Recent Industry News

RFID Industry News -

Aug. 6, 2008 - AIM Insights - RFID and Financial Transactions: Will Mobile Phones Replace Contactless Cards?
There is growing debate over whether mobile phones (NFC) would be a better choice for electronic payments than contactless cards. Those in favor of the mobile phone solution point to the fact that, since mobile devices contain microprocessors, they can offer additional layers of security against eavesdropping on contactless payments. On the other side of the debate are those who point to the fact that Apple's iPhone was hacked within days of its introduction and such attacks could pose greater threats to users' financial data than eavesdropping on a single card.

However, the relative merits and limitations of the available technologies are not the only issues.

As Craig Harmon notes in this month's podcast, there is an international activity under way -- ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 31/WG 6, Mobile Item Identification and Management (MIIM) -- to examine the use of mobile devices for mobile commerce and to develop appropriate standards.

At the same time, the banking industry is continuing to evaluate and implement enhanced security features for its contactless payment systems. Some of the observed weaknesses in contactless transactions have already been corrected.
(more....) http://www.aimglobal.org/members/news/templates/template.aspx?articleid=3304

Aug. 4, 2008 - RFID Journal - GS1 Australia Is Optimistic ACMA Will Adopt 4-Watt UHF Power Limit
The Australian government could soon bring the nation's passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID systems into line with international practices by upping the allowable power level of RFID devices to 4 watts.

In general, the Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA) - the government body responsible for regulating radio frequencies in that country - restricts the use of UHF RFID to 1 watt EIRP (effective isotropic radiated power). The majority of nations around the world limit RFID applications to 4 watts EIRP or 2 watts ERP (effective radiated power), which is equivalent to 3.2 watts EIRP.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4230/1/1/

Jul 29, 2008 - RFID Journal - New Zealand Study Finds UHF Superior for Livestock Tracking
The RFID Pathfinder Group a New Zealand organization that promotes the adoption of Electronic Product Code (EPC) standards, indicates that preliminary trials of ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tags showed them to be more efficient and cost-effective for tracking livestock than traditional low-frequency (LF) tags. UHF tags, the researchers found, resulted in greater speed, accuracy and reliability when tracking deer, sheep or cattle.

The group has called for further testing to determine whether UHF tags should be employed instead of the LF tags mandated by the National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) project, set up by the government to improve livestock traceability. However, NAIT project manager Craig Purcell says his organization plans to push ahead with LF tags because the technology has been proven and is currently used to track livestock worldwide. Nonetheless, he adds, once UHF RFID's effectiveness for tracking livestock is well confirmed, NAIT intends to welcome the use of ultrahigh-frequency tags by farmers.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4218/1/1/

Jul 25, 2008 - RFID Journal - Time Domain Enhances Its UWB Location System
Real-time location systems (RTLS) provider Time Domain Corp. has upgraded its ultra-wide band (UWB) system for tracking assets and people to include new features that boost performance and precision and make it easier to implement and manage the system. The Huntsville, Ala., vendor has also redesigned the reader to cut its manufacturing costs and ultimately reduce the cost of its system.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4214/1/1/

Jul 22, 2008 - RFID Journal - New Consortium Seeks RFID Standard for Oil, Gas Industries
Retail, supply chain, health care…now add petroleum production to the list of industries turning to RFID technology solutions for operational improvements and competitive advantage. A number of leading petroleum companies have joined with RFID vendors and a think tank comprised of professors and researchers from Texas A&M University and the University of Houston to form the Oil & Gas RFID Solution Group.

The consortium's goal is to develop a common approach to deploying RFID across the oil and gas industry. This will entail creating best practices for such RFID applications as tracking and maintaining oil-drilling components, as well as a standard RFID tag-numbering scheme, protocols and form factors.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4206/1/1/

Jul 16, 2008 - RFID Journal - EPCglobal Transportation and Logistics Pilot Takes Visibility to a Global Level
GS1 subsidiary EPCglobal recently announced the completion of phase two of its Transportation and Logistics Services (TLS) Pilot Program. This program tests RFID technology, including Electronic Product Code Information Services (EPCIS) software, to track shipments between the point of manufacture in China and receiving warehouses within the United States. The pilot's second phase followed two shipments from a Chinese manufacturer through ports in Shanghai and Long Beach, Calif., and on to at a warehouse in Janesville, Wisc.

