ODIN Technologies Selected by APC for Global RFID Deployment
"ODIN technologies announced that American Power Conversion (APC), an industry leader in network-critical physical infrastructure (NCPI) solutions, has selected ODIN technologies to implement RFID within APC's supply chain while supporting compliance programs for Wal-Mart and Best Buy. ODIN technologies is the leader in the physics of RFID testing, deployment and certification and has worked with more Target, Wal-Mart and DoD suppliers than any other RFID focused integrator." Source: morerfid.com
Price Cuts Will Speed RFID Adoption
"Recent announcements from Alien Technology and Avery Dennison suggest that the prices of RFID tags are finally coming down. Alien has cut the price of its straps to 12.9 US cents, while Avery Dennison is offering inlays at 7.9 cents. Even that sub-8-cent price is still well above the five cent point that some industry analysts earlier touted as the price needed to ensure a viable RFID industry. But that number has more recently been viewed as too simplistic in any case." Source: MoreRFID.com
First 100 Meter RFID Read-Write Device
"IDENTEC SOLUTIONS, a leading global supplier of long-range RFID-based Intelligent Asset Management solutions, will present i-CARD CF, the world's first RFID read/write device in Compact Flash format with a range of up to 100 meters (300 feet), at two trade shows in October. The i-CARD CF is compatible with IDENTEC SOLUTIONS' Intelligent Long Range (ILR) transponders from the i-Q and i-B series and can easily be integrated into laptops, handhelds, and other mobile devices." Source: prnewswire.com
RFID Pilot Advice
"Even as radio frequency identification (RFID) projects continue to expand in scope across multiple industries, many companies still struggle with where to start and how to measure success. Presenters at the Frontline Solutions Conference and Expo in Chicago this week offered practical advice, focusing on project planning and getting value from the data generated by these systems." Source: frontlinetoday.com
Retailers are seeing returns from RFID
"Retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has scanned its 10-millionth radio frequency identification (RFID) food tray. M&S became an early adopter of RFID in autumn 2002, using tags embedded into standard trays used to transport fresh food from suppliers to depots. There are now 4.5 million trays in the M&S supply chain, used by 100 food suppliers. This makes 90 per cent of its food supply RFID-compliant, and allows for produce from multiple suppliers to be scanned at the same time. ‘By saving time it saves money,’ said Stafford. ‘And we are continuing to move away from fixed solutions to mobile ones, using a mobile receiver that we can move to the receiving door.’ The data collected is used to confirm deliveries and automate procurement four times more quickly than previous barcode scanning methods, with 100 per cent accuracy." Source: vnunet.com
RFID for Food Animal ID
"AIM Global is preparing for publication of a Technical Report entitled "RFID for Food Animal Identification in North America." The document has been approved by the AIM Global Board of Directors. Designed to address the specific needs of the food animal supply chain in North America, the technical report provides recommendations for the use of existing Low Frequency (LF) RFID ear tags (conforming to ISO 11784, ISO 11785, and ISO 14223) as well as Ultra High Frequency (UHF) (conforming to ISO/IEC 18000-6B, ISO/IEC 18000-6C [when published], ISO/IEC 15961, ISO/IEC 15962, and ISO/IEC 15434)." Source: aimglobal.org
Low-frequency RFID Applications With Contactless RF IDIC(R)
"Atmel(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML), a global leader in the development and fabrication of advanced semiconductor solutions, announced today the availability of its new LF RFID IC ATA5558 with integrated anti-collision functionality. The ATA5558 is a contactless Read/Write (R/W) RFID device for multi- or single-tag applications in the low frequency (LF) range, such as animal identification, laundry management, industrial automation, item tagging, and ISO cards. The ATA5558 extends Atmel's broad RFID product portfolio ranging from standard read-only up to high-security crypto devices." Source: prnewswire.com
DoD Requires Suppliers to use RFID November 14
"In less than 60 days, the Department of Defense (DoD) will require suppliers to affix Radio Frequency Identification tags to cases and pallets shipped to two of its largest Defense Distribution depots, Susquehanna, PA and San Joaquin, CA. The final Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement regarding Radio Frequency Identification (DFARS 2004-D011) adds this requirement to all new contracts for operational rations, clothing, individual equipment, tools, personal demand items, and weapon system repair parts. It takes effect on November 14." Source: tmcnet.com
RFID in Hong Kong
"Cisco and Intel are teaming up to support EPCglobal Hong Kong’s EPCnetwork initiative designed to bring end-to-end supply chain visibility to the Pan Pearl River Delta (PPRD) region. The companies are developing electronic product code/radio frequency identification (EPC/RFID) systems for the region’s EPCnetwork infrastructure, which will connect manufacturers and logistics companies in the PPRD with retailers worldwide." Source: reed-electronics.com
Dedicated RFID Center in Pittsburgh
