Apr 06, 2017The following are news announcements made during the past week by the following organizations:
Avery Dennison RFID, Target;
Alien Technology, SOTI;
Linxens Group, Smartrac;
Mist;
Senseon;
Urbanest Darling Square, ASSA ABLOY Hospitality; and
Identiv.
Avery Dennison RFID Announces Partnership With Target
Avery Dennison RFID has announced a global radio frequency identification partnership agreement with Target Corp., as part of Target's deployment of RFID technology to more than 1,600 stores to help maximize inventory availability and deliver an enhanced guest experience. This deployment is the largest of its kind.
Target is leveraging Avery Dennison's broad UHF RFID portfolio for a variety of category and performance needs, including apparel and a number of home products. In addition, Avery Dennison RFID tags have been integrated with current trim products in order to optimize the branding of the garments being tagged.
"In the apparel industry, having an accurate picture of stock availability is an important driver for retailers to deliver an optimized omnichannel experience," said Bill Toney, Avery Dennison's VP of RFID market development, in a prepared statement. "We are honored to be selected by Target as a key business partner for this initiative." Avery Dennison and Target have declined to comment for this story.
Alien Technology, SOTI Add Automation, Orchestration Capabilities to Android RFID Handhelds
Alien Technology, a provider of UHF RFID products and services, has announced the availability of SOTI's MobiControl enterprise mobility management (EMM) solution on Alien's Android-based ALR-H450 line of handheld RFID readers. The ALR-H450 has been certified for use with MobiControl, and several of Alien's partners have already introduced products utilizing SOTI's EMM technology.
"Alien's fast, long-range Android RFID reader has experienced rapid market adoption, and a number of customers with large roll-outs required the ability to remotely manage their devices," said Neil Mitchell, Alien Technology's senior director of marketing, in a prepared statement. "The provision of the SOTI MobiControl EMM solution on Alien Android-based RFID solutions empowers customers with large or distributed supply chains to simply manage their installations without delay."
"We are introducing advanced automation and orchestration capabilities in close partnership with Alien Technology," said Shash Anand, SOTI's VP of strategic alliances, in the prepared statement. "Together, we offer leading enterprise mobility management capabilities and Android-based RFID technology, deepening the reach of our vertical leadership in warehouse, logistics and supply chain management."
Linxens Acquires Smartrac's Secure ID & Transactions Business
RFID and Internet of Things company Smartrac has announced that it has completed the divesture of its Secure ID & Transactions Business Division to the Linxens Group. The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
The transaction, first announced in November 2016 (see Smartrac Sells Secure ID & Transactions Business to Linxens), enables Smartrac to develop RFID products and IoT-based solutions for retail, automotive, health care and other industries. According to Smartrac, it will retain its global manufacturing and sales network, its patent portfolio and its RFID production capacities.
"The divestiture of our Secure ID & Transactions Business Division gives us a greater opportunity to focus on the development of cutting edge products and solutions, both of which provide strong growth opportunities in the markets," said Christian Uhl, Smartrac's CEO, in a prepared statement. "We extend our appreciation to the individuals within the Secure ID & Transactions team who helped lead and grow this Business Division over the years and wish them continued success."
Linxens, headquartered near Paris, designs and manufactures smart-card connectors, inlays and LED light sources. The French company will take over all employees, assets and contractual obligations assigned to Smartrac's Secure ID & Transactions Business Division, and will be allowed to use the Smartrac brand for that business for a period of up to 24 months.
Mist Offers BLE Platform for Scalable, Standards-Based Asset Visibility
Mist, a provider of smart wireless networking systems, has announced a new asset-visibility service. This new service, an extension of the company's Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) offering, enables companies in almost any vertical to locate mobile devices and assets using standard BLE technology. In addition, Mist has expanded its recently announced BLE Alliance program to include new strategic vendors that share a common goal of using BLE asset visibility to save time and money while improving operational efficiencies.
"Many usage scenarios exist for indoor location services," said Gartner's Tim Zimmerman and Annette Zimmerman in a prepared statement. "They differ in the types of people or assets being tracked whose location is needed to improve not only a business process, but also the granularity that is required to make better business decisions, such as optimized maintenance and staffing."
"Mist is the first vendor to offer an open, scalable wireless networking platform that brings connectivity, indoor location services, asset tracking and IoT together in a seamless and cost-effective manner," said Sudheer Matta, Mist's VP of products, in the prepared statement. "The whole Mist platform leverages machine learning and modern cloud technologies to simplify wireless operations and deliver amazing new location based services."
Example use cases for Mist's Asset Visibility service include health care—users can locate assets, patients and caregivers and obtain real-time visibility into workflows and resource utilization; retail and warehousing—companies can find associates, forklifts, ladders, pallets and strategic assets; hospitality—businesses can optimize staffing resources based on traffic patterns, connect guests to nearby associates for rapid service, and find mobile resources like luggage carts; transport and logistics—firms can track assets and optimize paths in loading docks and warehouse; and enterprise—users can quickly locate employees in an emergency, check in visitors automatically, find available conference rooms and measure traffic patterns for resource planning.
