RFID Reader Module: Small Form Factor

WJ Communications introduces a low cost, small form factor Gen2 UHF RFID module, the WJM3000, which is based on its WJC200 reader chipset. The WJM3000 is the size of a compact flash card and uses almost 60% fewer discreet components, compared to currently available modules on the market. This RFID module will exceed industry benchmarks for fast inventory time and longer read and write range with worldwide Generation-2 RFID tags. ...

... "Utilizing WJ's RF expertise and leadership in wireless infrastructure and radio frequency identification (RFID) readers, WJ has developed the WJM family of UHF RFID Reader Module products to enable OEMs to offer RFID functionality in mobile devices while maintaining key parameters such as low cost, light weight and extended battery life. The data connectors provide an easy snap on PCB or a cable connection allowing for easy integration.

The main applications for WJM3000 include: RFID enabled Mobile Devices, RFID Enabled Handheld Readers, RFID Enabled Fork Lift Readers, and RFID Portal Reader. " ...

Via WJ Communications: WJ Communications Revolutionize the UHF Gen2 RFID Reader Module Market ...

RFID Metal Packaging Works as Antenna

QinetiQ and Crown collaborate to develop adaptation of QinetiQ's Omni-ID Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for use on metal packaging. The improvements will enable RFID tags at the unit-level on metal items. Technology advancement is expected to integrate the metal substrate as part of the RFID tag's antenna. ...

... "This will enable brand owners to integrate ultra high frequency (UHF) RFID tags into metal packaging for a wide variety of applications at the single item level. Designed to mitigate issues such as signal reflection, detuning and grounding which reduce or negate RFID's effectiveness on metal packaging or with aqueous-based products, the unique technology leverages several of metal's inherent properties and shifts the format into an advantageous position.

QinetiQ's standalone Omni-ID tags and integrated Omni-ID packaging technology allows a UHF tag to be mounted directly onto the metal substrate. Measuring substantially less than 1mm in thickness, the unique Omni-ID structure collects and focuses RF energy and enables highly efficient coupling to the chip. Another advantage of the system is that RFID chips require only a short coupling antenna rather than the large dipole usually incorporated in UHF tags, significantly reducing manufacturing costs. Crown and QinetiQ are continuing development of the technology for metal packaging to further optimize design. In the near future, it is expected that the metal substrate itself will have an integral role in the way the technology functions. Using a beverage or food can as an example, the can itself would serve as the antenna, simplifying production of the RFID tag and further reducing costs. " ...

Via Qinetiq: Crown teams up with QinetiQ to resolve challenges of RFID on metal packaging ...

RFID Starter Kit

Kanda offers RFID starter kit. The kit has a combined reader and programmer. It supports ISO15693 RFID Tags and will also read ISO14443A RFID tags. ...

... "Apart from a programmer and reader unit, the Kanda RFID kit includes an RF detector that gives an indication of the RF field strength near a reader, which helps both in development and in the siting of units. However, the most important part of the starter kit is the software package. The protocol used is very flexible to allow engineers to design their own systems to suit their needs, rather than being constrained by the limitations of the software. As well as the standard read, write and lock functions, the protocol allows for continuous read, and includes anticollision algorithms that deals with multiple tags in the reader field. " ...

Via Kanda: RFID Made Easy; New Starter Kit Simplifies Process of Creating Applications Using RFID Systems

RFID Manages Metro Shrinkage

Metro partners with Checkpoint to implement RFID source tags to reduce shrinkage across a significant number of stores across multiple countries. ...

... "The strategic agreement, which includes worldwide store installation of NDRF (New Digital Radio Frequency) technology and source tagging, will help METRO Cash & Carry to minimize shrinkage and reduce operational costs by using only one supplier, Checkpoint Systems, and implement source tagging, with the ultimate aim of improving their customers' shopping experience. Installation of 3G NDRF (called Liberty PX in North America) antennas and deactivators is planned for the more than 425 Cash & Carry self-service wholesale stores in 28 countries, making it the most international EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) roll out of its kind. The global shrink management solution provides METRO Cash & Carry (under METRO and MAKRO brand names), with product protection throughout the entire supply chain, from manufacturing and distribution to the point of sale, where the RF tags on the item are deactivated. This eliminates the need for employees to spend time physically securing the tags in-store or removing them at point of sale. " ...

Via Checkpoint Systems: METRO Cash & Carry Selects Checkpoint Systems as Their Exclusive Shrink Management Global Partner

Intelleflex RFID Equity Funding ...

