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Hong Kong Center Aims to Put China at the Forefront of RFID Growth
RFID readers are expected to be widely used as mobile devices, with mobility and security vital, but the LSCM believes current UHF RFID protocols lack sufficient built-in security mechanisms. The center is, therefore, funding research and development into low-cost, lightweight RFID reader chips tailor-made for near-field applications, with a proprietary secured communication engine compatible with current UHF EPC Gen 2 protocols, reduced complexity and power consumption, and minimized silicon cost for lower system integration expense.
Although most near-field RFID chips and protocols operate in the low-frequency (125 or 134 kHz) or high-frequency (13.56 MHz) ranges, the use of near-field tags and interrogators operating in the UHF band (860-960 MHz) is gaining momentum. Near-field UHF RFID has many advantages, such as lower tag cost, better read rates and anti-collision handling when interrogating large numbers of tags. The project aims to design a low-cost, low-power reader chip especially optimized for near-field applications.
Last year, the center provided HK$12.85 million (US$1.66 million) for a packaging-specific RFID tagging and embedding project. RFID tagging is becoming critical in product packaging, due to mandates from many of the world's largest retailers, including Wal-Mart. Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region are home to one of the largest manufacturing and production centers, which package many products with RFID labels.
But current tagging procedures rely on the "slap-and-ship" method of putting RFID labels onto product packaging, which can be time-consuming, prone to damaging the tags and not cost-effective. The performance of RFID tag antennas is also dependent on the materials of the packaging and its contents. So the LSCM is funding the project to design product-specific RFID tags that are tuned and optimized for the packaging materials, then embed the tags into packages.
The center has developed a number of prototypes for UHF applications, including 3-D antennas that conform to the shape of packaging, self-destructive antennas embedded within package seals for tamper-proof applications, and antennas for metal-based packaging.
Although most near-field RFID chips and protocols operate in the low-frequency (125 or 134 kHz) or high-frequency (13.56 MHz) ranges, the use of near-field tags and interrogators operating in the UHF band (860-960 MHz) is gaining momentum. Near-field UHF RFID has many advantages, such as lower tag cost, better read rates and anti-collision handling when interrogating large numbers of tags. The project aims to design a low-cost, low-power reader chip especially optimized for near-field applications.
Last year, the center provided HK$12.85 million (US$1.66 million) for a packaging-specific RFID tagging and embedding project. RFID tagging is becoming critical in product packaging, due to mandates from many of the world's largest retailers, including Wal-Mart. Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region are home to one of the largest manufacturing and production centers, which package many products with RFID labels.
But current tagging procedures rely on the "slap-and-ship" method of putting RFID labels onto product packaging, which can be time-consuming, prone to damaging the tags and not cost-effective. The performance of RFID tag antennas is also dependent on the materials of the packaging and its contents. So the LSCM is funding the project to design product-specific RFID tags that are tuned and optimized for the packaging materials, then embed the tags into packages.
The center has developed a number of prototypes for UHF applications, including 3-D antennas that conform to the shape of packaging, self-destructive antennas embedded within package seals for tamper-proof applications, and antennas for metal-based packaging.
