May 26, 2016The following are news announcements made during the past week by the following organizations: Thin Film Electronics, Hopsy; Confidex; Genesis Health System; Turck; Juniper Research; and
United Lincolnshire Hospitals.
Thinfilm and Hopsy Deliver Smart Beer to the Craft Brew Market
Thin Film Electronics (Thinfilm), a provider of printed electronics and smart systems, has announced a partnership with Hopsy, a local craft beer marketplace and beer delivery service. The two companies will collaborate to integrate Thinfilm's NFC OpenSense technology into a variety of locally produced craft beers across the United States. The wireless NFC tags will enable microbreweries to engage with and educate consumers, as well as differentiate their respective brands.
Thinfilm's OpenSense product line features thin, flexible labels that can both detect a product's "factory sealed" and "opened" states and wirelessly communicate information to consumers via the tap of an NFC-enabled smartphone. The tags were initially designed for use on bottles, in order to authenticate a bottle's contents or to indicate (when the tag is read) if its seal has been broken (see Thinfilm Launches OpenSense Printed NFC Sensor Label for Bottles).
Hopsy enables consumers to order fresh draft beer from local breweries and have it delivered to their door. The beer is packaged in 32-ounce glass containers known as growlettes, each of which will feature an NFC OpenSense tag as part of its label. Hopsy reports that it will work with its partner breweries to deliver a range of rich content through the NFC tags, including brewery information, product details, videos and more. Hopsy currently offers more than 20 different beers from 12 San Francisco Bay Area breweries, and plans to access more beers and breweries soon. The company intends to launch the first growlettes featuring Thinfilm's NFC labels by mid-June 2016.
Confidex Unveils Secure RFID Label With NXP Ucode DNA Chip
Confidex has introduced a new passive, ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) passive RFID windshield label design that features cryptography and a thin, tamper-evident structure for high-security smart traffic-management applications.
The Confidex Xenon VIP improves the security level of RFID-based smart traffic solutions, the company reports, such as high-speed automatic vehicle identification (AVI), automated toll collection, and parking and access-control solutions for highly populated metropolitan areas.
By utilizing NXP Semiconductors' Ucode DNA chip, Confidex Xenon VIP combines long-range contactless RF performance with cryptographic security implementation. Security features, the company indicates, include two 128-bit AES keys and an AES digital core for cryptographic authentication for the first time in smart traffic applications. The Ucode DNA integrated circuit, which debuted a year ago, is a passive EPC Gen 2 UHF RFID chip that, according to NXP, is the first to provide cryptographic authentication (see NXP Releases IC for Secure Encrypted UHF Reads). By using a dynamic password that changes with each read event, and by requiring verification of each password from a server, the Ucode DNA is aimed at preventing eavesdropping and tag cloning.
The standard Xenon VIP label measures 107 millimeters by 21.5 millimeters (4.2 inches by 0.8 inch) and has a white, printable label surface. The Xenon VIP can be factory-encoded and personalized as well, with variable bar codes and QR codes, and is also available as a custom upsized label with custom-specified materials. Additional security features are also available on request, Confidex reports.
Genesis Health System Implements RFID-enabled Nurse-Call System
Critical Alert Systems, a provider of nurse-call solutions for hospitals and health systems, has announced that Genesis Health System has implemented the Critical Alert Nurse Call solution at four hospitals as part of its continuing efforts to improve HCAHPS scores—a national, standardized, publicly reported survey of patients' perspectives of hospital care—as well as clinical staff productivity and operational efficiency. The Critical Alert Nurse Call is integrated with Stanley Healthcare's AeroScout real-time location system (RTLS) platform, which Genesis Health System previously installed.
Genesis Health System serves the Quad City region of Iowa and Illinois, and comprises six hospitals, 35 Genesis Health Group sites, 15 physical rehabilitation clinics and multiple outpatient service centers. The health-care group has been using the AeroScout RTLS in its operations since as far back as 2008 (see Genesis Health System Uses RFID to Drill Deeper).