Intelleflex Corp secures another round of venture capital funding to enable the scale-up of production volumes. ...

... "Intelleflex Corporation, The Intelligent RFID Platform Company, announced the closing of a $15.5 million round of equity funding. This Series B round was led by Morgenthaler Ventures, and was over-subscribed, with continuing participation by Series A investors Woodside Fund, Alloy Ventures and Selby Venture Partners. Proceeds from this round will be used to ramp production, extend the company's line of high performance RFID tags and readers and expand the company's go-to-market capabilities. Intelleflex products enable critical applications including asset management, yard operations, manufacturing WIP, supply chain and security / access control.



The $11.3 million Intelleflex had raised in its A round was used to develop the industry's first fully integrated multi-protocol EPC-compliant RFID single chip IC. In their battery-assisted passive mode of operation, the tags built around this chip offer operating ranges in excess of 100 meters, robust performance in difficult RF conditions and an extended feature set including 64k bits of user read / write memory. " ...

Intelleflex RFID Equity Funding: Intelleflex Corporation Secures $15.5 Million in Series B Funding ...

RFID RTLS Sensor Collaboration: RFCode OhioU ...

RF Code partners with Ohio U by equiping the university's auto-id center with RFID-based real-time location system. ...

... "RF Code, Inc., a leading provider of real-time, high definition location solutions, announced it is providing Ohio University's Center for Automatic Identification with a permanent, interactive demonstration of RF Code's Real-Time Location and Sensor (RTLS) solution. The Center for Automatic Identification is part of the Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ College of Engineering and Technology. RF Code has donated radio frequency identification (RFID) readers, tags and software to be tested by the center so it can provide unbiased information on active RFID's potential and challenges. The demonstration is the first RTLS solution to be evaluated by the center, which is the nation's oldest university-based center devoted solely to the subject of automatic identification. " ...

RFID RTLS Sensor Collaboration: RFCode OhioU: Via RF Code: RF Code and Ohio University Showcase Real-Time Location and Sensor Solutions ...

Active RFID Tags: Sense Respond ...

Savi introduces active RFID tags that sense and respond to environmental conditions in the global supply chain. ...

... "In addition to RFID components that automatically locate goods in the supply chain, the ST-673 and ST-674 contain sensors that monitor temperature and humidity changes of the container's contents or other supply chain assets. When commissioning the tags, users can set acceptable temperature and humidity ranges tailored to the characteristics of the particular goods to be monitored. The Savi ST-673 and ST-674 are active RFID tags that provide visibility to assets and shipments as they move through the supply chain. In addition, the tags periodically record the environmental status data to an event log in the Savi SensorTag's memory. If the collected data rises or falls outside the acceptable condition range, the Savi SensorTag sends a real-time alarm to a fixed or mobile RF reader, and notification of the temperature or humidity change is escalated via a web application, cell phone or email, allowing the problem to be addressed immediately before spoilage or damage occurs. The complete environmental event logs can be uploaded to handheld readers or to fixed readers at stationary sites such as yards and warehouses in the supply chain. This enables users to identify the time and location of unacceptable environmental conditions, or to confirm that acceptable ranges, and therefore shipment quality, are maintained throughout the journey.

The ST-673 and ST-674 sensor tags are each about 6x2 inches, have memory storage of up to 128K bytes of data and are highly ruggedized for harsh environments. Savi Technology's active RFID tags, which have been deployed to track over two million shipments in over 2,000 supply chain locations for defense and commercial customers, include read ranges of up to 300 feet, beepers for audio location and rugged designs that can withstand the most harsh climatic conditions. Savi's family of active RFID tags are based on Savi's EchoPoint Technology, an innovative technology that combines Ultra High Frequency (433.92 MHz) and Low Frequency (123 kHz) communications for both long-range and more precise spot-level location. This technology also enables data to be written to the tags while they're in-transit, as well as to capture important data about the shipment from mobile readers. " ...

Active RFID Tags: Sense Respond: Via Savi Technology: SAVI TECHNOLOGY RELEASES NEW RFID SENSOR TAGS TO TRACK AND MONITOR THE CONDITION OF GLOBAL SHIPMENTS: New Mounting Options of Savi Sensor Tags (ST-673 and ST-674) Can Be Affixed to Metal, Plastic, Wood, Cardboard and Other Containers ...

