The following are news announcements made during the past week.
World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 Deploys 20,000 NFC Posters, Stickers
Global digital service design firm Fjord and the World Design Capital (WDC) Helsinki 2012 organization have deployed nearly 20,000 UPM BullsEye passive Near Field Communication (NFC) RFID tags, embedded in posters and stickers around the city of Helsinki, as well as a number of other locations in surrounding cities. By tapping an NFC phone against one of the tags, a user can download a mobile application for WDC Helsinki 2012. The mobile app, known as WDC 2012, is a “digital program book” that delivers information regarding planned activities and exhibits, as well as related news and event updates. This represents the first time that a WDC program guide was provided as a mobile application, according to UPM. In addition to current highlights and the WDC Helsinki 2012 program, sorted by time and location, users will have access to a map, a monthly calendar and information related to approximately 300 WDC projects and their locations in Helsinki. The free app is available for tourists and city residents, and is presented in English, Finnish and Swedish. The app currently supports only for phones using Android or Nokia operating systems, UPM reports, but is expected to be released in the near future for Apple iPhones and iPad tablets. WDC Helsinki 2012 is a joint venture between the Finnish cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen and Lahti, and is this year’s choice of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID). Every second year, ICSID recognizes a global city for accomplishments in using design as a tool to improve social, cultural and economic life. The first World Design Capital event, in 2008, honored Turin, Italy, while the second, in 2010, recognized Seoul, South Korea.
CAEN RFID Launches New UHF Long-Range Reader With Embedded PC and GPRS
CAEN RFID, a supplier of ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID systems, has announced the release of its new Ion EPC Gen 2 UHF RFID long-range reader, available with an optional integrated GPRS modem. The reader is well-suited for on-vehicle applications, smart shelves or smart displays, the company reports, or in any installation requiring RFID usage in remote areas. The Ion model, part of the firm’s easy2read family of readers, is optimized for portal installation, featuring full power for up to four antennas, complete network interfaces, and support for EPC Gen 2 dense-reader mode (DRM) management, which is designed to increase read rates when more than a handful of interrogators share the same space. The Ion device embeds an Intel ATOM processor. In addition to supporting data transfer via an optional integrated GPRS modem or an optional Wi-Fi connection (via the USB port), it also includes a USB 2.0 High Speed Host Port. The reader measures 10.8 inches by 6.1 inches by 1.5 inches, and weighs 1.3 kilograms (2.9 pounds). It can operate in temperatures ranging from -20 degrees to +55 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees to +131 degrees Fahrenheit). The Ion reader is currently available through CAEN RFID’s sales network.
Identec Solutions’ Technology to Safeguard Personnel at Swedish Nuclear-Waste Facility
Identec Solutions, a provider of active RFID and wireless sensor network-based solutions, has announced that its WatcherSystem personnel-safety solution has been selected for deployment at the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) for the firm’s underground Hard Rock Laboratory, on Äspö Island. Located in Stockholm, SKB was established in the 1970s by two Swedish Nuclear power companies. The SKB facility’s mandate, according to Identec Solutions, is to conduct cutting-edge research on the most effective management and disposal methods possible, in order to secure maximum safety for human beings and the environment. The WatcherSystem will be used within SKB’s underground facility, and is designed specifically for the challenging environments associated with remote oil platforms, mines and tunnels. The solution is self-contained, and its applications can be integrated into existing infrastructure for real-time visibility. The system features on- and offsite emergency evacuation coordination, alarm management and situation monitoring. During the deployment, the WatcherSystem will be used to automatically track personnel and guest location within SKB’s facility, as well as provide a real-time headcount. This information, according to Identec Solutions, will enable enhanced emergency response in the event of a potentially dangerous situation or safety evacuation. With personnel often working in isolation and with risky materials, the “lone worker” feature will automatically trigger alarms and/or action in the event that an employee exceeds set parameters within a defined area. Sweden-based Neosys, an RFID-based security solutions provider for the nuclear industry, worked with Identec Solutions to tailor the wireless tracking system to meet SKB’s needs. Other organizations using Identec’s Watcher solutions include Trafikverket, Sweden’s national transport administration, which has deployed Identec RFID tags in conjunction with sensors to ensure that workers are not exposed to excessive levels of toxic gases (see Swedish Tunnel Uses RFID to Monitor Air Pollution). Identec’s Watcher series of personnel-tracking safety system also includes Watcheroffshore (see Active UHF RFID Tags Muster Support for Oil Rigs).FastPoint Technologies Earns GS1 EPCglobal Software-Certification Mark
GS1 subsidiary EPCglobal has awarded its software-certification mark to FastPoint Technologies‘ ePedigree Management System, known as FastPoint ePedigree. EPCglobal’s certification mark is designed to ensure that software products have been tested and will function in predictable ways within the overall architecture of the EPC network. The mark is awarded by the EPCglobal Software Certification Program, a standards-based compliance testing program that provides a neutral and authoritative source for testing EPC RFID software and providing information regarding certified products and the vendors that manufacture them (see EPCglobal Announces EPC Software Certification, RFID Deployment Tool). The FastPoint ePedigree software is aimed at helping companies create, maintain, manage and distribute electronic pedigrees for both serialized and non-serialized products. The system has the capability of creating, receiving, processing and managing both inbound and outbound electronic pedigrees based on EPCglobal standards, and includes a Web portal that allows users to maintain master data, such as suppliers, customers and products, as well as system parameters and settings. The pedigrees can be generated both automatically (via the file interface) and manually (using the Web portal). To receive the software-certification mark, the company reports, FastPoint ePedigree was required to pass rigorous testing conducted by MET Laboratories, a nationally recognized third-party testing facility located in Baltimore. The mark includes an 18-digit Global Service Relation Number (GSRN) that is globally unique to that specific software product. A listing of certified software products, vendor profiles and other resources is available at EPCglobal’s Web site.
