Jun 26, 2014The following are news announcements made during the past week by the following organizations:
CipherLab;
Precision Dynamics Corp., Great Wolf Resorts;
HID Global, Norway Post;
Lab ID;
U.S. Postal Service;
TransTech Systems, Visualant; and
Fortinet.
CipherLab Intros Software Suite for Its 8600 Mobile Computers
CipherLab has introduced a software suite for its CipherLab 8600 series mobile computers, which comes with an optional 13.56 MHz read-write RFID reader supporting tags compliant with the ISO 14443A, ISO 14443B and ISO 15693 standards. Designed for warehousing, distribution center and manufacturing applications, the 8600 handhelds weigh 240 grams (8.5 ounces) and have an IP-65 rating, meaning that testing has confirmed them to be dustproof and waterproof standards. , According to CipherLab, they can withstand a 1.8-meter (5.9-foot) drop resistance and 1,000 tumbles at 1 meter (3.3 meters). The mobile computer series runs on CipherLab's operating system (OS), and is equipped with WLAN 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0. The 8600 series' new software suite includes the Forge Application Generator, designed to help non-programmers more easily create applications without writing codes, CipherLab reports. According to the company, the Forge application generator comes bundled with Remote Console, intended to help organizations manage multiple mobile devices on a PC, and Text Browser, which enables Web-based applications via the Internet. Mirror Terminal Emulator can extend complex mainframe applications to the 8600 series, while the C compiler and BASIC complier can be used to develop more complex applications.
Great Wolf Lodge New England Implements PDC's Smart Band RFID System
Precision Dynamics Corp. (PDC) has announced that its Smart Band RFID wristband system has been implemented at another Great Wolf Resorts property. Great Wolf Lodge New England, in Fitchburg, Mass., is using the system for electronic access control and cashless payments. The indoor waterpark is the latest of eight Great Wolf Lodge resorts to introduce PDC's RFID wristband technology to enhance the guest experience (see Great Wolf Lodge Combines Storytelling With RFID and Great Wolf Water Park Launches RFID). PDC's RFID technology leverages 13.56 MHz passive RFID tags embedded in the wristbands, and can be used for keyless room entry; food purchases, game tokens and other items, as well as for entering the resort's water park. The wristbands also act as a means of identifying the patrons as guests. "Families at Great Wolf Lodge New England love the convenience the Smart Ban provides. The technology allows our guests to leave cash and credit cards in their suite so they have fewer things to carry during their day," said Rajiv Castellino, Great Wolf Resorts' CIO, in a prepared statement. "The Smart Band allows guests to make dining, arcade and souvenir purchases, easily access their resort suite, and have one less thing to worry about keeping tracking of. They can focus on having fun." PDC's Smart Band can be customized, PDC reports, and is offered in a variety of colors and material options, including plastic, silicone and woven fabric. The Smart Band is available with nontransferable SecurSnap closures, and in re-wearable styles for single-day use or for a season pass program.
Norway's Postal Service Deploys HID Global Access-Control Technology
HID Global has announced that its RFID-enabled physical access-control solutions—including its multiCLASS SE readers and multi-technology cards supporting standard iCLASS and HID Prox—have been deployed by Posten Norge (Norway Post) to improve security in its operations. HID Global's multiclass SE readers can be used to interrogate a variety of 125 kHz and 13.56 MHz passive RFID tags (iCLASS Seos and iCLASS SE credential platforms, standard iCLASS, Mifare, and Mifare DESFire EV1 with custom data models) and form factors, including mobile devices utilizing Seos. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway Post has more than 20,000 employees and more than 1,400 points of sale throughout the country, via traditional post offices and in-store post offices at supermarkets and other retail outlets. According to HID Global, Norway Post sought an advanced access-control solution for its Robsrud Terminal, where more than 60 percent of all the mail in Norway is handled. An HID Global customer since the mid-1990s, Norway Post requested an access-card system that would work with various HID Global card readers and Norway Post's three different access-control systems; provide the ability to upgrade its readers, but not all the associated existing controllers; support multi-functional applications, such as time and attendance, canteen payment and secure printing; support multi-technology cards, enabling them to seamlessly migrate from existing legacy technologies, such as magnetic stripe cards, to newer, more advanced technologies; and more. The new cards supplied to Norway Post were manufactured with a high-durability composite material, HID Global reports, and are used for multiple applications, including secure printing and scanning, as well as clocking into and out of a time-and-attendance system. In addition, HID Global's partner network of third-party application developers created applications for the cards that enabled discounts on railways, payments in canteens, and vehicle access control. Norway Post currently has 40 installations in Norway, with approximately 3,500 card readers 18,000 active cards, HID Global says. "The solution has improved our security and lowered our costs, since it is much easier to replace a card than a key if you lose it," said Arnfinn Nordheim, Norway Post's security director, in a prepared statement.
Lab ID Unveils New NFC Tag
Italian RFID company Lab ID has announced a new version of its Near Field Communication (NFC) tag. The IN610B tag, an updated version of the company's IN610 model, has a newly designed antenna intended to improve performance and stability. According to Sylwia Broda, a member of Lab ID's sales and marketing team, the antenna in both the new and previous versions is a double-layer antenna. "With the newer product, we introduced a compensation mechanism between the top and bottom layer of the antenna," Broda explains. "This helps to avoid even slight shifts in resonant frequency of the inlay, and makes it more stable." In addition, she reports, the IN610B takes advantage of newer NFC chips that have been introduced, including the NTAG 212/210 chips from NXP Semiconductors, since the original version was introduced. Other chips supported include NXP's Mifare Ultralight, Ultralight EV1 and other Mifare family ICs (Classic and DESfire). According to Lab ID, the IN610B measures 19 millimeters (0.7 inch) in diameter and is suitable for smart advertising, brand protection and authentication. What's more, the company adds, the tag has been optimized to be read via any smartphone equipped with an NFC reader. It is available in a wet (adhesive) inlay format, but can also be supplied in the form of a polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) label, and is suitable for thermal transfer printing, upon request. The company says it guarantees a wide series of value-added services, including RFID encoding and variable data printing.