RFID Garment HangTags Manage Inventory ...

Checkpoint implements RFID garment hangtags for Lemmi to management apparel inventory in the supply chain. ...

... "Checkpoint Systems, Inc., one of the largest manufacturers and marketers of RF and RFID based solutions for security, identification, tracking and merchandising applications in the world, announced they were chosen by Lemmi Fashion, a Fritzlar, Germany-based producer of children's apparel, to supply the company and its strategic partners with RFID (radio frequency identification) hangtags. The RFID consumables will be used as part of a strategic initiative to help improve Lemmi's speed to market, inventory management, and order accuracy. Checkpoint Systems is supplying Lemmi's manufacturing partners in Asia and Europe with Performa(R) 13.56 MHz RFID-enabled hangtags. The hangtags, which include a visible version of the RFID tag and a traditional bar code, contain data such as article number, size, and color. The tagging process begins when Lemmi's partners apply Performa RFID-enabled garment tags to items at their production sites. The goods are recorded when they are shipped from the manufacturer to Lemmi's distribution center (DC), and upon receipt at the DC. Movements within the DC are also recorded, and Lemmi reads the RFID tags a final time at the shipping area to confirm that all items required for the shipment have been packed." ...

RFID Garment HangTags Manage Inventory: Via Checkpoint Systems, Inc.: Lemmi Fashion Selects Checkpoint Systems RFID Hangtags to Improve Customer Service and Delivery Reliability; Apparel Manufacturer Partners with Checkpoint to Ensure RFID Tag Performance, Production and Fulfillment Requirements ...

RFID Research Pharma Industry Frequency for ePedigree ...

Unisys and ODIN Tech collaborate on RFID frequency research for pharmaceutical industry ePedigree applications ...

... "Sponsored by Unisys, who collaborated with ODIN in the design of testing protocols and use cases, the benchmark addresses the industry's heated debate over which frequency, high (HF) or ultra-high (UHF) works best for item-level pharmaceutical tracking and authentication. The testing focused on scientific evaluation of various tags and then pinpointed several popular applications or use-case testing scenarios. Significant collaboration with pharmaceutical clients and partners, including manufacturers and distributors, made the tests particularly salient to a broad audience in the pharmaceutical world. All of the testing was conducted with hardware and tags that are available in production quantities to end-users today. No prototype or hand-built artifacts were allowed in the research as they are untested in production environments and prototype demonstrations are often misleading.

After completing scientific tag testing, ODIN technologies and Unisys extended this study to include RFID use cases typical in the pharmaceutical supply chain. The team used standard pill bottles, liquid filled bottles and blister packs for the testing. These use cases uncover the core requirements of RFID as an e-Pedigree and product authentication tool in the pharmaceutical supply chain. This step goes beyond mere demonstration or theoretical analysis to provide direct evidence of HF and UHF RFID performance in a real world setting. Since there is a wide variety in RFID tag and reader performance, multiple UHF and HF tags and readers were utilized throughout the process. The final performance analysis was based on the best performing reader and tag combinations in each frequency. " ...

RFID Research Pharma Industry Frequency for ePedigree: Via Unisys: Unisys & ODIN technologies' Research Reveals RFID High- vs. Ultra-high Frequency Leader for Pharmaceutical Industry

ODIN technologies is the leader in the physics of RFID infrastructure testing, deployment and software. ODIN technologies leverages its team of RF engineers, physicists and software developers combined with its laboratory facilities to provide RFID consulting services to major retailers, pharmaceutical companies, consumer goods manufacturers, United States government agencies and other RFID adopters. In addition to client deployment services, ODIN technologies is also the publisher of the RFID Benchmark Series, the industry's first and most referenced head to head performance analysis of leading RFID components. ODIN's President and CEO, Patrick J. Sweeney II is also author of RFID for Dummies published by John Wiley & Sons. ODIN technologies is privately held and has labs and offices in Dulles, VA.

RFID Asset Tracking Product Line ...

RFID asset tracking products support 433 MHz frequency in multiple countries. ...

... "The 433 MHz frequency is widely allocated for use throughout the world, allowing RF Code's new asset tags and readers to be used in a broader number of countries. Enhanced signaling capabilities substantially improve the ability of Mantis to be used in Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) applications. The Mantis 433 MHz line now offers the lowest cost active tag at prices far below comparable systems, as well as the only 10+ year tag battery life for 433 MHz RFID products in the market. In addition to these features, RF Code's 433 MHz product line combines industry leading anti-collision performance in a small form factor. Incorporating worldwide availability with enhanced RTLS capabilities, RF Code's new line is accelerating international container tracking, supply chain and healthcare asset tracking markets for the company’s solutions. " ...