"The TLS pilot demonstrated that GS1 EPCglobal standards can facilitate the utilization of RFID technology in a collaborative supply chain," says Tom Escott, president of Schneider National, which supplied trucks and project management for the project. "The success of the pilot, despite the challenges of multiple supply chain stakeholders with disparate business conditions and technology platforms, helped define the 'art of the possible' from a transportation and logistics business value perspective."
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4199/1/1/

Jul 10, 2008 - RFID Journal - Impinj Acquires Intel's UHF RFID Reader Chip Operation
Impinj, a provider of EPC Gen 2 UHF radio frequency identification tags and readers, announced today that it has purchased Intel's RFID business unit and the rights to sell Intel's R1000 RFID chips. The chips support the EPC Gen 2 and ISO 18000-6C specifications, and incorporate many standard electronics components into a single chip, thereby reducing the size, cost and complexity of ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) readers.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4184/1/1/

Additional info on this and the R1000 RFID chip can be found at RFIDWizards.com
http://rfidwizards.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=396&Itemid=173

Jun 25, 2008 - RFID Journal - Researchers Warn RFID May Disrupt Medical Equipment
A new study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association warns that radio frequency identification may disrupt the operation of defibrillators and other medical equipment, and occasionally induce "potentially hazardous incidents in medical devices." Experts not involved in the study note that no injuries related to electromagnetic interference (EMI) have been reported in an actual clinical setting, but recommend that before deploying a specific RFID system, a hospital should test it first to see if it has any effect on the medical devices the facility uses.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4166/1/1/

Jun 23, 2008 - RFID Journal - Checkpoint Systems Acquires RFID Software Company OATSystems
Checkpoint Systems, a manufacturer and marketer of RF- and RFID-based solutions for merchandise identification, tracking and security, announced today that it is purchasing RFID middleware and applications provider OATSystems. According to the company, the acquisition is designed to create a one-stop shop for retailers looking to leverage RFID to better track and manage inventory.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4161/1/1/

Jun 20, 2008 - RFID Journal - Avery Dennison Ramps Up Its RFID R&D
Avery Dennison is well-known for its office products and innovation in self-adhesives and label materials. Founded in 1935, the Pasadena, Calif.-based company reported sales of $6.3 billion in 2007. And for more than four years, the firm has been actively building its RFID organization. In January of this year, Avery Dennison's CEO, Dean Scarborough, said the company expected $50 million in sales from its RFID products in 2008. Although that represents a small percentage of the company's overall revenue, executives claim it is one of Avery Dennison's fastest-growing businesses.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4158/1/1/

Jun 19, 2008 - RFID Journal - New Zealand's National Cattle ID Project Gets $23 Million
The funding should help the National Animal Identification and Tracing project meet its goal of having all cattle and deer in the country RFID-tagged and registered by 2011.

Farmers, meat processors and saleyards—where livestock is bought and sold at auction—will be required to ensure that all cattle and deer are tagged with low-frequency (LF) tags complying with the ISO 11874 and 11875 standards. They will also be mandated to record all animal details on the database, and to notify the government of all animal movements.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4154/1/1/

Jun 13, 2008 - RFID Journal - Cephalon Moves Ahead With Its RFID E-pedigree Plans
International biopharmaceutical company Cephalon plans to enter a new phase in deploying RFID technology in its supply chain by affixing passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tags to cardboard shipping containers, and by serializing the Electronic Product Code (EPC) numbers on those tags that leave their third-party distribution center in Tennessee. All shipments leaving the warehouse are slated to be tagged by the third quarter of 2008.

