RFID Implant Cancer Link

Implantable RFID chips have a downside. ...

... "A series of veterinary and toxicology studies, dating to the mid-1990s, stated that chip implants had induced malignant tumors in some lab mice and rats. " ...

Via Yahoo! News: Chip implants

Medical RFID Detects Reflux in Esophagus

Research has shown new RFID device to identify simulated stomach acids and transmit results through human tissue. The RFID-enabled sensor detects stomach acid, gas and water. Testing will shift to animals before tests in humans. ...

... "The new system involves pinning a small, flexible RFID chip to the esophagus, where it remains until removed by a physician. The chip, about two square centimeters, or a little bigger than a dime, tests for electrical impulses that signal acidic or nonacidic liquids moving through the esophagus. It then transmits data to a wireless sensor worn around the neck. " ...

Via UT Southwestern Medical Center: Doctors, engineers develop new wireless system to detect esophageal reflux

Hitachi RFID: Smart Dust Realized

Hitachi introduces RFID tag, sized in the 0.05 millimeter range, that will achieve the concept of smart dust. ...

... "The world's smallest and thinnest RFID tags were introduced Tuesday by Hitachi. " ...

Via LiveScience: New Chip Size

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 3Gen Reader Chipset ...

Anadigm introduces 3rd generation RFID reader chipset, that can be leveraged in high and ultra-high frequency applications and RFID tag types. ...

.... "Anadigm announced the immediate availability of RangeMaster5, the company's third-generation RFID reader 3.3 volt chip set solution that allows system vendors to design and maintain a single combination HF and UHF reader. The Rangemaster5-based system can be customized to read different radio frequency identification (RFID) tag types, with different modulation types and frequencies. RangeMaster5 also fully supports current HF standards as well as the newer standards under study by EPC (Electronic Product Code) Global, Inc. Like previous RangeMaster devices, RangeMaster5 will support UHF protocols- EPC Global Gen 1 and Gen 2 (class 0, 1, 2) as well as ISO18000-6 standards. RangeMaster5 is the third in a family of RFID reader solutions that Anadigm is developing for the rapidly expanding RFID markets. RFID technology is revolutionizing markets as diverse as retail sales - by managing inventory and electronic payments via mobile phones - to medical applications by ensuring that hospital patients receive the correct treatments and medications.

RangeMaster5 is a three-chip set comprised of two dynamically programmable analog signal processors (dpASP) in conjunction with an RFID State Machine. This enables system designers to develop universal RFID readers that can support both HF and UHF, changing between HF and UHF baseband frequencies dynamically, in a few microseconds. RangeMaster5 also features the ability to dynamically change between protocols and frequencies allowing for optimized RFID tag reading. By allowing standardization around a single printed circuit board to support multiple end products and markets, RangeMaster5 simplifies and improves product development. This next generation of RangeMaster not only reduces development time and ownership costs of fixed systems, but also enables portable designs by reducing supply voltage requirements and power consumption. " ...

RFID 3Gen Reader Chipset: Via Anadigm: Anadigm Reveals Third Generation Chipset for Combination HF and UHF RFID Readers ...

RFID Chip Tracks Bodies Evidence ...

Verichip and Ricoh collaborate to deliver integrated RFID process for tracking bodies and evidence at a disaster or crime scene. ...

... "The VeriTrace system includes a unique implantable RFID microchip, the Ricoh camera capable of receiving both RFID scanned data and GPS data wirelessly, and a Web-enabled database for gathering and storing information and images captured during emergency response operations. The microchip is inserted into the remains at the onset of processing and a VeriChip wireless handheld reader is waved over the insertion area to read the unique 16-digit ID. Then the Ricoh camera accesses each ID from the reader and automatically embeds this ID into every subsequent image taken around those particular remains. In addition to embedding the VeriChip ID into the image, the Ricoh camera also embeds the GPS coordinates of the subject being captured into the image. The data and images are gathered and uploaded (or entered) into a proprietary Web-enabled database or an existing database system at the intended facility. This database ensures the precise collection, storage, and inventory of all data and images related to each set of remains and the associated evidentiary items. This also allows the facility to recreate an accurate and complete reconstruction of a disaster setting, crime scene or similar environments and locations that would require such action. " ...

