Mar 24, 2011The following are news announcements made during the past week.
Trimble, Truecount to Deliver ThingMagic-Powered RFID Solutions
Wireless, mobile and RFID provider Trimble has partnered with RFID retail solutions provider Truecount, which will leverage Trimble's ThingMagic enterprise-grade RFID readers to deliver item-level RFID platforms for retailers and their end-to-end supply chains. Zander Livingston, Truecount's CEO, launched his new company in 2010 with the goal of providing a retailer-focused RFID software package for tagging goods at the item level (see American Apparel's RFID Guru Launches RFID Software Startup). By implementing item-level RFID, Livingston says, retailers can achieve up-to-the-minute inventory visibility that is more than 99 percent precise, providing a huge competitive advantage to retailers that implement it, by streamlining and accelerating inventory and management processes. Truecount will also host ongoing demonstrations of its item-level RFID software at the ThingMagic booth (124) at RFID Journal LIVE! 2011, which will be held on Apr. 12-14, at the Orange County Convention Center, in Orlando, Fla. Truecount states that it has structured each demo to showcase key capabilities and benefits of advanced RFID technology for the end-to-end retail supply chain, providing a firsthand view of three critical functions: "in-line tagging," which gives retailers the ability to tag items at any point within the supply chain, from the manufacturing source to final shipping and delivery to the store; "receive," which shows the speed and accuracy of receiving at the item level with RFID (item-level RFID takes 96 percent less time than using bar codes for similar tasks); and "move to," which captures and corrects inventory-handling errors in real time, ensuring that the correct item is in the proper location at the necessary time. Truecount has also announced that it will offer free, individual consultations to all retailer attendees that stop by Trimble's ThingMagic booth at the conference. The consultations are designed to help retailers evaluate the best approach to item-level RFID for their operations, Livingston explains, and to address specific issues ranging from integration and implementation to timing and tag use. The complementary consultation will include an introduction to RFID, with information about how retailers can apply the technology to their individual business model in order to achieve the greatest benefits. A significant feature of Truecount's solution is its scalability, Livingston says, delivering a compelling return on investment for midsize firms, as well as large, multi-store chains.
IDS Microchip Releases New EPC-based Sensory Tag Chip
Swiss semiconductor firm IDS Microchip, which focuses on RFID and sensor solutions, has begun shipping the first production parts of its new RFID sensory tag chip, based on the EPC Gen 2 Class 3 standard. The single chip, the company reports, is designed to enable such applications as supply and cold chain with dynamic shelf-life monitoring, tracking history and condition of constructions, the controlling and recording of medication, process control in factory automation, and remote metering and supervision. The SL900A can automatically measure, time-stamp and record sensory information, which typically includes temperature, pressure, humidity and vibration. According to IDS Microchip, the chip can also be configured to automatically execute an alarm or notification when critical conditions occur. This event-driven capability, the company reports, enables various applications in the cold chain, pharmaceutical, and food and health industries, as well as in the construction industry, and makes it possible to determine the conditions of materials used, in an economical, non-invasive and practical manner. The SL900A works in semi-passive mode (battery-assisted), as well as in fully passive mode (EPC Gen 2 Class 1). According to IDS Microchip, the chip is ideal for applications using thin and flexible batteries (1.5-volt or 3-volt) for autonomous logging from the integrated temperature sensor or external sensors (an SPI/IO port allows the connection of external circuits). Other key features include a temperature range of -40 degrees Celsius to +110 degrees Celsius (-40 degrees Fahrenheit to +230 degrees Fahrenheit), a transmission frequency range of 860 to 960 MHz, a real-time clock, 9-kilobit electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) and anti-collision capability. The SL900A is available in 16-LD QFN format—measuring 5 millimeters by 5 millimeters (0.2 inch by 0.2 inch)—or as a dice-on-wafer (DoW) version. Development kits (including an R902DRM reader board and an SL900A smart data logger board) are available on request, emulating a complete system with demo soft- and firmware with source codes. IDS Microchip will demonstrate the new SL900A tag chip at RFID Journal LIVE! 2011, which will be held on Apr. 12-14, at the Orange County Convention Center, in Orlando, Fla.
RF Code, Geist Unveil Data-Center Power-Monitoring Solution
RFID technology firm RF Code and the Geist Data Center Solutions Group of Geist have announced an integrated solution for monitoring data-center power. Geist has integrated RF Code's wire-free power-monitoring solution into a line of its power distribution units (PDUs), the two companies report, providing Geist's customers with an affordable power-monitoring alternative to traditional wired approaches requiring Ethernet connections that are expensive to install and maintain. The solution consists of RF Code's PDU active 433 MHz RFID sensor tags that easily plug into a Geist Satellite Current Monitoring PDU, as well as RF Code RFID readers and software that compiles and manages the power-monitoring data. Instead of utilizing an Ethernet connection for each PDU, Geist's customers can now plug an RF Code R170 PDU tag into the Geist PDU. The system then streams the energy-consumption information wirelessly to an RFID reader, and then to RF Code's Sensor Manager software or Geist's Environet platform, a suite that graphically details an organization's mission-critical environment, from an enterprise-wide view to the smallest component within it. In September 2010, RF Code announced a similar solution involving Raritan (see RF Code, Raritan Launch System for Monitoring Server Power Consumption).
