RFID Sports Score and Time Track

Alien Technology and Hardcard Systems have completed field testing of RFID technology for motorsports timing and scoring. Hardcard Systems plans to use RFID in motorsports applications to make the timing and scoring solutions more cost effective. The race vehicles are tagged and time-stamped using antennas and RFID readers. ...

... "In tests conducted at Buttonwillow Raceway in California in December 2007, Hardcard and Alien used standard Gen 2 UHF RFID tags, antennas, readers and software to accurately track and time eight motorcycles at speeds exceeding 140mph. Competition-prepared motorcycles were successfully time-stamp recorded passing several read points around the racetrack, simulating realistic race situations where multiple racers pass reader checkpoints. Alien ALR-9900 readers and standard antennas were stationed at the checkpoints, providing accurate reads up to 10 meters away (over 30 feet) at race-like speeds. The professional racers' machines were equipped with a total of two of Alien's M-Tags each. " ...

Via Alien Technology: RFID FOR HIGH-SPEED SPORTS TIMING AND SCORING

Alien RFID European Implementations in Various Markets

European businesses are looking to differentiate themselves and gain efficiencies by applying RFID technology in their business processes. Here is evidence of the adoption as Alien gains customers in Europe in the food and retail industries. The companies are looking to increase the performance and responsiveness of their supply chains. ...

... "Penam, a leading bread producer in the Czech and Slovak republics, will use Alien tags and readers to track three hundred thousand crates throughout their supply chain. Additionally, Portuguese fashion retailer Throttleman, has specified Gen 2 Alien Squiggle inlays be used for the roll-out of its RFID pilot. " ...

Via Alien Tech: Czech Bread Producer and Portuguese Retailer Select Alien

Alien RFID Vehicle Tracks Employee Parking

Alien Technology partners with STS Technology to implement vehicle tracking solution for the Municipality of Pendik in Istanbul, Turkey. ...

... "The Municipality of Pendik has installed the STS/Alien RFID vehicle tracking solution for their employee parking lots. Employee and company vehicles now will feature an Alien RFID tag mounted on the vehicle window with fixed position ALR-8800 readers mounted at various entry/exit points within the parking lots. " ...

Via Alien Technology: STS Integrates Turkey’s First EPC-Compliant Vehicle Tracking Solution with Alien Readers and Tags at the Municipality of Pendik, Istanbul

iSUM RFID Asset Tracking Built By Alien and Xterprise

iSUM demonstrates convergence of RFID asset tracking and integrated edge devices. ...

... "iSUM provides a scalable, high performance platform for tracking assets across the supply chain, and for enabling organizations to orchestrate supply chain visibility solutions at the edge of the enterprise in a simplified and cost effective manner. Developed collaboratively by Alien Technology and Xterprise and deployed at Orlando-based logistics-leader iGPS (Intelligent Global Pooling Systems), iSUM takes advantage of the extensive plug-and-play capabilities of the BizTalk RFID platform for building and managing rich solutions that connect real-time business processes with intelligent edge devices, combined with the high performance, flexibility and robustness of Alien Enterprise RFID Readers. " ...

Alien Technology Demonstrates Support For Microsoft BizTalk RFID

LIME RFID Tag Secure Encryption of Item-Level Data

SecureRF Corp introduces the LIME RFID-Tag, which is a battery-assisted passive tag with security technology that authenticates and encrypts data communications on the tag. It can be used at the item-level that only allows authorized readers to access the sensitive information on the tag. The company will begin deployment of the LIME tag in the pharmaceutical industry supply chain. The RFID tag will support authentication and data protection to address drug counterfeiting through cryptographic methods that translate into an electronic seal. ...

... "The company's strong LIghtweight Multistream Encryption Tag (LIME Tag) is based on SecureRF and industry standard security protocols. SecureRF's solutions include integration technology that allows its tags to be used with most of today's Gen 2 compliant readers without the need for firmware upgrades. This will allow currently deployed systems to easily upgrade to a fully secured supply chain with little cost or change to their current network. Mike McGregor, formerly a lead RFID chip designer at Alien Technology Corp. and one of the industry's foremost RFID chip engineers, is in charge of creating the new LIME Tag. SecureRF's founders include three world-class mathematicians / cryptographers who developed the cryptographic algorithm. " ...

