RFID Journal has unveiled the finalists for its 2012 RFID Journal Awards. The winners will be announced at RFID Journal LIVE! 2012, the company’s 10th annual conference and exhibition, to be held at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin resort, in Orlando, Fla., on Apr. 3-5, 2012. Each end user that wins an award will be invited to present its case study at the event.
“Each year, the submissions get better and better, so it’s no surprise that this year’s entries covered some truly impressive RFID deployments,” says Mark Roberti, RFID Journal‘s founder and editor. “Attendees at LIVE! 2012 will benefit from hearing the winners present their stories live on stage, and will be able to view some of the new products featured in our Best in Show category.”
End-user companies were nominated in four categories:
Best RFID Implementation
• Bell Helicopter Textron, for a warehouse-management system that uses RFID to track parts shipped from a central warehouse to several production facilities
• Cisco Systems, for an RFID solution that allows the company to track IT assets across all of its facilities worldwide, and to have real-time visibility into their locations (see Cisco Tracks IT Assets Via RFID)
• V.M. Salgaocar & Bro. Pvt. Ltd., for an RFID system that captures, monitors and records trips made by trucks hired to transport ore from mines to two processing plants (see V. M. Salgaocar & Bro. Mines Automation From NFC-based Process)
Best Use of RFID to Enhance a Product or Service
• Gates Rubber Hoses, for an RFID-enabled service called SENTRY that automatically determines and tracks hose life so that hydraulic assemblies can be replaced prior to a possible failure
• Intel Corp., for a system of linking passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) tags to Intel processors, thereby enabling new features and capabilities for computers, tablets and other electronic devices
• Speedy Services, for an RFID-enabled pod that allows construction and industrial-services firms to efficiently track and manage tools at remote locations
Most Innovative Use of RFID
• Animal Performance Systems, for an RFID system for tracking animals in real time, in order to determine their level of activity and use the collected data for various conservation, research, educational and visitor-experience purposes
• BP International, for an RFID-based control-of-work solution that makes refinery “isolation” work safer and more efficient, and that maintains accurate records updated in near-real time
• The Village of Thiensville, for an underground utility asset-location and -identification system that allows the Wisconsin village to locate buried pipes and cables
RFID Green Award
• The City of Dayton, Ohio, for its use of RFID-enabled recycling totes that boosted participation in a recycling program by 40 percent (see RFID News Roundup: Dayton Recycles With RFID)
• HP Brazil, for an RFID-enabled system of tracking the recycling of the company’s printers
• Wild AG Research, for an RFID-enabled system that could improve wildlife research and minimize crop damageSpecial Achievement awards are given to individuals who have contributed to the advancement of the RFID industry. This year’s finalists are:
Special Achievement
• Bill Hardgrave, the dean of Auburn University’s College of Business, and the founder of the University of Arkansas’ RFID Research Center, for his pioneering research on the real-world impact that RFID can have on retailing
• Larry Arnstein, Impinj‘s VP of business development, Ken Traub, a consultant for GS1 US, and Gena Morgan, GS1 US’ program manager, for their work on the GS1 Tag Application, Identification and Serialization (TAIS) subcommittee, which was tasked with creating serialization standards that would control the behavior of all stakeholders in order to eliminate the risk posed by the mere possibility of the creation of duplicate serial numbers (see Chipmakers Seek Industry-wide Serialization Schema)
• Ian Robertson, EPCglobal‘s former industry development director, and the author of Improving Supply Chains Using RFID & Standards, for his work to increase the understanding of RFID’s business benefits and the visibility it creates
This year, RFID Journal introduced a new award for the Best RFID Thesis, recognizing students performing outstanding work in the academic field (see RFID Journal Issues Call for Awards Submissions, Introduces ‘Best RFID Thesis’). The finalists for 2012 are:
• Farhan Manzoor, of the National University of Ireland’s University College Cork, for his thesis, “Do You Have Green Lights to Go?”
• Cecilia Occhiuzzi, of the University of Roma Tor Vergata, for her thesis, “Wearable and Implantable RFID Technology for Pervasive Healthcare: Human Identification and Sensing”
• Qudoos Yousuf, of Leeds Metropolitan University (now known as Leeds Beckett University), for his thesis, “RFID Tag Location and Tag Anti-Collision Using Spread Spectrum Technique”In addition, 10 technology providers were picked as finalists for the Best in Show award, which will be given to the best new product being exhibited at this year’s LIVE! event:
• Austriamicrosystems, for its AS3922 active Near Field Communication (NFC) booster, an IC that can be incorporated in microSD and SIM cards (see RFID News Roundup: Austriamicrosystems Demos Standalone NFC MicroSD)
• Convergent Systems Ltd., for its CS506 plug-in module for RFID handheld readers, which allows the handheld itself to be location-tracked via a real-time location system
• Cubic Global Tracking Solutions, for its Yard Management Solution (YMS), which employs a unique yard-management device called the Mesh Asset Tag, as well as the company’s mist Mesh Network Technology
• Impinj, for its Monza Self-Serialization method, which offers brand owners the flexibility to decide when, where and how they manage item-level tagging processes across their global supply chain (see Impinj Seeks to Make Serializing Data Easy)
• Intelleflex, for its CMR-6100 multi-protocol reader, equipped with integrated GSM, GPRS and SMS cellular communication, and the ZEST Data Services platform
• NXP Semiconductors, for its Ucode I²C Connected UHF chip, which links directly to the microprocessor of a tablet, computer or other device, enabling new capabilities and functionality (see NXP to Unveil New UHF, HF Chips)
• Omni-ID, for its Visual Tag System, which displays readable information about moving assets in real time
• Seeonic, for its SightWare electronics module with firmware installed, designed to automatically capture RFID tags for consumer products within a fixture, as well as for its Seeniq server, which allows authorized personnel to access dashboards to view and monitor real-time inventory and decision support recommendations for replenishment via a Web browser
• STid, for its SolarGuard standalone, solar- and battery-power RFID terminal that can withstand harsh environments
• Xerafy, for its XS Dot and XS Dash small-form-factor on-metal tags (see RFID News Roundup: Xerafy Intros Tiny Tags for Surgical Instruments, Small Tools)
These awards are given in recognition of excellence in the RFID industry. “Each year, we see a growing number of impressive implementations and exciting new products,” Roberti states. “I’m pleased that we are able to shine a light on some of the amazing things being achieved in the industry.”
In addition to the RFID Journal Awards, LIVE! 2012 will also feature eight industry-specific and how-to conference tracks, eight in-depth preconference seminars and workshops, two co-located events, fast-track training and more than 200 exhibitors showcasing the latest RFID products and solutions. For additional information regarding the conference and its co-located events, please visit www.rfidjournalevents.com/live.