Identiv opened its IoT Excellence Center to serve end users and solution providers who are building solutions leveraging UHF, HF, NFC, BLE
Technology company Identiv has launched a new research and development facility in Germany that will serve developers, solution providers and end users of Internet of Things (IoT) systems.
Identiv’s IoT Excellence Center in Sauerlach, just outside of Munich, will provide hands-on access to the new and existing technologies the IoT company offers, as well as some from its partners.
Identiv is a California-based, global digital security and identification company that sells IoT technology and software, under its Bitse.io platform. Its solutions leverage UHF RFID, 13.56 MHz HF RFID, near field communication (NFC), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), as well as physical access systems, video and audio security.
Airports, Factories and Retail
The technology is in use for a wide variety of business verticals including airports, manufacturing and automotive facilities, pharmaceutical and public safety sectors. Its products and solutions are used for retail inventory management and authentication, as well as for energy and utilities asset management.
The 25 square-meter lab is located in the same facility where Identiv engineers are conducting research and development and displays all of the company’s IoT product portfolio including a variety of RFID readers and tags, says Amir Khoshniyati, Identiv’s VP and general manager of IoT business.
The new center is being launched to bring the company’s technology into the hands of those with IoT ideas who needed a place where they could experiment, collaborate or simply view what technology is available.
Flagship Excellence Center
The center’s opening this month serves as what the company calls the flagship Excellence Center with more demos and technologies to be added over time. Other centers are planned for other parts of the world, according to company officials.
The new site brings the company’s lab-based results—in the form of early-stage technologies—together with end to end offerings, in the single location.
Khoshniyati stated the new center will help the company better serve its European base. “It’s a perfect location for our partners, suppliers, and most importantly, customers, to grasp new and existing technologies in real world use cases,” he said.
Simulated Use Cases
Among the simulated use cases Identiv will include is a library setting to help users and developers test technology for media management. The center can accommodate testing of sensor inlays that track temperature, humidity, strain or fill level measurements for use in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
Additionally, visitors to the center will have access to products for hospital applications such as RFID tags and readers used in smart cabinets at health care facilities. Individuals can test IoT tags on medical devices as well as in authentication applications to confirm the authenticity of a medication or device.
Technology used for patient monitoring can be tested for smart blisters and smart syringes for medications and medical tools.
Identiv provides inlays and labels for health care and pharmaceutical supply chain management, and users can test these products in a simulated supply chain setting.
Product Authentication and Consumer Engagement
For retail, tags applied to specialty retail products such as phygital merchandise (with combined physical and digital marketing experiences) can be tested for use in product authentication or consumer engagement applications.
The new facility has a section for Bitse.io applications so that users can view the features of the software platform and how it can be employed or customized for specific applications. And the site includes what it calls the wall of Wiliot with the ambient IoT company’s pixel tags for demonstration of the battery free RTLS technology.
Company officials see the center as natural extension to a location where engineers can innovate and demonstrate their results.
“Our engineering excellence center encompasses the engineering leadership for our global team, R&D facility and location for all our products,” said Khoshniyati.
Expanding to Singapore and U.S.
Beyond the new site in Germany, Identiv has plans to open a an excellence center in Singapore and the United States. The new facilities are aimed at a growing demand for IoT products the company says.
Products available for testing at the new center include tags, dry and wet inlays including additional converting to ruggedized and all spectrums of IoT including UHF RFID, HF, NFC and BLE.
“It will be a great area to get acclimated with new technology and test your innovation ideas,” Khoshniyati says.
Key Takeaways:
- Identiv has opened its IoT Innovation center in Sauerlach Germany to serve technology innovators and users as they build new solutions with RFID, NFC or other IoT technologies.
- Similar new centers are planned for Singapore and U.S.