Dec 16, 2005The following are news announcements made during the week of Dec. 12.
Dow Joins EPCglobal
The Dow Chemical Co. says it is now a member of EPCglobal US, the U.S. branch of the organization driving the adoption of and standards for Electronic Product Code (EPC) technology. Dow says it has already deployed four different applications combining RFID, GPS and bar code technology to track assets, manage inventory, provide security and order fulfillment. The company says its membership in EPCglobal will enable it to become involved in standards development and help it drive the use of RFID/GPS to add efficiencies and security to the chemical industry supply chain. Dow says it is developing new applications for RFID/GPS technology, which it plans to unveil soon. EPCglobal US serves more than 550 subscribing companies in the United States.
Gartner Says RFID to Grow to $3 billion in 2010
Worldwide RFID spending is expected to total $504 million in 2005, up 39 percent from 2004, and will surpass $3 billion in 2010, according to a report that research firm Gartner released this fall and announced this week. Market Share and Forecast: Radio Frequency Identification, Worldwide, 2004-2010 is Gartner's first RFID market size, share and forecast report. In another report, RFID Enables Sensory Network Strategies to Transform Industries, Gartner examines drivers and barriers to RFID adoption in various vertical industries. The research firm says that if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires members of the pharmaceutical supply chain to use RFID to help combat drug diverting and counterfeiting, applications of RFID in the pharmaceutical supply chain will increase sharply in 2007. Industries with the greatest opportunities to use RFID include retail and aerospace and defense, says Gartner, while health care, logistics and pharmaceutical companies are adopting it most quickly. Those expecting RFID to replace bar codes, however, will be disappointed, says Gartner's research vice president, Jeff Woods, who believes companies will continue to use bar codes in controlled, process-engineered environments. RFID, he predicts, will get a stronger foothold in more ad hoc environments such as those found in the retail or health care markets, where goods are not organized in a manner that facilitates the scanning of bar codes, which require line-of-sight access. Woods adds that companies are also more likely to build new business processes around RFID than they are to integrate RFID into existing processes. The industry report costs $1,295, while the market forecast report costs $9,995. Both are available on Gartner's Web site.
Symbol, Vue Developing Item-Level Tracking Solutions
RFID systems vendor Symbol Technologies and Vue Technology, a provider of item-level RFID solutions, say they are jointly developing integrated item-level RFID solutions for delivery to retailers and manufacturers. The solutions will combine Vue Technology's patent-pending RF Networking technology and EPC management software with Symbol's RFID fixed and handheld readers, tags and peripheral devices. Designed to give users visibility into inventory levels, location and authenticity of goods in order to reduce out-of-stocks, shrinkage and labor costs, the solutions will be branded under the name "TrueVUE" and will enable users to track individual goods from the point of manufacture to sale. The cost benefits of using RFID for item-level tracking is strongest for high-value goods and within specific vertical industries, such as consumer electronics. Best Buy, a consumer electronics retailer, says it plans to begin extending its case and pallet RFID tracking mandate to include some goods at the item level, as well.
Zebra Announces Gen 2 Firmware Availability
Zebra Technologies, a Vernon Hills, Ill.-based manufacturer of RFID printer-encoders, says a free firmware Gen 2 upgrade is now available for its RXi series printer-encoders, RPAX4 series print engines and European R4Mplus printer-encoders. No hardware replacement or service call is required to process the upgrade, and Zebra customers can download the Gen 2 firmware upgrade and installation instructions at Zebra's Web site. With the firmware installed, the printer-encoders will be able to encode RFID inlays compliant with the UHF EPCglobal Class 1 Gen 2 standard, the company reports, as well as any other tag protocols they currently support.
Has RFID technology in China matured? That depends on what frequency and standards you're referring to, says a new study from ABI Research, an Oyster Bay, N.Y., market researcher. Applications using RFID devices that operate in the low-frequency range have matured and are widely deployed for such things as access control. High-frequency applications are also strong and serve the largest RFID markets—namely, identification and transportation (such as highway toll collection cards). Ultra-high frequency applications, however, are still in the start-up phase, says the report's author, Junmei He. The regulation of the UHF band in China is still evolving, and ABI Research does not expect to see a national Chinese UHF RFID standard published in 2006. The author notes that the high costs of UHF products and problems with readability are also holding Chinese companies back from moving forward with UHF applications. The report suggests, however, that companies should consider the use of UHF RFID in closed-loop environments, where technology standards are not as relevant as in open-loop applications. The report is available at ABI's Web site for $4,000.
Gen 2 Start Kits From Avery Dennison Printer Systems
Avery Dennison Printer Systems, a business unit of Avery Dennison, has announced Gen 2 starter kits to help companies begin printing and encoding RFID smart labels in compliance with EPCglobal's Class 1 Gen 2 UHF inlays. The kits come in two configurations. The Basic kit, designed for companies generating small volumes of tags, includes Avery Dennison Printer Systems' AP 5.4 printer-encoder, label formatting software, a thermal transfer ribbon and one complementary roll of RFID labels. The Industrial kit, designed for larger volumes, also includes the software, ribbon and labels, and comes with Avery Dennison Printer Systems' 64-05 printer-encoder instead of the AP 5.4. The Industrial kit costs $7,395, compared to $6,195 for the Basic set. The AP 5.4 printer-encoder has a 32-bit processor and prints 8 inches per second at 200 dots per inch (dpi) resolution. The 64-05 printer-encoder has a 64-bit processor, prints 16 inches per second at 300 dpi and uses a printing process designed to protect the chip inside the RFID inlay from damage by the print head. Both printers are available with a wireless network connectivity option.
ToP Shop Selling Rafsec, Other RFID Goods
Finnish RFID systems integrator ToP Tunniste and RFID tag and inlay manufacturer UPM Rafsec are partnering to make Rafsec products, including EPC Class 1 Gen2 OneTenna UHF tags and Rafsec HF smart labels, available for purchase online at the ToP Shop netstore, operated by ToP Tunniste. The agreement makes ToP Shop a global distribution channel for UPM Rafsec tags, which can be purchased in quantities as low as 100 pieces. ToP Shop also sells RFID starter kits from FEIG Electronic and RFID-enabled mobile phones and phone components from Nokia.
NCR Partnership Targets Mediterranean Market
NCR, the Dayton, Ohio, technology and IT services firm, and Business Effectiveness, an Athens, Greece, provider of RFID hardware and supply chain solutions and RFID systems integration services, are partnering to offer RFID solutions combining business strategy consulting, systems integration, deployment and project management. The companies say they will work together in Greece and neighboring countries with NCR clients that are evaluating, implementing and expanding the use of RFID technology. The two firms will work to identify clients in the retail and consumer goods industries that could benefit from operational efficiencies and business process improvements through the use of RFID technology.
Inside Contactless Raises €9 Million
French RFID specialist Inside Contactless has raised €9 million ($10.6 million) in a new round of financing that has brought in three new investors to the company, including Visa International, the global credit card company that has long been working to promote contactless payments. Visa states that contactless payments are strategically significant to its operations and that Inside Contactless' experience with the technology will help Visa push contactless payments into banks and merchant operations. New investors Sofinnova and Vertex Venture Capital, as well as prior round investors GIMV, Vertex Singapore and Siparex also took part in the financing round. Inside Contactless says it intends to use the new funds to expand its business in both contactless payments and mobile NFC (near field communication), and to drive the creation of a family of products for those markets. The firm will also add new members to its management team in a bid to expand the company's international sales.
