The following are news announcements made during the past week.
Omni-ID Adds to Line of Tags for Industrial and Warehouse Applications
Omni-ID has announced a new dual-band RFID tag as part of its Exo range of tags. The Exo 600 tag, a Gen 2 passive RFID tag designed to operate in both the U.S. and EU RFID bands, leverages an Impinj Monza 4QT chip. It features a small footprint and has a read range of up to 6 meters (19.7 feet) with a fixed reader. According to Omni-ID, the Exo 600 tag is designed for industrial and warehouse portal applications used in the logistics industry. It stands out in the Exo tag lineup as well-suited for attachment to metal bars commonly found on returnable transport items (RTIs), used to carry goods within the supply chain or within a manufacturing process, the company reports. The tag has 96 bits of Electronic Product Code (EPC) memory and 512 bits of user memory (both reprogrammable), is available with or without mounting holes, and can be attached via rivets or adhesive. It weighs approximately 0.44 ounce with holes and 0.41 ounce without holes, and measures 3.15 inches by 0.59 inch by 0.48 inch with holes, and 2.36 inches by 0.59 inch by 0.48 inch without holes. The Exo 600 tag can operate in temperature ranges of -40 degrees to +85 degrees Celsius (-40 degrees to +185 degrees Fahrenheit) and has an IP 68 rating, making it dustproof and waterproof. The tag follows the Exo 200, Exo 400 and Exo 400P models that Omni-ID unveiled last August (see RFID News Roundup: Omni-ID Unveils Three New RFID Tags for Tracking Tools, Containers), all of which are highly durable and designed specifically for small equipment and RTIs, according to Omni-ID.
Nanotron, Mecomo Unveil New RFID Solution Combining GPS and Indoor Tracking
German real-time location system (RTLS) developer Nanotron Technologies has announced that it has integrated its Chirp Spread Spectrum (CSS) technology into the latest tracking product—a GPS-based tracking solution, known as mecSOLAR—from Mecomo, a software developer and provider of telematics and asset-tracking solutions. The mecSOLAR device has a solar-rechargeable battery and built-in temperature, humidity, shock, light and door sensors. The CSS technology uniquely allows wireless localization and data transmission within closed spaces, according to Nanotron. The company’s solution employs 2.4 GHz active RFID tags and readers complying with the IEEE 802.15.4a standard. The tags transmit a chirp—a brief signal across the entire 2.4 GHz band—that is received by the readers, with Nanotron software using the signal’s time difference of arrival (TDOA) to calculate each tag’s location within approximately 3 meters (9.8 feet). Thanks to the CSS technology, Nanotron reports, mecSOLAR’s functionality has now been extended to allow in-house tracking, resulting in a single tracking solution combining GPS and indoor tracking of logistics objects. To ensure that the mecSOLAR solution fully benefited from the CSS technology’s energy efficiency and penetrating signal strength, the two companies developed a new, specialized wireless sensor radio interface called mecSENSE. The combination of the CSS and mecSENSE technologies makes mecSOLAR a suitable solution for use with sensors in containers, according to Nanotron. In addition to all of the sensors already featured in the mecSOLAR solution, supplementary sensors can easily be connected, provided that they support the interface. Nanotron and Mecomo have been collaborating since the beginning of 2012; in May of this year, the partners announced their first joint project, mecCARGO, which also incorporates Nanotron’s CSS technology (see RFID News Roundup: Mecomo Integrates Nanotron’s RTLS Chirp Technology to Track Logistics Items Outside GPS Signal Areas).