SITA Develops NFC Demo Solution for Airports, Travelers
SITA, an IT technology and services provider for the air-transport industry, has announced a new Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled proof-of-concept solution designed to streamline the steps that travelers take while maneuvering through airports and boarding flights. The solution, based on a subscriber identity module (SIM), leverages NFC chips inside smartphones, and was designed by the SITA Lab, SITA’s technology research arm. The technology is a joint innovation developed with Orange Business Services, SITA’s strategic partner for communications services. The proof-of-concept was designed to demonstrate that NFC-enabled smartphones can be used to speed the journey of passengers through an airport, according to Renaud Irminger, SITA Lab’s director. It implements several use cases identified by GSM Association, an organization comprising licensed GSM mobile network operators and the technology vendors that serve them, and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), an airlines standards body. Technically, the proof-of-concept consists of using a phone’s SIM card as the secure element to store the boarding pass token; installing the boarding pass token over the air (OTA) using a trusted service manager; utilizing an NFC-enabled smartphone’s card-emulation mode to enable the simple NFC “tap-and-go” gesture to pass through security gates, obtain lounge access and board the plane; demonstrating that this can work with the phone switched on or off; and modifying existing access readers in the airport to function using NFC to read the boarding tokens from the smartphones. According to Irminger, the proof-of-concept was developed and is being demonstrated to illustrate to the industry how NFC can be used on smartphones by airport passengers. Approximately 20 airline and airport representatives have already viewed the demo, he says, and have seen NFC in action at SITA’s offices in Geneva. Airport equipment providers DESKO and Kaba also joined SITA and Orange in the proof-of-concept’s development, providing advanced scanners, readers and security access gates. According to SITA, there are several key benefits of using NFC technology during the passenger journey: It is extremely secure, will work when the device is powered off, does not require the use of an app or any imagery, and is not affected by reading problems caused by dirty screens. Overall, the company reports, a passenger employing an NFC-enabled device can be processed faster than any boarding processes currently available. “We are at the point that standards need to be agreed across the air-transport industry, and indeed within the telecom/mobile players, too,” Irminger says. “SITA is active with its customers and industry bodies, including IATA, to help develop the evolution of these standards to the industry’s benefit. We are in discussions with major airlines and airports to put pilots in place, and hope that the first will go live mid-2012.”
Thinfilm Establishes Partnerships for Creating Fully Printed RFID Tags, Sensors
Thin Film Electronics (Thinfilm), a Norwegian provider of nonvolatile-memory products, has announced a partnership with PST Sensors, a spin-out of the University of Cape Town‘s NanoSciences Innovation Center, and a developer of ambient processed printed silicon electronics with a focus on physical sensors. The duo say they will jointly develop a printed temperature sensor system able to monitor the temperatures of perishable goods, such as food and pharmaceuticals, and help ensure that the contents of individual packages have been stored at a safe or optimal temperature. According to Thinfilm, typical alarm sensors for this market cost between $15 and $25 apiece, while the integrated devices developed by Thinfilm and PST will have a price less than 1/100th that of current systems. PST’s temperature sensors are based around a core technology of a printed silicon negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistor—a device whose electrical resistance decreases when heated. Being both printable and electronic, the sensors can be fully integrated with Thinfilm’s memory, as well as with complementary organic circuits. In October 2011, Thinfilm and partner PARC, a Xerox company, announced production of a working prototype of a printed non-volatile memory device addressed with complementary organic circuits—the organic equivalent of complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuitry (see RFID News Roundup: Thinfilm Unveils Rewritable Printed CMOS Memory). The demonstration of a prototype of the jointly developed temperature sensor system is expected by year’s end, and the partners plan to begin commercial manufacturing of the solution next year, with delivery anticipated in late 2013 or early 2014. The first devices are not expected to have RF capability, according to Thinfilm; they will display the information on the tag itself, and/or the digital data will be able to be read out by connecting to the tag, with the next generation slated to add RF read capability. The published roadmap calls for the development of RF capability in 2013, with transfer to production in 2014. Thinfilm also announced two other relationships this week: one with Acreo, which develops printed displays for a variety of applications, and one with Imprint Energy, which is developing an innovative printed battery technology. Thinfilm says the partnerships are central to its roadmap to support the Internet of Things, in which objects can collect and communicate data, with people and with each other. According to the company, Acreo’s printed electronic chromic displays are suitable for Thinfilm’s display requirements in segmented displays, such as alphanumeric characters and battery meters. As for Imprint Energy, Thinfilm reports that it will work with the company to develop and test samples for low-power, ultra-high-volume applications, such as temperature tags and small-scale displays.