RFID Asset Tracking Product Line: Via RF Code: RF CODE ADDS 433 MHZ TAGS AND READERS TO ITS MANTIS II ASSET TRACKING PRODUCT LINE ...

RFID Localization ...

NIST supports research into RFID localization ...

... "An interdisciplinary team of researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is studying whether RFID technology can be used as a low cost, reliable means to track firefighters and other first responders inside buildings and help them navigate under hazardous conditions. " ...

RFID Localization: RFID Assisted Localization and Communication: Via Technology News Daily ...

RFID-Assisted Localization and Communication for First Responders: "The RFID-Assisted Localization and Communication for First Responders project will determine the feasibility of using RFID-assisted localization in combination with an ad-hoc wireless communication network to provide reliable tracking of first responders in stressed indoor RF environments, where GPS-based localization and links to external communication systems are known to be unreliable. The research will also consider the means and potential for embedding critical building/occupant information in specific on-site RFID tags to enhance the safety and efficiency of the first responders' mission as well as to minimize dependence upon communication with external building databases. "

RFID UHF Gen2 Chips Used in Labels ...

Impinj wins contract to supply their RFID UHF Gen2 chips for use in label products from RF IDentics. ...

... "Impinj, Inc., the fabless semiconductor company whose patented Self-Adaptive Silicon technology enables its high performance radio frequency identification (RFID) products, announced an agreement under which RF IDentics will purchase Impinj's Monza UHF Gen 2 chips for inclusion in its RFID inlay and label products. Responding to increased demand from leading consumer goods manufacturers in the global retail supply chain for high-performance RFID solutions, RF IDentics selected Impinj's Monza chips to power their RFID inlay products. In addition to Impinj's chips, RF IDentics will use its proprietary RFID antenna technology as well as antennas licensed from Impinj to manufacture the RFID inlays and labels used to gather and track retail supply chain data. " ...

RFID UHF Gen2 Chips Used in Labels: Via Impinj: Impinj and RF Identics Announce 25 Million UHF Gen 2 Supply Agreement ...

Impinj, Inc. is a fabless semiconductor company whose patented Self-Adaptive Silicon technology enables its two synergistic business lines: high performance RFID products and innovative semiconductor intellectual property (IP). A leading contributor to the RFID standards for high volume supply-chain applications worldwide, Impinj leverages its technical expertise and industry partnerships to deliver the GrandPrix solution, comprising tags, readers, software and systems integration to offer RFID that just works. Impinj's innovative IP products, core to the company's RFID tags, are licensed to leading semiconductor companies worldwide, allowing them to seamlessly integrate crucial nonvolatile memory (NVM) alongside analog and digital functionality on a single chip. Impinj's IP products include the popular AEON family of embedded cores, which provides rewriteable NVM technology in logic CMOS manufacturing.

RFID Reader Tag Interoperability: Class 3 Tags ...

WJ Communucation establishes reader interoperability with Class 3 RFID tags. ...

... "WJ Communications, Inc., a leading designer and supplier of RF solutions for the wireless infrastructure and RFID reader markets, announced that it has successfully completed interoperability testing of its multi-protocol UHF Reader Platform with Class 3 RFID tags from Intelleflex Corporation. This expands the capability of WJ's high performance reader platform to include Class 3 RFID tags in addition to EPCglobal Gen1, and C1G2 tags. " ...

RFID Reader Tag Interoperability: Class 3 Tags: Via WJ Communications: WJ Communications' UHF C1Gen2 RFID Reader Platform Stakes Lead With Semi-Active Support: Successful Interoperability Testing With Class 3 Tags From Intelleflex Demonstrated ...

Intelleflex Corporation: Intelleflex Corporation Announces Class 3 RFID Developers' Training: "Intelleflex's semi-active, battery-assisted RFID products offer long range (up to 100 meters in free space) and high read/write reliability ( > 99% in real-world environment), together with a large user memory. These features open up a whole new set of applications that bring tremendous business value, beyond mere identification through unique serialization of good and assets. "

Intelleflex is a Silicon Valley company focused on the next-generation of RFID systems. Intelleflex will bring to market high-performance, high-reliability, EPC-compliant transponders and readers. Intelleflex tags will have the capability of interoperating with all EPC-compliant readers, and are targeted to provide the longest read range and the highest read/write reliability available in the industry. In addition, Intelleflex offers value-added features such as application-specific security, long battery life, and the capability to add sensors.

