ThingMagic intros USB RFID reader; Idesco announces compact RFID interrogators designed for variety of applications; Xterprise teams with Microsoft on flexible financing options for its RFID solution; SkyRFID unveils eight UHF RFID tags designed for metal; ClearOrbit’s RFID, bar-code system certified by SAP.
The European Pallet Association is successfully using EPC Gen 2 passive RFID tags to track 1,000 pallets in Switzerland, and plans to expand the pilot to additional countries in 2009.
RFID Global Solution’s real-time locating system allows Boeing to track its tools as they are used on NASA spacecraft in real time, and to ensure none are left at the launch pad.
Boeing and NASA installed an ultra-wideband (UWB) real-time location system (RTLS) at the Kennedy Space Center to track thousands of assets used to support the International Space Station. One innovative feature is the use of vehicle-mounted readers to track items delivered to the launch pad.
In Dundee, Scotland, pregnant women blow into a device to verify they have not been smoking, then present an RFID card to record their success and receive a reward.
The state of Texas employed EPC Gen 2 tags, GPS and bar-coding to monitor the process of evacuating individuals—particular the elderly, sick or disabled—who lacked access to transportation during the storms.
The company is using EPC Gen 2 tags to track the shipment, receipt, inspection and repair of 150,000 returnable plastic containers.
Davis-Monthan Air Force base will use AeroScout’s new Unified Asset Visibility solution to track equipment anywhere on its vast compound.
An EPC-compliant Gen 2 active tag is on the horizon.
Market research from Kalorama Information predicts the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries will significantly increase their investments in RFID technology in the next five years. RFID sales for 2008 are valued at $474 million in healthcare and $70 million in pharmaceutical.