Dec 01, 2016The following are news announcements made during the past week by the following organizations:
Smartrac;
Suprema;
Technavio;
Research and Markets;
On Track Innovations, Vend Access, and Card Access Services
.
Smartrac Releases Dual-Frequency Prelam for Contactless Cards, Establishes Global Distribution Agreement With Future Electronics
Smartrac has announced the Dual Frequency Prelam, its latest RFID inlay suitable for public-transport applications. The new product combines one pre-laminated inlay (Prelam) with two secure contactless chips, one high-frequency (HF) and the other ultrahigh-frequency (UHF), on a single card.
The card's dual-frequency capability allows transport operators to select the type of revenue-collection method that is appropriate at the point of entry. For example, transport operators can allow for hands-free or be-in-be-out (BIBO) fare collection in very large human traffic channels, or for physically challenged commuters. In standard entry or exit, check-in-check-out (CICO) fare-collection reader terminals can be deployed.
With the progress of technology in automatic fare-collection systems, Smartrac reports, the approach to revenue fare collection has undergone major changes. Account-based ticketing as an alternative to CICO ticketing will become most popular as a complimentary solution, the company indicates. The Dual Frequency Prelam enables transport automatic fare collection systems to become more convenient to commuters, as well as improve traffic flow at both the entry and exit points of a transport system.
"The benefits of Smartrac patented technology in this product include very strong bonding of the different layers of sheets in the Prelam, anti-crack design to prevent chip crack during end lamination and harmonized tuning of HF antenna and UHF antenna," said Daniel Lim, the head of Smartrac's global business line transport for secure ID and transactions. "Card manufacturers can fully customize their Dual Frequency Prelams depending on the required write-read performance of the contactless chip card".
Available in PVC, PC, PET-G or Teslin versions, the Dual Frequency Prelam comes with several combinations of secure contactless chips. For HF, customers can choose between NXP Semiconductors' Mifare DESFire EV2, Sony's FeliCa RC-SA01 4KB and Infineon's myD4Move chip. The UHF chip offerings include NXP's Ucode DNA and Impinj's Monza chip.
In addition, Smatrac has signed a distribution partnership with Future Electronics, one of the world's largest electronics components distributors. The cooperation with Smartrac represents Future Electronics' first venture into RFID technology.
The distribution partnership went into effect on Nov. 1, 2016, and covers Smartrac's portfolio of standard inlays and tags in the UHF/RAIN and HF frequencies, including Near Field Communication (NFC). For these products, Future Electronics will act as a stocking and value-added distributor, involving its global engineering and sales staff, including the company's System Design Centers in Montreal, Canada; Egham, England; Gdansk, Poland; Shenzhen, China; and Bangalore, India.
According to Ted Danhauser, Smartrac's VP of sales for the Americas and global segment head for pharmaceuticals and health care in the company's Intelligent Things Business division, the distribution partnership will broaden the firm's customer base, with a focus on the industrial, automotive and health-care segments. "We are very pleased to partner with one of the world's leading solution-centric distributors," he said in a prepared statement. "Staffed effectively around the globe and focused on wireless connectivity and the IoT, Future Electronics represents a very valuable addition to Smartrac's sales network."
Suprema Launches RFID-enabled Access-Control Device
Suprema, a provider of biometrics and security technologies, has announced the launch of its BioEntry W2 outdoor fingerprint access-control device. The BioEntry W2 comes with a 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU with a matching speed of up to 150,000 matches per second. With its 2 GB memory, the company reports, the BioEntry W2 can store and manage up to 500,000 users, providing instant matching results with minimal lag time.
The device combines an enhanced fingerprint algorithm, a new fingerprint sensor and live finger-detection technology. According to the company, the algorithm is more accurate than its predecessor, reduces false rejection rates to improve security level, and compensates for unsatisfactory fingerprint captures, such as direct sunlight conditions or distorted finger images. The BioEntry W2 features Suprema's patented live fingerprint detection technology, which is designed to eliminate possible fraud using various fake fingerprint materials, including clay, rubber, silicon, paper and film.
The BioEntry W2 sports dual-frequency multi-card reading technology. Supporting all HID multiCLASS-compatible RFID standards, the device features both low-frequency (125 Khz) and high-frequency (13.56 MHz) RFID technology, and can read most types of RFID card standards with a single device, including Mifare, HID iCLASS, DESFire, FeliCa, HID Prox, EM and Near Field Communication (NFC).
"From the designing stage of BioEntry W2, we aimed to bring the most versatile biometric access-control solution, regardless of environment, RFID standards and size of the projects it covers," said Young S. Moon, Suprema's VP, in a prepared statement. "Our target markets for BioEntry W2 are U.K. and E.U. countries, where there is significant demand for biometric solution with outdoor-ready structure and future-proof technology to cope with fast evolving authentication methods. The new BioEntry W2 provides IP67-rated dust and water protection and IK08-rated vandal-proof structure for outdoor installation. Its innovative multi-RFID reading covers almost every RFID standard in the market and will benefits users with effective integration with legacy systems, as well as provide users with the capability of adopting new authentication methods into their existing system, including RFID, mobile and biometrics."