U.S. Postal Service Issues RFP for Sensors and Internet of Things
The United States Postal Service (USPS) is planning to test sensors to determine whether the technology, as part of a broader Internet of Things (IoT) project, could help it streamline operations. The USPS' Office of Inspector General (OIG) is offering up to $100,000 to a supplier that can help and, in a solicitation, said it seeks a vendor "who possesses expertise and critical knowledge of the Internet of Things, data strategy and analytics, and the Postal Service's operations, infrastructure, products, and services," according to documents that it posted at FedBizOpps.gov. The purpose of the Internet of Postal Things Project, the documents explain, is to help the OIG's Risk Analysis Research Center (RARC) "find a contractor able to support RARC in researching the concept of the Internet of Things, its implications, and how it could apply to the Postal Service." RARC is a group within the USPS OIG that analyzes issues facing the Postal Service. In January 2014, the OIG, in collaboration with the Universal Postal Union, hosted experts discussing how postal operators could benefit from Big Data. The Internet of Things was among the topics that emerged during the discussion. The solicitation documentation describes the IoT as "the ability to embed sensors and other data collection technologies into physical objects, infrastructures, and the surroundings in which people live and businesses operate." The USPS is asking the potential supplier to research the IoT; provide a vision of how that could be applied to the Postal Service; develop a conceptual design of how new sensors and other data-collection technologies could increase the ability of the USPS infrastructure to create value for its business, customers and stakeholders through data; identify the components of the postal physical infrastructure that could lend themselves to the collection of new types of data; and more. One document features examples of where Big Data and sensors are already being used to solve operational issues, such as for predictive fleet maintenance, as well as for the collection of consumer and environmental data.
TransTech Systems Adds UHF to Integrated RFID Solutions Portfolio
Visualant, a provider of chromatic-based identification and diagnostic solutions, has announced that its TransTech Systems subsidiary is increasing its emphasis on ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID solutions. TransTech Systems is a distributor of identification solutions, and its products include fixed readers, antennas, combination units, handheld readers, passive tags, active tags, battery-assisted passive tags, portals and middleware, and has historically specialized in low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) RFID products. TransTech is now extending offerings to include UHF identification components. The company is using UHF RFID inlays and readers supplied by Alien Technology, Convergence Systems Ltd. (CSL), Document Security Systems (DSS), Impinj, Lyngsoe Systems, Thing Magic, Times-7 and others. "While UHF RFID solutions are not overly complex, having the expertise to match the appropriate components to the environment of the installation is critical to the success of the project," said Jeff Kruse, TransTech Systems' president, in a prepared statement. "We bring our service and support ethic to an industry where success is defined by the components used in each specific installation. This kind of support cannot come in a box." The company's products have been used in various applications in partnership with resellers and software developers—for example, a uniform tracking and dispensing application that employs RFID to automate uniform dispersal for employees at several major hotel and resort locations around the world; an instant inventory-checking application for emergency medical technician (EMT) and ambulances that involves RFID-tagged critical equipment and supplies, and a portable handheld scanner that EMTs can use to instantly check that they have all required items; a retail application for high-value items; and more.
New Internet of Things Survey from Fortinet Reveals Concerns about Data Security and Privacy
Fortinet, a provider of network security, has released the results of a global survey that probed home owners regarding key issues pertaining to the Internet of Things (IoT). Independently administered throughout 11 countries, the survey, titled, "Internet of Things: Connected Home," offers a global perspective about the Internet of Things, the security and privacy issues in play, and what home owners are willing to do to enable it. According to John Maddison, Fortinet's VP of marketing, the company opted not to define the IoT, "as it holds different meanings for different people. Because of that, we specifically titled our survey 'Internet of Things: Connected Home,' to help guide the respondent in understanding that this was about home devices, rather than infrastructure or automotive or other markets that are destined to be impacted by the Internet of Things." Maddison says the relationship between the IoT and the connected home is hierarchal, encompassing a broad array of Internet-connected devices that can collect and transmit data. "The connected home is just one subset of the Internet of Things," he states. "We started with the home because that's the logical starting point, but in time, I would expect that Fortinet will conduct other Internet of Things surveys to gauge and measure how security will play a role as this vision becomes a reality." Completed this month, the survey asked 1,801 technology-savvy homeowners questions related to the IoT as it pertains to the connected home. A majority (61 percent) of all respondents believe that the connected home (in which household appliances and home electronics are seamlessly connected to the Internet) is "extremely likely" to become a reality during the next five years. China led the world in this category, with more than 84 percent affirming support, while in the United States, 61 percent provided that response. Data breaches were a concern, and globally, 69 percent said that they were either "extremely concerned" or "somewhat concerned" about this issue. Sixty-eight percent of U.S. respondents indicated being "extremely concerned" or "somewhat concerned." When asked about the privacy of collected data, a majority of global respondents replied, "Privacy is important to me, and I do not trust how this type of data may be used." According to Fortinet, India led the world with this response, at 63 percent, while 57 percent in the United States agreed with this statement. The survey also revealed that data privacy is an extremely sensitive issue, with the majority (62 percent) saying they would feel "completely violated and extremely angry to the point where I would take action" if they found that a connected home device was secretly or anonymously collecting information about them and sharing it with others. Sixty-seven percent of Americans also agreed with this statement.