This container-serialization system, incorporating software and integration provided by OATSystems, is the next in a series of steps intended to make Cephalon e-pedigree-enabled, using RFID and item-level serialization, by 2009. Following this latest initiative, says Randy Bradway, Cephalon's VP of commercial operations, the company hopes to begin tagging at least one product at the item level by the end of 2008, and more next year.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4133/1/1/

Jun 4, 2008 - RFID Journal - Asia Pacific Market for Passive Tags Expected to Triple by 2014
The market for passive radio frequency identification tags in the Asia Pacific region is set to triple in value to more than $850 million over the next six years, according to market research firm Frost & Sullivan.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4112/1/1/

Jun. 4, 2008 - AIM Insights - RFID: Product Recalls and "The Last Inch"
When it comes to product recalls, pulling products from the supply chain in a timely manner is critical. Manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers and major retailers are well equipped to deal with product recalls and ensure that products are pulled from warehouses and sales areas. But smaller retailers -- including internet sites -- are not so well equipped to handle the "last inch" in the supply chain: the store shelves and consumers' homes. Effectively addressing the "last inch" is the most critical aspect of product recalls and a problem which RFID can impact.
(more....) http://www.aimglobal.org/members/news/templates/template.aspx?articleid=3265

May 20, 2008 - RFID Journal - VeriChip to Place Implantable Division on Block
VeriChip Corp., a provider of RFID systems for health-care and asset-tracking applications, has hired investment banking firm Kaufman Bros. to assist in the sale of its VeriMed Health Link business, as well as the possible sale of the entire company.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4091/1/1/

May 14, 2008 - RFID Journal - Industry Groups Study RFID at the Supply Chain's End
New ISO guidelines explore the environmental impact of RFID tags, and how to employ them to facilitate product recycling; an EPA-funded project is studying the use of RFID to aid in the recycling of consumer electronics.

Most supply chain professionals involved in the RFID industry are focused on the endgame: widespread, item-level tagging of consumer goods with RFID tags that supply chain partners will be able to use to track products, and to ensure that store shelves are filled with the correct products at the proper time, in order to improve sales and consumers satisfaction.

But what impact will these billions of RFID tags have on the waste stream, and on the established recycling processes into which products and packaging are placed at the end of their life cycles? And how could RFID tags be utilized to improve current procedures for collecting and processing products when consumers are finished using them? These are questions at the forefront of two separate efforts within the RFID community.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4080/1/1/

May 6, 2008 - RFID Journal - VRF Offering Dynamic Price Tags
The startup has developed item-level RFID tags with electronic-paper screens for displaying changeable price information and automatic markdowns, as well as for inventory and theft control within retail settings.

. . . VRF-Holding announced and demonstrated dynamic item-level markdown tags at last month's RFID Journal LIVE! 2008 conference in Las Vegas. The company has developed three prototype battery-assisted passive (BAP) or active tags, each containing dynamic electronic paper (e-paper) displays. The tags, VRF claims, can be utilized for automatic markdowns, as well as for inventory and theft control within retail settings.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4060/1/1/

May 1, 2008 - RFID Journal - U.S. Congressmen Seek to Specify a Track-and-Trace Technology for Drugs
At a House Committee on Energy and Commerce meeting, Reps Steve Buyer and Jim Matheson questioned the FDA and sought to gain support for HR 5839, which would require the agency to stipulate the technology to be used for a nationwide pedigree system.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4064/1/1/

May 1, 2008 - RFID Journal - Gen 2 Tags Track Runner, Motorcycle Speeds
SAI Timing and Tracking is offering a racer's bib with a disposable Gen 2 passive RFID tag to track a runner's time during a race. Developed by ChronoTrack, a sports timing and tracking company based in Evansville, In., the system replaces a more expensive and labor-intensive transponder system requiring racers to use battery-powered transponders, then return them after a race to be reused at other races.

Meanwhile, Hardcard Systems and Alien Technology are testing a Gen 2 RFID tag to track racing times for motorcycles.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4063/1/1/

Apr. 28, 2008 - RFID Journal - VeriChip Markets Its Implantable RFID Tags and Services Direct to Consumers
VeriChip has launched a direct-to-consumer initiative known as Health Link, making its RFID system - previously branded as VeriMed - available to customers in South Florida's tri-county area. For $149, a consumer can have a passive 134 kHz RFID chip, compliant with the ISO 11784 and 11785 standards, implanted in his or her arm, with the transponder's unique 16-digit ID number linked to a database containing that individual's medical records and, if they so choose, a living will.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4055/1/1/

Apr. 24, 2008 - RFID Journal - RFID News Roundup
The following are news announcements made during the past week.
Motorola offers new reader with antenna port options;
Ekahau releases Wi-Fi RTLS personnel badge;
PowerID ships battery-assisted EPC Gen 2 RFID tag;
Secura Shield announces RFID-enabled e-seals for tracking containers;
Thin Battery Technologies unveils two new printed batteries;
USDA providing 1.5 million RFID tags to track cattle.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4049/1/1/

