The following are news announcements made during the past week by the following organizations:
SML Group;
Trimble, ThingMagic;
Nedap;
Tadbik, Mühlbauer;
DataSource Mobility; and
Aucxis.
SML Group Launches New Inlays Based on Impinj Monza R6 Chip
Apparel brand identification solution provider SML Group is marketing two new RFID inlays—the GB3_R6 and MAZE_R6—designed for high-volume retail applications. Both are based on Impinj‘s Monza R6 chip, SML Group reports, and designed to bring retailers and brand owners significantly improved read ranges across wider angles of orientation, particularly for difficult deployment situations, such as when tagged products are stacked closely together or are displayed on metal shelving.
The GB3_R6 measures 50 millimeters by 30 millimeters (1.97 inches by 1.18 inches) and is designed to perform extremely well in a wide variety of orientation modes, according to the company. Its strong backscatter performance gives it a long read range, even when handheld readers and older models with lower receiver sensitivities are used. The GB3_R6 is suitable for item- and asset-tracking, the company reports, including denim, poly bags, apparel tags and boxed items.
The MAZE_R6 measures 68 millimeters by 14 millimeters (2.68 inches by 0.55 inch) , SML Group says, and features enhanced antenna architecture with improved forward and reverse link performance, enabling it to perform well in dense tag populations. According to the company, the MAZE_R6 is suitable for item- and asset-tracking, including pallet placards, cases, denim, poly bags, apparel tags and boxed items.
Both the GB3_R6 and MAZE_R6 inlays feature read sensitivity up to -20.0 dBm and write sensitivity up to -16.7 dBm. The Monza R6—unveiled in 2014 (see New Impinj Chip Promises Higher Sensitivity, Read Range and Flexibility)—provides the inlays with additional features, including Impinj’s AutoTune technology that can help improve inlay responsiveness by automatically and continually re-tuning the on-chip radios to compensate for changing environmental conditions, including the effects of nearby materials like fabrics, packaging and fixtures; TagFocus, which is designed to suppress previously read inlays to enable fast capture of inlay data; and FastID, which allows a high-speed multi-volume encoding process with quick write speeds of 1.6 milliseconds for 32 bits.
Both the GB3_R6 and MAZE_R6 inlays have passed the ARC performance tests as defined by the RFID Lab at Auburn University, certifying that the inlays fully comply with specs A, B, C, D, F, G, I, K and M. The purpose of the ARC performance tests is to ensure that retail suppliers are able to deliver RFID-tagged product to retailers that meet or exceed the levels of performance necessary, SML Group explains, in order to provide benefits to both retailer and retail supplier in a consistent and cost-effective manner.
Trimble Introduces Autonomous Operation Support in Its ThingMagic Mercury API
Trimble‘s ThingMagic division has announced an updated version of its ThingMagic Mercury application programming interface (API) software development kit (SDK), to include full support for the ThingMagic Nano, an embeddable ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID module the size of a postage stamp.
The software update also includes expanded functionality to allow customers to set autonomous-operation functions directly through the Mercury API. This functionality, available for ThingMagic’s Micro and Micro-LTE embedded UHF RFID modules, enables hardware read triggers and savable configuration settings in the module, the company reports. Previously, autonomous operation could only be deployed using ThingMagic’s Autonomous Configuration Tool.
Announced this past March, the ThingMagic Nano measures just 22 millimeters by 26 millimeters by 3.0 millimeters (0.866 inch by 1.024 inch by 0.118 inch), has a very low-power consumption and wide RF output range (0 dBm to +27 dBm), and is suitable for the read-write requirements for battery-operated RFID-enabled printers, tag commissioning stations, product authentication and access-control readers (see Trimble Shrinks UHF RFID Reader Module). It can read tags from up to 10 feet away, at a rate of up to 200 tags per second, according to the company.