Via SecureRF: LIME Tag authenticates and encrypts data communications on the tag ...

Alien RFID Supports WebSphere Premises Server

Alien Technology will support IBM's new WebSphere RFID Premises Server 6.0, a middleware platform that integrates RFID data with enterprise business processes. Alien will validate its Enterprise RFID Readers in IBM's WebSphere RFID Device Program, which will enable customers accelerate integration of RFID devices in their implementations. ...

... "Alien Enterprise RFID Readers and their underlying Alien Reader Protocol dovetail well with the new IBM offering, providing complementary and synergistic features for enterprise deployment. These include remote software version management, SNMP, Automode, and automatic recovery in the event of power or network outage. The Premises Server's open architecture allows these and other Alien capabilities to be fully leveraged to help drive the implementation of a scalable and reliable RFID system within an IBM enterprise infrastructure. " ...

Via Alien Tech: Alien Technology Supports IBM WebSphere RFID Premises Server 6.0

Intel RFID Chips Enable Alien Technology Reader

Alien will use Intel RFID transceiver in RFID reader products. ...

... "Alien Technology Corporation plans to offer RFID Readers based on the new Intel UHF RFID Transceiver R1000. The new Alien RFID reader products will capitalize on the high levels of integration and performance of the Intel R1000 to address new and emerging market opportunities for RFID readers worldwide. Alien plans to offer readers in new, smaller form factors with the advanced EPCglobal Gen 2 and software enhanced features typical of Alien readers. " ...

Via Alien Technology: Alien Technology Announces Support for the Intel UHF RFID Transceiver R1000

RFID Pilot: Cardinal Health Completes

Cardinal Health completes its RFID pilot, which tested RFID tags for end-to-end pharma packaging and distribution business processes. The pilot tested the application of tags and the utilization of item level tracking techniques. Alien Technology, IBM, and Verisign provided hardware, software and implementation services. The application and encoding of the RFID tags approached 100 percent success rates. Reliable read rates were best achieved at the individual case level. The pilot was a fruitful learning experience for the pharma industry. ...

... "The pilot program tested whether ultra-high frequency (UHF) radio frequency identification (RFID) tags could be applied, encoded and read at normal production speeds during packaging and distribution of pharmaceuticals. Verifying the authenticity of medications along each step of the distribution process adds an additional layer of security to lessen the chance of counterfeit pharmaceuticals entering the supply chain. It is also hoped that RFID data could improve efficiencies in the supply chain. Pilot Program Background: In conducting the industry's first end-to-end pilot program, Cardinal Health used new technology to place RFID tags on the labels of brand-name solid-dose prescription drugs, then encoded the electronic product code (EPC) standard data at the unit, case and pallet levels during the packaging process. The products were shipped to a Cardinal Health distribution center in Findlay, Ohio, where the data was read and authenticated as products were handled under typical operating conditions. Normal procedures were enhanced with RFID hardware and software from Alien Technology Corporation and IBM along with project management support from VeriSign.

RFID Labeling and Online Encoding: Data collected from the pilot suggest that it is feasible for RFID tags to be inlaid into existing FDA-approved pharmaceutical label stock, and the tags can be applied and encoded on packaging lines at normal operational speeds. Online encoding yields were 95 percent to 97 percent, and fine tuning of the process is expected to produce yields that approach 100 percent. The RFID tag application and encoding requires minimal adjustments to current labeling and packaging lines.

RFID Read Rates: Unit-level read rate data varied widely depending on the locations and type of reading stations throughout the supply chain. Highly reliable unit-level read rates in excess of 96 percent were found when reading individual cases one at a time and when reading units mixed with other products in tote containers prepared for delivery to a pharmacy. However, as expected, unit-level read rates were not found to be reliable when attempting to read units within a full pallet of product. " ...

Via Cardinal Health: Cardinal Health Releases RFID Pilot Results ...