Apr. 23, 2008 - RFID Journal - U.S. FDA Seeks Research for Medical Device Tracking System
The organization's Center for Devices and Radiological Health is requesting input from RFID vendors and end users regarding the effects RFID has on other transmissions in a hospital setting, and on the devices themselves.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) says it hopes to issue draft specifications by the end of 2008 for a nationwide system that could be employed to identify individual medical devices and supplies, and to make it easier to locate and recall such items.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4043/1/1/

Apr. 18, 2008 - RFID Journal - Baggage-Tagging Projects Gaining Altitude
Hong Kong and Las Vegas airports are upgrading and ramping up their RFID bag-tagging efforts. In January, Hong Kong International Airport announced that it had retrofitted all baggage-tag printers at its check-in counters to accommodate RFID-enabled tags, and also installed RFID interrogators in all of its baggage-handling equipment. The airport has now contracted George Schmitt & Co. to be its provider of RFID-enabled baggage labels.

. . . . . McCarran Airport, Allen says, has been using RFID for baggage tracking for five years (see Las Vegas Airport Bets on RFID) and is now ready to begin transitioning from the RFID baggage tags it currently employs - which contain EPC Gen 1 Class 0 UHF passive inlays, made only by Motorola - to labels containing standardized EPC Gen 2 Class 1 inlays. She notes that the airport will soon begin testing Gen 2 RFID labels, and hopes to select a vendor of baggage labels with EPC Gen 2 inlays by August 2009.

Currently, McCarran places RFID-enabled labels on 70,000 bags each day. The airport spends a little over 21 cents per label, a cost justified by the high cost of locating lost bags - $150 per bag.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4040/1/1/

Apr. 16, 2008 - RFID Journal - Airbus Trials Showing Strong Results
Airbus has decided to permanently roll out one of the many RFID applications it had been testing in recent months, says Carlo K. Nizam, the company's head of value-chain visibility and RFID. According to Nizam, Airbus has also begun two other RFID technology trials.

The RFID application the aircraft manufacturer is deploying tracks the location of the large metal frames, known as jigs, that it uses to transport large aircraft sections between a total of 13 manufacturing and assembly facilities. Workers employ a cargo loader to move a jig onto and out of a huge cargo aircraft, dubbed the Beluga because it resembles a whale.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4036/1/1/

Apr. 14, 2008 - RFID Journal - Suppliers Find No Incentive to Adopt RFID for Direct Store Delivery
The direct store delivery (DSD) market is not ready for RFID, according to a survey conducted by Global Commerce Initiative (GCI), an international trade association that develops standards and best practices. Consumer goods providers, the report recommends, would be best served by focusing on deployment for supply chains that include delivery to distribution centers.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4021/1/1/

Apr. 14, 2008 - RFID Journal - Mojix Takes Passive UHF RFID to a New Level
Newly emerged from stealth mode, Mojix, a startup company based in Los Angeles, plans to launch a new type of RFID system at this week's RFID Journal LIVE! 2008 conference in Las Vegas. The system uses techniques developed for deep-space communication to significantly boost the read range of passive UHF tags, as well as identify their precise location in three dimensions.

The Mojix STAR system reads passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tags based on EPCglobal's second-generation air-interface protocol. According to the company, a single STAR receiver can cover an area of up to 250,000 square feet, pinpointing tags in 3-D space.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4019/1/1/

Apr. 11, 2008 - RFID Journal - Weyerhaeuser Offers High-Volume Source Tagging, But Demand Still Low
In March, paper and packaging giant Weyerhaeuser sold its Containerboard Packaging and Recycling business (including paperboard mills, packaging locations and recycling facilities) to International Paper for $6 billion in cash. But that doesn't mean the company is pulling back its interest in RFID technology—just the opposite, says Jeanne McCann, Weyerhaeuser's senior project manager for RFID and printed electronics.

