RFID 2.0
Next-generation UHF systems promise to bring a new level of performance previously thought impossible.
By Mark Roberti
Radio frequency identification technology is about to enter a new phase, with capabilities that, until now, have been thought impossible to achieve. Two companies that are still in stealth mode—RF Controls and Mojix—have given RFID Journal an exclusive look at their ultrahigh-frequency systems. Each was developed with expertise from outside the RFID industry—RF Controls' from the U.S. military and Mojix's from NASA. And each takes advantage of the same sophisticated technology—beam-steerable phased-array antennas—though they apply it in different ways to yield distinctly different system characteristics. But both promise a new level of performance by providing a longer read range than previously possible, the ability to verify tags on cases in the middle of a pallet of RF-unfriendly products, and the ability to locate tags more precisely at dock doors, in warehouses and on store shelves. And both promise to lower the cost of deployment.
In addition, both systems are compliant with EPCglobal's second-generation UHF air interface protocol standard, and both operate within the regulatory limits for RF energy output established by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. Neither company was willing to provide photographs of its system. But it's a sure bet that when these two companies go public, you'll be hearing a lot more about them, and they'll create quite a stir in the RFID industry.
RF Top Gun
RF Controls, based in St. Louis, was started by Graham Bloy and Thomas Ellinwood. Bloy, the company's chief technology officer, holds numerous patents in RF and related fields, and has done research and development in guidance, encryption and tracking systems, as well as in radar and satellite communications. Ellinwood, the company's CEO, was formerly general manager of Omar Tool and Machine, which makes components and systems for military aircraft and aerospace applications. He left Omar to enter the consumer packaged goods industry, where, in 1995, he orchestrated the spin-off of Pillsbury's $100 million Van de Kamp's seafood line and built it into a $500 million business.
Radio frequency identification technology is about to enter a new phase, with capabilities that, until now, have been thought impossible to achieve. Two companies that are still in stealth mode—RF Controls and Mojix—have given RFID Journal an exclusive look at their ultrahigh-frequency systems. Each was developed with expertise from outside the RFID industry—RF Controls' from the U.S. military and Mojix's from NASA. And each takes advantage of the same sophisticated technology—beam-steerable phased-array antennas—though they apply it in different ways to yield distinctly different system characteristics. But both promise a new level of performance by providing a longer read range than previously possible, the ability to verify tags on cases in the middle of a pallet of RF-unfriendly products, and the ability to locate tags more precisely at dock doors, in warehouses and on store shelves. And both promise to lower the cost of deployment.
In addition, both systems are compliant with EPCglobal's second-generation UHF air interface protocol standard, and both operate within the regulatory limits for RF energy output established by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. Neither company was willing to provide photographs of its system. But it's a sure bet that when these two companies go public, you'll be hearing a lot more about them, and they'll create quite a stir in the RFID industry.
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RF Top Gun
RF Controls, based in St. Louis, was started by Graham Bloy and Thomas Ellinwood. Bloy, the company's chief technology officer, holds numerous patents in RF and related fields, and has done research and development in guidance, encryption and tracking systems, as well as in radar and satellite communications. Ellinwood, the company's CEO, was formerly general manager of Omar Tool and Machine, which makes components and systems for military aircraft and aerospace applications. He left Omar to enter the consumer packaged goods industry, where, in 1995, he orchestrated the spin-off of Pillsbury's $100 million Van de Kamp's seafood line and built it into a $500 million business.
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