"With the goal of becoming the premier Radio Frequency Identification technology testing center in the nation, the University of Pittsburgh on Wednesday will unveil a dedicated research facility. As first reported by the Pittsburgh Business Times in April, the Radio Frequency Identification Center of Excellence is an expansion of sorts of Pitt's John A. Swanson Center for Product Innovation, where the school's RFID research takes place." Source: pittsburgh.bizjournals.com
Global RFID Market Set For Steady Growth
"RFID is a technology with huge potential in manufacturing. With multiple applications leading to recognizable business benefits, the global market for RFID in manufacturing is slowly picking up. Datamonitor predicts that the global market for RFID software, hardware and services will have a market size of $6.14 billion by 2010. Although uptake of the technology is expected to be gradual, this growth represents an increase of more than three times the market's value in 2004." Source: cbronline.com
Moving Toward Gen 2 RFID
"The leadership of EPCglobal, combined with the collaborative efforts of others throughout the industry, has set the stage for real-world implementation of Gen 2 technologies compliant with the newest EPCglobal RFID specifications for the UHF band centered around 900 MHz. Gen 2 solutions will overcome many limitations of older Class 0 and Class 1 technologies. Adoption of Gen 2 will provide a standards-based framework for enhanced features and significant process improvements, including robust operation in high-density reader environments, compliance with global spectrum regulations, superior tag throughput and improved accuracy." Source: rfidjournal.com
Printronix RFID Printer Selected for Ballantine RFID Pilot
"Printronix Inc. (Nasdaq: PTNX), the leading integrated supply chain printing solutions manufacturer, announced today that Ballantine Produce selected the Printronix SmartLine 5000e radio frequency identification (RFID) printer for use in its distribution centers. Printronix and Manhattan Associates, a leading supply-chain solutions provider, are expanding their strategic alliance to work with the produce leader to map its RFID strategy to Wal-Mart mandates and gain a competitive edge. " Source: prnewswire.com
New Standard Advances Value Of RFID
"In a move toward improving the value of radio-frequency technology to businesses, the nonprofit standards organization EPCglobal Inc. this week approved a new development standard for software that's used within RFID-enabled supply chains. EPC GlobalNet's royalty-free Application Level Events standard defines the process to collect, manage, and route data that electronic product code technology generates in the supply chain. Software that follows the standard should be more interoperable with other systems and software, creating fewer data-collection headaches for businesses. It's the first standard to come out of the EPCglobal Software Action Group, which consists of more than 100 companies." Source: informationweek.com
RFID Value Chain: ROI through Internal Optimization
""RFID is the most robust information-gatherer we have," continues Corey. By using the appropriate RFID tag, it is possible to know not only where an item is but provide additional data such as how long it has been in use and by whom, its current configuration or the current level of fuel, paint, staples, etc. We may also be able to learn its mechanical or operational condition, such as units produced, or environmental conditions, such as temperature ranges or pollutant contact. RFID engineer Deon Nel of Avatar Partners explains that the data accumulated through RFID helps his customers make better business decisions that optimize equipment, processes and personnel. "The accumulation of data through RFID allows executive and front-line managers to determine critical paths for usage of devices and thus insure better availability throughout the enterprise," says Nel." Source: dmreview.com
LogicaCMG Hosts 'RFID Solutions Today' Conference
"LogicaCMG today announced the European 'RFID Solutions Today' conference, to be held at De Kuip, Amsterdam, on 29 November 2005. The conference will focus on the business benefits that can be realised through the deployment of RFID technology and demonstrate end-to-end integration of RFID systems with back end IT infrastructures. In recent years, the retail sector has driven the uptake of RFID technology. However, logistics companies, defence organisations, the pharmaceutical sector and the aviation industry are fast adopting RFID solutions and realising a rapid return on investment. This growing momentum around RFID in the supply chain is influencing the evolution of business processes across industries, clients and suppliers." Source: prnewswire.co.uk
Viisage Launches RFID Smartchip in Document Authentication Solution
"Viisage has announced the release of contactless smartchip capabilities for its iA-thenticate product line, incorporating RFID capability to authenticate travel credentials across Viisage’s product set. This offering is geared to streamline border crossing processes at existing Viisage installations in countries as Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Canada and Australia, and at multiple airports in the United Kingdom and the US for the validation of credentials of airport contractors." Source: contactlessnews.com
New RFID Centre opens in Canada