Weyerhaeuser has developed an RFID application process for manufacturing RFID-tagged cardboard, which it plans to license to International Paper and other firms. The company is also still pushing the development of printable RFID tags—an effort it initially invested in with the purchase of Organic ID in 2006 (see Weyerhaeuser Acquires Tag Innovator Organic ID).
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4016/1/1/

Apr. 10, 2008 - RFID Journal - All Eyes on FDA for Drug E-Pedigree
With the deadline for California's electronic-pedigree (e-pedigree) requirement for pharmaceuticals moved from Jan. 1, 2009, to Jan. 1, 2011, the push for a drug-authenticating e-pedigree system now seems to have shifted to the federal rather than state level. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set a deadline of January 2010 to put in place a pedigree system that would protect the pharmaceutical supply chain "against counterfeit, diverted, subpotent, substandard, adulterated, misbranded or expired drugs." While the FDA is not considering only electronic solutions - other paper-based identification systems that do not use RFID or bar coding are being discussed as well - the agency has shown an interest in RFID technology, which would make the pedigree solution electronic.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4013/1/1/

Apr. 7, 2008 - RFID Journal - Alien Technology Announces New EPC Gen 2 Chip
Alien Technology has announced the Higgs 3, its latest chip for EPC Gen 2 Class 1 UHF passive tags. In response to demand from end users, Alien has built a number of features into the chip that go beyond simple track and trace functionality, says Bill Brown, the company's senior manager of product marketing. These features include a means of locking the data encoded to the Higgs 3 chip, for privacy applications, as well as 512 bits of user memory, so users can save more than just an Electronic Product Code (EPC) to the tag.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4006/1/1/

Apr. 3, 2008 - RFID Journal - USDA Pushes Plan to Move NAIS Forward
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is moving closer to adopting a seven-point business plan for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) program, with a goal of making it possible to trace back an animal's history to its point of origin within 48 hours. The public has until April 15 to review the seven-point draft plan, which was published in December 2007, and to respond to recommendations.

. . . One of the plan's major points calls for the adoption of standardized Animal Identification Numbers (AINs). This would require the elimination of proprietary AINs that are not ISO-compliant, instead using only 15-digit ID numbers that begin with the U.S. country code (840) and comply with the ISO 11784 and 11785 RFID standards for animal tagging, rather than the three-digit manufacturer's code that exists with tags bearing private AINs.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/4001/1/1/

Apr. 2, 2008 - RFID Journal - Avery Dennison Sues Alien Technology, Alleging Patent Infringement
The company claims Alien's manufacturing process infringes upon Avery's IP for attaching integrated circuits to antennas, as well as for forming and testing RFID inlays.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3998/1/1/

Mar. 27, 2008 - RFID Journal - Impinj Announces Next-Gen Monza Chip
With an eye toward supporting the tagging of products at the item level and at the point of manufacture, RFID chipmaker Impinj unveiled today a new version of its Monza chip made for passive UHF, EPC Gen 2 tags. Called the Monza 3, the chip is significantly more sensitive to radio frequency signals than leading Gen 2 chips from other manufacturers, as well as the currently available Monza 2 chip, which Impinj released in 2006, says Impinj president and CEO Bill Colleran, adding that this increase in sensitivity should translate into better-performing RFID tags.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3989/1/1/

Mar. 27, 2008 - RFID Journal - Washington State Governor Signs Anti-Skimming Law
The new law makes it a felony to scan an RFID tag belonging to another person without that individual's consent, and use that data for an illegal purpose. The bill's sponsor plans to introduce additional RFID legislation.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3988/1/1/

Mar. 20, 2008 - RFID Journal - Companies, Agencies Use Clandestine RFID Systems to Catch Thieves
A handful of government agencies and private companies such as electronics suppliers are employing a clandestine RFID system known as NOX that allows them to use RFID interrogators hidden in walls, in conjunction with video surveillance and, in some cases, luminescent dust, to thwart theft or other unauthorized activities within their facilities.

