Nov 12, 2020Presented here are recent news announcements regarding the following organizations: JADAK, Confidex, Environics Applied Sciences, CISC Semiconductor, Tageos, DoseID, UrsaLeo, and Alleantia.
JADAK Adds New HF-LF RFID Module
JADAK has announced the ThingMagic M3e, a compact embedded module that supports both high-frequency (HF) and low-frequency (LF) RFID protocols. The M3e contains an integrated Secure Access Module, which handles secure communications and manages security keys required to access more than just information publicly available on an RFID tag. The M3e module supports HF RFID tag interactions and can read both HF and LF ID cards to authenticate personnel across multiple security environments.
The M3e can drive high-gain HF and LF antennas to extend read range and is pre-certified for such antennas. The HF-LF module provides full modular certification, reducing the burden on OEMs for regulatory filing requirements, while providing flexibility in choosing an antenna best suited to a particular application. The platform uses the ThingMagic Mercury application programming interface, facilitating software integration and customization.
Once the license is activated, encrypted iClass badges can be read immediately or when a facility is ready to do so. The module is enabled by technology from HID Global, a provider of access-control solutions, RFID and other sensing technologies, and secure encryption algorithms. According to JADAK, this partnership allows secure key management to provide security for most RFID smart cards.
Confidex, Environics Partner on Industrial Equipment Monitoring
Confidex, a provider of short-range wireless solutions for the transportation, logistics, automotive and manufacturing industries, has announced a strategic partnership with Environics Applied Sciences. The two companies have collaborated to develop a wireless solution for monitoring the condition of industrial equipment, while providing management with real-time analytics to ensure 24-7 operational performance. Environics has patented its vibration-analysis solution, known as the Able System, which identifies the conditions of machinery and the components within those machines.
Environics' solution identifies vibration, temperature or other conditions related to each piece of equipment at a manufacturing or industrial site, then provides reporting and other analytics that can help managers predict and respond to equipment needs. The Able System utilizes Confidex's Ironside Micro UHF RFID tag, which has a footprint of 27 square millimeters (0.04 square inch) and can be applied to a variety of equipment types or components, even if space is limited.
Available in both UHF and HF/NFC versions, the tags can sustain temperatures of up to 85 degrees Celsius (185 degrees Fahrenheit) and come with an IP68 rating, meaning they can withstand challenging environments and be applied to metal surfaces. "We tested many RFID tags on the market, but we needed a hard tag that could resist oil, mechanical pressures and temperature," said Tarık Uçar, Environics Applied Sciences' cofounder, in a prepared statement. "The best product for this demanding application came from Confidex." Glassware manufacturer Pasabahce has already deployed the solution.
The system provides users with data regarding equipment conditions, as well as what those conditions mean, enabling them to avoid failures based on the prognosis of motors, pumps, turbines, gear boxes or other equipment. Traditionally, businesses use sensors to measure vibration, heat or other conditions, then manually collect the measurements and conduct analysis to identify potential problems. "The problem with traditional technology is it depends on human knowledge," Uçar explained in the prepared statement. "These systems are also not compatible with Industry 4.0. Autonomy is the difference between Able System and other vibration analysis systems."
With the Able System, each tag can be programmed to store information about the conditions for specific equipment, such as the type of bearings or gears required for a particular machine. When users capture data from the tags vi a handheld device, a vibration analysis for that piece of equipment is captured along with sensor measurements. Operators or management can then view the measurements and diagnosis and thus understand the conditions for that piece of equipment.
"The rugged design of the Ironside tags is perfect for the demanding industrial conditions this innovative, vibration analysis application is operating in," said Paul Broekhuizen, the executive VP of Confidex Smart Industries, in the prepared statement. "The strong partnership between the two companies ensured the development and piloting were successful."
CISC RFID Software Evaluates Reader-Tag Communication
CISC Semiconductor has announced the launch of its RAIN Xplorer Spy software, designed to quickly evaluate RFID reader-tag communication. The software uses DVB-T+DAB+FM USB dongles as wide-band USB RF receivers to verify tag and reader command content and timing. It supports a quick evaluation of reader software, then reports any issues that could result in functionality problems or performance degradation of an application.