Customers currently using the Micro and Micro-LTE modules in their existing RFID products can use the Mercury API to write applications to control the module. The MercuryAPI supports Java, .NET and C programming environments. The Mercury API SDK contains sample applications and source code to enable developers to start demonstrating and developing functionality. With the latest release of the Mercury API, ThingMagic reports, users can save configuration settings such as RF power, duty cycle, read triggers and which antennas are searchable.
In addition, the Micro and Micro-LTE can be configured to start reading and outputting tag data on power-up, or on change-of-state of a general-purpose input (GPI) line. In addition, this mode of operation results in decreased power consumption, according to the company, because the “read on power-up” mode allows the reader to only consume power when it is on. There is no power consumption if the device is off, the company notes, making it a suitable solution for a battery-operated device, such as a handheld reader.
The ThingMagic Nano module and the latest version of the Mercury API are available now.
Nedap Intros Next Generation of Microwave RFID Readers
Nedap, a manufacturer of security and inventory-management solutions, has introduced Transit Ultimate, a new long-range reader with new semi-active transponders designed for vehicle and driver identification.
Transit Ultimate is the successor of Transit Standard, a long-range vehicle and driver identification reader that has been on the market for more than 15 years. Transit is designed to identify vehicles and drivers at a distance of up to 10 meters (33 feet) and a traveling speed of up to 200 kilometers per hour (125 miles per hour) by using semi-active (2.45 GHz) RFID technology.
The Transit Ultimate is built for vehicular access control in high-security applications and under heavy environmental conditions. With an improved industrial antenna and housing design, the new Transit Ultimate contains a second communication channel at 433 MHz that enables a wider bandwidth for communication between readers and tags. According to Nedap, tag authentication using AES encryption is incorporated to help prevent the cloning of tags and replay-attacks.
Transit Ultimate also offers semi-active RFID tags with two operating frequencies (2.45 GHz and 433 MHz), an integrated squelch upgrade board for read range adjustment, configurable three-color LED indication, a USB interface for communication with a reader, a tamper switch that detects changes by unauthorized persons, and a bonnet support strut for easy installation.
Nedap has also introduced new Boosters (transponders with integrated card readers) that function with smart-card technologies, such as HID, Mifare and Legic, so that vehicles and drivers can be identified securely. The new Boosters will also support the writing of information on cards. Credits, offline access rights and other authorizations could, for example, be stored dynamically on the personal access-control card when a vehicle enters or leaves the secured perimeter.
Transit Ultimate, by default, is fully backward-compatible with existing Transit Standard installations. A variety of interfaces ensure seamless and flexible integration into third-party systems, Nedap reports, for security, parking, logistics and traffic applications.
Tadbik Ramps Up With New Mühlbauer Smart Label Equipment
RFID and Near Field Communication (NFC) tag producer Tadbik Advanced Technologies, headquartered in Israel, has announced that it has upgraded its roll-based manufacturing with new, state-of-the-art smart label assembly equipment. The RFID and NFC tag producer purchased a Mühlbauer CL60000 converting machine and a PL30000 chip-encoding and print personalization/customization machine. The upgraded system is suitable for special projects requiring a dedicated solution and customization, the company indicate, and will enable Tadbik to compete as a top-tier of RFID converters.
With its new equipment, Tadbik is now able to more than double its production capacity, the firm reports, and to allow for even faster production time, especially for some new product developments. Previously, several cycles were necessary to complete the product, but now production and encoding are achieved in only a single run. For example, innovative products such as the ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) Animal Identification Ear Tag or the UHF NFC Windshield label require unique serialization printing and in-line encoding that can now be produced in a single cycle.
The new Mühlbauer equipment will save production time, eliminate offline finishing processes and allow for a high-quality product to be produced in a stable process, according to Tadbik, with online quality-control checks and customization as needed.
