The following are news announcements made during the past week.
Researchers at North Dakota State University Develop Antenna-less On-metal RFID Tag
A research team at the Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), at North Dakota State University (NDSU), has announced that it has developed a passive EPC Gen 2 ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tag for metal containers that uses the container to which it is attached as an antenna. The patent-pending technology could be utilized to help companies track a variety of metal objects—such as barrels of oil and cargo containers—the center reports, and would allow for an inexpensive and manufacturable product-tracking solution. The tags developed by CNSE are less than 3 millimeters (0.1 inch) thick, and are placed directly onto metal, or could be recessed into an object’s surface. “Most RFID tags that are to be used on metal objects are made by placing an antenna on a spacer, making them between 0.5 and 3 cm [0.2 inch and 1.2 inches] thick, depending on the type of tag,” said Cherish Bauer-Reich, a research engineer, in a prepared statement. “The tags we’ve developed actually use the metal container as an antenna, rather than having to make and place another antenna on top of the container.” The antenna-less concept is not new, and several other companies have worked to developed similar tags. In 2006, a QinetiQ teamed up with Crown Holdings to develop metal containers, such as soft-drink cans, with built-in EPC Gen 2 UHF RFID tags that used the can’s metal surface as an antenna (see QinetiQ and Crown Develop Item Containers With Antenna-less RFID Tags). QinetiQ’s RFID chip is at the heart of technology now being employed in tags manufactured by Omni-ID, which was spun out from QinetiQ in February 2007. In addition, Impinj and Murata Manufacturing Co. have worked to develop a tag that uses a printed circuit board’s ground plane as a tag antenna (see Put RFID in Your Product, Not on It); a manufacturer of printed circuit boards (PCBs), in fact, was testing Murata’s MagicStrap solution (see Schneider Electric Lays Groundwork for Tracking Circuit Boards via RFID). The CNSE research team includes Bauer-Reich, along with Michael Reich, an NDSU senior research engineer, and Layne Berge, an undergraduate electrical engineering student. The group’s research will be presented at the 2012 IEEE International Workshop on Antenna Technology (iWAT-2012), to be held on Mar. 5-7, 2012, in Tucson, Ariz. The research presentation, titled “Low-profile, high-permeability antenna-less RFID tags for use on metal objects,” is scheduled for Mar. 5. The antenna-less RFID tag technology developed at CNSE was created with support under Grant Number N00189-10-C-Z055, awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense and the Office of Naval Research. The patent-pending technology is available for licensing and partnering opportunities through the NDSU Research Foundation.
HID Global Introduces IronTag UHF Transponder for Tracking Metal Assets
HID Global has announced the addition of the IronTag 176 to its ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID transponder portfolio. The new tag, HID Global reports, is well suited for tracking a variety of metal assets—such as aircraft parts—that may be subjected to demanding conditions, because the transponder is designed to tolerate the harsh conditions of manufacturing and processing, as well as vehicle and equipment operation. The IronTag 176 is compliant with the EPC Gen 2 and ISO 18000-6C standards, and is compatible with the Air Transport Association‘s ATA Spec 2000, covering the data to be included regarding automatic data-capture devices, including RFID tags, as well as the structure of that information. It is also compliant with SAE International‘s SAE AS5678 specification, which spells out requirements regarding a tag’s ability to withstand specific variations in temperature, air pressure, vibration, shock and other environmental factors. The IronTag, HID indicates, is waterproof and resistant to shock, vibration and chemical exposure, and can withstand temperatures ranging from -40 degrees to +356 degrees Fahrenheit (-40 degrees to +180 degrees to Celsius). Measuring just 2.1 inches by 0.9 inch by 0.27 inch (53 millimeters by 23 millimeters by 7 millimeters), it provides a read range of up to 13 feet (4 meters) when mounted on metal. The contactless chip provides a 512-bit user memory, in addition to 96-bit EPC and 64-bit TID. IronTag 176 transponders are available immediately, the company reports.
Atlantic City, Michigan Resorts Add UHF RFID Uniform-Tracking System
Revel and the Odawa Casino Resort (OCR) have chosen InvoTech Systems‘ GIMS RFID-based tracking system for managing uniforms. Both Revel’s and OCR’s implementations include Fujitsu Frontech North America rubber-encapsulated labels that can be sewn into each uniform, and each tag has a unique ID number linked in the GIMS software to the particular type of item, as well as its laundering history. The solutions also include Impinj Speedway Revolution readers, along with AN720 and AN480 antennas from Motorola Solutions, for tracking uniforms’ locations. According to InvoTech, the solution will provide Revel, a $2.4 billion lifestyle resort on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, with 24-hour automated uniform distribution and control for thousands of valuable garments worn by 5,800 resort staff members. The GIMS solution interfaces with White Conveyors‘ automated U-Pick-It uniform-delivery system. AJ Conveyor and Laundry Systems will oversee the project, including the system’s planning and installation. Revel, which is slated to open in the spring of this year, will be a 47-story, 1,500-room resort. “To supply the volume of uniforms required by Revel’s staff, InvoTech’s GIMS system will communicate with UHF-RFID readers installed over each of the 11 U-Pick-It System uniform delivery doors,” said Jeff Welles, InvoTech Systems’ VP, in a prepared statement. “This enables staff to get their clean uniforms quickly by just swiping an ID card to be on the job faster. We will also install a UHF-RFID bulk reading station for automatically processing uniforms going to and from the laundry to ensure all garments are instantly counted and tracked without hand sorting or counting to save the property money.” OCR, a $140 million resort in Petoskey, Mich., owned and operated by the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, had installed an earlier version of GIMS in 2007 with bar-code labels attached to the uniforms, which were manually scanned for real-time inventory tracking. With the upgrade, uniforms now have UHF-RFID tags attached that automate the inventory process. In a prepared statement, Melissa Richards, OCR’s director of human resources, said the solution helps control costs, noting, “Since our wardrobe department does not generate revenue, and uniforms are often lost traveling to and from the laundry, tight inventory control is essential.” InvoTech installed UHF RFID readers near doors at which uniform carts travel to and from the laundry trucks for hands-free accounting. The company also placed readers over the doors of the property’s automated White Conveyors U-Pick-It System that delivers uniforms to employees. The solution tracks when workers take delivery of their garments, in order to maintain an accurate inventory of all uniforms. InvoTech Systems’ solutions are already installed at a variety of hotels and casinos, from Las Vegas to Macau, including the Fallsview Casino Resort, located in Niagara Falls, Canada, which is tracking tens of thousands of garments comprising employee uniforms (see Resort Uses RFID to Track Uniforms).