Technavio Report Predicts U.S. RTLS Market Will Grow By 45 Percent Through 2020
Analysts at Technavio have released a report predicting that the real-time location systems (RTLS) market in the United States will grow by 45 percent during the forecast period of 2016 to 2020. The research study also lists the transportation, health-care, retail and government sectors as four major application segments for the RTLS market.
"RTLS and radio-frequency identification tags help in increasing the efficiency and reducing the operational cost of enterprises," said Abhishek Sharma, a lead analyst at Technavio for machine-to-machine (M2M) and connected devices research, in a prepared statement, "including small and medium-sized enterprises."
In the health-care sector, many hospitals are deploying RTLS tags to improve operations and increase profitability. Such tags are used to monitor sensitive equipment, patients and hospital personnel, including doctors and nurses. High-frequency (HF) and ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tags are widely used for such purposes as tracking and locating critical medical devices, managing inventory, and monitoring and identifying patients.
"In addition, tracking surgical instruments and other reusable medical equipment using RTLS solutions helps in automating the sterile processing workflow regarding cleaning, sterilizing and distributing medical equipment and critical supplies," Sharma said in the statement. "Therefore, the health-care sector offers a huge opportunity for the RTLS market in the U.S."
A sample of the report can be requested here. The sample is free of charge and contains multiple sections, including market size and forecast, drivers, challenges and trends. The report highlights four factors that contribute to the growth of the RTLS market in the United States: the increased use of RTLS tags in the health-care sector, the increased use of RTLS solutions in transportation and logistics, a decline in the cost of RFID tags and an increase in the use of 3D platforms.
NFC Market Expected to Reach $47 Billion by 2024
Research and Markets has announced the release of its "Near Field Communication (NFC) Market Analysis By Product, By Application And Segment Forecasts Till 2024" report, which predicts that the global Near Field Communication (NFC) market will reach $47.43 billion by 2024.
According to the report, the industry is poised for unprecedented growth during the forecast period, owing to the increasing penetration of smartphones in the developing economy. Increasing adoption of mobile-payment services has led to the intensive utilization of point-of-sale (POS) devices with the launch of e-wallet and Apple Watch, the research indicates. Banking entities, payment gateways and payment processors are expected to expand the capabilities for accommodating the new enhanced technology. The emergence of mobile wallet services, the report adds, has allowed users to pay for services through mobile devices or through cashless payment modes, which have further enhanced NFC market growth.
According to the report, the increasing demand for NFC-based payment solutions has led manufacturers to develop an enhanced version of the digital payment platform, further developing market growth. Growing penetration of wearable technology devices as a significant component of the Internet of Things has contributed to this growth.
The emergence of mobile wallets, such as Android Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, is expected to further drive mobile-payments growth, the report indicates, due to their capability of paying through mobile phones instead of cards or other cashless-payment modes. The increasing number of vendors is anticipated to increase the concentration and propel the development of NFC infrastructure, thus accelerating market growth.
Companies mentioned in the report include Broadcom, Gemalto, Identiv Group, Inside Secure, Meditek, Infineon Technologies, NXP Semiconductors, Huawei Technologies and On Track Innovations (OTI). More information about this report is available here.
OTI, Vend Access, Card Access Services to Provide Cashless-Payment Solutions in Australia
On Track Innovations (OTI), a global provider of Near Field Communication (NFC) and cashless-payment solutions, has announced its entry into the Australian cashless-payments market, in cooperation with Vend Access Pty Ltd. (VA), a provider of technology and solutions for vending and unattended machine operators in Australia, and Card Access Services Pty Ltd., a payment gateway and processor for Australian and international businesses.
Vend Access will distribute OTI's otiMetry solution, which includes Near Field Communication (NFC)-based cashless readers and a telemetry system. Card Access Services will provide the gateway and processing services for otiMetry systems installed and operated by VA. According to the companies, the otiMetry solution makes vending and self-service operation smart and interactive, by incorporating telemetry, sales, operations and marketing into a single solution with real-time management capabilities. "Vend Access's practical experience, matched with Card Access Services' e-payment management from OTI's terminals and otiMetry, will improve earnings for vending owners," said Bill Chronarakis, Vend Access's general manager, in a prepared statement.
"The close cooperation with Vend Access and with Card Access Services, which has over 28 years of experience in the payment industry and their outstanding support and customer oriented approach, ensure that Australian self-service machine operators will be getting a reliable and comprehensive solution at an affordable price," said Shlomi Cohen, OTI's CEO, in the prepared statement.
Stelios Savva, Card Access Services' General Manager, added in the statement, "Card Access Services is proud to connect Vend Access' clients with OTI's quality products and communications facilities for vending applications in Australia. Vend Access' industry background, its experience in providing diversified payment solutions combined with OTI's reputable cashless readers and telemetry provides an integrated and end-to-end solution to the Australian self-serve market, including vending machines, laundromats, kiosks, car wash, dog wash, gaming and other verticals."
Vend Access is expected to initiate commercial installations of the integrated solution during the fourth quarter of this year.
