Low Cost
RFID...
Low-cost RFID from Innovision R&T reduces risk of liquid-transfer errors
Release Date: 1 March 2004
Ultra-low-cost Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags designed by Innovision R&T plc, the RFID design services specialist, will allow Colder Products Company (CPC) to use RFID tagging across a large range of its Smart Couplings, radically improving product identification and, therefore, quality assurance and safety.
CPC is an innovator in the design and manufacture of fluid couplings connections and fittings that allow flexible tubing to be quickly and easily connected and disconnected. Innovision R&T's ability to reduce the cost of RFID tags to less than a fifth of the cost of previous tags will allow CPC to bring the benefits of smart identification to virtually all of its fluid coupling requirements. The implementation of RFID is an important strategic move for CPC and the company is planning to produce tens of millions of tagged couplings over the next 3 years.
In Smart Coupling, the main benefits of RFID are improved quality assurance, safety, and product identification in the transmission of liquids. The tags enable identification of individual couplings and matching pairs, helping to ensure that they are connected correctly and that the appropriate liquids are being delivered through them. A well-designed RFID system embedded within a fluid coupling can, therefore, ensure that non-authorised liquids do not enter containers in the filling plant or dispensing systems on the other end of the supply chain. The tags are read-write, do not require line-of-sight reading and can even be embedded within the couplings.
CPC's initial RFID-based coupling applications will be found in food and beverage dispensers and chemical cleaning devices, where effective quality assurance is essential to users' safety. In beverage dispensers, Smart Couplings can help ensure that correct amounts are dispensed, that sugared syrup is not used in drinks advertised as sugar-free, and that products can be monitored for freshness. In chemical handling, RFID tagging can ensure the correct type and sequencing of ingredients.
"Innovision R&T's RFID tags will provide us with new opportunities because of their low cost and reliability, giving us an even sharper competitive edge," said CPC Smart Technology Business Unit Manager Rick Garber. "Earlier options of stick-on labels containing tags were not entirely reliable across our range of platforms because labels can sometimes become detached, or worse, the die can be damaged in certain applications. However, Innovision R&T's tags can be embedded in our existing couplings, eliminating these potential risks and enhancing both quality assurance and reliability."
"Industry's understanding of the many benefits of RFID tags is growing rapidly, but adoption has often been inhibited by perceived cost," explained Rob Kitchen, Innovision R&T's Head of Consumer Sector Development. "As one of the world's leading RFID design centres, Innovision R&T has succeeded in reducing costs through its novel approaches to the design of both its tags and the wider RFID system. By developing a business model that gives clients access to our technology at very low cost, we are now enabling clients such as CPC to place themselves at the forefront of technology and take significant leads in their respective markets."
Kitchen continued: "Smart RFID tagging can also be used as a cost-effective brand protection device and for a range of other business challenges in the consumer, medical and transport sectors."
About Innovision Research & Technology plc
Founded in 1994, Innovision Research & Technology plc is an electronics solutions provider and a major player in the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) industry. Through the creation, development and licensing of technologies, Innovision R&T provides innovative solutions to a wide variety of enterprises, including some of the world's largest companies. With a growing team of thirty engineers and scientists, and commercial expertise honed in some of industry's most challenging sectors, Innovision R&T is able to support the entire RFID development process from conceptual design through to production engineering. Innovision R&T works in close partnership with its customers to drive commercial success and deliver competitive value.
Innovision R&T is listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange (Ticker Symbol: INN). Its head office is in Wokingham, Berkshire, UK.
For more information, see www.innovision-group.com
About Colder Products Company
Colder Products Company is the worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of controlled performance connections and fittings that allow flexible tubing to be quickly and easily connected and disconnected. These specially-engineered solutions lend flexibility, control, safety, and cost savings to a broad range of applications. Colder Products' connections and fittings make systems cleaner, easier to maintain and more efficient, while adding new value and functionality to smaller-scale applications.
Founded in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1978, Colder Products have more than 25 years of experience in providing custom and standard solutions to industrial, medical, chemical handling, packaging and food-dispensing markets. Colder Products' commitments to developing specialized, high-performance product designs has led it to become the largest supplier of quick couplings in the world with direct sales and distributor representation in North America, Europe, Latin America, Australia and Asia.
For more information see www.colder.com
Media Enquiries
Stephen Fleming or Martin Stabe at Palam Communications
Tel +44 (0) 1635 299116
Fax +44 (0) 1635 299115
Email sfleming@palam.co.uk
mstabe@palam.co.uk
General Enquiries
Ian Lavigne,
Innovision Research & Technology plc
Ash Court, 23 Rose Street, Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 1XS
Tel +44 (0) 118 936 6362
Fax +44 (0) 118 979 1500
Email ianl@innovision-group.com
Labels: access-control, chemical, couplings, devices, electronics, europe, flexible, food, industrial, liquid-containers, office, partnership, planning, production, quality-control, rfid-device, risks, safety, stock, symbol