Tadbik manufactures all of its products in Israel and ships them worldwide. According to Michal Yanuv Max, the company’s sales and marketing manager, “it takes much more than inlays and a machine to produce the right RFID product. It requires very knowledgeable RFID machine operators that have years of experience manufacturing RFID products.” In addition, Max says, Tadbik has a research and development team in Israel, and the assistance of other printing divisions of Tadbik close by ensures the quality of solutions and influences the decision to keep the manufacturing in Israel and export the products worldwide. “In the future, especially with Tadbik expanding its activities in markets such as the Americas and Africa, we plan on adding RFID capabilities in the local Tadbik manufacturing plants and stationing some of our RFID professional machine operators to service these markets,” she states.
DataSource Mobility Announces RFID-enabled Asset-Tracking Software
DataSource Mobility has announced OmniScan2 (OS2), its asset-tracking and inventory-management software that integrates with bar-code and RFID hardware. OS2 is designed to track, locate and report on each asset as it moves from state to state or yard to truck, providing immediate insight into supply chain with accurate reporting.
The OS2 software is designed to tackle the challenges of managing mobile inventory in yards, facilities and warehouses, according to DataSource Mobility. The software is device-agnostic, and works with RFID products from Zebra Technologies, Panasonic, Getac and others, according to a company spokeswoman. DataSource Mobility also partners with an RFID manufacturer that creates RFID tags for the company and its customers, she says. OS2 provides a two-way data feed between inventory systems and mobile workers, by giving them complete visibility through real-time or batched readings. The software improves accuracy in inventory levels and management, the spokeswoman adds, and significantly decreases the amount of lost or misplaced assets. It is customizable to meet a customer’s exact needs, and can be seamlessly integrated with many data sources.
The OS2 portal functions on a Microsoft Windows- or Android-based interface for handhelds, but is primarily designed to tie in directly to a company’s inventory systems and work-order processes. The complete RFID and bar-code deployment pack includes mobile handheld devices, stationary fixed RFID readers, a custom starter kit of RFID and bar-code tags, durable printer-encoders for RFID and bar-code labels, and OS2 label-printing software.
According to DataSource Mobility, it was recently awarded a contract to deploy the OS2 solution for yard management at the 12th-largest public utility in the nation. All Tennessee Valley Authority members can now access most-favored nation pricing from the current request for proposal (RFP) for all hardware and software. Additionally, any Tennessee-based agency can utilize the contract vehicle already in place for a complete purchase.
Aucxis Wins Contract for Fisheries Container-Tracking Solution
The Union of Flemish Fish Auctions (Vereniging Vlaamse Visveilingen) has awarded a contract to business-automation specialist Aucxis to implement an RFID and bar-code solution for tracking fish throughout the supply chain.
The objective of the contract, according to Aucxis, is to roll out a track-and-trace solution in the three Belgian fish auctions of Zeebrugge, Ostend and Nieuwpoort following a positive evaluation of the pilot project in September. The project’s basic principle is that product information is linked to the fish boxes that are tracked from the moment that the fish are caught until they reach their final destination in the supply chain.
Aucxis has also announced that it has won the contract for the complementary project involving the development of a box pool management system and Web application for the new RFID fish boxes. In a later stage, all existing fish boxes will be tagged in order to enable the comprehensive management of all fish boxes circulating at the three fish auctions, as well as for other players in the supply chain.
The RFID solution proposed by Aucxis includes the supply of 15 terminals for forklift trucks, 39 RFID portals, four industrial input terminals for the fish-box management and 12 handheld RFID scanners. Both contracts together represent a value of €582,000 ($656.000).
Aucxis has previously worked on RFID projects in the fishing industry. Last year, in close collaboration with Visveiling Urk, a fish auction that operates in the Netherlands’ city of Urk, and four other parties, Aucxis developed a proof-of-concept track-and-trace solution based on RFID and other technologies, to serve as a model for the rest of the fisheries industry. At any given time, Visveiling Urk was able to learn the positions of its tagged fish boxes, and all parties involved could identify the fish within those boxes.