RFID: Alien Tech World Tags ...

Alien introduces RFID tags that will operate across the world. ...

... "Alien World Tags enable companies to manufacture products on one continent and ship them worldwide utilizing a single RFID tag that exhibits uniform behavior and delivers consistent performance regardless of its destination. When used with Alien Enterprise RFID Readers, this enables companies to deploy a common RFID infrastructure worldwide, thus reducing the number of infrastructure designs, software interfaces, development projects and equipment models they need to ensure accurate, reliable tag reads across their global supply and delivery chains. Consequently, upfront implementation and ongoing maintenance costs are minimized, overall RFID effectiveness is maximized, and returns on RFID investment can be accelerated. " ...

Alien Technology Expands Gen2 RFID Tag Family

Alien RFID IPO Off ...

Alien Technology, provider of UHF Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) products and services, has decided not to proceed with their initial public offering due to the conditions in the stock market for recent IPO's. Now, the company must focus on operational efficiency to manage their cash flow in order to support business growth. ...

... "Alien Technology Corporation today announced that the company has withdrawn its Registration Statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission and has determined not to proceed with the registration and sale of its common stock at this time. No shares of the Company's common stock have been sold pursuant to the Registration Statement. The Company may undertake a subsequent private offering of securities in reliance on Rule 155(c) of the Securities Act. " ...

Alien RFID IPO Off: Via Alien Technology: Alien Technology Withdraws Registration Statement for Initial Public Offering ...

RFID Intermec Alien IP Tussle ...

Intermec and Alien compete for the use of RFID intellectual property. Intermec claims rights to the IP given its patents. Alien is challenging. ...

... "Intermec is seeking an injunction prohibiting Alien from selling the infringing RFID products, as well as monetary damages. Also today, Intermec filed a motion to dismiss a declaratory judgment action filed by Alien in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota. Intermec is moving to dismiss the case on the ground that the North Dakota federal court does not have jurisdiction to hear the case. An RFID pioneer, Intermec holds more than 150 RFID patents, including patents core to the use of RFID.



Committed to providing industry access to its RFID patent estate, Intermec in 2005 offered a Rapid Start RFID licensing program that provided access to portfolios of its RFID patents. Twenty RFID industry leaders, including RFID, chip, tag, reader, printer and wireless network manufacturers, were selected for the program. Alien Technology is not one of the licensees. " ...

RFID Intermec Alien IP Tussle: Via Intermec: Intermec Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Alien Technology: Complaint Specifies Alien’s Generation 2 RFID Products ...

RFID Gen2 Chip Supply for Alien ...

Tower Semi will manufacture Generation 2 RFID chips for Alien Technology. ...

... "Tower Semiconductor Ltd., a pure-play independent specialty foundry, announced that it is the manufacturing supplier for Alien Technology's internally-designed Gen 2 RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) integrated circuits. These ICs recently achieved the EPCGlobal certification mark. The RFID ICs are produced at Tower's Fab2 in an advanced 0.18-micron manufacturing process. Market analysts forecast the RFID IC's market to grow significantly to between $500 millions and $1 Billion by 2010, mainly due to the Gen 2 impact. RFID tags help enable supply chain efficiency, visibility and security and are being deployed in retail, defense, transportation and health markets. Some of the implementation initiatives are being led by major US retailers. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, 13 federal agencies are already using or plan to deploy RFID technology. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), has mandated RFID's use across its suppliers for increased supply chain visibility and improved forecasting. The newly certified Alien Gen 2 RFID chips include some new CMOS devices which were jointly developed with Tower. IC development efforts focused on the low-power requirements for such an RFID tag which draws its power solely from transmitted Radio Frequency energy. " ...

RFID Gen2 Chip Supply for Alien: Via Tower Semiconductor: Tower Semiconductor Manufactures Gen 2 RFID Tags for Alien Technology ...

RFID Patent Infringement Battle ...

RFID patent infringement battle continues ...