Benefits of the system include the ability to analyze and solve reader-tag communication problems, as well as match readers and tags properly for a given environment. The system is portable and ready to use in any scenario, the company reports, allowing analysis "on the go." Users can record reader-tag-behaviors at different sites and environments, as well as exchange recorded files. The software features spy functionality for quick visualization of reader-tag issues, file-management capability for saving recordings, and a communication analysis conformance tester.
The communication analysis and the conformance tester verify whether the application settings and protocol use make sense and are being carried out as intended by the application developer. The conformance tester checks whether all communication between reader and tag is taking place according to the RFID air interface.
Tageos Joins RFID Healthcare Consortium DoseID
Tageos, a provider of RFID inlays and tags, has announced that it has joined DoseID, a member-driven industry consortium for the use of radio frequency identification technology in the healthcare space (see Consortium Aims to Standardize RFID for Pharmaceuticals). DoseID is focused on increasing the interoperability, quality and performance of RFID-tagged products as they move through the pharmaceutical supply chain from manufacturer to patient.
The DoseID tag certification is provided by the Auburn University RFID Lab's ARC Program. This ensures that parties meet the standards set by the consortium, and that the established standards meet the needs of industry players, including pharmaceutical manufacturers, 503b compounding pharmacies, pharmacy automation vendors, and inlay and tag manufacturers. DoseID uniquely serializes every dose, container or device in order to track each action taken during its lifecycle and ensures that RFID-tagged drugs work in all downstream IT systems in hospitals and health systems.
"We highly value and recognize DoseID's mission and the work of its members to establish the first member driven industry consortium for the use of RFID technology in the healthcare segment," said Matthieu Picon, Tageos' CEO, in a prepared statement. "DoseID represents a critical and important opportunity to move to next-generation systems and universal standards in the medical tracking space. We look forward to work with industry partners in DoseID to achieve these goals."
In the prepared statement, the company explained, "It is only with participation across the entire pharmaceutical supply chain that RFID unit-level medication tracking can achieve the DoseID goals of interoperability, reliable tag performance and complete and accurate data. RFID technology can provide significant benefits to the healthcare industry in terms of ensuring patient safety and improving supply chain efficiency. Coupling RFID technology with the EPC, for example, will provide the capability to locate and track items throughout the supply chain, allowing significant more data to be attached to items and case level. Using RFID will also allow healthcare companies to capture required information as part of new regulatory requirements, and at the same time it can help detect products that are counterfeit or fake, tampered with, adulterated or substituted and/or unacceptable e.g. expired, discarded, returned or recalled."
UrsaLeo, Alleantia Integrate 3D Digital Twin, Sensor Gateway Technologies
UrsaLeo, an enterprise software company that enables users to visualize operational data in a photorealistic 3D representation of their facility or product, and Alleantia, which offers software for the Industrial Internet of Things, have announced the integration of 3D photorealistic digital twin and sensor gateway technologies. When combined, the two companies report, the products offer industrial customers an end-to-end solution supporting more than 5,000 industrial devices for Industry 4.0 operations.
"With the company's impressive technology and Xpango library of supported products, out of the box support for an endless combination of industrial equipment, and the ability to see data on our 3D digital twins, Alleantia is the perfect partner for UrsaLeo," said John Burton, UrsaLeo's CEO, in a prepared statement. "Their experience in the IoT space is unmatched and together we see opportunities for this integration across a global list of customers."
"This partnership is essential for our expansion into North America and will allow us to introduce UrsaLeo's innovative offering to customers in the European market and beyond," added Antonio Conati Barbaro, Alleantia's cofounder, and chief of operations, in the prepared statement. "Ursaleo is the first Alleantia partner to offer 3D digital twins with an intuitive dashboard for triaging and solving potential issues before they arise and the perfect combination for porting data to the cloud using our gateway."
