Presented here are recent news announcements regarding the following organizations: AIM Global, American Emergency Vehicles, Avery Dennison, Covisus, LedgerDomain, LG Electronics, Push Technology, Reportlinker.com, RF IDEAS, Shipcom Wireless and Zyter.
Avery Dennison, Covisus, LedgerDomain, Shipcom Wireless Win AIM RFID Competition
AIM, an industry association that fosters innovation, standards and solutions for RFID, IoT, NFC, RTLS and other technologies, has announced the winners of its 2020 Case Study Competition. The contest recognizes companies that have developed solutions that contribute to the growth and advancement of automatic-identification and data-capture (AIDC) technologies by decreasing risk, increasing demand, and accelerating the advancement and adoption of auto-ID systems. Awards are granted to businesses in the AIDC, IoT, blockchain and RFID categories. This year’s winners were Shipcom Wireless, Avery Dennison, LedgerDomain and Covisus.
The AIDC category winner was Covisus, which developed a technology known as vTag with funding from the U.S. Department of Defense. This tag-less track-and-trace solution for item- and package level covert traceability is intended to meet regulatory requirements and prevent counterfeit activities. The solution is being adopted by the medical device and military and aerospace communities to accommodate regulatory traceability requirements. The military micro-electronic supply chain is required to inspect and test incoming parcels to validate and confirm provenance, and the vTag is designed to combat counterfeit and illegal content from passing through.
The IoT category winner was Shipcom Wireless, for its Temperature Monitoring Solution for fleet management and cold chain custody compliance. One of its clients, Harris Health System, struggled with showing visibility of traveling cooler temperatures with regard to patient medical samples and refrigerated pharmaceutical transports. Shipcom worked to assist with the real-time monitoring and tracing of environmental data that impacts trucks, thereby increasing visibility, improving efficiencies and assuring compliance. Its IoT-based solution analyzed the operational statuses of the HVAC equipment attached to vehicles and provided maintenance recommendations.
LedgerDomain was the blockchain category winner, as it has partnered with the FDA’s Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) Pilot Project Program and UCLA Health to build a blockchain-based system called BRUINchain, which would meet all key DSCSA objectives for a dispenser operating on commercial off-the-shelf technology. The system can scan a drug package for a correctly formatted 2D barcode, flag expired products, verify each product with the manufacturer, and quarantine suspect and illegitimate goods, thereby preventing pharmacists from providing them to patients.
Finally, Avery Dennison won in the RFID category for its WaveSafe RFID tags, which are intended to keep consumers safe by reducing spark hazards from RFID-labeled microwavable meals. WaveSafe is a microwave-safe UHF RFID solution developed for the item-level tagging of frozen packaged foods and ensuring food-safety compliance. The solution is designed to prevent arcing or heat build-up during microwaving, while offering accurate read rates for item tracking.
RF IDEAS, LG Electronics Partner on Healthcare Secure-Access Tech
RF IDEAS, a provider of credential readers for logical access and authentication, has partnered with LG Electronics to incorporate rf IDEAS’ WAVE ID OEM secure-access technology into LG’s 24CN670 Thin Client for Healthcare solution. The 24CN670 Thin Client has received IEC60601, CE MDD and FDA Class 1 certification, the companies report, and it will be used throughout the medical industry.
With privacy and efficiency vital to healthcare digital infrastructure, the WAVE ID embedded reader enables HIPAA-compliant access control, simplified hardware access and an improved patient experience, the companies indicate, allowing clinicians to focus on providing care rather than on password logins. The solution is expected to be made available early this year.
“LG has a great partnership with rf IDEAS,” said Bongsoak Kim, LG’s VP of IT vertical sales, in a prepared statement. “Through their unmatched expertise in RFID technology, the rf IDEAS team has proven the universal compatibility of its products with solutions from such companies as Imprivata and other major healthcare-focused tech providers. Starting with the 24CN670 thin client, LG will provide more value to customers with rf IDEAS.”
“We are thrilled to partner with LG to serve the needs of healthcare industry worldwide,” added David Cottingham, rf IDEAS’ president, in the prepared statement. “Our secure authentication solutions deliver seamless performance in all-in-one thin clients like these, and our commitment to providing expert design and support to OEM partners will ensure a collaborative and productive relationship.”
Survey Predicts Student RFID Tracking Systems Market to Reach $1.2 Billion
Reportlinker.com has released a study titled “Global Student RFID Tracking Systems Industry.” RFID tags are projected to record a 7.2 percent CAGR and reach US$475.6 million by the end of the analysis period. After an early analysis of the business implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the readers segment is readjusted to a 6.4 percent CAGR for the next seven-year period. The U.S. market is estimated at $220 million, while China is forecast to grow at 6.2 percent.
The student RFID tracking systems market in the United States is estimated at US$220 million. China, the world’s second largest economy, is forecast to reach a projected market size of US$203.9 million by 2027, trailing a CAGR of 6.2 percent throughout the analysis period of 2020 to 2027. Among the noteworthy geographic markets, according to the report, are Japan and Canada, forecast to grow at 6.2 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively, throughout that period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 5.4 percent CAGR.
In the global middleware segment, the United States, Canada, Japan, China and Europe will drive the 6.1 percent CAGR estimated for this segment. These regional markets, accounting for a combined market size of US$187.1 million, are expected to reach a projected size of US$284.1 million by the close of the analysis period. China will remain among the fastest growing in this cluster of regional markets, according to the study.
Led by Australia, India, South Korea and other countries, the market in the Asia-Pacific region is forecast to reach US$133.9 million by 2027. The 178-page report presents insights into how the pandemic has impacted production; a short-term phased recovery by key geography is also addressed.
