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Dash7 Alliance Seeks to Promote RFID Hardware Based on ISO 18000-7 Standard
Other RFID hardware providers in the alliance are Hi-G-Tek and Identec Solutions. The two companies announced a partnership last summer in which they would band together to create offerings to the Department of Defense (see DOD Issues RFP for Active RFID), per the RFID III contract's request for proposals. RFind is also a member, but does not list any ISO 18000-7 tags on its Web site.
Also joining Dash7 are semiconductor firms Analog Devices, STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments.
The Department of Defense represents a major end user of ISO 18000-7 tags, but the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is another potentially major consumer of the hardware, as noted by James Shuler, manager of the DOE's Packaging Certification Program, during a press conference held to introduce the Dash7 Alliance. The DOE, through its Argonne National Laboratory, has conducted extensive testing of Savi's ST-676 tags, which the lab modified with a range of environmental sensors. It plans to utilize the tags, in combination with other technologies, to monitor the location and condition of nuclear materials in transit. "These materials need to be managed for safety during storage, transportation and disposal," he explains. "Combining RFID with specific sensors allows the DOE to monitor and manage radioactive material in real time."
Outside of government agencies, end users participating in Dash7 are Dow Chemical and Michelin. Dow, a long-time user of RFID technology for such applications as tracking its chemicals in transit, has been pushing for a tag standard that could be used globally (see China Endorses ISO 18000-7 433 MHz Standard). Michelin, meanwhile, is a proponent of employing interoperable passive RFID tags for tire tracking, and also employs active 433 MHz RFID tags in two different tire pressure monitoring systems—one for cross-country trucks, and another for heavy-duty construction trucks, known as earth-movers. Both systems employ proprietary air-interface protocols, according to Pat King, Michelin's global electronics strategist. Helping to create and promote the use of single, interoperable standards for RFID systems is King's main job at Michelin, he says, which is why the company supports Dash7. However, the firm has yet to play an active role in the alliance's efforts.
Mike Liard, an analyst with ABI Research, showered praise on the alliance in a research brief, noting that the group shows "an enhanced sense of collaboration around a common cause." Liard further noted that ABI "foresees the Dash7 Alliance becoming a potential model for standard-centric market development of which other RFID-related and wireless technologies can emulate."
Aside from fostering collaboration among competing technology providers to promote the use of active 433 MHz tags across industries, another major goal of the Dash7 Alliance is to promote and push for the use of ISO 18000-7 tags for applications currently implemented with other wireless systems. These include ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) active tags, Wi-Fi-based tags and tags following the ZigBee protocol.
Also joining Dash7 are semiconductor firms Analog Devices, STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments.
The Department of Defense represents a major end user of ISO 18000-7 tags, but the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is another potentially major consumer of the hardware, as noted by James Shuler, manager of the DOE's Packaging Certification Program, during a press conference held to introduce the Dash7 Alliance. The DOE, through its Argonne National Laboratory, has conducted extensive testing of Savi's ST-676 tags, which the lab modified with a range of environmental sensors. It plans to utilize the tags, in combination with other technologies, to monitor the location and condition of nuclear materials in transit. "These materials need to be managed for safety during storage, transportation and disposal," he explains. "Combining RFID with specific sensors allows the DOE to monitor and manage radioactive material in real time."
Outside of government agencies, end users participating in Dash7 are Dow Chemical and Michelin. Dow, a long-time user of RFID technology for such applications as tracking its chemicals in transit, has been pushing for a tag standard that could be used globally (see China Endorses ISO 18000-7 433 MHz Standard). Michelin, meanwhile, is a proponent of employing interoperable passive RFID tags for tire tracking, and also employs active 433 MHz RFID tags in two different tire pressure monitoring systems—one for cross-country trucks, and another for heavy-duty construction trucks, known as earth-movers. Both systems employ proprietary air-interface protocols, according to Pat King, Michelin's global electronics strategist. Helping to create and promote the use of single, interoperable standards for RFID systems is King's main job at Michelin, he says, which is why the company supports Dash7. However, the firm has yet to play an active role in the alliance's efforts.
Aside from fostering collaboration among competing technology providers to promote the use of active 433 MHz tags across industries, another major goal of the Dash7 Alliance is to promote and push for the use of ISO 18000-7 tags for applications currently implemented with other wireless systems. These include ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) active tags, Wi-Fi-based tags and tags following the ZigBee protocol.
