN Technologies to bring RFID4U's RFID+ CompTIA certification training to the Washington, D.C., area. RFID4U is holding the training session at ODIN'S Dulles, Va., headquarters to serve the growing number of companies deploying RFID technology in the region. The firm's RFID+ course includes basic RFID training and system deployment instruction, as well as practice tests for RFID+, the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA)'s industry-standard RFID certification exam. ODIN's Easy Reader software and interrogator configuration tool will be used to demonstrate how multiple EPC Gen 2 readers may be deployed within a single facility. The first RFID+ training class will be held August 22-25 and costs $4550. To register, or for more information, visit RFID4U's Web site.

Ipico Tags Cross Finish Line in Increasing Numbers
Ipico, a provider of RFID solutions for tracking assets and peoples, as well as for transportation/logistics and supply chain applications, says its Sports Timekeeping solution has been successfully used at many recent sporting events around the world. Last April, at the Absa Cape Epic mountain biking event in South Africa, Ipico's dual-frequency tags identified and tracked more than 1,000 racers, their bike bags and their mountain bikes—as well as the more than 420 staff members supporting the 921-kilometer race—using readers mounted throughout the course. The tags can reportedly be read from as far away as 2 meters, and as quickly as 20 milliseconds. Ipico's tags and readers were also used for cycling and motorcycling timing at the recent Commonwealth Games cycling trials in Melbourne, Australia, and at a running race in Colorado—the Steamboat Classic on June 17—where registration and timing services provider Mercury Sports Group used RFID data to provide the media with real-time information. "The sport timekeeping market is one of the key vertical markets for Ipico over the short and medium term," says Luther Erasmus, the company's COO.