Jun 30, 2006The following are news announcements made during the week of June 26.
California Legislature Advances RFID Bills
The California State Assembly's Transportation Committee this week approved SB 433, a bill that would put a three-year moratorium on the use of RFID in driver's licenses, in an 11 to one vote. Last week, the Assembly's Education Committee approved SB 1078, which would put a three-year moratorium on the use of RFID in student identification cards, in a seven to four vote. Both bills are now up for an Assembly floor vote. If the Assembly approves them, they will be sent back to the Senate, which already approved earlier versions of the bills, for a second vote. Both bills were introduced by Senate Joe Simitian, who last year authored a more comprehensive bill (still pending) that would put a three-year moratorium on most identify documents issued in California. An RFID industry-based opposition group is pushing for the removal of the moratorium from all of the bills and is supporting an alternative bill, AB 2561, which would commission a study on the security and privacy issued surrounding remotely readable identification credentials, as well as the creation of an advisory board, composed of government and industry representatives, that would help write the report. AB 2561 was approved by the Senate's Judiciary Committee this week in a 3 to 1 vote and now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee. The Assembly has already approved AB 2561. (For more background on the bills, see New RFID Bills Moving Through Calif. Assembly.)
Four New UHF Modules for Asia
WJ Communications, an RFID hardware manufacturer based in San Jose, Calif., has announced four new UHF RFID interrogators optimized for the growing Asian RFID market. The MPR7030 interrogator module for Taiwanese operates at 922 to 928 MHz. The MPR7040 interrogator module for Singapore and operates from 923 to 925 MHz. The MPR7050 interrogator for Hong Kong operates between 920 and 925 MHz. All three can read and encode tags compliant with the EPC Gen 1 Class 0 and Class 1 standards, as well as EPC Class 0+ and Zuma protocols. The WJR7090 interrogator for Korea and operates between 910 and 914 MHz in the UHF band. It can read and encode tags compliant with the EPC Gen 1 Class1 and Gen 2 Class 1 standards. All four modules operate on 1 watt of power and are designed to plug into an available PCMCIA Type II socket in any handheld, printer, forklift, portal or other mobile or fixed device. Pricing and availability is available from WJ Communications upon request.
EPCglobal Accredits ADT Test Center
ADT Security Services' RFID Performance Lab located in Boca Raton, Fla. has passed the EPCglobal Performance Test Center Audit and is now an accredited EPCglobal test lab. EPCglobal, a not-for-profit organization driving the commercial adoption of the Electronic Product Code (EPC) in global supply chains, has established standards for testing the ability to read tags on end users' products. ADT is the first company to have two labs accredited by EPCglobal. Earlier this year, EPCglobal accredited the ADT Performance Lab in Echt, Netherlands. Other EPCglobal accredited labs include the Pacific RFID Performance Solutions Center in Hsinchu, Taiwan Kimberly-Clark's Auto-ID Sensing Technologies Performance Test Center in Neenah, Wisc., and the RFID Research Center, a unit of the Information Technology Research Institute, Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, in Fayetteville, Ark.
Nuvo Technologies, a company selling RFID products for inventory management, says its BarVision 1.0 for Palm OS software is now available worldwide. BarVision is an RFID-based system for monitoring liquor distribution in the hospitality industry. By using RFID pour spouts that transit data to a handheld device running the BarVision 1.0 for Palm OS software, bars, restaurants and other liquor operations can to track the amount of liquor poured for each drink. The system automatically records the brand, portion size, time, cost, price category and location of every pour (see RFID on Tap). Bartenders and managers can monitor each drink pour using a handheld running the software, which Nuvo says can help bartenders learn and maintain pouring accuracy and a proper pouring style. They could also use the handheld as a reference to see what they've poured as they mix a drink.
NFC Forum Membership Grows
The Near Field Communication (NFC) Forum, a nonprofit industry association founded in 2004 to advance the use of NFC short-range wireless interaction in consumer electronics, mobile devices and PCs, has announced that 14 new organizations have joined the Forum as members since February, bringing the total number of members to 80. New members include ALPS Electric Co.; ARM; Dai Nippon Printing Co.; KDDI Corporation; MobileLime; OMNIKEY; Oberthur Card Systems; Sprint; SFR; Sirit, Inc. and Telenor International. The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has also joined the Forum as a non-profit organization. The Forum recently unveiled its technology architecture, which will serve as the foundation for interoperable NFC products and services (see NFC Forum Announces Technology Architecture).
Stora Enso Joins Parelec's RFID Partner Program
The Global Speciality Papers Group of Finland's Stora Enso has signed an exclusive agreement with Parelec to join Parelec's Certified RFID Partner Program as a strategic partner for RFID antenna paper substrates. Under the exclusive arrangement, Stora Enso will supply paper substrates for inlays, labels, packaging, and other applications requiring rapid turnaround and low cost. The antennas will be printed using Parelec's Parmod conductive inks by Parelec's Certified RFID Printers, Parelec and Stora Enso say they have also initiated joint development and demonstration programs to pursue new RFID applications that use conductive ink and paper technologies.
Identec Solutions Secures New Financing
Identec Solutions, a Lustenau, Austria-based supplier of industrial, RFID track and trace solutions, has secured $15 Million in new financing. RFID Invest AG, a Lichtenstein-based venture capital firm specializing in RFID startups, will act as lead investor. Identec Solutions' says it plans to use the capital as a basis for long-term expansion. Specifically, the company will use the funds for product development and to strengthen its global marketing capabilities and to enter new markets.
