This article was originally published by RFID Update.
August 7, 2007—CISC Semiconductor has announced a new RFID tag evaluation tool combining hardware and software from National Instruments (NI). Called the RFID Measurement & Evaluation Test System (MeETS), it is targeted at everyone from tag manufacturers to end users to RFID test labs as a solution for robust, scientific testing and measurement of RFID tags.
CISC Semiconductor is an Austrian design and service company that offers system design, modeling, simulation, and optimization, with a focus on automotive and RFID systems. NI is a $650 million supplier of measurement and automation products for engineers and scientists across a range of industries.
CISC had been involved with the tag testing laboratory at the European EPC Competence Center in Germany, offering RFID engineering expertise and making use of NI products. NI eventually approached CISC about developing a software library built on NI’s LabVIEW, a systems development program popular among engineers and scientists. Sean Thompson, RF and Communications segment manager at NI, commented, “CISC has used NI measurement tools for a long time now and is very experienced within the field of radio frequency measurement techniques. CISC contributes a valuable library to existing NI measurement tools.” The MeETS also includes a library for use with NI’s PXI automation and measurement hardware platform.
CISC identifies three broad steps in achieving optimal read rates from an RFID system: fist, deciding the correct tag type; second, determining the best positioning and/or orientation of the tag on the tagged object; and third, ensuring the tagged objects work seamlessly with the readers. MeETS, according to the company, addresses the first two of these steps.
CISC sells the system in various “stages”, including one option targeted at labs and test centers that is a full system installation of the software and hardware.
The thrust of the MeETS seems to be a packaged tag testing solution built atop popular industry tools from NI. CISC’s CTO said, “The European EPC Competence Center relies on CISC RFID engineering knowledge, and we are very pleased to now offer an RFID measurement test system for all RFID users.”