RFID Chip Tracks Bodies: Via VeriChip: VeriChip & Ricoh to Demonstrate VeriTrace ...

Gen2 RFIDReader Chipset: RangeMaster2 ...

RangeMaster2 is Generation 2 RFID reader chipset ...

... "Anadigm announces immediate availability of RangeMaster2, the company's second generation RFID reader 3.3 volt chip set solution that allows system vendors to design and maintain a single universal reader that can be customized to read different radio frequency identification (RFID) tag types, with different modulation types and frequencies. RangeMaster family fully supports HF and UHF protocols- EPC Global Gen 1 and Gen 2 (class 0, 1, 2) and ISO18000-6 standards. RangeMaster2 is the second in a family of RFID reader solutions that Anadigm is developing for the rapidly expanding RFID markets. RFID technology is revolutionizing markets as diverse as retail sales - by managing inventory and electronic payments via mobile phones - to medical applications by ensuring that hospital patients receive the correct treatments and medications.

RangeMaster2 is a two-chip set comprised of a dynamically programmable analog signal processor (ASP) in conjunction with an RFID State Machine. This enables system designers to develop a universal RFID tag reader that can support multiple protocols and frequencies for Universal Fixed Readers, Portable/Handheld Readers, Combination Bar Code and RFID Reader/Scanners. By allowing standardization around a single printed circuit board to support multiple end products and markets, RangeMaster2 simplifies and improves product development. This next generation of RangeMaster not only reduces development time and ownership costs of fixed systems, but also enables portable designs by reducing supply voltage requirements and power consumption. " ...

Gen2 RFIDReader Chipset: RangeMaster2: Via Anadigm: Anadigm Introduces Second Generation Chipset for Universal HF and UHF RFID Reader Systems: RangeMaster2 - a Dynamically Programmable Analog Signal Processor Solution that Enables Fixed and Portable "Universal" RFID Reader Applications ...

Fingerprint RFID Security Sensor ...

Company is developing a fingerprint-secured RFID device for potential use in smart payment transactions and contactless applications. ...

... "Five-year-old Digital Defense Group says its credit-card-size token, which contains a fingerprint sensor and an RFID chip, is compliant with MasterCard International's PayPass contactless-payment program and can potentially be used for Internet transactions as well as payments in stores." ...

Fingerprint RFID Security Sensor: Via Digital Transactions: Digital Defense Group Set to Launch a Fingerprint-Secured RFID Card ...

New EPC Gen2 RFID Chips ...

New EPC Gen2 RFID Chips: Via ST: New EPC Gen2 RFID Chips from STMicroelectronics Ready to Facilitate Supply Chain Management ...

STMicro introduces new UHF (Ultra-High Frequency) RFID chip, compliant with Gen2 Electronic Product Code™ (EPC) specifications ...

... "ST's new UHF chip is a full-featured, low-cost integrated circuit designed for use in RFID tags, or electronic labels, operating at a range of UHF frequencies from 860 to 960MHz. This frequency agility ensures the same tag can be applied and read at any place in the world, regardless of the geographically varying wireless regulations. The universal appeal of EPC Generation 2 products is set to stimulate unprecedented economies of scale for RFID product manufacturers. Widespread adoption of RFID systems depends on their robustness and reliability. The XRAG2 features a fast and flexible anti-collision mechanism that allows the reader to detect and correctly identify all tags in its operating range. Designed for the noisy and unpredictable radio conditions typical of RFID applications, ST devices use a reliable tag-unique selection based on a 16-bit random handle. " ...

STMicroelectronics is a global leader in developing and delivering semiconductor solutions across the spectrum of microelectronics applications. An unrivalled combination of silicon and system expertise, manufacturing strength, Intellectual Property (IP) portfolio and strategic partners positions the Company at the forefront of System-on-Chip (SoC) technology and its products play a key role in enabling today's convergence markets.

Systematic Approach to RFID ...