The NOX system is the creation of SimplyRFID, a company based in Warrenton, Va. Founded in 2002 by its president, Carl Brown, SimplyRFID has developed RFID solutions for a number of clients, including Stamps.com, UPS, FedEx, the U.S. Postal Service and Target, and its Pro-Tags product line is aimed at suppliers to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). During the past few years, Brown says, the company has moved into the clandestine market, following government interest in the use of RFID to prevent theft, or to monitor the movements of personnel wearing RFID-tagged badges.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3981/1/1/

Mar. 18, 2008 - RFID Journal - Aircraft Parts Maker to Use EPC Tags to Track Moisture Exposure
Universal Avionics, a flight-management systems manufacturer based in Tucson, Ariz., is about to install an RFID-based system to track how long moisture-sensitive microchip components are exposed to air. Designed by a team of three researchers at the University of Arizona, the system is slated to be put in place next month, at a cost of about $2,000.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3976/1/1/

Mar. 14, 2008 - RFID Journal - NXP Announces New, More Secure Chip for Transport, Access Cards
NXP Semiconductors, a Philips spin-off, announced on Monday the completion of a new RFID chip designed for access control and payment applications. The chip, known as Mifare Plus, can support a number of data security protocols, including those employing advanced encryption standard (AES) encryption.

The new chip is backward-compatible with the Mifare Classic chip, introduced in 1994. The Classic chip uses proprietary cryptography that was recently hacked by two separate research teams by reverse-engineering the chip and uncovering the security algorithm it uses.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3973/1/1/

Mar. 13, 2008 - RFID Journal - Wal-Mart-Commissioned Study Shows RFID Improves Store Inventory Accuracy
A new research study commissioned by Wal-Mart underscores RFID's positive role in improving inventory accuracy at retail stores. The goal of the study was to examine the store-level influence of RFID on perpetual inventory (PI). PI is an inventory management system's continuously updated calculation of on-hand inventory (which is typically determined by manually counting the items).
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3969/1/1/

Mar. 11, 2008 - RFID Journal - Printer-Encoder Order Represents New DOD Milestone
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) continues to make strides in its deployment of EPC Gen 2 RFID technology to track hundreds of thousands of shipments covering a wide variety of assets, from weapons to rations. Late last month, the department awarded a multiyear, multimillion-dollar contract for RFID equipment and installation services to Lowry Computer Products, a Brighton, Mich., maker and systems integrator of EPC RFID products and solutions.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3968/1/1/

Mar. 11, 2008 - RFID Journal - Metro Expanding Use of RFID, for Both Pallets and Cases
By the end of September, German retail conglomerate Metro Group will deploy RFID readers at an additional 200 of its Real hypermarkets in Germany, according to Roger Davies, general manager of European UHF business for Checkpoint Systems, the retail technology provider whose EPC Gen 2-compliant RFID readers are to be installed at the stores. The company's readers are already used at 100 Real locations in the country. The portals will be used to track pallets as they arrive at the stores, although Checkpoint says the same portals will be eventually be used for case-level tracking, as well, when Metro begins expanding its use of RFID for tracking cases of goods - something it started testing for past two years.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3967/1/1/

Mar. 4, 2008 - RFID Journal - RFID Paves the Way for Road Construction
Minds Inc., a provider of information technologies and advanced automation systems for the hot-mix asphalt industry, has introduced a new application that employs RFID to track hot-mix asphalt from the time it leaves the plant to when it arrives at a construction site and is dumped into a paver (a vehicle used to lay asphalt on roads and parking lots).

PaveTag, part of the company's eRoutes suite of automation systems for the real-time monitoring of job activities, leverages battery-assisted passive (BAP) ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID tags and interrogators from Intelleflex. The tags are affixed to the trucks that transport the hot asphalt from the plant to the site.

. . . . The tags operate in the 902-921 MHz frequency band and comply with EPCglobal's proposed Class 3 standard. Specifically, PaveTag leverages the Intelleflex SMT-7100, which has an antenna configured to perform well around liquids, metals and other RF-unfriendly conditions that can interfere with RF waves.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3953/1/1/

Mar. 3, 2008 - RFID Journal - Tyco Electronics Uses Wi-Fi for Trailer Tracking
Electronic products manufacturer Tyco Electronics is using a Wi-Fi-based, active RFID system to track truck trailers at its distribution center in Greensboro, N.C. Tyco Electronics has implemented OATSystems' Asset Tracking solution, as well as Wi-Fi active tags with G2 Microsystems' system-on-chip (SoC) technology. By leveraging the DC's existing Wi-Fi access points, the company avoided having to install new RFID reader infrastructure.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3952/1/1/

Feb. 28, 2008 - RFID Journal - Electronic Vehicle Registration Picks Up Speed
A number of nations are using passive RFID tags to automatically verify cars are properly registered, as well as to monitor traffic levels.

