The following are news announcements made during the past week.
Sanjay Sarma, Mike Rose Elected to Lead EPCglobal Board
Sanjay Sarma, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Mike Rose, the VP of supply chain visibility at Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems (JJHCS), have been elected chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of EPCglobal‘s board of governors. EPCglobal, an affiliate organization of GS1, is responsible for driving the adoption of GS1’s standards, including the Electronic Product Code (EPC). Sarma is one of the cofounders of the Auto-ID Center at MIT, which developed the original EPC specifications. In 2003, the Auto-ID Center evolved into two organizations: EPCglobal, charged with achieving worldwide adoption and standardization, and the Auto-ID Labs, responsible for the continued development of EPC technology. As a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, Sarma has continued to lead the Auto-ID Lab at MIT, as well as serving on GS1 US‘ board of governors and being a permanent guest of GS1’s management board. Sarma replaces Dick Cantwell, who served as chairman of EPCglobal’s board of governors for eight years and, prior to that, as chairman of the board of overseers of the original Auto-ID Center since its foundation. During the past 12 years, Cantwell has helped lead the adoption of EPCglobal standards across various industries, including the successful implementation of EPC RFID within his own company (see Cisco Tracks IT Assets Via RFID), Cisco Systems, where he functions as the VP of the Internet Business Solutions Group. Rose has served on the EPCglobal Board for seven years. As JJHCS’ VP of supply chain visibility, he has helped lead the adoption of GS1 standards within the health-care sector, with the goal of improving supply chain efficiency, traceability and patient safety.
Xerafy Adds Pico XL 2-kilobit Tag to Its Aviation-Grade Product Line
Xerafy has introduced its Pico XL tag, containing 2 kilobits of memory. This tag is the latest addition to the company’s family of ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID-on-and-in-metal (ROM) tags for aerospace, defense, manufacturing, oil and gas, and other industries. The Pico XL features the TegoChip 2000, a passive UHF EPC Gen 2 RFID chip from Tego that meets the Air Transport Association‘s Spec 2000 Low Memory Tag format and SAE International‘s SAE AS5678 specifications. The Spec 2000 Low Memory Tag format is intended to allow the widespread use of lower-cost tags that store an abbreviated version of a tag’s birth record, as well as a shorter form of its table of contents, as compared with the original aviation High Memory Tag format. The Low Memory tag format is intended for aircraft equipment that is not repairable (such as life vests). Tego first introduced its TegoChip 2000 in October 2011 (see Tego Offers New 2-Kilobit Chip and Demystifying the Low Memory of Aviation’s Low-Memory Tags). The SAE AS5678 specifications spell out requirements regarding a tag’s ability to withstand specific variations in temperature, air pressure, vibration, shock and other environmental factors. Xerafy previously introduced its Sky-ID high-memory XL tags, which offer 8 kilobytes of memory dedicated for flyable aircraft parts that are repairable and require that part history records be stored on the tags as they move through multiple cycles of installation on aircraft, as well as removal, repair, upgrade, pooling and re-installation. The Pico XL measures 0.70 inch by 0.43 inch by 0.19 inch (17.8 millimeters by 10.9 millimeters by 4.8 millimeters), and weighs 0.07 ounce (2 grams). According to Xerafy, the tag is IP68-rated, signifying it is water- and dust-proof, and can resist application temperatures ranging from -40 degrees to +302 degrees Fahrenheit (-40 degrees to +150 degrees Celsius). In addition to aviation applications, the company reports, the tag is suitable for IT asset tracking; medical device tracking; maintenance, repair and operations (MRO); manufacturing; and other applications.
