Jul 01, 2021Presented here are recent news announcements regarding the following organizations: SML, Confidex, Nordic Semiconductor, Memfault, Triax Technologies, Event Genius, Digi International, Senet and Adtran.
SML RFID Software Deployed at 5,000+ Stores
SML RFID has announced that its cloud-based Clarity item-level RFID software application suite has been deployed at more than 5,000 stores throughout 34 countries, with more than 60,000 users utilizing its handheld application. During the COVID-19 pandemic, SML deployed its software at more than 1,000 stores and managed in excess of 1.5 billion unique RFID tags, the company reports, processing more than 25 billion RFID events.
In addition, SML reports that retailers using Clarity have improved their in-store inventory accuracy from below 70 percent to greater than 95 percent, which has added more than $1 billion in profit throughout the past six years, while reducing inventory costs by that same amount. "This is another huge accomplishment for our team," said Dean Frew, SML's chief technology officer and senior VP of RFID solutions, in a prepared statement, "and a testament to the collaboration and innovation that they have built with our ecosystem partners, as well as our customers, transforming the most fundamental element of retail: inventory management."
The pandemic caused global industries to struggle, SML says, noting that few industries were impacted as heavily as retail, as retailers began leveraging new technologies to streamline in-store processes, improve customer experiences, and create efficient and cost-effective solutions. According to SML, many selected its Clarity solution, deployed on Microsoft's Azure Cloud platform, to provide faster and more accurate inventory-counting processes. An additional 3,000 stores are now under contract and plan to deploy SML's software by the end of 2022.
Retailers utilizing SML's platform include those in the apparel, footwear, home goods, sporting goods, cosmetics and electronics sectors, and the company is also working with customers in the quick-serve restaurant, food supply chain, pharmaceuticals and agriculture industries. SML says it processes millions of items annually through its Clarity applications at customers' factories and distribution centers.
"When you look deeper into the adoption of Clarity within retailers," Frew said, "what you see is that retailers are increasingly recognizing that they can't thrive with the once-a-year SKU-based physical counts of the past, and are converting to item-level RFID to transform and realize the tangible business benefits that follow. These retailers see that poor inventory accuracy is a fundamental problem that prevents them from effectively delivering the customer service required for retailing now and in the future."
Confidex Offers On-Metal RFID Label for Specialty Retail
Confidex has released its Ferrowave Micro on-metal label, designed for a category of products that has traditionally been challenging to track via RFID: specialty retail. The label is sized specifically for monitoring retail items previously considered too small for RFID tagging, and the company says it is suitable for use on metals and metallic packaging.
The Ferrowave Micro is intended for item-level tracking of food and groceries, as well as non-food items such as sports equipment and beauty and personal care items, and it also provides brand authentication for high-value goods, Confidex reports. The label, according to the company, enables fast, reliable reads in high-volume and high-tag-density environments.
Measuring 45 millimeters by 8 millimeters by 1.5 millimeters (1.77 inches by 0.31 inch by 0.06 inch), the label can be attached to products ranging from golf clubs to cosmetics and metallic beverage containers. It performs well on a variety of other materials common among specialty goods, the company notes, and its acrylic adhesive is intended for secure attachment to painted or non-painted metal surfaces. The label contains Impinj's M730 tag chip, along with Confidex's patent-pending antenna design.
In retail storefronts, back rooms or warehouses, the Ferrowave Micro can be interrogated using standard UHF RFID handheld readers, or with automated robots for inventory counts, enabling visibility for hard-to-track specialty items. The label has been tested with multiple printer manufacturers to provide widescale compatibility, Confidex adds. According to the company, the Ferrowave Micro is designed for use in international supply chains.
"We're excited to offer a new solution to some of the most challenging inventory-management applications, expanding the use of RAIN RFID into new challenging retail categories," said Timo Lindstrom, Confidex's CEO, in a prepared statement. "Ferrowave Micro results from the very best in experience and innovation by our accomplished team of engineers." The label is available now for orders and samples.
Nordic Semiconductor, Memfault Partner on SDK for Connected Devices
Nordic Semiconductor has partnered with cloud-based debugging company Memfault to enable developers using its nRF91, nRF53 and nRF52 Series low-power cellular Internet of Things (IoT) and short-range wireless solutions to access Memfault's remote debugging and monitoring platform via Nordic's nRF Connect SDK. The integration of the platform in the software developers kit provides Nordic's customers with free access to all features of the Memfault platform, the company reports.
