Xterprise Releases Mobile RFID Package for Item-Level Tracking

A customer also selects one of three options. The first is to purchase the handheld readers, tags and tag-encoding services, and to pay a monthly access and software license, as well as support and software maintenance fees to use the Clarity Mobile Web Application via Microsoft's Windows Azure cloud technology, in order to access tag location data and reporting functions on the hosted server, via the Internet. A second option is to sign up for a "technology as a service" contract that covers everything for a specific amount of time, such as three years or less, with monthly payments. And the third option is to purchase not only the handheld readers, tags and tag-encoding services, but also the Clarity Mobile software for the handheld and a central server, and to then pay an annual fee for software support and maintenance.

Based on the information provided in the questionnaire, Xterprise selects and encodes the appropriate EPC Gen 2 UHF tags for the application, and delivers them, along with the appropriate number of Motorola MC3090-Z handheld readers, to the end user so that it can then attach those tags to the items it intends to track. The handheld readers are loaded with Clarity Mobile software, which receives and transmits data regarding the ID tags being read, and is configured to support the customer's catalog and/or item details and zones that will be used to identify where the items are located. The entire process, from filling out the questionnaire to the system's delivery, takes about six to 10 weeks, the company reports.

According to Xterprise, the handhelds can be used to conduct inventory or search for specific items. Clarity Mobile software on the devices will allow users to indicate in which zone they are located, as well as search for an item with a "Geiger counter" or locate items based on a search for one or more of the six specific categories attributed to each item (such as size, color or brand). The Clarity Mobile Web application—or, for customers that opt to purchase the entire package, the software running on a server—enables users to manage their product catalog based on RFID data (for example, assets or inventory can be added or deleted) and run reports on item locations and transactions.

The unique element to this solution, Frew says, is its versatility as a generic solution that can be used across multiple industries. Although he declines to provide specific pricing—which he says would vary depending on the particular deployment—it would typically cost well below 50 percent of the price tag of a fixed-reader solution.