In South Africa, at least 500,000 RFID tags are now being affixed to metal license plates to automatically identify vehicles and verify they are properly registered. Within the next two years, 10 million cars in that country are expected to sport electronic license plates.

In Bermuda, meanwhile, more than half of the island nation's cars and trucks currently have RFID-enabled registration stickers attached to their windshields, and all of its trucks and cars—nearly 25,000 - are expected to have them by June of this year. Other countries - including Brazil, China, Dubai, India and Mexico—have either already begun implementing or are currently eyeing RFID enabled vehicle identification and registration systems.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3945/1/1/

Feb. 26, 2008 - RFID Journal - Wal-Mart Using RFID to Monitor Vehicles at Its DCs
To track lift trucks and other vehicles at a dozen of its distribution centers in the United States, Wal-Mart has been using an RFID-based system made by New Jersey-based I.D. Systems.

"Wal-Mart accomplished two major objectives [by deploying the system]," says Gene Merlo, I.D. Systems' VP of North American sales. "It increased productivity [inside its DCs using the system], and it improved utilization of vehicles inside the DCs." The retailer began with an initial test at a single distribution center in late 2005, then rolled it out to a small group of DCs in 2006 and a third, larger one last year.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3941/1/1/

Feb. 22, 2008 - RFID Journal - EC Publishes RFID Privacy Policy Draft
The European Commission (EC) has drafted a set of recommendations regarding how to protect data and personal privacy in applications supported by RFID, and is asking industry stakeholders, as well as the general public, to comment on the document. Representatives from EPCglobal, a nonprofit organization working to commercialize Electronic Product Code (EPC) and RFID technologies in the supply chain, claim the draft lacks clarity and fails to address a number of important issues.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3940/1/1/

Feb. 19, 2008 - RFID Journal - Emirates RFID Bag-Tracking Pilot Takes Off
Emirates Airline has begun a six-month technology trial to test the use of RFID technology to improve tracking of checked luggage. Instead of using the standard, bar-coded identification tags that airlines normally use to identify baggage, Emirates is placing tags with embedded UHF EPC Gen 2 inlays onto each checked bag on five daily flights between London's Heathrow Airport and Dubai International Airport. Bags checked onto a daily Emirates flight to and from Hong Kong International Airport will also be tagged.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3930/1/1/

Feb. 15, 2008 - RFID Journal - GE-Aviation Moves Tote-Tracking Pilot to Production
GE-Aviation, the engine-manufacturing division for civil and military jet aircraft at General Electric, recently brought an RFID-based order-tracking system into production, according to Trey Keisler, GE-Aviation's information management leader for planning and logistics.

According to Keisler, the system is streamlining the company's internal supply chain between its warehouse in Erlanger, Ky., and its assembly plant in Durham, N.C., while also increasing its accuracy. And given that GE-Aviation has, in recent quarters, received record orders to supply jet engines for new Boeing and Airbus commercial aircraft, the timing couldn't be better.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3908/1/1/

Feb. 15, 2008 - Supply Chain Digest - RFID News: RFID 2007 – Who Did What in the Past Year
Last year was a very interesting one for RFID. There was of course the continuing Wal-Mart saga, which early in the year saw the retail giant rebutting media charges its RFID program was treading water, and ending the year with a “significant change of focus” in that program’s direction.

My sense also is that,t for the most part, we were/are still largely in “pilot” mode for many companies – and are likely to stay that way for some time. Primarily, for the simple reason that change takes time – it was the failure to fully appreciate that, I think, that led to some of the Wal-Mart missteps.

