The following are news announcements made during the past week by the following organizations:
Siemens;
Century Link;
U.S. Department of Homeland Security;
SATO; and
SITA.
Siemens Announces New UHF RFID Transponder, Handheld Reader
Siemens is adding high-memory transponders and a compact mobile reader for logistics and service applications to its Simatic RF600 portfolio of EPC Gen 2 ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID products.
The new transponders, RF622T and RF622L, have a capacity of 4 kilobytes and, according to Siemens, are designed to enable large volumes of data to be stored regarding tagged objects, making them suitable for production control, asset management and intra-logistics. The new mobile handheld reader, the RF650M, enables reliable identification of a large number of transponders at a range of up to 3 meters (9.8 feet), according to the company.
The ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM) technology of the RF622T and RF622L transponders enables high-speed writing, as well as an unlimited number of write cycles. The RF622L, a smart label measuring 90 millimeters by 18 millimeters by 0.5 millimeter (3.5 inches by 0.7 inch by 0.02 inch), can be affixed to products and be individually printed from a roll with plain text or additional optical codes. The hardened RF622T transponder, measuring 120 millimeters by 30 millimeters by 6.5 millimeters (4.7 inches by 1.2 inches by 0.3 inch), has been designed to be affixed to pallets or containers, and can be attached to metal surfaces with an optional spacer.
The handheld RF650M model features a color touchscreen with a resolution of 240 pixels by 320 pixels, a rugged keypad and a large trigger button. To save space, Siemens reports, users can fold down the RFID antenna so that the device measures only 147 millimeters by 60 millimeters by 39 millimeters (5.8 inches by 2.4 inches by 1.5 inch) in size, so it can easily be carried in a pocket. The handheld weighs 235 grams (8.3 ounces), including the rechargeable battery that can power the device for of up to nine hours of operation—at least the length of one shift. Users can create their own applications for the device based on the Microsoft Windows Embedded operating system. For servicing work, the supplied RFID software can also be used for reading and writing from and to transponders.
Century Link Launches RFID Inlays With Impinj Monza R6 Chips
Century Link, an RFID solutions provider and a wholly owned subsidiary of Hangzhou Century Co. Ltd., has launched three new RFID inlays based on Impinj‘s Monza R6 chip.
Century Link’s new transponders, the CE31099, CE31100 and CE31101, have a compact form factor and are suitable for retail applications, according to Century Link. All three operate in the 860 to 960 MHz range and feature 96 bits of Electronic Product Code (EPC) memory. The CE31099 has an antenna measuring 40 millimeters by 17 millimeters (1.6 inches by 0.7 inch) and a read range of up to 7 meters (23 feet). The CE31100 has an antenna measuring 30 millimeters by 55 millimeters (1.2 inches by 2.2 inches) and a read range of up to 7 meters (23 feet). The CE31101 has an antenna measuring 70 millimeters by 10 millimeters (2.8 inches by 0.4 inch) and a read range of up to 10 meters (32.8 feet).
The Monza R6, unveiled in April 2014 (see New Impinj Chip Promises Higher Sensitivity, Read Range and Flexibility), is designed to make tags more sensitive than those employing other chips, with a longer read range and new features aimed at increasing the yield of properly functioning tags during manufacturing and encoding processes. According to Impinj, the Monza R6 can be encoded at a rate of 32 bits per 1.6 milliseconds (32 bits is the most common length of data chunks used when encoding with the EPC Gen 2 Blockwrite command).
DHS Seeks RFID Solutions to Track Biological Agents, Toxins
The Chemical Biological Defense Division (CBD) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate is asking for proposals to develop, integrate and implement a standardized RFID-capable inventory-tracking system for potentially dangerous materials. The tracking solution could potentially be used to protect biological agents and toxins against theft, misuse or diversion of materials for unlawful activity, as part of the federal government’s efforts to develop technologies that increase the country’s preparedness against chemical, biological and agricultural threats. Specifically, the government is seeking solutions that could be integrated with existing tracking database systems at federal and state laboratories, in order to ensure the safe and secure possession, use and transfer of select agents and toxins (especially Tier 1 biological agent samples) that may pose a threat to public health and to the U.S. economy.
According to the DHS announcement, half of the laboratories registered with the Select Agent program are government operations, while 29 percent are academic, 15 percent are commercial and 6 percent are private. Many Select Agent laboratories, the DHS says, are unable to afford the costs of RFID readers, databases and RFID tags, as well as personnel costs for maintaining Select Agent security requirements and metrics. These labs would benefit from having cost-effective RFID sample and inventory-control systems in place.
Per the DHS requirements, the proposed solution should establish an automated RFID sample-, inventory- and storage-management system that is easy to use and makes it simple to enter, locate, report on and manipulate biological laboratory samples. In addition, the agency reports, the solution should not require costly investments in capital equipment, servers, database systems or new operating systems. The proposal should evaluate the use of existing desktop systems, and of provided RFID readers, tags and databases. The DHS anticipates that approximately $524,000 of fiscal year 2015 funds will be available for any resultant awards under this call.
