Dec 01, 2008This article was originally published by RFID Update.
December 1, 2008—RFID Update did not publish during the week of November 24, 2008, in observance of the US Thanksgiving holiday. Here is a roundup of industry news and announcements that occurred.
- Awarepoint, an RTLS provider focused on the healthcare market, announced it has received $13.3 million in Series D venture funding from a mix of previous and new investors.
- Blue Spark Technologies, which produces printable, thin-film batteries for RFID tags and other electronics, opened a new headquarters in suburban Cleveland. The privately held company (which changed its name from Thin Battery Technologies earlier this year) recently received an $800,000 loan from a State of Ohio innovation fund.
- Unisys announced the first US border crossing points to support RFID-enabled travel documents issued by federal and state government agencies are now operational. Border checkpoints in Blaine, Washington and Nogales, Arizona now accept RFID-enabled enhanced driver's licenses and passport cards that were created as part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). Implementation is planned for 37 more sites by June, 2009. For more background see US Gov Sets Controversial RFID Passport Card Specs.
- UPM Raflatac opened an RFID tag manufacturing facility in Guangzhou, China. The new plant will produce HF and UHF tags and inlays and has the capacity to produce 100 million units annually, according to the company's announcement.
- Three military contractors selected Zebra Technologies' RZ400 RFID smart label printer/encoder to fulfill new passive RFID contracts they received from the US Army's PM J-AIT project management office. See Zebra's contract announcement here.