Elatec-RFID Intros Development Kit for Mini NFC Reader
Elatec RFID Systems has announced a new development kit for its Mifare NFC Mini 13.56 MHz reader, designed for mobile and industrial applications. The reader measures 33 millimeters by 30 millimeters (1.3 inches by 1.2 inches) and has an integrated high-frequency (HF) antenna. According to the company, the device uses minimal power, has a temperature operating range of -5 degrees to +80 degrees Celsius (23 degrees to 176 degrees Fahrenheit), and is well suited for integration directly onto the printed circuit board (PCB) of a mobile computer or other electronic device. The module features four user-configurable inputs or outputs, as well as a secure access module (SAM) connection, enabling the reader to be used for security and cryptography applications. Communication takes place via a serial transistor–transistor logic (TTL) interface or a serial peripheral interface (SPI), and the module supports transponders compliant with the ISO 14443 A and B RFID standards, as well as the ISO 18092 NFC standard. The new kit is designed to enable original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and systems integrators to integrate the compact RFID reader-writer unit into a proprietary application. According to the company, such applications include access and time controls utilized in door locks or fitness equipment, authentication, the tracking of medical equipment, and other uses requiring compact RFID capability. The reader’s developer kit supports FTDI drivers for the Microsoft Windows and Windows CE .NET operating systems, as well as Linux, Apple Mac and Android. The kit, which costs €105 ($137), includes a quick-start guide, a USB cable, a software package and two Mifare cards.GlobeRanger Announces Cloud-based Version of Its RFID Edge-Management and Middleware Solution
GlobeRanger, a Richardson, Texas, provider of supply chain software and RFID middleware that enables the translation of read-event data to back-end systems, has announced the availability of its iMotion Stratus cloud-based platform for RFID, mobility and sensor solutions. Built with the same software utilized by GlobeRanger’s iMotion Edgeware Platform for managing interrogators, iMotion Stratus is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) for companies looking to begin utilizing RFID technology without the upfront costs of RFID software and the servers to run it, according to GlobeRanger. The service provides all of the features of iMotion from the cloud, and deployments can scale from a single location to thousands of sites globally. Stratus works with all of GlobeRanger’s iMotion software, integrates with existing iMotion server-based and network-appliance-based deployments, and uses the same configurable application and solution accelerators as the server-based iMotion platform. According to the company, the configurable applications are designed to make it easy to deploy RFID-enabled solutions from the cloud, including shipping and receiving, asset tracking, and perishable goods tracking.
SpaceCode Partners With Sarin Technologies for Gem/Jewelry Solution
SpaceCode, a provider of RFID products to the gem and jewelry industry, has announced an exclusive partnership with Sarin Technologies, a supplier of precision technology products for the planning, processing, evaluation and measurement of diamonds and gems. The partnership will focus on the commercialization, distribution and technical support of SpaceCode’s RFID products and accessories for the gem and jewelry industries. SpaceCode’s products, designed to help companies track and manage product portfolios, include a variety of proprietary passive RFID tags and inlays for numerous types of jewelry, such as the Diamond Tag, a rectangular, flexible adhesive RFID label measuring 64 millimeters by 36 millimeters (2.5 inches by 1.4 inches) that can be affixed to parcels, various inlays; and the Jewelry Tag, a rectangular, black plastic tag measuring 26 millimeters by 16 millimeters (1 inch by 0.6 inch) designed to be attached to objects with high metallic content, such as jewels or watches. The product line also includes the SmartBox, an RFID-enabled device typically placed within a safe or vault (where it acts as an intelligent safe within a safe). The SmartBox can be used for storing, monitoring and tracking high-value inventory, and features remote access enabling managers to remotely receive alerts, check and validate the safe’s contents, and learn who had accessed the device. It features 3D antenna configuration, USB and Ethernet connection options, and the capacity to read up to thousands of items, as well as built-in shock, door-open and volumetric intrusion sensors and alerts. The units can be stacked next to or on top of each other without interference. The SmartCabinet is designed to securely manage and store up to 10,000 items placed in any orientation. The device can be controlled only by official users who are certified electronically via a secure access card or a biometric fingerprint. The SmartCabinet has fingerprint access and a 3D antenna configuration, and can read thousands of items and features via alarm-controlled volumetric, intrusion and shock sensors. It comprises three compartments and five sliding shelves to accommodate varying requirements, with USB and Ethernet connection options and a polycarbonate door to prevent forced access. The SmartSAS RFID cabinet offers fingerprint access, is fitted with two doors (back and front), and features a 3D antenna configuration, USB and Ethernet connection options, the capacity to read thousands of items, and built-in shock, door-open and volumetric intrusion sensors and alerts, along with customized alarms configured according to specified requirements. The SmartDrawer is a dual-access, two-sided drawer that tracks the exchange of a small number of goods (tens or hundreds) as they are handed from one person or department to the next. Utilizing a drawer mechanism accessed from the front or back, goods can be securely transferred from one person to another in an “always-on digital handshake” that can validate transactions and user rights, in addition to scrutinizing, in real time, how long items have been held by an individual, where goods exchanged hands and when this all occurred. The SmartDrawer features a 3D antenna configuration, USB and Ethernet connection options, and built-in shock, door-open and volumetric intrusion sensors and alerts. The SmartBoard desktop reader, capable of reading hundreds of tags simultaneously, is available in 1D and 3D antenna configurations, with USB and Ethernet connection options and a well-defined read range of up to a height of about 15 centimeters (6 inches) above the board. Finally, the SmartStation reader can interrogate multiple tags simultaneously. It features a 1D antenna configuration and USB and Ethernet connection options, and can be mounted under a desk or shelf in order to keep a working area clear. SpaceCode’s RFID-enabled solution is currently being used by Steinmetz Diamond Group to track diamonds (see A Diamond Ping).