American Emergency Vehicles Enables RFID Asset Tracking on Ambulances
American Emergency Vehicles (AEV), part of REV Group (REVG) and a manufacturer of Type I, II, III and Medium Duty ambulances, has announced that its Traumahawk Telematics integrated vehicle-intelligence solutions will be a standard feature on select AEV Type I, Type III and Medium Duty ambulance models. REVG, which designs, manufactures and distributes specialty vehicles and related aftermarket services and parts, serves the fire and emergency, commercial, and recreation segments.
Traumahawk Telematics generates vehicle informatics to help ambulance owners manage their fleets more efficiently and keep crews and patients safer. The solution enables remote fleet management and maintenance, monitors driver behavior, tracks fleet utilization, and provides a platform for additional capabilities, such as RFID asset tracking. “The introduction of Traumahawk Telematics is another example of AEV’s commitment to continually improve the productivity and safety of our customers each and every day,” said Randy Hanson, AEV’s president, in a prepared statement.
Powered by ACETECH, Traumahawk Telematics offers several benefits, according to the company: real-time driver and fleet monitoring, real-time driver safety coaching with voice alerts, GPS location services, accelerometer and turning data, vehicle accessory information, maintenance alerts, battery monitoring, fuel-use monitoring, ambulance status, geo-fencing, OBD2 codes and collision alerts. Data is collected, preserved and stored even in cellular dead zones, AEV indicates.
Push Technology Launches MQTT Integration
Push Technology, a provider of real-time, event-data streaming and messaging solutions, has announced the expansion of its support for open protocols. The company is adding support for the MQTT protocol that is widely used by Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile applications. With MQTT supported by the company’s Diffusion Intelligent Event-Data Platform, Push Technology explains, software-development teams can bring event-driven architecture to their IoT and mobile solutions. The low-code features of the platform are intended to reduce software-development effort and the cost of deployed solutions.
Diffusion supports the OASIS MQTT open-standard protocol. MQTT is a publish-subscribe messaging protocol commonly used to connect IoT applications. A range of IoT devices can connect directly to Diffusion, send and receive data, interact with other Diffusion clients, and benefit from Diffusion’s event-data processing features and rich security framework, the company explains. MQTT can be used as a lightweight alternative to Diffusion SDKs for simple publish-subscribe use cases. Diffusion implements MQTT 5.0, the latest version of the specification.
Both TCP and WebSocket transports are supported, and connections can be secured using Transport Layer Security. Diffusion treats MQTT as a first-class protocol and acts as a session broker for MQTT clients, just as it does for Diffusion SDK clients. Each Diffusion server can host tens of thousands of MQTT sessions, and servers can be configured in clusters to scale to an arbitrarily large number of connections. MQTT clients can be monitored and managed by Diffusion SDK clients, the management console, and external tools connected via the Prometheus or JMX gateways.
“With our new native support for MQTT, Diffusion easily consumes MQTT client event data, with no code or extra components required,” said Sean Bowen, Push Technology’s CEO, in a prepared statement. “Now, IoT development teams can take advantage of the powerful data wrangling features of the Diffusion platform and assure efficient and reliable real-time data distribution with secure access control.”
Zyter Offers Smart-Hospital IoT Solution
Zyter, the provider of a digital-health and IoT-enablement platform, has announced the launch of Zyter Smart Hospitals, which connects a hospital’s disparate data systems, departments, personnel and Internet of Things (IoT)-based devices on Zyter’s digital communication and collaboration platform.
The HIPAA-compliant and customizable solution integrates patient medical device monitoring at a hospital bedside and at home, as well as patient tracking, care team collaborative communication, and medical asset monitoring and tracking, via a network of connected IoT devices and sensors. The system features a hospital navigation mobile app for patients and visitors, as well as real-time monitoring capabilities for hospital building facilities, such as HVAC systems, lighting and security systems.
“Zyter Smart Hospitals is at the forefront of digital transformation in healthcare with its smart IoT solutions that span the entire hospital ecosystem,” said Sanjay Govil, Zyter’s founder and CEO, in a prepared statement. “With Zyter, the next generation of smart and digitally connected hospitals will gain the competitive advantage of a safer and more personal patient experience, improved operational efficiencies for physicians and staff, and reduced building maintenance costs due to smarter energy management.”
Hospital bed device monitoring capability improves patient safety and outcomes by collecting and providing nursing staff with real-time physiologic data from various medical devices connected to a given patient. A Bluetooth-enabled app on mobile devices guides patients with directions to locations within the hospital for a safer patient experience. An asset-monitoring function provides a single interface for the monitoring, control and safety of critical medical assets, including equipment, medicines and vaccines. Using Bluetooth-connected devices, Zyter Smart Hospitals can monitor medication temperatures, issue alerts and monitor the chain of custody of a vaccine from production to hospital, as well as when it is given to a patient.
The solution leverages transformative technologies like 5G, artificial intelligence and the IoT to ensure smart energy management for lighting, power supply, smart meters, HVAC and wireless power. A patient-tracking function detects and alerts employees in the event that a disoriented dementia patient or other flight-risk individual attempts to leave his or her room or the building. Patient monitoring enables physicians to monitor the condition of post-surgery patients at home, resulting in better patient outcomes and a reduction in the number of hospital readmissions.
Zyter Smart Hospitals enables hospitals to upgrade from legacy hardwired IT and Wi-Fi systems to a private 5G-enabled IT or cellular network that supports multiple Internet of Things-based devices. The company partners with Qualcomm and other telecom companies to provide hospitals with access to connectivity services.