University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust Implements AeroScout RTLS
The University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, located in Bristol, England, has completed an implementation of AeroScout‘s Asset Tracking & Management solution. The system leverages University Hospitals Bristol’s existing Cisco Unified Wireless Network, and is used to help the hospital—which employs 7,900 staff members across nine different sites, and is one of the United Kingdom’s largest acute NHS Trusts, offering more than 100 different clinical services—to track and manage medical equipment. AeroScout partner Block Solutions deployed the real-time location system (RTLS), which includes AeroScout Wi-Fi RFID tags that can be attached to assets. The tags are read while passing through different hospital zones, and that information is forwarded to AeroScout’s MobileView software, which then displays locations in real time. “Prior to working with AeroScout, the clinical staff at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children had to manually search for medical equipment,” said Dave Oatway, the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust’s IT services manager, in a prepared statement. “Now they have a clear understanding of the location and status of not only high value assets, but also of important patient care items such as bariatric beds and wheelchairs. Since implementing AeroScout’s asset tracking and management solution, we’ve seen excellent benefits and, in the future, hope to expand our relationship to include temperature monitoring and possibly patient flow.”
Savi Teams With SGS on Tracking Services, Intros New Software
Savi has announced a partnership with SGS, an inspection, verification, testing and certification firm. The exclusive, multi-year alliance is designed to develop, promote, market and deliver a new service known as SGS Omnis that, according to the two companies, is designed to help countries and organizations to track and monitor cargo and shipments in real time. Specifically, it can be used to monitor freight movements, in order to offer customs authorities full in-transit visibility and real-time event management, including a wide range of alerts about risky and dangerous behaviors. For example, alerts can be issued if the movement of freight is affected by a route change. In addition, the solution tracks the freight’s precise location at all times. The service leverages Savi tracking devices that employ active RFID tags and readers, along with GPS, quad-band GPRS technology and satellite communications, according to Philippe Isler, SGS’ governments and institutions services (GIS) product manager. The tags periodically report their security status and position via the local GSM infrastructure to the Web-based Savi Mobile Tracking System, a new software solution that Savi says was designed from the ground up to secure and monitor numerous cargo and material types. Savi Mobile Tracking System, the company reports, is suitable for large organizations, manufacturers, heavy industry and governments with distributed supply chains and complex logistics requirements. An integrated platform, it includes software and hardware for securing and monitoring a variety of cargo types—ISO containers on road and rail, closed rail wagons and tanker railcars, wet cargo (fuel trucks) and in-vehicle units for vehicle tracking. Savi has offered similar solutions, such as Savi SmartChain, though that solution, the company notes, is designed for tracking assets, but not necessarily for tracking vehicles or ensuring security on doors and other parts of vehicles. What’s more, Savi SmartChain does not include geo-fencing, which ensures that an asset is located where it is supposed to be, and can issue alerts in the event that a vehicle or shipment leaves its appointed area or moves off-route. SGS and Savi have been working together to deploy early versions of the service and technology in Ghana and Kenya, where, according to the two companies, the results have been impressive in terms of reducing cargo losses and ensuring that goods and supplies arrive where needed. Several other nations and organizations around the globe are presently evaluating the service, the partners indicate. The Savi and SGS alliance and resulting service was more than 18 months in the making, the companies report, and the service is expected to be rolled out globally to countries and organizations during the coming months.
Unique Micro Designs Offers Sample Quantities of RFID Tags
Unique Micro Design (UMD), an RFID technology provider based in Australia, is now offering samples of all of its RFID tags available at the firm’s online shop. The company offers a variety of low-frequency (LF), high-frequency (HF) and ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) tags, such as those from HID Global, Xerafy, Intermec and Convergence Systems Limited (CSL). “The starting point in developing many RFID solutions is in the appropriate selection of RFID tags during the proof-of-concept stage. But, given the many factors affecting the performance of RFID tags, it is essential that the tags be tested in their intended environment,” said Geoffrey Ramadan, UMD’s managing director and chief solutions architect, in a prepared statement. “Industry ability to get small quantities of tags for such testing has been very limited. Our intention is to support users, and industry, in the supply of sample tags for such testing. We also expect our range to grow over time.” According to Ramadan, UMD offers free delivery for orders in Australia; others should inquire at
[email protected] regarding delivery charges.