Panel 5--Anti-Counterfeit Drug Initiative--October 2003 Meeting

... "What do we need to be able to deliver on the potential of the EPC network? We need a systematic approach to Radio Frequency Identification--or RFID for short--that is based on standards. This is a view of the EPC network components. Starting with Electronic Product Code or EPC, the EPC uniquely identifies the item. The tag is a small RFID chip with an antenna. In the EPC network, these tags can be as small as a dime and can be made to fit within the lid of a vial. Tags are excited by and broadcast their EPC information back to the reader. Savant is a set of functionality that serves as the real-time event manager or traffic cop in a reader network. Savant can be implemented in software or as a combination of software and firmware in the reader itself. ONS, the Object Name Service, provides a simple directory that can tell Savant where in the network information related to a particular EPC number can be found. ONS is very much like DNS, the Domain Name Service, that's part of the Internet. ONS and DNS share many of the same characteristics. " ...

RFID Reprogrammable Memory Logic

RFID Reprogrammable Logic: UMC and Virage Logic Announce Qualification of Embedded Non ...

Advances in electronics support the lowering of RFID costs ...

From PR Newswire (press release) ... "Design and application security, copy protection, Digital Rights Management and RFID all share the common requirement of small amounts of reprogrammable ...

... UMC (NYSE: UMC; TAIEX: 2303), world leading semiconductor foundry and Virage Logic Corp. (Nasdaq: VIRL), a leading provider of semiconductor IP platforms, announced the availability of Virage Logic's patented Non-Volatile Electrically Alterable (NOVeA) embedded memories for production on UMC's 0.18-micron (um) CMOS logic process. NOVeA is the industry's first commercially available embedded in system reprogrammable non-volatile memory (NVM) that is manufactured on a standard 0.18um CMOS logic process without any additional masks or process steps. ...

NOVeA employs a patented single poly floating gate Fowler-Nordheim technology for writing. NOVeA includes a powerful controller and instruction set in an architecture that provides 100% cell redundancy. The result is an extremely reliable, high yielding embedded NVM that can be manufactured on standard CMOS logic processes with ultra low manufacturing cost and power consumption. NOVeA RAM can be reprogrammed in-system up to 10,000 times, has specified endurance of 10 years and is designed for integration into deep submicron SoCs. The use of NOVeA and associated development tools and views provide users with a secure design solution while reducing overall SoC mask costs, silicon costs, design risk and design time.

UMC is a leading global semiconductor foundry that manufactures advanced process ICs for applications spanning every major sector of the semiconductor industry. UMC delivers cutting-edge foundry technologies that enable sophisticated system-on-chip (SOC) designs, including 90nm copper, 0.13um copper, embedded DRAM, and mixed signal/RFCMOS. UMC is also a leader in 300mm manufacturing; Fab 12A in Taiwan is currently in volume production for a variety of customer products, while Singapore-based UMC has just entered volume production. UMC employs over 8,500 people worldwide and has offices in Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Europe, and the United States.

Founded in 1996, Virage Logic Corporation rapidly established itself as a technology and market leader in providing advanced embedded memory intellectual property (IP) for the design of complex integrated circuits. Today the company is a global leader in semiconductor IP platforms comprising embedded memories, standard cells, and I/Os and is pioneering the development of a new class of IP called Silicon Aware IP. Silicon Aware IP tightly integrates Physical IP (memory, logic and I/Os) with the embedded test, diagnostic, and repair capabilities of Infrastructure IP to help ensure manufacturability and optimized yield at the advanced process nodes. Virage Logic's highly differentiated product portfolio provides higher performance, lower power, higher density and optimal yield to foundries, integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) and fabless customers who develop products for the consumer, communications and networking, hand-held and portable, and computer and graphics markets. The company's comprehensive quality efforts are validated in its FirstPass-Silicon Characterization Lab, which helps ensure high quality, reliable IP across a wide range of foundries and process technologies. Headquartered in Fremont, California, Virage Logic has R&D, sales and support offices worldwide.

RFID Security Technology: C-Chip's Security Solutions Attract Attention at the SEMA Show

From Business Wire (press release), CA ... Based on RFID technology, the Falcon is a wireless system with three separate cut-off units, each addressing and controlling a different component of the ...

... C-Chip Technologies Corporation (OTCBB:CCHI) (FRANKFURT:CCHI) (Frankfurt WKN: 255471) is pleased to report that its security solutions attracted significant interest at the SEMA show (Specialty Equipment Market Association) held in Las Vegas November 2 through November 5. C-Chip exhibited its security and credit management solutions alongside one of its distributors for the automotive market, Northland Auto Enterprises. ...

