Jul 12, 2012The following are news announcements made during the past week.
Ekahau Intros Anti-Theft Wi-Fi Tag for Laptop and Tablet Computers
Ekahau, a provider of Wi-Fi-based real-time location system (RTLS) solutions, has announced the launch of its latest Wi-Fi tag, the L4 Laptop tag, a location-tracking device designed to prevent laptop theft and misplacement. The L4 Laptop tag is a small, flat unit designed to be plugged into an ExpressCard slot, a newer PC card technology that proponents say provides high-performance, modular expansion to both desktop and notebook computers at a lower cost, and in a smaller form factor. With ExpressCard slots, memory, wired and wireless communications, multimedia and security features can be added, by inserting ExpressCard modules into compliant systems. ExpressCard technology, designed for both mobile devices and desktops, supports USB 2.0 and PCI Express applications. The L4 tag can simply be inserted into an ExpressCard slot, Ekahau reports, and can be activated via a few keystrokes. The tag works with the Ekahau RTLS solution, designed to track and manage the tags anywhere on a campus equipped with Wi-Fi coverage. By determining a tag's location and status, the company explains, the system can alert a user if a laptop or tablet computer leaves a designated area, or enters an unsecure area. The L4 tag features a built-in motion sensor to detect movements, and to manage how the tag communicates. A tamper alert switch detects if the tag is being removed from a laptop, while the tag's programmable System on a Chip (SOC) design enables it to be configured to a user's exact requirements. In addition, the tag is equipped with an internal battery (rechargeable via the ExpressCard port) that enables location tracking, even when the laptop has been turned off. The L4 tag can be programmed to report on a fixed time interval, and to utilize the on-board motion sensor to indicate when the unit is moved. The tag is supported by all major enterprise Wi-Fi network systems, Ekahau reports, without the need for proprietary readers or sensors. "Our customers, especially in the healthcare and government sectors, have been asking for a product like this that is specifically designed for portable computers," said Tuomo Rutanen, Ekahau's executive VP sales and marketing, in a prepared statement. "The L4 provides an additional layer of physical protection in a form factor and design that is transparent to the end-user and worry-free for the system administrator. While the prices of mobile computers are declining, the requirements are increasing for data protection via acts such as HIPAA and HITECH, as well as internal corporate and other government policies."
Smartrac Launches High-Temperature Hard Tag for Industrial Applications
Smartrac, an RFID inlay supplier headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, has announced the addition of a new high-temperature RFID tag to its range of hard tags designed for industrial applications. The new SMART-Ferro II-Tag has been developed to track and trace metallic objects over long reading distances in harsh and high-temperature environments, Smartrac reports, making it suitable for logistics applications, shipping handling, incoming goods departments and asset tracking, as well as for applications in the petrochemical, automotive, aerospace and maritime industries. The passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) tag, which complies with the ISO 18000-6C and EPC Gen 2 standards, is encased in specific thermoplastic material, the company indicates, enabling the RFID inlay to withstand operating temperatures of up to 85 degrees centigrade (185 degrees Fahrenheit) and storage temperatures of up to 200 degrees centigrade (392 degrees Fahrenheit). According to Smartrac, the tag has an IP 67 rating, thanks to a casing that provides dust resistance, as well as protection against temporary immersion in water and most chemicals. The SMART-Ferro II-Tag, Smartrac notes, provides a reliable read range of 4 meters to 5 meters (13 feet to 16 feet) and high performance in the presence of metal.
Secura Key Announces New Standalone Reader Kit
Secura Key, a California-based provider of electronic access-control and RFID products for security, asset-management and automatic data collection (ADC) applications, has unveiled a standalone reader kit for its RK65KS proximity card reader. The RK65KS-KIT1 kit contains everything required to control access to a single door, the company reports: one Radio Key RK65K proximity reader, 10 125 kHz passive RFID keytags, a handheld programmer, a 12-VDC power supply, and installation and instruction manuals. The Radio Key RK65K device, Secura Key indicates, is a fully programmable, standalone single-door access-control reader based on 125 kHz proximity RFID technology, able to deliver up to 6-inch read distance. The indoor-outdoor reader is password-protected and can manage up to 65,000 individual users with sequentially numbered cards or tags. Users can be added and deleted via the kit's handheld programmer. In addition, the interrogator has a Wiegand output, which can be connected to a multi-door-access or telephone-entry system, if desired. According to the company, when the solution is used as part of a larger system, the local card memory and relay may be employed for other special functions, such as controlling lighting, as well as heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). The keytags used with the kit are also fully compatible with Secura Key's SYSKIT two-door proximity access-control kits.
