This is the second article of a two-part series examining the state of “smart packaging” — those corrugated boxes, pill bottles, and other containers in which RFID is embedded in the packaging itself. Today RFID Update considers how and when smart packaging could be adopted, and how it might impact the traditional RFID smart label market.
Domino Integrated Solutions Group and startup HIDE-Pack announced new smart packaging products that feature RFID inlays embedded into cardboard box material. The new packaging material eliminates the need to apply an RFID smart label to the box, and its developers say there are no RFID performance losses.
Over the past year, various RFID middleware vendors have turned to offering sharply focused applications that provide immediate payback to end users.
Farmers in Hawaii will apply RFID tags to lettuce, strawberries, and tomatoes in a pilot project to provide visibility from the farm to the supermarket. The state- and USDA-sponsored pilot could expand to include all 5,000 farms in Hawaii.
Although the Canadian company found that the RFID system slashed out-of-stock levels and increased sales, it has yet to determine whether those benefits outweigh the costs of deploying the system chain-wide.
At its cigarette factory in Calcutta, ITC passive RFID tags help monitor tobacco moisture content at each stage of production.
California bans forced human tagging; new association developing standards for ID authentication; Omron makes V750 reader BizTalk-friendly, announces new EPC Gen 2 tag; Augusta Systems upgrades sensor middleware to accommodate RFID; Impinj expands reseller network.
Baird has released its October report. The 21-page document is a worthwhile read for anyone requiring an overview of the industry’s last 30 days. For those without time to do so, we have reprinted here the report’s summary.
In northern California, Bear River Supply is using battery-assisted passive RFID tags to help keep tabs on such items as tanks and machinery used to store and apply fertilizers.
Sweden’s Racetimer is using passive Gen 2 UHF tags from Alien Technology to time race entrants and provide additional services such as race photos and progress reports.