Connected devices are susceptible to software bugs, Nordic explains, especially when large numbers of customers use products in unanticipated and untested ways. Monitoring device health and analyzing software issues in deployed end products can be complex, burdening product makers with direct resource costs, and it can have a negative impact on brand reputation, according to Nordic. Memfault's remote debugging features and fault-analysis capabilities are designed to reduce such costs and save time.
Developers using the nRF Connect SDK with Memfault's platform receive notifications directly via a cloud portal in the event that a fault occurs. The interface displays the status of a user's device fleet, along with detailed reports providing tailored diagnostic information for analysis purposes. Memfault's fault-aggregation techniques show the occurrence of a specific fault across the entire population of devices, letting developers know if many issues have the same provenance.
The frequency of occurrence, the number of affected devices and the fault occurrence timeline can allow developers to identify if, for example, a specific device type or software update could have resulted in a fault, as well as the impact that fault is having. With this information, Nordic explains, developers can locate the root cause of the issue and push updates to fix it before end users notice it, while reducing resolution time from days to minutes and lowering engineering and support overhead.
"As the number of devices at the edge increases, driven by IoT connectivity technologies like Bluetooth Low Energy, Thread and LTE-M/NB-IoT, the risk of faults in the field and the impact they can have increases," said Joel Stapleton, the principal engineering manager of Nordic's Software Platform Group, in a prepared statement. "To manage imperfect software and the huge growth in connected devices, there is a shift from having a product that is 'good enough' at deployment, to having a product which is maintained and updated over its lifetime. Nordic is partnering with Memfault to enable our customers to gather valuable insights during development, and to meet the expectations of their customers in production."
"Memfault is excited to partner with Nordic to give their customers streamlined access to Memfault's device observability platform," added Francois Baldassari, Memfault's CEO, in the prepared statement. "Nordic's commitment to the Zephyr Project and other open-source initiatives shows it puts developers first, making them an ideal partner for Memfault. With this strategic partnership, Nordic and Memfault will lead the way in helping IoT device developers across all industries build stronger products faster. We're already supporting live implementations together, and we look forward to providing Nordic developers with the tools they need to be successful at every phase of the device lifecycle."
IoT Company Triax Technologies Raises $12.5 in Funding
Triax Technologies, an Internet of Things solutions provider for construction, energy, manufacturing and industrial worksites, has announced that it has raised a Series A funding round of $12.5 million. The round, led by McRock Capital, an institutional investor focused on industrial IoT, along with Connecticut Innovations and support from existing shareholders, will be used to grow the Triax team and scale its solutions globally, Triax reports. As part of the financing, Scott MacDonald, McRock Capital's cofounder and managing partner, has joined Triax's board.
The funding comes amid growing demand for and investment in IoT technologies, Triax explains, as well as increased adoption of the company's wearable solutions to improve worksite safety and efficiency. "Our mission is to provide IoT technology and data insights that help companies change the way they work to keep workers safer and worksites more efficient," said Robert Costantini, Triax's CEO, in a prepared statement. "By working closely with innovative customers, we have demonstrated the ability to service large-scale operations with robust and scalable technology, and to serve as a trusted partner in their digital transformation initiatives. The funding, which validates our position in the market, will accelerate our efforts to bring data-driven technology to worksites around the world."
"The next major wave of digital transformation in the industrial sector will be driven by the connected worker," MacDonald added in the statement. "Triax uses its dependable IoT technology to connect people and equipment in the toughest industries in the world to improve worker safety and drive operational efficiency." Triax accelerated its business momentum in 2020, the company reports, adding new clients and industry verticals to its construction client base, including in the energy, mining and manufacturing sectors.
At the start of the pandemic, Triax developed its Proximity Trace solution to help organizations create a safer work environment and keep doors open, with scalable technology to address social distancing and contact tracing. Building on the demand for real-time worker-alert technology, Triax then launched its Spot-r Radius solution in May of this year. The system features preventative alerts, as well as safety and efficiency data insights. The company's product suite of safety and efficiency solutions, such as Spot-r Mesh, Spot-r Radius and Spot-r Access, is intended to help clients digitally transform their worksites.
Albanian Music Festival Deploys Event Genius Cashless Tech
U.K.-based event technology company Event Genius has announced its involvement in the successful running of a large music festival despite the ongoing pandemic. Last month, Albania's Unum Festival became the first legally unrestricted music event in Europe to take place since the coronavirus outbreak began. For five days on the coast of Shëngjin, thousands of attendees enjoyed performances by underground house and techno bands, including Ricardo Villalobos, Sonja Moonear, Raresh, tINI and more.