Through Critical Alert's native integration with the asset-management and staff-workflow solutions of the AeroScout platform, Genesis Health System is able to gain automated data capture, analysis and reporting of staff locations, activities, and responses to alerts and patient requests. Stanley Healthcare's RTLS technology leverages Wi-Fi networks to provide real-time updates regarding the statuses and locations of patients, caregivers and equipment throughout the hospital. The AeroScout RTLS solution utilizes battery-powered RFID tags that transmit unique ID numbers via the Wi-Fi protocol.
Some of the key benefits for Genesis Health System include a feature that can automatically cancel call alerts when nurses with proper credentials enter a patient's room, thereby eliminating the need to manually press buttons on staff stations; end-to-end visibility of patient experience, caregiver mobility and clinical workflow; and detailed reporting that shows the effectiveness of rounding procedures, allowing for effective process improvements to proactively address patient's needs. In addition, the companies report, the system enables nurses to focus more on patient care instead of numerous gadgets, thus creating a better perception of care with patients. Critical Alert's Workflow Dashboard integrates information from diverse systems and devices, and displays it on a single unified console, providing reporting and analysis for bed-level presence of the clinical staff and rounding compliance across all departments and facilities. According to the companies, this enables streamlined clinical communications between patients and personnel, softens the impact of clinical interruptions, and enables a more robust workflow reporting and optimization capability.
Critical Alert has integrated its software with clinical communications devices, smartphones, RTLS technology and other third-party alarms, virtually eliminating the need for middleware and all of its associated hardware, software and maintenance requirements, according to Critical Alert and Stanley Healthcare. Critical Alert provides native integrations with wireless clinical communications devices from Vocera, Cisco, PatientSafe, Mobile Heartbeat, Spectralink and Voalte.
Turck Says New ARGEE Technology Can Help Factories Simplify RFID Integration
Turck has announced a new technology called ARGEE (A Really Great Engineering Environment) that can help engineers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and solution providers integrate RFID technology into automation and manufacturing equipment. ARGEE is a Web-based programming environment that lets users set conditions and actions directly at the field level, and that empowers manufacturers to add logic to compatible I/O devices without a PLC, by turning such devices into field logic controllers (FLCs).
In a white paper, Turck describes how FLC technology can add RFID functionality to a company's production line. FLC allows engineers to add read-write capabilities to any I/O block. Turck cites the example of an RFID application that moves a packed box once it is filled to capacity with 12 RFID-tagged parts. A light needs to be switched on in order to signal when a box is full. With FLC, that functionality can be programmed directly to the block. Each time a tagged product passes a sensor, the FLC technology logs the value. Once the total value equals 12, the light activates for a set time, and the counter restarts.
PLCs have been the device of choice for automating and controlling machine operation, making them the head of automated processes, issued by Turck. But engineers have recently begun asking why they need to invest in a PLC, Turck reports, since they can be expensive and require dedicated software. The FLC, a new category of control that brings logic programming to the device level, is a viable option, Turck adds. By taking advantage of ARGEE on Turck's multiprotocol Ethernet I/O devices, manufacturers can realize field logic controllers.
FLCs benefit small to mid-size OEMs and manufacturers looking to add logic without investing in a PLC. An FLC can perform all logic as a standalone application without a PLC, and can also serve as a back-up to the PLC. If the FLC loses communication with the PLC, the FLC can take over and either shut down or maintain the process. Finally, the two can work together, with the FLC monitoring an application and sending defined variables and updates back to the PLC.
The ARGEE environment is accessible via an HTML5-compatible Web browser, eliminating the need for the complex third-party software or licensing common with PLCs. Inside the ARGEE environment, users can set condition and action statements to be carried out by the I/O device. The application's intuitive design includes a flow chart—similar to ladder logic—which allows for easy programming by users of all experience levels.