RFID for Commercial Vehicle Fleets ...

Partners collaborate on RFID technology solutions for commercial vehicle applications, such as data collection devices. ...

... "AXCESS International Inc. and STEMCO LP announced a recently-signed business agreement between their companies to work together in the development of RFID based solutions for heavy-duty commercial vehicle fleets. These solutions will utilize semi-active tag technology and hardware from AXCESS that will be seamlessly integrated with STEMCO's BAT RF active RFID mileage and tire pressure data collection sensors. Future products utilizing these combined capabilities are in development and planned for release in 2007. AXCESS' patented ActiveTag RFID systems use small, battery powered tags (generically called semi-active tags) that when automatically activated, transmit a wireless message typically 30 to 100 feet to hidden palm size receivers. The receivers are connected via standard network simultaneously to the enterprise system software, the existing security alarm equipment, and standalone management software. Optionally, the tag system can be used to trigger security video recording and live remote video transmission. The tags are used for a variety of enterprise productivity applications including automatic personnel access control and tracking, automatic vehicle access control and payload management, automatic asset management and protection, as well as special purpose sensing. " ...

RFID for Commercial Vehicle Fleets: Via Axcess: STEMCO LP and AXCESS Sign Business Agreement ...

RFID Drives Supply Chain Efficiency ...

RFID implementation will drive supply chain efficiency for pharmaceutical manufacturer ...

... "Roex Inc. and Pro-X Pharmaceuticals announced that they have engaged ODIN technologies to deploy RFID to enable greater supply chain efficiency and quality control in its manufacturing processes. Led by the innovations of founder Rod Burreson, Roex Inc. is a leading manufacturer and distributor of high quality nutritional supplements. Pro-X Pharmaceuticals, a division of Roex Inc., is an independent contract manufacturer that produces Roex products and also provides manufacturing and packaging services for other leading nutritional companies. " ...

RFID Drives Supply Chain Efficiency: Via ODIN Technologies: Roex / Pro-X Select ODIN technologies for RFID Deployment: Roex Inc. and Pro-X Pharmaceuticals to leverage RFID to drive Supply Chain Efficiency and Quality Control ...

ODIN technologies is the leader in the physics of RFID infrastructure testing, deployment and certification. ODIN technologies leverages its team of RF engineers, physicists and software developers combined with its laboratory facilities to provide RFID consulting services to major retailers, consumer goods manufacturers, United States government agencies and other RFID early adopters. In addition to client deployment services, ODIN technologies is also the publisher of the RFID Benchmark Series, the industry’s first and most referenced head to head performance analysis of leading RFID tags and readers. ODIN’s President and CEO, Patrick J. Sweeney II is also author of RFID for Dummies published by John Wiley & Sons. ODIN technologies is privately held and has labs and offices in Dulles, Virginia.

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 ...

Block RFID RF Signals ...

Simple way to block RF signals from RFID device ...

... "With the proliferation of RFID devices and related privacy concerns, it seemed due time to create the RFID Blocking Duct Tape Wallet. There are many ways to prevent Radio Frequency ID tags from being transmitted from devices. " ...

Block RFID RF Signals: Via Dustin Kirk: How To Make A RFID Blocking Wallet

RFID eIdentity USB Reader: Passport Capable ...

ASK introduces USB-connection RFID reader that has shown interoperability with Interfest e-passport standards. ...

... "ASK launches the RDR 400 series of contactless USB readers, designed for performance, security and ergonomics. RDR 400 readers are ideal for contactless logical/physical access control, identity, banking and PC-based applications. Based on CPL 400 couplers, the RDR 400 series is high speed, low cost, multi-standard and multi-application; its unique and powerful RF interface means that RDR 400 readers support all current ISO dual interface/contactless cards and contactless tickets.

RDR 400 has passed successfully e-passport Interfest interoperability tests taking place in November in Singapore. These tests involved 124 different passports complying with ISO14443 type A or B standards from 28 countries to be tested on 40 readers. ASK reader reached the best performances both in terms of interoperability and communication speed. ASK is breaking new ground in emerging markets such as e-identity and banking where clients need technology partners with superlative expertise in both RFID card and reader technology " ...