C-Chip Technologies Corporation operates in the security industry. We are positioned in an emerging and rapidly growing industry that is about interconnecting machines with IT infrastructures and mobile assets. We integrate wireless communications, on-line transactions, software applications, RFID technology, the Internet and, when location is required, GPS technology to enable business users to efficiently access, control and manage remote assets at low costs. We provide corporations and institutions security solutions for well-identified business needs The Company's goal is to be recognized as a leading provider of security services, credit and asset management solutions used by corporations, financial institutions, insurance companies, car rental companies and urban fleet managers About the C-Chip(TM) Technology: The C-Chip(TM) technology is a new wireless, web-based set of communication tools that offers business users remote access, control, and monitoring of a wide range of assets, including vehicles, office equipment and industrial machinery. It allows selective enabling, disabling and any other commands at will, from anywhere to practically anywhere in North America using the Internet. Applications for the C-Chip(TM) technology offer significant opportunities within the security industry, particularly as anti-theft, credit and asset management solutions.

RFID Technology: C-Chip Enters Into a Sales and Distribution Agreement with PageNet

From Business Wire (press release), CA ... We integrate wireless communications, on-line transactions, software applications, RFID technology, the Internet and, when location is required, GPS technology ...

... C-Chip Technologies Corporation (OTCBB:CCHI) (BERLIN:CCP) is pleased to announce that it has concluded a marketing and distribution agreement with Paging Network of Canada Inc. ("PageNet"), headquartered in Toronto. PageNet is currently the largest paging-only and wireless messaging company in Canada. C-Chip's vehicle tracking solution known as the Shadow series uses PageNet Two-Way data network for wireless communications in Canada and the United States. The Shadow series was commercially introduced in the fall of 2003 and is currently being marketed across North America through a network of distributors and independent agents. With this Agreement, PageNet will be able to expand its offerings to include C-Chip's telemetry services to its business customers. Currently, PageNet can offer paging and wireless messaging services to 75% of Canadians. ...

C-Chip Technologies Corporation is positioned in an emerging and rapidly growing industry which is about interconnecting machines with IT infrastructures and mobile assets. We integrate wireless communications, on-line transactions, software applications, RFID technology, the Internet and, when location is required, GPS technology to enable business users to efficiently access, control and manage remote assets at low costs. The Company's goal is to be recognized as a leading provider of credit management solutions for financial institutions, of security solutions for insurance companies and asset management solutions for car rental companies and urban fleets. The C-Chip(TM) is a new wireless, web-based set of communication tools that offers business users remote access, control, and monitoring of a wide range of assets, including vehicles, office equipment and industrial machinery. It allows selective enabling, disabling and any other commands at will, from anywhere to practically anywhere in North America using the Internet. Applications for the C-Chip(TM) technology offers significant opportunities within the markets for credit, security and asset management solutions.

Paging Network of Canada, Inc. is Canada's largest paging-only and wireless messaging company with approximately 250,000 customers. PageNet provides a full range of paging, smart meter reading and advanced wireless data services with the broadest local, regional and extensive coverage in Canada and the United States at the best price.

RFID Company: Activeworlds Signs Letter of Intent to Acquire Hi-G-Tek

From Business Wire (press release), CA  ... Hi-G-Tek's remote wireless monitoring platform harnesses active RFID technology to give tags, seals, locks and sensors full 2-way, real time, wireless ...

... Activeworlds Corp. (OTCBB: AWLD) has entered into a Letter of Intent to acquire Hi-G-Tek, Ltd., an early stage company and a leader in remote wireless monitoring for the security and security management markets, in a transaction expected to be treated as a reverse acquisition. ...

Hi-G-Tek's remote wireless monitoring platform harnesses active RFID technology to give tags, seals, locks and sensors full 2-way, real time, wireless communications capability. The principal applications of the Hi-G-Tek technology are currently in cargo and container protection, hazmat and fluid protection, locking systems, and monitoring site assets. The products are stable and reliable in both indoor and severe outdoor environments. By enabling fast processing of secured cargoes with active RFID technologies, Hi-G-Tek significantly reduces reaction times in identifying and meeting global threats.