Event Genius's egPay cashless payments system allowed attendees to pre-purchase credit vouchers, which could be applied to RFID-enabled wristbands for access control, to then be used at all bars and vendors at the venue. With the cashless system in place, Event Genius reports, Unum Festival was able to reduce queues and improve audience flow, as well as minimize contact points, eliminate cash handling by personnel and customers, and create a safer, more hygienic partying environment for all involved.
"It was an honor for Event Genius to provide a safe payments solution to Unum Festival," said Reshad Hossenally, Event Genius's founder, in a prepared statement. "The festival represented a release for the festival and electronic music community that had been bottled up for well over a year. Beyond this, its importance in demonstrating how festivals can safely run at this time, and how technology such as cashless and contactless have a role to play in the industry's reopening, shouldn't be underestimated."
Digi Intros IoT Module Platform Based on NXP Processor
Digi International, a provider of IoT connectivity products and services, has announced the expansion of its ConnectCore product line with the Digi ConnectCore 8M Mini system-on-module (SOM). The Digi ConnectCore 8M Mini is an integrated platform based on NXP's i.MX 8M Mini applications processor. According to the company, the module is designed for industrial, medical, transportation and agricultural applications.
ConnectCore products are intended to simplify embedded product development, Digi explains, by providing integrated memory, power management, pre-certified wireless, security features and the open-source Digi Embedded Yocto Linux software platform, based on Yocto Project- or Android-based Digi Embedded Android. This, the company adds, enables manufacturers to speed up production and reduce risks and costs.
"Digi is excited to be expanding the Digi ConnectCore family of products," said Steve Ericson, Digi International's general manager for OEM solutions, in a prepared statement. "We remain dedicated to delivering advanced solutions that simplify product development for manufacturers seeking secure, connected products that also help reduce the cost of R&D. The Digi ConnectCore 8M Mini SOM extends that commitment and delivers increased capability while lowering the total cost of ownership."
The Digi ConnectCore 8M Mini features ARM Cortex-A53 and Cortex-M4 processing cores; a range of multimedia, including 2D/3D GPU, VPU, MIPI-DSI/CSI, SAI and PDM; and connectivity provided via 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 5 or Gigabit Ethernet. According to the company, the SOM is suitable for use with IoT, human-machine interface, equipment-monitoring, audio-voice, edge-computing and machine-learning applications.
The i.MX 8M Mini processor is industrial-qualified and backed by NXP's Product Longevity Program. The module measures 40 millimeters by 45 millimeters by 3.5 millimeters (1.6 inches by 1.8 inches by 0.14 inch) and comes with Digi TrustFence, an integrated device-security framework designed for embedded devices.
Senet, Adtran Team Up for LoRaWAN Network Services
Senet, a provider of cloud-based software and services platforms providing connectivity and on-demand network build-outs for the Internet of Things, and Adtran, a supplier of business and residential connectivity solutions, have announced a partnership to deliver carrier-grade LoRaWAN network services for IoT applications throughout enterprise and campus environments. Adtran's 7310-08 IoT gateway is now certified to operate with Senet's cloud-based network-management platform, enabling value-added resellers, systems integrators and other businesses to deploy and manage secure LoRaWAN connectivity in and around commercial buildings at scale.
This, the companies report, allows for rapid deployment and easy configuration on the Senet network with Adtran's IoT app and micro-sized 7310-08, eight-channel LoRaWAN IoT gateway; integration with Senet's cloud-based network operating system, including OSS/BSS features to coordinate and scale the delivery of network services beyond the capabilities of a standalone LoRaWAN network server; and participation in Senet's low-power wide-area virtual network. The eight-channel gateway is intended for a range of smart-building applications, the company reports, including asset tracking, equipment monitoring, lighting controls, room occupancies, biometrics, motion sensing and contact tracing.
"Businesses are realizing the strain distributed IoT deployments can put on their network and look for solutions to better plan and manage IoT network resources and large-scale sensor-based device deployments," said Keith Atwell, Adtran's head of global business development, in a prepared statement. "Partnering with Senet to provide out-of-the-box integration between our gateways and their cloud-hosted network services allows our customers to roll out IoT solutions of any size, knowing they are getting the carrier-grade quality the industry has come to expect from Adtran and on a network architected to scale with them as they grow."
"It is one thing to select the most appropriate wireless technology to meet the needs of business-critical IoT projects, but quite another to manage it within a distributed organization," added Bruce Chatterley, Senet's CEO, in the prepared statement. "However, with the right network infrastructure and management services in place, enterprise organizations can rapidly overcome the more common challenges. Our partnership with Adtran gives businesses a clear path to using a diverse range of LoRaWAN-powered sensors to automate processes and gain new and actionable insights into their operations."
