This article was originally published by RFID Update.
May 3, 2006—This week’s RFID Journal LIVE! is seeing a flurry of announcements, the most newsworthy of which are included below:
- RFID reader manufacturer ThingMagic has released the fifth version of its flagship reader, Mercury. The Mercury5 is touted as “ignoring interference” and “getting more 100% reads”. It retails for $1,995, with volume discounts available. The pricing on its predecessor, the Mercury4, has been lowered to $995. Read the announcement.
- The Center for Democracy and Technology led a group of companies and consumer advocates in the development of an RFID “Best Practices” document, which is available here. The American Library Association, aQuantive, Cisco Systems, Eli Lilly, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, the National Consumers League, Procter & Gamble, VeriSign, and Visa were all involved. Read the announcement.
- Symbol Technologies has launched a portfolio of Gen2 and specialty tag inlays. The company claims read distances of up to 30 feet at any orientation for the Gen2 inlays. The specialty tag is a ruggedized, 6×6-inch metal mount tag meant for asset-tracking applications. It is read/write, reusable, and designed to withstand the knocks and blows of rough industrial environments. Symbol says that this new specialty tag is the first in an upcoming line of asset-tracking products. Read the announcement.
- Sirit has introduced the INfinity 510 Gen2 RFID reader, which president and CEO Norbert Dawalibi says is “the first product release resulting from the purchase of SAMSys.” Recall that Sirit purchased the assets of RFID reader manufacturer SAMSys last month (see RFID Reader Company SAMSys Sells Assets). The first production units for the INfinity 510 are slated to begin in June. Read the announcement.
- Item-level tagging specialist TAGSYS announced both a dual frequency UHF/HF point-of-sale RFID reader as well as a smart shelf and smart dispenser. The reader is aimed at making the UHF vs. HF debate for item-level tagging “a thing of the past”, according to CEO Elie Simon. The smart shelf and dispenser are targeted at the pharmaceutical, retail, library, and laundry verticals. They are currently prototypes, but TAGSYS expects production to begin in the third or fourth quarter. Read the POS reader announcement and the smart shelf announcement.
- RFID solutions provider ODIN technologies has released the latest in its RFID hardware benchmark series. The Gen 2 RFID Reader Benchmark presents a performance analysis of the leading Gen2 readers from manufacturers Alien, Impinj, Intermec, Omron, SAMSys/Sirit, Symbol, and ThingMagic. Sponsored by Unisys, the report is available for purchase on ODIN’s website for $1,500.
- Savi Technology advanced the long-anticipated fusion of RFID and sensor technology with the release of its SensorTag ST-673 and ST-674. In addition to the standard identification and location capabilities offered by RFID, the tags monitor the temperature and humidity of their environment. They are meant for military and commercial shipments of any type of good that has environmental requirements, like ammunition, medical supplies, and perishables. Read more here.
- RFID chip and reader manufacturer Impinj has announced a reseller agreement with ADT Security Services, a unit of conglomerate Tyco. Under the agreement, ADT will resell Impinj’s Speedway RFID reader in North America and include Speedway as part of its standard portfolio of physical layer RFID products. The ADT deal is the first North American distribution agreement for Impinj’s Speedway, which the company also officially announced is now available in volume quantities. See yesterday’s article for more.
- Domino purchased EIS for $2 million. See yesterday’s article for more.
- SmartCode announced 5-cent tag pricing. See yesterday’s article for more.