Pittsburgh, Penn.-based PPG Industries, a coatings and specialty products company that serves customers in the industrial, transportation, consumer products and construction markets and aftermarkets, has introduced the Teslin Biodegradable substrate, which the firm says is an environmentally responsible material that makes it easier for manufacturers and companies to meet the demand for green performance. This sheet material provides an end-of-life solution in addition to the durability, printability and built-in security inherent to PPG's standard Teslin product. According to PPG, the Biodegradable substrate is a microporous sheet material suitable for a variety of applications, such as card, specialty print, in-mold graphic, tag and label use, as well as such RFID applications as e-Passports and RFID cards and labels. In third-party laboratory testing, the substrate broke down into components, such as carbon dioxide and water, when placed in an anaerobic (oxygen-free) environment containing microbes that consume polymers. Such conditions are similar to those found in most landfills, the company reports. "With this third-party testing, our customers can be assured that this version of Teslin substrate biodegrades only when they want it to and not before," said Diane Kappas, PPG's business director for Teslin substrates, in a prepared statement. "They can also count on Teslin Biodegradable substrate to offer the same excellent durability, security and printing performance they have come to expect from this family of products." The Teslin Biodegradable substrate does not require any special handling or processing, the company notes. As with the standard-grade Teslin substrate, it is available in all commercial thicknesses, to accommodate such applications as loyalty cards, specialty print applications (including maps and menus), and tags and labels. The new Teslin biodegradable substrate will be showcased at PPG's Teslin booth (834) at RFID Journal LIVE! 2011, which will be held on Apr. 12-14, at the Orange County Convention Center, in Orlando, Fla.
Taxis at Monterrey International Airport Get Tagged
TagMaster North America, a provider of long-range and high-performance RFID systems for automatic vehicle identification (AVI), has announced that the Monterrey International Airport, located in Nuevo León, Mexico, is employing TagMaster's AVI solution, which combines long-range 2.45 GHz RFID technology with HID Global's eProx and iCLASS proximity technology, to help manage the taxis and shuttles at the airport, which serves up to 5 million passengers annually. Mexican solution providers Parking Systems S.A. de C.V. and Prosyss de México S.A. de C.V., which focus on parking and security applications, served as integrators for the installation, TagMaster reports. The system involves authorized taxis equipped with TagMaster ID tags that provide taxi drivers with convenient access to pickup areas. By allowing in only authorized taxis—and keeping away those unauthorized to be in those areas—the airport hopes to offer travelers secure and safe transportation to and from its terminals. TagMaster's solution includes readers that feature a computer function to process and store information, as well as a physical interface for communication with other systems. The interrogators read the ID tags, and also include a motion detector that can measure the speed of moving objects, even if they lack ID tags. TagMaster's standard ID tag is approximately the size of a credit card, and is 3 millimeters (0.1 inch) thick. It contains an antenna for transmission and reception, a memory circuit and a battery, as well as a unique eight-digit identification number.
SK Telecom Exports EPC RFID Reader USIM Card to China
South Korean mobile telephony and communications provider SK Telecom has announced that it has signed a contract with Sunnada Communication Co., a Chinese provider of wireless coverage solutions, to export 55,000 units of SK Telecom's RFID reader in the form of a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) card (see South Korean Consortium Launches EPC Gen 2 Reader for Mobile Phones). The USIM card features a 900 MHz RFID reader chip, and is described as enabling mobile phones to read passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) tags complying with the EPC Gen 2 (ISO 18000-6C) standard, and to serve as a substitute for traditional fixed interrogators. Following a trial service, Sunnada Communication plans to sell SK Telecom's RFID reader USIM to Chinese mobile operators, to be adopted by businesses to improve management and confirm the authenticity of goods, including liquor and pharmaceutical products. The contract with Sunnada Communications marks the first export of the RFID reader USIM cards, according to SK Telecom. The company says it began supplying the RFID reader USIM cards in December 2010 to Korean liquor companies required by a government mandate to attach RFID tags to their products. Along with offering RFID reader USIM cards to liquor retailers, SK Telecom also developed a mobile application that provides a system for checking the authentication of Korean whisky to prevent the distribution of fake liquor, as well as tax evasion in the distribution process. In addition, SK Telecom is supplying the USIM cards to Hanmi Pharmaceutical for use in the real-time distribution and inventory management of its medicinal products, to help the firm achieve greater information visibility. At RFID Journal LIVE! 2011, which will be held on Apr. 12-14, at the Orange County Convention Center, in Orlando, Fla., Kwang NamGung, Hanmi Pharmaceutical's CIO, will explain how his company is employing radio frequency identification to maximize the visibility and traceability of its logistics and inventory-management processes.