The system must allow the user to easily check samples in and out, and to create a chain of custody for samples, and reports should easily be produced in a variety of formats with the ability to sort and select various characteristics of the samples. In addition, the solution should include facility security to ensure appropriate access rights of critical personnel, and must be able to track the maintenance, security and transfer of Select Agents within their laboratories, using easy-to-understand guidance. Associated databases must be user-customizable, easily backed up and accessible. The relational database must be searchable for Select Agent data, as well as able to create reports for regulatory compliance to meet the operational needs of the program, and databases must be accessible remotely via a secure, reliable and cost-effective, virtual private network (VPN).
The DHS is accepting proposals in two phases. Entries for the Phase 1 round are due by Apr. 10 at 3 PM ET. Winning entrants will then be asked to submit a more detailed proposal for Phase 2. Additional information can be found at the Federal Business Opportunities website.
SATO Unveils Smart Cabinet for Real-Time Inventory Control in Health Care
SATO has unveiled its new PJM RFID Smart Cabinet to help health-care providers scan hundreds of items within seconds, enforce effective practices to reduce loss and ensure staff accountability. The system leverages SATO’s Phase Jitter Modulation (PJM) RFID technology, which is designed to quickly and accurately identify large volumes of tagged items stacked or stored in any physical orientation.
The PJM RFID Smart Cabinet utilizes a 9-inch Android-based touchscreen interface to view messages, control operations and provide voice guidance. The cabinet can act as a standalone device, or can be connected via a local area network (LAN) or wide-area network (WLAN) for remote inventory management. The Smart Cabinet can complete a real-time inventory count within 30 seconds; supports “first-in, first-out” (FIFO) processes; documents who accesses stock to enforce accountability; includes an auto-lock mechanism that prevents unauthorized access and increases security; and features multilingual support for text and speech.
“The Smart Cabinet is really a game-changer for the orthopedic industry,” said Kaz Matsuyama, SATO Holdings’ president and CEO, in a prepared statement. “It outperforms traditional inventory systems by a huge margin, cutting management time from hours to minutes, and as an IoT-ready device, it offers a new level of visibility that provides users with insights on their assets in real-time, resulting in greater efficiency, reductions in human error and improved patient safety.”
Outside of orthopedics, the company reports, the Smart Cabinet is suitable for a variety of applications, including the management of pharmaceuticals or other high-value items, such as diamonds and other gemstones. The cabinet is currently being introduced to end users in a variety of industries to obtain direct feedback. The new models will be made available in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.
SITA Report Cites Improved Bag Handling, Provides RFID Update
The air-transport industry has reduced the rate of mishandled bags by 61.3 percent globally since 2007, creating US$18 billion in total estimated cost savings, according to a new report from SITA, an information technology and services provider for the air-transport sector. The rate of mishandled bags1 in 2014 was 7.3 bags per thousand passengers, SITA indicates—down from a peak of 18.88 bags per thousand passengers in 2007—and this decline comes despite a significant rise in passenger numbers during the same time period, peaking at 3.3 billion passengers last year.
Looking to the future, the organization expects RFID technology to reduce the rate of mishandled bags even further. The report includes an update from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade group comprising airlines around the globe, which in 2014 introduced the universally unique identifier (UUID). The UUID—which will serve as a reference to a bag (in addition to the 10-digit baggage license plate identifier already in use by carriers) and will be used in baggage information systems—is essential for the introduction of RFID to baggage tags, according to the IATA.
The organization explains that RFID is a component of the electronic baggage tag standard (approved in 2014 by the IATA Passenger Services Conference), and is designed to link tags to existing luggage messages and make it easier to track bags without investing in changes at the baggage system level to support RFID implementation. The technology could also be a component of the home-printed baggage tag holder and some disposable tags. As a result, the IATA reports, airlines could use the tag’s RFID component to track the bag throughout its journey via low-cost RFID readers.
According to the IATA, the UIDD also plays a key role in the requirement that airlines track bags at key process steps (such as arrivals, transfer and loading to an aircraft) by 2018. The new resolution requires an airline to provide this information, as well as a baggage manifest message, to subsequent partners in the journey, such as the airport of arrival.
In addition, the UUID will be a key component in the security screening architecture that the IATA plans to propose next year. Without a unique reference, the remote screening of bags is not possible, because the reference to the bag might be duplicated. This remote screening could save the industry minutes on a baggage transfer process thousands of times a day. This could also allow some reduction in screening equipment. One of the main opportunities for the introduction of remote screening is the provision of images to other processes, such as customs. Pre-clearing bags on an inbound flight, the agency notes, would make it possible to avoid the lengthy queues required to enter some countries.