The following are news announcements made during the past week by the following organizations: Keysy; Turck; Voyantic, Brotech; iDTRONIC Professional RFID; Smartrac, Safeguard Business Systems, and USFI.
Keysy RFID Key Card and Fob Duplicator Receives Funding
Tiny Labs has announced Keysy, which it calls the world’s first RFID key card and fob duplicator and storage device. The company reports that the Keysy has successfully completed first-round funding and will enter full-scale production next month.
Historically, Tiny Labs reports, copying key cards and fobs has been a time-consuming, difficult and expensive process, but the Keysy allows users to duplicate and store multiple cards and fobs on a single device, much like storing online passwords on a browser or password manager. “Why, in the name of security, did we give management companies, the ability to charge exorbitant fees for our own keys and, in many cases, even regulate who can have access to our own personal property and space?” asked Elliot Buller, Keysy’s creator, in a prepared statement. “Security and convenience shouldn’t be an either/or situation. You can do both.”
The idea for Keysy developed when Buller tried to obtain a second RFID card for his apartment to share with his family. Despite it not costing much to make, his landlord charged him more than $100 for a single duplicate—and he was not allowed to make another copy.
“From that moment on,” Buller said, “I started thinking about a solution.” He had been working as an engineer in Qualcomm‘s Office of the Chief Scientist on various projects, including gesture recognition, embedded file systems, wireless telematics for automotive and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) solutions. A few years and ten revisions later, the Keysy device is the result.
A recent Research and Markets report illustrates the continued rapid growth of the RFID industry, Tiny Labs reports, as it estimates that the global RFID market will more than double, from $16.2 billion this year to $38.0 billion in 2021. The Keysy device is designed to make it less time-consuming and expensive to make a copy of a digital key fob or card, the company adds.
Turck Announces UHF RFID Smartphone Reader
Turck has expanded its RFID offerings with a new ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) handheld device. The PD-IDENT handheld provides customers with a lightweight smartphone RFID reader system, the company reports. The handheld houses a UHF antenna and connects to a user’s smartphone via the audio port. Additionally, Turck is providing customers with a basic, multipurpose RFID app for iOS and Android mobile devices (Microsoft Windows support is expected to be added in the future). The handheld can be used in conjunction with the company’s BL ident RFID system.
Measuring 159 millimeters by 95 millimeters by 39 millimeters (6.3 inches by 3.7 inches by 1.5 inches), the PD-IDENT is designed to fit in the palm of a person’s hand and accommodate a variety of smartphone models. The solution comes with a lithium-ion battery, which the company says will last for up to two hours of active scanning on a charge.
This solution was created through a partnership between Turck and U Grok It. “Using the handheld reader, our customers will be able to track, control and manage their RFID applications better than ever,” said Randy Durick, Turck’s VP of fieldbus technology, in a prepared statement. “This partnership allows Turck to provide an adaptable, economical UHF handheld solution for our customers, and we look forward to our long-term partnership with U Grok It.”
The PD-IDENT has an operating frequency of 865 to 928 MHz and complies with the EPC Gen 2 and ISO 18000-6C standards. A user can simply select a region upon initiating the device in order to conform to local radio communication requirements.
Voyantic, Brotech Provide RFID Testing Equipment
Voyantic Ltd. and Brotech Graphics Co. have partnered to produce RFID performance testing equipment.
The system, known as Eurotech RFID FS RFID, rewinds rolls of RFID labels and validates their receptivity by running them through Voyantic’s Tagsurance RFID inspection system. The unit allows for stopping at a predetermined editing spot for the removal and replacement of a defective piece, and indicates defective labels via a mark printed by an inkjet system integrated with the machine.
Adjustment of the closed-loop tension-control system can be made by altering the parameters on the software controlling the servomotor control system. This, according to the company, provides users with a virtually infinite range with which to wind labels without cracking the inlay or antenna. Web adjustment and guidance are also provided, along with a web guide system and ultrasonic sensor.
The Eurotech RFID FS RFID label-inspection system is equipped with the Tagsurance system for testing the performance of RFID tags. This is accomplished by verifying that a tag is responding to commands on its entire operational frequency range, which involves testing the tag at multiple frequencies. Accurate power output, combined with the Voyantic Snoop Pro antenna, optimized for testing tags inline at high speed, allows a user to define precise acceptance criteria and achieve stable quality, according to the company.
iDTRONIC Launches Cylindrical Reader-Writer
iDTRONIC Professional RFID has announced the BLUEBOX Cylindrical Reader M30 UHF, a new RFID reader-writer for industrial automation processes. In the field of industrial automation, the automatic identification of products is becoming increasingly important, iDTRONIC reports, so it developed this reader for users that require a flexible, fast integration into existing applications. Such applications are typically found in production control, material-handling control, and tracking and tracing.
The BLUEBOX M30 UHF reader-writer is a fixed solution with a power output of up to 27dBm / 500mW. The power setting can be set in 1dBm steps, starting from 10dBm. In combination with the integrated circular antenna and a gain of -8dBi, the company reports, the M30 reader can achieve a reading distance of up to 40 centimeters (15.7 inches) within industrial environments.
The device comes with an RS232, RS485 or CAN-Bus interface. The new antenna allows for flexible and fast integration into many existing applications, the firm explains, with an M30 housing and standardized M12 connectors.
iDTRONIC’s Cylindrical Reader M30 UHF supports the BLUEBOX software development kit (SDK), with demonstration and setup tools. The Microsoft Windows-based tools support all operating systems, from XP to Windows 10. Combined with C++, C# and an ASCII command protocol, the SDK offers an option to integrate the modules into any environment, according to iDTRONIC. Customization of firmware and hardware is available upon request.
Shipping now, the reader is available only from iDTRONIC Professional RFID.
Smartrac Files Patent-Infringement Complaint Against Safeguard, USFI
Smartrac IP B.V., located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, has initiated a patent-infringement lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas against Safeguard Business Systems, USFI and Douglas Ritter. Safeguard acquired USFI’s assets in 2015; Douglas Ritter was USFI’s president and continues to serve as the president of USFI’s business unit within Safeguard.
Smartrac alleges that sales of certain contactless transponder cards by USFI and Safeguard infringe upon some of Smartrac’s patents. “We watch the market closely and enforce our patent rights where necessary, to protect the significant investments we make each year in innovative products and services,” said Thomas Hitzer, the EVP of Smartrac’s Secure ID & Transactions Business Division, in a prepared statement.
Smartrac and its affiliates hold more than 1,000 patents and patent applications for technology, equipment and the production of RFID components. The company’s products are used in a wide array of applications, including access control, animal identification, automated fare collection, automotive, border control, contactless payment, electronic product identification, industry, libraries and media management, laundry, logistics, retail and public transport.
USFI/Safeguard is a multi-national, full-service print and promotional and marketing company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with regional offices in Virginia, Florida, Illinois and Colorado. The firm serves clients in the hospitality, cellular, electronics, financial services and retail industries.