May 10, 2018The following are news announcements made during the past week by the following organizations:
TrackX Holdings, Impinj;
the Zigbee Alliance;
Waltonchain, Silicon Shenzhen Electronic Technology Co.;
Dell Technologies, Microsoft;
SML RFID;
KeyMe, and Albertsons.
TrackX Holdings, Impinj Partner on Enterprise Asset-Management Solutions
TrackX Holdings, a software-as-a-service (SaaS)-based enterprise asset-management solution provider, has announced a strategic partnership with Impinj, a provider of RFID solutions.
TrackX, based in Denver, Colo., deploys SaaS-based solutions that use automatic identification and sensor technologies, including RFID, to manage a variety of physical assets at health-care organizations, mining and manufacturing companies, and hospitality and food-and-beverage firms. TrackX will integrate RFID data from the Impinj system into the TrackX Global Asset Management for Enterprises (GAME) platform, to gain accurate, real-time data regarding each asset's identity, location and history.
Impinj's solutions connect items using RFID technology for the purposes of identification, location and authentication. The company's Channel Partner Program is intended to help companies design, plan and deploy Internet of Things (IoT) solutions using the Impinj platform.
"TrackX customers consistently request a complete solution to business process issues related to the movement and utilization of corporate assets," said Tim Harvie, TrackX's CEO, in a prepared statement. "We believe that Impinj's long history of innovation in RAIN RFID technology for item intelligence balances nicely with TrackX's ability to deliver business intelligence to a wide variety of industries and business functions through Industrial IoT integration."
"We see customers who have adopted enterprise asset-management solutions that integrate data from the Impinj platform gain process efficiencies and make better use of resources," said Jeff Dossett, Impinj's executive of VP sales and marketing, in the prepared statement. "TrackX is a leading solution provider in this space, and we're excited to work with them to join the Impinj platform with the TrackX platform to deliver a complete enterprise asset management solution for our shared customers."
Zigbee Alliance Selected for Smart-Meter Rollout to Every Home in Great Britain
The Zigbee Alliance, an organization of companies that create, maintain and provide energy-efficient, open global standards for the Internet of Things (IoT), has opened certification for its updated Smart Energy 1.4 application standard. This new certification program is intended to address the functionality needs that arose from Great Britain's decision to mandate that all energy suppliers offer smart meters to every home by 2020—a total of 26 million potential installations.
According to a report from Smart Energy Great Britain, there is rising national public awareness regarding the benefits of smart meters, from increasing billing accuracy to contributing to communities' overall environmental efforts. The report states that 80 percent of smart-meter customers have taken steps to reduce their energy usage, while more than 68 percent say they feel more conscious about their energy use.
To address this growing public awareness, Great Britain required a solution that would be adaptable and easy to implement on a large scale. Technologies conforming to the Smart Energy by the Zigbee Alliance standard—established for interoperable products that monitor, control, inform and automate the delivery and use of electricity, gas and water—were chosen for the project.
Technology certified through the Smart Energy Certification Program can take advantage of the benefits inherent in dual-band frequency capabilities. Enabling sub-GHz functionality enhances the performance of smart meters and energy-management devices, the organization explains, thus allowing operation at farther distances and through more RF-challenging building materials. This addition to the Smart Energy Certification Program allows the Zigbee Alliance to accredit products with the ability to meet regional frequency requirements, thereby extending connectivity options.
The benefits of introducing simultaneous operation on sub-GHz and 2.4 GHz bands into certification for the Smart Energy 1.4 standard include intelligent energy management, smart energy metering, increased savings for utilities and consumers, a competitive marketplace with multiple vendors, a reduction of emissions footprint, low-energy housing and smart urban networks.
Several utilities, energy service providers, product manufacturers and technology companies have already deployed Certified Smart Energy products, and support its continued development as members of the Alliance. These include BC Hydro, EDMI, General Electric, Honeywell, Itron, Landis+Gyr, LG, Pacific Gas & Electric, Panasonic, Schneider Electric, Smart Meter Texas and Toshiba. As a global, open standard, Smart Energy supports a competitive marketplace of multiple vendors, lowering costs and saving billions of dollars worldwide.
"Smart Energy delivers many benefits for its users," said Victor Berrios, the Zigbee Alliance's VP of technology, in a prepared statement. "With Smart Energy Certified meters and consumption devices, our members empower utilities and consumers with the data necessary to make informed decisions about energy usage and help them meet worldwide energy challenges today and tomorrow."
Waltonchain Chooses Silictec's RFID Chips for IoT
Waltonchain reports that existing RFID chips have been unable to meet the needs of Internet of Things (IoT) development. Though a few options are available, the company indicates, prices are still high, transmission power and stability need to be improved, reception sensitivity is low and anti-interference ability is poor.
To address these problems, Waltonchain turned to the Value Internet of Things (sVIoT) concept, using RFID chips from Silicon Shenzhen Electronic Technology Co. (Silictec). The company carried out research and development regarding RFID tag and reader ICs suitable for blockchain technology applications. Currently, Waltonchain and an increasing number of companies in China are performing independent R&D into RFID chips.
The ICs are characterized by an integrated encryption and decryption acceleration module based on existing RFID technology, Waltonchain notes, as well as a communication interface protocol. The implementation will promote the application of blockchain technology in the IoT, the firm reports, and is intended to address problems with blockchain applications.