German technology company Harting has announced its Harting RFID Box, a steel-enclosed unit with a reader, a power supply and a network switch, designed to make it easier to implement radio frequency identification. Harting's Ha-VIS RF-R500-p-EU long-range RFID reader is compliant with the ISO 18000-6-c and EPC Gen 2 standards, and is incorporated into an enclosure composed of 2-millimeter-thick (0.08-inch-thick) steel and featuring an IP 65 rating, meaning that testing has confirmed it to be dustproof and waterproof. According to Harting, the box is suitable for use in open-air applications, such as vehicle recognition in port areas; in the construction industry, in which trucks are loaded with building materials and must be identified; or in construction environments. The fully integrated, powerful and rapid RFID readers, the company reports, make the box well-suited for detecting passing trains and carriages. According to the company, the Harting RFID Box ships fully pre-installed and tested, so that it need only be connected to the power supply, Ethernet network and RFID reader antennas.
Louisville Skyscraper Adopts TagMaster and HID Technology to Automate Parking Access
TagMaster North America, a division of TagMaster, a Swedish manufacturer of RFID solutions for rail and transportation applications, has announced that its RFID hardware was deployed by GuardLink to provide hands-free parking access to the five-level garage adjoined to the Aegon Center, a 35-story building located in downtown Louisville, Ky. The solution includes TagMaster's LR-6 PRO long-range RFID readers and MarkTag MeM ID-Tags, which are 2.4 GHz active RFID tags that can be affixed anywhere on a vehicle's windshield or dashboard, or on the back of the rear-view mirror. GuardLink, which served as the project's systems integrator, also installed HID Global's 13.56 MHz passive RFID technology, according to Bob Long, GuardLink's sales account manager. The passive RFID technology was added, he says, so that individuals with building access could utilize the HID reader in the event that they were driving a rental car or left their long-range tag in another vehicle. In addition, the solution incorporated gate barriers, as well as parking- and revenue-control systems (PARCS), including pay-on-foot stations, provided by Skidata, an Austrian supplier of access, management and ticketing solutions.
Chido Fast-food Restaurant Adds NFC-enabled Loyalty Program
Chido, a new fast-food chain serving Mexican dishes, has announced that its first restaurant, in Paris, France, features a mobile loyalty program from Airtag, a contactless solutions supplier located in France. The solution leverages Near Field Communication (NFC) RFID and 2-D bar-coding technologies. Airtag reports that it has installed an interactive tablet and the Airtag Pad, which contains NFC RFID and 2-D bar-code readers, at the point of checkout, with a real-time connection to the restaurant's online loyalty program. The Airtag Pad accepts three types of cards. The first two types enable customers to identify themselves and instantly add or use loyalty points, rewards and coupons; prior to using any of the cards, each customer must create an account online and activate an application by visiting chido.airtag.com, or by connecting to Chido's Facebook page. Customers can utilize the Parisian transportation pass, known as Pass Navigo, which already contains an NFC RFID chip that can be swiped for identification purposes. Customers who do not have an NFC pass can use a mobile loyalty card—a mobile application that generates a 2-D bar code, which must be downloaded from an online app store in order to create the card displayed on the mobile phone's screen. With the app, the phone becomes the loyalty card, Airtag explains, since the application contains a 2-D bar code that is activated when downloaded. Customers need only swipe the card at the Airtag Pad upon arrival at Chido in order to instantly identify themselves. The application also features a geolocation feature to provide map directions to the restaurant, along with a detailed product page listing a wide selection of the latest Chido dishes. The third option involves a traditional paper loyalty card, obtainable from Chido, and containing a 2-D bar code; while the card can be read by the Airtag Pad and then be used to identify the customer, there is no immediate access to earned loyalty points or rewards. Airtag's solution also provides Chido with a Web-based reporting tool allowing the restaurant to analyze the performance of the shop and its point-of-sale transactions. The reporting tool manages profile data, so customers can be segmented to develop targeted marketing campaigns. According to Airtag, all user information (receipt, time and frequency of visits) is displayed in real time on the Web platform, thereby enabling Chido to pilot targeted marketing campaigns based on comprehensive data.
