Jan 10, 2013The following are news announcements made during the past week.
ThingMagic Reader to Be Part of ng Connect's Connected Service Vehicle Demo
Trimble has announced that its ThingMagic Mercury6 (M6) RFID reader will be part of the ng Connect Program's Connected Service Vehicle. Ng Connect, founded by Alcatel-Lucent, is working to bring together infrastructure, device, application and content companies to spur the development of next-generation, connected services and applications. One of its prototype initiatives, known as the Connected Service Vehicle, showcases a suite of cloud-based services designed to deliver office productivity to vehicle-based workers. In this concept vehicle, Trimble reports, the ThingMagic reader will be utilized to support work-order-based inventory-management and tool-tracking applications, in order to illustrate aspects of a typical service visit. As a collaborating member of the ng Connect Program, Trimble is providing the development platform for in-vehicle RFID solutions and sensor technology.
NXP Implements Mobile-Payment System at Its Dutch Production Facility
RFID solutions provider Identive Group has announced that its Cashless Betalen mobile-payment solution has been implemented by NXP Semiconductors, which is using the system at its production facility in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Identive provides the user interface and account-management software platform for the digital wallet utilized for the implementation, which is offered by Rabobank Group, one of Holland's leading banks. In addition, a Near Field Communication (NFC) RFID sticker from Identive, incorporating NXP's Mifare DESFire EV1 RFID chip, enables employees' phones to access and use the Cashless Betalen system. According to Identive, the solution currently allows up to 2,600 NXP employees to make quick, secure micro-payments at the company's cafeteria. Since the system's implementation in early December 2012, two of the café's four payment terminals have been designated as fast lanes that accept Cashless Betalen.
Zebra Technologies Certifies Omni-ID On-Metal Labels for Printer Compatibility
Ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tag manufacturer Omni-ID, has announced that Zebra Technologies has certified Omni-ID's IQ 400 and IQ 600 labels for successful deployment and printing with Zebra's RFID printer-encoders. The on-metal labels, unveiled in September 2012 (see Omni-ID Introduces Printable On-Metal RFID Labels), are part of Omni-ID's UltraThin line of tags aimed at making the RFID-tracking of metal and liquid items easier and less expensive. The IQ 400 and IQ 600 tags are designed to provide functionality in the form of a hard tag, the company reports, but can be printed on a thermal bar-code printer and then be affixed to an item via the tags' built-in adhesive. "Omni-ID has patented the science of on-metal RFID—now they've used that core technical capability to perfect the on-metal RFID label," said Michael Fein, Zebra Technologies' senior product manager for RFID, in a prepared statement. "Zebra's focus is on ensuring our products are easy to integrate and manage. By certifying the compatibility of our respective technologies, we are offering end users new, durable options they can seamlessly use for tracking assets in their operations."
Hong Kong RFID Intros Active RFID Reader Enclosure
Hong Kong RFID Ltd., an RFID hardware manufacturer, distributor and consultancy firm located in Hong Kong and South China, has introduced its Active RFID All-In-One Enclosure (model HKRAA-24E1). Designed for outdoor environments, the enclosure features a directional antenna inside it that can be used with the firm's Empress 2.4 GHz active RFID readers (models HKRAR-EMPOE and HKRAR-EMSP). The enclosure is compact, measuring 280 millimeters by 280 millimeters by 100 millimeters (11.02 inches by 11.02 inches by 3.9 inches), and is IP65-rated, meaning it is waterproof and dustproof. According to Hong Kong RFID, the directional antenna has achieved a maximum reading range of 150 meters (492 feet), when used with the firm's Hussar Slim Tags (model HKRAT-NT02). The enclosure can operate at a temperature range of -40 degrees to +60 degrees Celsius (-40 degrees to +140 degrees Fahrenheit).
Truecount has announced its Channel First Program, as well as a reseller agreement with J.D. Associates, a systems integrator and provider of point-of-sale and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software solutions for the retail industry. Truecount's cloud-based solution is designed for item-level tracking via radio frequency identification. The company's clients include Canadian luxury leather goods retailer Danier Leather, which is testing the system at three of its Toronto-area stores, in order to help with product replenishment on its sales floor, as well as to reduce the number of employee labor hours related to counting inventory (see Canadian Leather Retailer Pilots RFID for Replenishment Visibility). Don Capman, J.D. Associates' president, says that his firm had been evaluating RFID for years, and that the agreement with Truecount well-positions J.D. Associates to provide customers with turnkey RFID solutions. "Truecount is the only solution we have found that provides enterprise-class functionality for both the mid-sized retail market and larger retail brands," he said in a prepared statement. "Importantly, Truecount's cloud-based model presents the lowest cost and easiest deployment of any solution currently on the market."