Hi-G-Tek has specialized in remote wireless technology since 1996. The Company has a broad portfolio of technologies and patents associated with RF and wireless remote monitoring systems. Hi-G-Tek offers a number of products leveraging its active RFID technology including: (i) a range of locks, seals and tags that incorporate embedded sensors to alert for any movement or tampering; (ii) a range of readers and terminals for data collection and processing; and (iii) applications software to easily manage complete systems and integrate with 3rd-party products. The proprietary chip-set developed by Hi-G-Tek offers superior functionality and performance while using only modest power consumption.

RFID Technology: Westport Strategic Partners Releases an Updated Report on C-Chip

From Business Wire (press release), CA ... C-Chip integrates wireless communications, on-line transactions, software applications, RFID technology, the Internet and, when location is required, GPS ...

... C-Chip Technologies Corporation (OTCBB: CCHI) (BERLIN:CCP) is pleased to announce that an updated research report on the Company has been recently published by Westport Strategic Partners. ...

The C-Chip(TM) is a new wireless, web-based set of communication tools that offers business users remote access, control, and monitoring of a wide range of assets, including vehicles, office equipment and industrial machinery. It allows selective enabling, disabling and any other commands at will, from anywhere in the world to practically anywhere in North America using the Internet. Applications for the C-Chip(TM) technology offer significant opportunities within the markets for credit, security and asset management solutions.

RFID Company: Upstart tech snares $22M

From MSNBC ... one of the region's premier semiconductor companies, received $22 million in financing for the startup's attempts to break into the rapidly evolving RFID sector ...

Impinj, Inc. is a fabless semiconductor company developing CMOS integrated circuit products and solutions using its exclusive Self-Adaptive Silicon™ technology. Impinj's RFID products are targeted to meet the requirements set by the consumer packaged goods industry and deliver low cost, long range, field-rewritable functionality. The company also licenses AEON™, the world's first truly nonvolatile memory fabricated in logic CMOS. Advanced development in analog and mixed-signal circuit design has been the core competency for the company since its inception in 2000. Self-Adaptive Silicon™, uses transistor physics in a fundamentally new way, enabling precision analog and wideband RF in low-cost, high-density digital CMOS. Impinj's breakthrough provides a true competitive advantage, enabling mixed-signal Systems-On-Chip (SoC) products.

Smart Card Technology: XTec Awarded GSA Contract for Issuance of Secure ID Smart Card

From PR Newswire (press release) ... and Oberthur Card Systems (OCS) to serve as the central production center for the General Services Administration's centralized Smart Card Personalization and ...

Founded in 1992, XTec is an independent developer, producer, and licensor of security solutions for a wide range of government and commercial uses. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the Company’s premier breakthrough technology, Mediametrics, is a peerless, non-finite state based, security solution. Mediametrics enables business and organizations in the public and private sectors to securely process, store, and manage proprietary information. Key areas of focus for XTec include electronic commerce, domain and key management, transaction and data processing, access control, communications, and information systems.

X64KMMC Mediametric® Memory Card: The X64KMMC Mediametric® memory Card contains a high performance EEPROM chip optimized for secure storage of data and/or application applets. The X64KMMC is a passive storage device. It relys on external microcontrollers, such as the X17CM756, for cryptographic services, however, its onboard mediametric authentication system allows it to positively authenticate itself and its data payload to the card acceptor device. The EEPROM memory array may be compartamentalized into separate zones, each with its own set of cryptographic keys and mediametric templates. This multidomain architecture is ideal for applications in which a hierarchy of card issuing groups and rules need to be established and maintained while allowing for a global platform to securely access and authenticate the common data.

RFID Smart Cards: Smart Chip Technologies Engages Diamond

From Business Wire (press release), CA ... and-mortar, real-time rewards programs using any existing customer identification device as well as smart, magnetic-stripe, bar code, or RFID cards, laptops ...

Smart Chip Technologies gateway patents, owned in the United States, Mexico, Australia, Japan and Canada, cover the business process of storing consumer incentives on a smart chip or device. The patent-protected turnkey loyalty system, co-developed with the Airos Group (www.AirosGroup.com) and IBM, enables click-and-mortar, real-time rewards programs using any existing customer identification device as well as smart, magnetic-stripe, bar code, or RFID cards, laptops, PDAs such as Palm(TM) or Windows(TM) devices, TV set top boxes, or mobile phones, establishing business continuity across physical, mobile and virtual streams of commerce. (www.sctn.com)

RFID Technology: C-Chip Enters Into an Agreement to Purchase Unique ...