U.S. Census Bureau Seeks Information on RFID for Asset Tracking
The U.S. Census Bureau, a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce, has issued a request for information (RFI) as part of an initiative to develop requirements for an RFID (or similar technology) pilot program. The RFI is being issued for research and planning purposes only, and is not a request for proposal (RFP). According to the RFI, the Census Bureau wants to be able to better track assets using RFID tags or similar technology, in order to identify the locations of assets throughout the bureau’s offices and warehouse, including its computer center, located in Suitland, Md. The current inventory requiring tagging and tracking is approximately 80,000 assets, but must be scalable to more than 150,000 assets during Decennial Census, according to the RFI. The bureau currently uses bar codes to track inventory, and is interested in a solution combining bar codes and RFID, and that is capable of using current infrastructure for read points that leverage fixed and handheld readers. In issuing its RFI, the bureau hopes to more fully understand the scope of current and practical technologies, processes and approaches for RFID implementation. The full RFI can be viewed here.Enso Detego Unveils New Virtual RFID Tunnel
Enso Detego is promoting its new Virtual RFID Tunnel solution, an ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) EPC Gen 2 RFID reader system designed to capture read data from tags attached to individual items grouped in stacks and moving through automated conveyor systems, without having to separate the products from previous or subsequent packing units. Up to 50 items can be identified at a conveyor speed of 1 meter (3.3 feet) per second, the company reports. Additionally, the Virtual RFID Tunnel can distinguish RFID tags transported on conveyor systems from those tags stored in the immediate vicinity, via filtering transponders adjacent to but not directly on the conveyor belt, and the selective reading of the conveyor belt, thereby eliminating false-positive reads. With the Virtual RFID Tunnel, Enso Detego says, mechanical RF shielding is not necessary, as the solution relies instead on software-based logic. The solution can be implemented with one or more antennas, the company adds, depending on the distance, reading and space requirements involved. The system includes a UHF reader with one Ethernet jack, up to four directional UHF antennas, antenna cables, a controller, two light barriers and reflectors for detecting when tagged items are present on the conveyor (thereby triggering the RFID reader to begin transmission), two power plugs (for the reader and controller) and the Virtual RFID Tunnel Solution software. According to Enso Detego, the system can be integrated with existing customer software and conveyor systems.
Laird Technologies Acquires Emerson & Cuming Microwave Products
Laird Technologies, which manufactures RFID reader antennas and provides components and solutions that protect electronic devices from electromagnetic interference and heat, has announced its acquisition of Microwave Materials Group, the holding company of Emerson & Cuming Microwave Products, a developer and manufacturer of microwave materials, low-loss dielectrics, electrically conductive shielding materials and RFID read-on-metal-and-liquid tags. The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but according to Laird Technologies, Emerson & Cuming’s revenues for the year ended Dec. 31, 2011, were €16.3 million ($21.6 million), a 20 percent increase from the year prior. Laird Technologies reports that the acquisition adds to its product set Emerson & Cumming’s Eccosorb, Eccostock, Eccoshield and Eccopad offerings. The Eccosorb high-loss microwave absorbers are designed to attenuate electromagnetic interference by converting RF energy to heat. The Eccostock line consists of dielectric products used in antennas, transmission lines, cavity tuning probes, electronic modules and RF/microwave devices. The Eccoshield line works by containing or excluding electromagnetic energy in RF modules and components, waveguides and structural enclosures. The Eccopad materials are designed for custom tag design and manufacturing of metal tags, such as the 13.56 MHz metal-mount spacer. The product brands will help Laird Technologies grow its customer base within the wireless and satellite communications, military and aerospace, automotive, RFID and medical markets, the company reports. Laird Technologies’ RFID reader antennas designed for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) include such designs as the US Band “mini” CP RFID S9025P, HF “slab” and Forklift antenna. The RFID antennas function across all popular domestic and international UHF RFID frequencies for indoor and outdoor use. Laird Technologies also offers customized RFID customized products for a variety of applications, including rack and shelving, dock doors, vehicle transit, and kiosks and countertops.
Smartrac Intros New Contactless ISO Card
Smartrac, an RFID inlay supplier headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, has announced an addition to its White Contactless ISO Card family. According to Smartrac, the new CISO FRAM card is compliant with the ISO 15693 standards, operates at 13.56 MHz, has a memory capacity of 2 kilobytes and supports a 64-bit unique ID (UID) number, high-speed data transmission and reception, anti-collision function, anti-theft (EAS) command, ferroelectric random-access memory (FRAM) data protection and data retention of 10 years. The card is designed to withstand radiation sterilization processes, which Smartrac says makes it a suitable and secure solution for access-control applications in medical environments and the health-care sector.