InvoTech Systems' RFID Solution Tracks Uniforms at Santa Ana Star Casino and Mandarin Oriental, Boston
InvoTech Systems recently announced that two hospitality companies are new adopters of its RFID-enabled solution designed to track and manage employee uniforms: Santa Ana Star Casino and luxury hotel Mandarin Oriental, Boston. Peggy Morrell, Santa Ana Star Casino's director of purchasing, says her company installed the InvoTech solution when it purchased 9,000 new uniforms for 500 of its staff members, and built its uniform room with InvoTech in mind so that it could manage all uniform activity with only two part-time employees. The system, explains Morrell, monitors and records every employee's uniform assignment, while also providing comprehensive reporting that reduces uniform purchase costs. Mandarin Oriental, Boston is utilizing InvoTech's RFID solution to manage its 300 employees' uniforms as well. The system, InvoTech reports, is helping the hotel to control garment inventories and reduce expenses from uniform losses, laundry activity and daily labor. The hotel previously counted and tracked each garment by hand, says Alain Negueloua, the general manager of Mandarin Oriental, Boston. The hotel sewed a durable EPC Gen 2 passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tag into a pouch on each of its more than 2,000 uniforms. The tag enables InvoTech's solution to track each garment's movements from laundry to storage and on to an employee, via antennas placed at strategic locations. According to InvoTech, both the Santa Ana Star Casino and Mandarin Oriental, Boston are using Impinj Speedway Revolution RFID readers and Fujitsu Laundry RFID tags.
NFC Forum Forges Links With Global Certification Forum, Int'l Air Transport Association and Wi-Fi Alliance
The NFC Forum, a nonprofit industry association promoting the adoption of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, has announced alliances with three industry groups: the Global Certification Forum (GCF), a partnership of cellular network operators, mobile device manufacturers and the test industry that has created an independent certification program to help ensure global interoperability between mobile devices and networks; the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade group comprising airlines around the globe; and the Wi-Fi Alliance, a global nonprofit industry association composed of hundreds of leading companies devoted to seamless connectivity. The goal of the partnerships, the NFC Forum reports, is to facilitate joint work in order to further the adoption, reach and impact of NFC technology in a number of key markets and industries, including mobile communications, air travel and Wi-Fi communications. Collaborative activities will include work on market education, global interoperability and mobile testing. Under the terms of their liaison agreement, GCF and the NFC Forum will work together to identify certification requirements impacting NFC-enabled 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) wireless devices embedding NFC and 3GPP technologies; develop processes and procedures to ensure the robustness, reliability and transparency of NFC-enabled 3GPP wireless device certification; and deliver joint announcements and collaborative marketing programs. GCF's members include a variety of cellular and wireless communications service providers, such as Sprint, Orange UK, Verizon Communications and mobile device manufacturers such as Motorola Mobility (now owned by Google) and RFID reader provider Motorola Solutions. IATA and the NFC Forum will work to raise awareness in the market, and help build the ecosystem for NFC technology. The agreement will include such outreach programs as workshops for airlines and airports, white papers, case studies, webcasts and events. In March 2011, IATA teamed up with the GSM Association (GSMA), an organization composed of licensed GSM mobile network operators and the technology vendors that serve them, to produce a white paper detailing the benefits that NFC can bring to airlines, airport authorities and travelers (see RFID News Roundup: IATA, GSMA Publish Paper on Benefits of NFC RFID to Airlines, Travelers). IATA has its own NFC-driven project, as well: the Fast Travel initiative, aimed at providing self-service options in six areas of a passengers' airport journey (self-service check-in, self-tagging bags, document scanning, flight rebooking, self-boarding and bag recovery) by leveraging various technologies, including RFID. Under the terms of the NFC Forum and Wi-Fi Alliance agreement, both organizations will exchange approved documents, share information regarding program schedules, work jointly on NFC Forum Application Documents describing the use of NFC for Wi-Fi network configuration, cooperate on shared marketing material to promote certification programs, and participate in joint events.