Each tag need not store node data, as it is responsible for signature verification only. Hardware automatically generates random public and private keys to ensure the security of IoT applications, and to make sure every tag is unique and authentic. The tags can reduce the amount of information stored to solve the problem of blockchain overloading with large amounts of data in IoT applications.
Hardware acceleration, meanwhile, can address the issue of slow encryption and decryption with asymmetric encryption technology. According to the company, the technology can help businesses to decentralize property and asset management in order to make data tamper-resistant.
Dell Technologies, Microsoft Collaborate on IoT Solutions
Dell Technologies and Microsoft are collaborating to deliver a joint Internet of Things (IoT) solution designed to help vertical customers simplify deploying their end-to-end IoT solutions, from the edge to the cloud. The combination of Microsoft Azure IoT applications and services, VMware Pulse IoT Center and Dell Edge Gateways will provide customers with streamlined management, centralized monitoring and security from devices to the cloud, the companies report.
Businesses implementing IoT initiatives invest significant resources and manpower to research and integrate a multitude of hardware, software and cloud services across the fragmented IoT landscape. Such companies often use artificial intelligence (AI) and real-time decision making capability, while making sure to meet all deployment, asset-management, security and compliance requirements.
Dell Technologies and Microsoft say they will offer a secure solution that provides consistent infrastructure management. The joint solution provides an underlying Internet of Things infrastructure, management capabilities and security for customers looking to deploy the IoT for such scenarios as predictive maintenance and supply chain visibility. The solution will provide:
• Intelligence at the edge with Azure IoT Edge: This application extends cloud intelligence to edge devices so that those devices can act locally and leverage the cloud for global coordination and machine learning at scale.
• Management and monitoring of edge devices with VMware Pulse IoT Center: This provides more secure, enterprise-grade management and monitoring of diverse, certified edge devices, including gateways and connected IoT devices, bios and operating systems. This ecosystem will be built over time, involving deeper integration and certification to support customer requirements.
• High-performance, rugged Dell Edge Gateways: These IoT devices, built with powerful dual-core Intel Atom processors, connect a variety of wired and wireless devices and systems to aggregate and analyze inputs and send relevant data to the cloud.
VMware Pulse IoT Center will connect Dell Edge Gateways or other certified edge systems, as well as sensors and other devices, and the Azure IoT Edge platform. Initially, Pulse will help to deploy Azure IoT Edge to the requisite edge systems so that it can start collecting, analyzing and acting on data in real time.
While this joint solution is optimized for Dell Edge Gateways, the partners note, it can manage, monitor and secure a certified combination of gateways or edge systems with patches and updates on an ongoing basis, as well as monitor the health of these connected devices. Customers relying on Azure IoT Edge and VMware Pulse IoT Center for their IoT initiatives will be able to provision, provide and securely manage their Azure IoT Edge components. Customers and channel partners will be able to work with Dell and Microsoft to purchase the solution during the second half of 2018.
SML RFID to Showcase Its Tags, Software for Retail
SML RFID, a provider of encoded RFID tags for retail projects, has announced that it will exhibit its products at the Retail Business Technology Expo (RBTE), an educational and networking event for retail and hospitality organizations. SML will showcase its RFID solutions in booth #E130, including certified RFID-enabled tags and its enterprise-class Clarity RFID software.
In January of this year, SML announced its move into tangential markets that can reap the benefits of item-level RFID solutions, including mobile phone, cosmetics, fragrance and retail pharmaceuticals. At the conference, the company will demonstrate how RFID can benefit retailers within these sectors.
SML reports that it has provided its mobile phone solution to a leading retailer in the United Kingdom (which it has not named), with stores working in real time to help phone providers reduce out-of-stock items, increase sales and reduce shrinkage. SML also offers tagging solutions for eyewear, to ensure display compliance and automatic replenishments for on-shelf availability.
"We are thrilled to be exhibiting at Europe's leading event for the retail industry," said Dean Frew, the company's CTO and senior VP of RFID solutions, in a prepared statement. "We are looking forward to networking with people from across the globe and are excited to discuss our Auburn University partnership, SML's move into new markets and our Clarity software."
KeyMe Wins Multi-Year Agreement With Albertsons Co. for RFID Keys
KeyMe, a resource for access and key management, has won an exclusive multi-year agreement with Albertsons Companies, one of the largest grocery retailers in the United States, to expand the number of KeyMe self-serve kiosk locations to 500 by late July 2018. KeyMe currently has 358 kiosks installed with Albertsons Companies properties, which include Albertsons, Safeway, ACME, Vons, United, Randall's and Tom Thumb stores.
This will bring KeyMe¹s total number of kiosks to more than 2,000 locations nationwide, the company reports, at such retailers as Bed Bath & Beyond, Kmart, Kroger, Mall of America, Rite Aid, Sears and 7-Eleven. KeyMe reportedly grew its business by more than over 300 percent last year, and is on track to more than triple it again in 2018.
KeyMe offers an array of digital options for managing keys, including copying, storage and management, in order to support the majority of home, office, mailbox, high security, vehicle and RFID keys. KeyMe kiosks employ a combination of artificial intelligence, computer vision and robotics, to eliminate human error during the key duplication process.
"With more than 2,400 locations nationwide, Albertsons represents an amazing opportunity for us to continue our incredible growth trajectory," said Greg Marsh, KeyMe CEO, in a prepared statement. "It is exciting to be chosen by another major retailer as their exclusive partner, as we strive to be the most trusted brand in key duplication, storage and access solutions.