... "Alien Technology Corporation (Alien) today announced that the company has filed suit against Intermec Inc. in federal district court in the District of North Dakota seeking a declaratory judgment for patent non-infringement and invalidity on ten Intermec patents for RFID products and processes. After conducting a review of the Intermec RFID patents and a comparison of those patents with the design elements and operation of Alien products, Alien believes its products do not infringe Intermec intellectual property. In response to public statements by Intermec, including recent public threats of IP litigation against Alien and others companies who have not licensed Intermec's RFID technology, Alien has taken this action to seek ratification of Alien's position from the district court. " ...

RFID Patent Infringement Battle: Via Alien Technology: Alien Technology Files Declaratory Judgment Action Against Intermec to Prove Non-Infringement of RFID patents ...

RFID Solutions Center: Print and Apply ...

Weber RFID print and apply products are available at Alien Tech RFID Solution Center ...

... "Weber's Model 5200rfid system combines the printing, encoding, verification and application of pressure-sensitive RFID smart labels to cartons and pallet loads into one operation. At the same time, the system rejects and recovers RFID smart labels that are not compliant. The system will help users of the Center learn how to meet the emerging RFID labeling requirements in the consumer and governmental sectors.

The capabilities of the RFID Solutions Center are now available to companies, educational institutions, government agencies and other organizations undertaking the implementation of RFID technology. The Center's facilities encompass technical labs and testing grounds, and include a wide range of RFID equipment and services that will simulate real-world RFID situations. " ...

RFID Solutions Center: Print and Apply: Via Weber Marking Systems: Weber RFID labeling system at work at new, collaborative RFID Solutions Center Dayton ...

RFID Drug Authenticity Pilot at Cardinal Health ...

Cardinal Health begins second wave of RFID testing that supports the safety of the drug supply. RFID technology will enable in-process authentication as drugs make their way through the extended supply chain. Cardinal will also look for ways to achieve operational efficiencies from the RFID-enabled supply chain information. The company is expecting to complete this wave of tests by the 4th Quarter of 2006. ...

... "Cardinal Health, Inc., the leading provider of products and services supporting the health-care industry, announced the next phase of the first end-to-end pilot program to test technology that could improve the safety and efficiency of the nation's drug supply. The pilot program will begin to tag medication with labels carrying unique data that can be captured and read to verify its authenticity at each step of the supply chain. Verifying the authenticity of pharmaceuticals along each step of the distribution path adds an additional layer of security to lessen the chance of counterfeit pharmaceuticals entering the supply chain. In addition, the data gathered could improve efficiency as logistics experts at Cardinal Health will be able to analyze the data to identify bottlenecks, read rates and other opportunities to improve efficiency in the supply chain.

In conducting the end-to-end pilot program, Cardinal Health will use new technology to place radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on the labels of brand-name and generic solid-dose prescription drugs at the company's Printed Components facility in Moorestown, N.J. Next, the company's facility in Philadelphia will encode the electronic product code (EPC) standard data at the unit, case and pallet levels during the packaging process. The products will be then shipped to a Cardinal Health distribution center in Findlay, Ohio, where the data will be read and authenticated as products are handled under normal operating conditions. Normal operating procedures will be enhanced with RFID hardware and software from Alien Technology Corporation and IBM along with project management support from VeriSign. From Findlay, the tagged product will be sent to a health-care provider to further test read rates and data flow using the same technology as the distribution center. The product dispensed to patients will not be in the RFID packaging. The company launched the pilot in February and expects to complete the test in the fall." ...

RFID Drug Authenticity Pilot at Cardinal: Via Cardinal Health: Cardinal Health Announces Next Phase Of RFID Pilot ...

Alien RFID IPO Planned ...

Alien RFID company plans IPO ...

... "Alien Technology Corporation today announced that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of approximately $120 million of its common stock. It is expected that all shares sold in the offering will be sold by the Company. Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. is acting as book-running manager for the offering with Cowen & Company, Robert W. Baird & Co. and Advanced Equities, Inc. acting as co-managers for the offering. " ...

Alien RFID IPO Planned: Via Alien Technology: Alien Technology Files for Initial Public Offering ...

RFID Smart Label Print Server ...