ARGEE technology is standard in all Turck multiprotocol Ethernet I/O devices.
Beacons Set to Drive Coupon Redemption, According to Juniper Research
Almost 1.6 billion coupons will be delivered annually to consumers via Bluetooth BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy, or Bluetooth Smart) beacon technology by 2020, according to a new study from Juniper Research. This is up from just 11 million in 2016, as retailers seek to develop proximity marketing campaigns in and around their stores.
The study, titled "Digital Retail Marketing: Coupons, Advertising & Consumer Engagement 2015-2020," found that while the digital retail marketing industry will continue to be dominated by advertising revenues, coupon contributions will see strong growth—driven, in part, by the rise of Bluetooth beacons.
When smartphones and mobile devices have their Bluetooth technology enabled, they can receive the unique ID number transmitted by a beacon, enabling retailers to push pertinent content and other information to those devices. The report predicts that more than 80 percent of all coupons issued will be on mobile devices by 2020, as opposed to less than 20 percent on PCs and laptops.
Several leading U.S. retailers have now deployed beacon networks, with Macy's having installed more than 4,000 at its stores (see Macy's Expands RFID and Beacon Deployments).
Juniper forecasts that spending on digital retail marketing is set to increase from $174 billion in 2015 to $362.1 billion by 2020—a substantial growth driven, in part, by Bluetooth beacons. "Beacons are set to provide a boost to retailers, as we see major players promote in-store offers and deals though mobile devices, targeting consumers whilst they are shopping," said research author Lauren Foye in a prepared statement. "Coupled with loyalty schemes and rewards, retailers have clear potential to monetize those setting foot in their stores, aiding in promoting more traditional bricks and mortar retail."
According to Juniper, there is significant potential for out-of-home proximity advertising, with beacons starting to be rolled out on buses, metros and taxis, targeting locations that see high footfall.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust Implements RFID Tracking
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, one of the largest acute hospital trusts in England, has selected Harland Simon to supply a Stanley Healthcare real-time location system (RTLS) to help improve the management of mobile medical devices.
Stanley Healthcare's RTLS uses Wi-Fi networks to provide real-time updates regarding the statuses and locations of more than 1,500 devices at the hospital trust. Starting with fast-moving equipment, such as volumetric infusion pumps, bladder scanners and procedure ultrasounds, devices will be tracked with an accuracy of 3 to 5 meters (9.8 to 16.4 feet) across three main sites: Lincoln County Hospital, Pilgrim Hospital Boston, and Grantham and District Hospital.
The RTLS solution utilizes battery-powered RFID tags that transmit unique ID numbers via the Wi-Fi protocol. Each device to be tracked is fitted with an active Wi-Fi RFID tag that broadcasts its unique ID at pre-set intervals. The hospital's own Wi-Fi network infrastructure picks up the signals, and the data is then sent to a central database, which calculates each tagged device's current location. Clinical personnel at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust will use a simple pictorial user search screen to help locate equipment quickly and free up valuable time for patient care.
Key to the implementation by Harland Simon was the integration with the trust's own equipment inventory database, known as MEMS. This means that location data for every device is available to clinical engineering staff via MEMS, according to Harland Simon, and that there is no need for dual entry of device data. The new system, the company reports, will help improve visibility and utilization, in order to save capital expenditure and cut down on valuable time that workers spend locating medical equipment that has been moved with a patient.
"We needed a tracking solution to support the implementation of a virtual medical equipment library to serve our three hospitals" said Dr. Chris Hacking, United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust's head of clinical engineering, in a prepared statement. "The solution provided by Harland Simon and Stanley Healthcare is ideal for us, as it uses our existing Wi-Fi system, and with 600 devices tagged so far, we are already seeing great results in locating equipment. We didn't realize just how much our equipment moves around within each hospital and between hospitals. The system will be a great help in getting transportable medical equipment to the right place at the right time for patient benefit."
