RFID News Roundup

Avery, Vue Technology Joining Forces for Retailers
Avery Dennison Retail Information Services (RIS) and Vue Technology, a provider of solutions for item-level RFID product tracking, have created a marketing alliance to deliver cost-efficient item-level RFID solutions to apparel, footwear and consumer goods retailers. Under the agreement, Avery Dennison RIS will jointly market its line of item-level UHF Gen 2 RFID tags and labels, label printers and printing software with Vue Technology's RFID infrastructure, networking and software products, designed to maximize RFID interrogator power through shelving powered by multiple antennas. Together, the companies indicate they will equip retailers with item-level RFID solutions designed specifically to provide such benefits as reduced out-of-stocks, increased efficiencies and decreased labor costs and product shrink.

Fluensee, Intelleflex Combine Offerings
RFID-enabled asset management and supply chain solution provider Fluensee will now support Intelleflex's new battery-assisted passive tags and readers, as part of Fluensee's asset-tracking solutions. Under the terms of this agreement, Fluensee has become an authorized reseller of Intelleflex's InfoSure battery-assisted passive tags and I-Beam readers, which can read the InfoSure tags, as well as any UHF tag compliant with the EPC Gen 2 protocol (see Intelleflex Announces New Semi-Active, Passive Products). The InfoSure tags can be operated with or without the battery. When utilized in a fully passive mode, they comply with the EPC UHF Gen 2 standard. The InfoSure tags can be encoded and read from up to 100 meters away in free space when used with the I-Beam readers. Fluensee's asset-tracking platform consists of real-time location software and hardware provided by RFID, bar code, GPS and sensor technology providers.

Spartan Stores Accepting RFID Payments
Spartan Stores, a grocery company and distributor with 68 retail supermarkets and 19 discount food and drug stores in Michigan and Ohio, says it is equipping all of its stores to accept RFID-enabled payment (credit or debit) cards fromMasterCard, Visa and American Express. Spartan owns and operates the Family Fare, D&W, Glen's, Pharm and Quick Stop store chains. The company says it has decided to begin accepting RFID payments. This will allow it to offer a more convenient shopping experience for its customers, who can pass their RFID-enabled cards or fobs in front of RFID payment terminals instead of swiping magnetic stripe cards or paying cash. Purchases under $25 do not require a signature.

Manakoa to Leverage Newly Acquired Wireless License
Manakoa Services, a company developing high-security asset-tracking and authentication systems using RFID technology, has acquired Infinite Identification Technologies. Manakoa has obtained the firm from UTEK, a specialty finance company focused on technology transfer, through a stock transaction of an undisclosed sum. Infinite Identification Technologies owns the worldwide exclusive license for a reflective wireless technology for RFID and remote sensor applications, according to a joint statement from UTEK and Manakoa. The technology was developed for covert communication operations at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), and is now declassified. Manakoa does not yet offer any commercial products utilizing the technology, but is developing them for security-related asset-tracking applications in the petrochemical and agriculture markets, as well as for health care and national security.

Atmel and SkyeTek Partnering
Atmel, a San Jose, Calif., RFID inlay chip and reader provider, and SkyeTek, a Westminster, Colo., provider of embedded RFID reader technology, have announced a technology partnership. Atmel will use SkyeTek's Advanced Universal Reader Architecture to support its CryptoRF RFID inlay and reader products, which are compliant with ISO 14443. Atmel will work with a network of manufacturing partners to bring the products to market. These products can be used for RFID applications requiring highly secure data transactions. According to SkyeTek, Atmel could also incorporate the Advanced Universal Reader Architecture into its UHF products. In July, SkyeTek announced that its ReaderWare—part of the Advanced Universal Reader Architecture—supports a number of data-encryption methods, including the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), the data encryption algorithm standard ratified by the National Security Agency (NSA), the Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) and the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) standard for an algorithm used to create a unique digital value that can be used to authenticate data (see SkyeTek Adding Security Support into Passive Platforms).