Loftware plans RFID product launch at upcoming RFID World ...

... "A proven brand leader for its ability to integrate from a centralized software platform both RFID Smart Labels as well as traditional bar code labeling, this latest release of the Loftware Print Server further extends these capabilities by adding software support for fixed mount RFID reader technology from companies like Alien, Symbol, AWID and ThingMagic. As a result, companies implementing pilot programs can use multiple hardware devices with a single software solution from Loftware. Loftware's highly integrated, multi-device platform encodes and now reads both Smart Labels and RF Tags to perform real time use cases, including building, receiving, and verifying pallets. The Loftware Print Server is a server-based software solution for managing and processing barcode label and RFID Smart Label requests from corporate applications. An enterprise-class solution, LPS 8.4 is a highly-scalable and fault tolerant system designed to handle thousands of requests targeted to hundreds (or thousands) of printers, whether local or remote, with all of the appropriate queuing, status, and recovery features expected in advanced enterprise systems. Key to its leading market status is the product's seamless integration of Department of Defense (DOD) and EPC specifications via universal interfaces for HF, UHF, and GEN 2 RFID whether printing smart labels or encoding RFID tags. " ...

RFID Smart Label Print Server: Via Loftware: New Product to Make First Public Debut at RFID World, Booth 310 on Feb. 27th: INNOVATIVE LPS 8.4 SOLUTION FROM LOFTWARE, THE ONLY USER-CONFIGURABLE PRODUCT IN ITS CLASS TO SUPPORT BOTH LEGACY BAR CODES AND RFID SMART TAGS, NOW INCLUDES RFID TAG READER SUPPORT ...

RFID Visibility Solution for Supply Chain

TNT Express will implement Xterprise’s TraX Visibility, a real-time supply chain execution solution. The system will track high value electronics movement in the supply chain from China to Europe. The solution was piloted in 2004 and will now be expanded. ...

... "Phase II involves deployment of an enhanced TraX Release 2.0 application with multi-stakeholder enterprise system integration, including SAP. In addition, the solution will enable streamlining and higher accuracy sorting at the TNT facilities in Europe and enable Item-level shipment visibility for supply network partners. TraX 2.0 is expected to improve TNT customer service through a higher fidelity Track and Trace features which allows for better inventory planning and management and more accurate shipping performance, resulting in a value-added service offerings to TNT’s customer base. Xterprise technology partners in the project included Alien, Zebra Technologies and Apriso. The introduction of the latest RFID tag antenna designs and new multi-static European RFID readers both from Alien increased the read reliability dramatically. Tests have shown up to 100% read performance of a full pallet of notebooks as they are unloaded through the Xterprise XPort™ RFID reader portals in multiple locations throughout Europe. Xterprise’s TraX RFID enhanced visibility application, built on Apriso’s Flexnet SOA platform, enables customers, suppliers and logistics service providers to view real-time status of shipments around the globe. " ...

RFID Visibility Solution for Supply Chain: Via Xterprise: TNT Express Deploys Xterprise TraX Real-Time RFID Visibility Solution for China-Europe Supply Chain ...

RFID Art Party ...

Art reception was held using RFID tracking technology where party-goers were given RFID tags. People's viewing history was traced and analyzed using Alien RFID readers.

RFID Art Party: Via Engadget: Partygoers get RFID tagged for art's sake ...

... "RFID Tracking Party held at San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art earlier this week was to make some kind of clever, artsy, postmodern statement about privacy, society and art. " ...

RFID Innovation Recognized: Alien FSA RFID Manufacturing ...

Alien Technology recognized for their innovative fluidic self assembly process for manufacturing RFID electronics. Michael Totty reports on the Wall Street Journal's 2005 Technology Innovation Awards where innovators are recognized. ...

RFID Innovation Recognized: Alien FSA RFID Manufacturing: Via Wall Street Journal: A Better Idea ...

... "The Bronze winner was Alien Technology Corp., a Morgan Hill, Calif., semiconductor company that has developed a manufacturing process that dramatically reduces the cost of radio-frequency identification, or RFID, tags. " ...