Jun 11, 2007This article was originally published by RFID Update.
June 11, 2007—RFID hardware manufacturer TAGSYS today made two product announcements that evidence the company's commitment to the library and textile management niches. The first is an RFID infrastructure solution for libraries based on new chip technology from NXP, the second a smart shelf for garment issuance at medical and laundry facilities.
The TAGSYS Folio 370L Tag Family is a line of RFID tags for library assets. It is the first product line based on NXP's new ICODE SLI-L chip, the successor to the ICODE SLI, which NXP claims is deployed at 60% of library installations worldwide. The new tags offer performance, safety, and privacy improvements over existing technology. Specifically, the tags can achieve up to 20% longer read ranges. The antitheft electronic article surveillance (EAS) functionality comes password protected, which guards against illicit tampering. There is a dual-mode privacy feature which allows tagged articles to be set to "quiet" mode upon check-out, which prevents them from being surreptitiously skimmed by someone interested in learning what item the patron checked out. When the item is returned to the library, its tag is set back to "public" mode. Lastly, the tags support emerging tag data standards that are taking hold across the library industry.
The Folio 370L tags are currently available in volume production.
In addition to the new tag family, TAGSYS also announced a new RFID antenna, the LSA-4. It is designed specially for tagged CDs and DVDs, media which is increasing as a percentage of average library inventory.
TAGSYS and NXP have worked together on numerous library deployments before, including such high profile installations as those at Hamburg, Germany; Shenzhen, China; and Seattle in the US.
TAGSYS' second product announcement today is targeted at the management of garments for medical facilities, laundries, textile rental, and other industries that see the checking in and out of garments. The SC400 is an RFID-enabled smart cabinet that provides visibility and automated check-out/check-in of tagged garment inventory. It is intended to allow end users to track garments through their lifecycle -- from the moment they are received to the ongoing issuance and return done over time. TAGSYS expects the shelf will offer improved inventory control, increased efficiency through the automation of check-in and out, and decreased losses of garment articles.
The cabinet is equipped with a three-dimensional antenna design which TAGSYS guarantees will yield 100% read accuracy. It is self contained and integrated, with all components and software configured for easy installation, even by teams with limited experience in RFID. The modular design allows end users to easily scale up as the number of tagged garments increases. Lastly, the SC400 has a permission-based compartment security system. Opening locked compartments of the shelf is permitted only by authorized users, who must wave badges for authentication. When a user is authenticated, the cabinet unlocks only the particular compartment for which that user is authorized. This feature in particular automates garment dispensing and increases accountability by associating checked-out garments with their current user.