"Boxes of laundry detergent, cases of fresh produce, and packages of frozen chicken are just some examples of products that will be easier to track through the supply chain with the help of the new Canadian RFID Centre announced today. Canadian companies will now have the opportunity to experience RFID-enabled business processes in the perishables, consumer packaged goods and retail industries in their own backyard. With an initial investment of approximately CDN$1.7 million, the Centre will enable the Canadian industry to better understand, experience, experiment with and test the latest RFID technologies and demonstrate the potential business case for tracking products. According to IDC, worldwide RFID consulting, implementation, and managed services expenditures are forecasted to be approximately US$800 million in 2006." Source: newswire.ca
BMW Rolls Out RFID Worldwide
"Automobile manufacturer BMW is extending deployment of an RFID-based real-time location system (RTLS) used to manage finished vehicles in Germany to two of its international production plants. The system has been designed and installed by Siemens using technology from U.S. RFID RTLS specialist WhereNet. The system places active RFID tags on finished vehicles as they leave the production line to help BMW workers instantly locate cars before they are shipped to dealers. Siemens' Automation and Drives Group resells the WhereNet system under its own MOBY-R brand." Source: rfidjournal.com
DOD Finalizes RFID Mandate Language
"The Department of Defense has finalized the contract clause mandating select suppliers to tag certain shipments headed for two DOD supply depots. This is an important move; once this amendment is written into the DOD suppliers’ renewed contracts, they will need to begin placing tags on shipments. Currently, the only suppliers tagging shipments—which include Honeywell and Lockheed Martin—have been doing so on a voluntary basis." Source: rfidjournal.com
China's Decision on RFID Standards to Have Global Impact
"Will China play ball or go its own way and buck international efforts to establish radio-frequency-identification (RFID) standards? The answer to that question will have a profound impact on the future of global trade for the likes of Wal-Mart, Procter & Gamble, and thousands of other U.S. and European companies. Multiple RFID standards could mean substantially more information-technology investment for large companies and insurmountable trade barriers for smaller ones." Source: crmnews.com
IBM Builds Momentum for Open Standards-Based RFID Ecosystem
"Rallying the industry to support a RFID ecosystem based on open standards, IBM recently announced new partnerships and standards-based solutions aimed at helping customers build on demand businesses. The announcement continues IBM's push to help customers use RFID technologies to automate business processes to gain real-time visibility of items in a supply chain, efficiently manage assets, and improve customer service. Underscoring the company's effort to accelerate industry adoption of RFID technologies, the new solutions are based on IBM WebSphere RFID middleware and services supported by a Service Oriented Architecture, SOA. The architecture offers a J2EE and J2ME based application environment that provide small, mid-sized and large businesses the flexibility to integrate information with custom third-party business process applications and free customers from relying upon any single information technology vendor." Source: wirelessdesignasia.com
RFID chip offers global interoperability, optimized performance
"STMicroelectronics (ST) introduced a UHF (Ultra-High Frequency) contactless memory chip that complies with the latest Electronic Product Code (EPC) specifications. According to the company, the new XRAG2 meets the key requirements for next-generation supply chain and logistics applications—global interoperability, enhanced security and optimized performance. The XRAG2 is a full-featured, low-cost IC designed for use in RFID tags or electronic labels, operating at a range of UHF frequencies from 860MHz to 960MHz. According to the company, this frequency agility ensures that the same tag can be applied and read at any place in the world, regardless of the geographically varying wireless regulations. The XRAG2 is a 432-bit memory offering two possible configurations, allowing the tag to store dedicated industrial codes: three memory banks (64 bits TID, 304 bits for EPC code and 64 bits reserved), or four memory banks (128 bits user, 64 bits TID, 176 bits for EPC code and 64 bits reserved)." Source: eetasia.com
RFID Projects Are Still A Top Priority
"For the past few years, radio-frequency identification technology has been at the forefront of many consumer-goods companies' IT initiatives. Things haven't changed all that much this year. Next year, the focus will turn to finding RFID's still-somewhat elusive return on investment by examining lessons learned in pilots and test sites." Source: informationweek.com
Viisage adds RFID to E-Passport smartchips
"Identity solutions provider Viisage has released smartchips for its iA-thenticate product line, incorporating RFID capability for travel credential authentication. The new product complies with the U.S. State Department's ePassport requirements, while ensuring compatibility with future RFID applications, Viisage Chief Product Officer Ron van Os said in a statement released Monday. The Viisage iA-thenticate system is used at border crossings, airports and embassies around the world. The United States government uses it to verify credentials of airport contractors." Source: commsdesign.com
IBM Leads Charge to Legitimize RFID
"IBM announced that three companies focused on radio-frequency identification—OatSystems Inc., Marc Global and TrueDemand Software Inc.—are porting their software to IBM's WebSphere RFID Premises Server, which will result in new products from each vendor. IBM also announced a new printer geared toward the Generation 2 standard ratified earlier this year." Source: eweek.com