Senseon Expands Cabinet-Locking System for Jewelers, Boutiques, Consumer Electronics
Senseon has announced additions to its Secure Access Control System, intended to broaden the ability of its keyless, cabinet-level, electronic locking system to help high-end and consumer electronics retailers improve loss prevention and enhance the customer experience.
"Designers and operators of retail jewelry, boutique and consumer electronics stores face a two-pronged dilemma: protecting merchandise and having products available for customers to touch and feel," said Greg Rewers, Senseon's solutions marketing director, in a prepared statement. "In response to their needs, we have expanded Senseon into a more adaptable and effective electronic locking system for protecting merchandise in cabinets and making it easily available for staff to create a superior shopping experience for customers."
Senseon's latest offerings include its 5EL electronic lock, suitable for securing and releasing sliding doors in display cases. The lock works with doors made of glass, wood or other materials. The 5EL can be easily concealed into virtually any design in a number of ways, the company reports. According to Senseon, the locks are up to 400 percent stronger than traditional, mechanical locks, while remaining invisible to customers and thieves, and enabling sleek furniture design.
The company's new products offer ways for jewelry, consumer electronics and boutique retailers to take advantage of in-store shopping, the company explains. "Retailers can now have peace of mind when displaying high-value merchandise like necklaces, watches and smartphones on the sales floor," Rewers added in the prepared statement. "This gives retailers the benefit of flexibility and closes the sales cycles to retain customers and enhance their overall experience."
Retailers with existing cabinets and fixtures can also benefit from the Senseon electronic locking system, the company notes. Its new 10EL side-mount drawer catch enables existing cabinetry with drawer slides to be retrofitted for a Senseon upgrade, provided that there is at least a half-inch profile.
Urbanest Darling Square Deploys ASSA ABLOY Door Lock Solutions
Urbanest Darling Square, a student accommodation complex located in Sydney, Australia, has installed ASSA ABLOY Hospitality's Visionline wireless online solution alongside its VingCard Signature RFID door locks, equipped with mobile access compatibility, to increase its security. The locking solutions work in tandem with ASSA ABLOY's mobile app to create convenient mobile access for Urbanest's residents, the company reports.
"Our student accommodation concept is based around providing residents with modern rooms and fantastic facilities that offer top technological solutions," said Matt Fountain, Urbanest's operations director, in a prepared statement. "We knew that to keep our vision going we needed to implement a locking solution that met the needs, not only technologically but aesthetically, of our residents. After months of research, we decided to reach out to ASSA ABLOY Hospitality for their innovative mobile access locking solutions. We knew the designs they used in combination with their technology would give our rooms the look we desired with the security that our residents need."
ASSA ABLOY's Mobile Access operates with the company's secure Seos technology. The solution works with property-management systems to assign digital keys to each room and securely deliver them to residents' smartphones. The technology generates an encrypted digital key within the ASSA ABLOY Hospitality app that pairs with a resident's smartphone, giving that individual exclusive mobile access to his or her room or suite. Once a resident swipes the phone, the app transmits the encrypted key using the device's Bluetooth capability.
By implementing the VingCard Signature RFID door locks, the company reports, a facility's management can gain enhanced security functionality due to the platform's use of anti-cloning technology. With Visionline, personnel can remotely monitor which key cards have accessed a particular area of the property, as well as when this occurred. Any cards suspected of unauthorized use can be deactivated remotely in order to minimize any threat to resident safety.
The current installation is the first stage of this project for Urbanest, according to Urbanest Darling Square. Stage two is scheduled to commence later this year.
Identiv Announces High-Security, High-Frequency Physical Access Cards
Identiv has announced the next version of its uTrust TS cards, which provide high-security, high-frequency smart credentials to upgrade physical access control. The latest version features a MIFARE DESFire EV2 secure chip from Identiv's technology partner, NXP Semiconductors. uTrust TS Cards complement Identiv's existing credential portfolio, the company explains, by offering high-frequency 13.56 MHz smart cards for physical access control.
The uTrust TS Card provides identity security and access card authenticity to both newly deployed and existing physical access control systems (PACS). Typical applications and markets include biometric authentication, closed-loop payments and corporate access.
uTrust TS Cards come in two models: TS Standard Cards, for new installations, and TS Migration Cards, which include 125 kHz proximity technology that interoperates with existing 125 kHz proximity readers. The cards are designed to simplify the migration process by supporting the common Wiegand data formats used on proximity cards. According to the company, they are fully supported as part of Identiv's uTrust TS product ecosystem, including the uTrust TS Reader Family, the uTrust TS Universal Enrollment Station and Hirsch Velocity software for security management.
"Identiv's new uTrust TS Cards ideally complement our existing credentials portfolio with an open, high-assurance smart card that can meet the security requirements for most applications," said Stephane Ardiley, Identiv's director of product management for credentials, in a prepared statement. "Identiv is pleased to collaborate with NXP on this project to provide an advanced card solution and deliver on the promise of a multi-application platform for a variety of markets."
"The MIFARE DESFire EV2 was designed to be the next level of form factor independent, multi-application platform for solution providers who want to offer a high level of transaction security and private data protection while still offering a truly convenient touch-and-go experience," said Markus Staeblein, NXP's VP and general manager for secure mobility and retail, in the prepared statement. "It was the perfect match for Identiv's trusted ecosystem to protect data on the highest level in a scalable solution."