From Business Wire (press release), CA ... We integrate wireless communications, on-line transactions, software applications, RFID technology, the Internet and, when location is required, GPS technology ...

C-Chip Technologies Corporation is positioned in an emerging and rapidly growing industry which is about interconnecting machines with IT infrastructures and mobile assets. C-Chip integrates wireless communications, on-line transactions, software applications, RFID technology, the Internet and, when location is required, GPS technology to enable business users to efficiently access, control and manage remote assets at low costs. The Company's goal is to be recognized as a leading provider of credit management solutions for financial institutions, of security solutions for insurance companies and asset management solutions for car rental companies and urban fleets. The C-Chip(TM) is a new wireless, web-based set of communication tools that offers business users remote access, control, and monitoring of a wide range of assets, including vehicles, office equipment and industrial machinery. It allows selective enabling, disabling and any other commands at will, from anywhere to practically anywhere in North America using the Internet. Applications for the C-Chip(TM) technology offers significant opportunities within the markets for credit, security and asset management solutions.

RFID Solutions: TAGSYS and NEC team to deploy RFID solutions

From Frontline Today, ... TAGSYS a provider of RFID tags and readers operating at 13.56MHz will collaborate with NEC on the deployment of RFID systems for large-scale projects with an initial focus on Singapore and the rest of Southeast Asia. The alliance between NEC Solutions Asia Pacific NECSAP and TAGSYS allows the two companies to leverage each other's strengths in providing their customers with a comprehensive set of RFID solutions consultancy services and customer service support ...

TAGSYS has been designing and manufacturing innovative, high-performance and cost-effective RFID systems (chips, tags, antennas and reading stations) for over fifteen years. TAGSYS has today the longest experience in implementing field-proven passive RFID systems operating at 13.56 MHz and UHF frequencies.
With over 40 million RFID tags, ten thousand RFID reader systems and 500 installations worldwide, TAGSYS has emerged as the world’s leading dedicated RFID supplier. TAGSYS draws its strength from a long history of technological innovations and advancements

TAGSYS produces two types of “universal” reader platforms that the company modifies to develop application specific readers. "Universal" means that they can read most RFID chips in the market operating at 13.56MHz. Both platforms include state of the art DSP (Digital Signal Processing) technology. Both platforms also allow for rapid development of new algorithms to read 13.56 MHz chips from other manufacturers which alleviate customers' concerns regarding obsolescence. Reader types include: OEM readers -- easy to package in any low read range RFID reader or station. TAGSYS OEM readers are currently integrated in more than 15 handheld terminals and printers. Long range readers -- capable of delivering up to 7 watts output power on 4 channels. They allow the development of complex stations with several antennas and 3D algorithms for reading and writing tags in multiple orientations.

NEC's membership in EPCglobal will enable the company to participate in the process of standard creation, to join in RFID-related trials, which the organization executes, and to share advanced technologies. NEC, together with NEC Electronics Corporation and NEC Solutions (America) will initially participate in activities of creating global standards for EPC and gather necessary information and develop RFID-based solution businesses targeting the retail market in Japan and the U.S. Then, NEC and its affiliated companies plan to expand their businesses to other markets in other areas.

NEC established the RFID Business Promotion Center in January of this year with 300 employees, developing a comprehensive RFID solution business that includes from chip supply to system integration. NEC has engaged in the construction of asset management systems and logistical management systems such as logistics system of Japan Freight Railway Company.

NEC is one of the world's leading providers of Internet, broadband network and enterprise business solutions dedicated to meeting the specialized needs of its diverse and global base of customers. Ranked as one of the world's top patent-producing companies, NEC delivers tailored solutions in the key fields of computer, networking and electron devices, by integrating its technical strengths in IT and Networks, and by providing advanced semiconductor solutions through NEC Electronics Corporation. The NEC Group employs more than 140,000 people worldwide and had net sales of approximately $40 billion in the fiscal year ended March 2004.