But I wanted to get a better view of what really is happening in RFID. So with the help of SCDigest staffer Connie Venema, we spent some time reviewing any announcement or story we could find relating to RFID system deployments or pilots in 2007. The results, I think, are very interesting.
(more....) http://www.scdigest.com/assets/FirstThoughts/08-02-15.php?cid=1488&ctype=content

Feb. 14, 2008 - RFID Journal - Researchers Say Sharing Is the Key to Privacy for EPC Tags
Three technologists have developed a process that they think can protect tag data and address consumers' privacy concerns without derailing existing efforts to integrate RFID throughout the supply chain. Ravi Pappu, cofounder and head of ThingMagic's Advanced Development Group, Ari Juels, principal research scientist at RSA Laboratories (the research center of computer security firm RSA) and Bryan Parno, a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University, have published a paper describing their proposed approach to EPC data privacy protection. The technologists presented their findings at a recent RFID security workshop at Johns Hopkins University.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3915/1/1/

Feb. 7, 2008 - RFID Journal - Orbit One Launches Satellite-Based RFID Service
Orbit One, a long-time provider of satellite solutions for emergency and disaster response, has introduced a new service leveraging a proprietary active RFID tag that communicates with low earth orbit (LEO) satellites. The service, known as Global-RFID, or G-RFID, is designed to give companies in-transit visibility and tracking of cargo containers, generators and other high-value assets.

. . . . Available now, the SX1 tag ranges in price from $250 to $350, depending on volume, plus a monthly service fee ranging from $5 to $20 per tag, depending on usage.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3896/1/1/

Jan. 21, 2008 - Supply Chain Digest - RFID News: As Wal-Mart Gets Tough with Sam’s Club Compliance, Some Clarity, While a Few Questions Remain
Wal-Mart has sent letters to suppliers to its Sam’s Club division laying out a timeline for vendor RFID tagging to support its plans for pallet and location management, as well as, ultimately, item-level tagging.

The plan, outlined in a letter dated January 7, 2008, projects a two-and-a-half year schedule to get to full “selling unit” level tagging across the entire chain, and will for the first time actually impose penalties, generally referred to as “vendor chargebacks,” for suppliers that fail to meet the new requirements. Until now, the RFID compliance program at Wal-Mart, which has substantially changed its direction in the past few months (see Wal-Mart is Changing Its RFID Tune, Launching a New Set of Pilots), did not have any direct penalties associated with the mandates. In fact, some consumer goods manufacturers are wondering if they are even still required to continue tagging cases sent to certain regular Wal-Mart distribution centers (see Should Wal-Mart Suppliers Continue Complying with First Wave Mandates?).
(more....) http://www.scdigest.com/assets/On_Target/08-01-21-2.php?cid=1437

Jan. 18, 2008 - RFID Journal - RFID News Roundup
The following are news announcements made during the week of Jan. 14.

Intelleflex Intros RFID Badge
San Jose, Calif., RFID technology company Intelleflex has announced an addition to its portfolio of battery-assisted passive (BAP) RFID tags, which operate at the 902-928 MHz ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) band (865-868 MHz in Europe and India) and comply with EPCglobal's proposed Class 3 standard. The BAT-7300 badge tag is Intelleflex's first model designed for tracking personnel as opposed to assets; thus, its form factor is slimmer, with a size similar to that of a standard photo ID badge, says Sam Liu, Intelleflex's director of marketing. "Asset tags just aren't designed to be easily clipped onto a shirt," he says. The BAT-7300 incorporates a slot so a clip-on device can be used to attach the tag to clothing, and may also be worn on a lanyard. The tag can be read at distances exceeding 100 feet, even through clothing and when close to the body. It features 60 kilobits of secure rewriteable tag memory, and has an average battery life of about five years. Available now, the tags can be used with Intelleflex's multiprotocol RFID interrogators. Several companies, which Liu says he is not at liberty to disclose, have already begun utilizing the new tags, including a Canadian mining company that's employing them to track miners as they travel in mine elevators, and a casino seeking to monitor its hospitality personnel.

Memphis Peabody Hotel RFID-enables Its Bar
The Peabody Memphis, a hotel well-known since the 1930s for the ducks that walk its red carpet and swim in its lobby fountain, has installed an RFID-enabled system to monitor its bar and banquet operations. Beverage Tracker, from Capton, uses RFID-enabled spouts to provide a clear picture of how liquor is poured for each drink, and how the transaction is handled in the point-of-sale (POS) system. Capton's Beverage Tracker spouts can be fitted into liquor bottles, and the system includes an RFID interrogator and software. The spouts contain battery-powered 418 MHz RFID tags and measuring devices. Whenever a bartender pours a drink, the tipping of the bottle activates both the tag and the measuring device, allowing the spout to measure the volume of liquor poured (in ounces) before the employee tips the bottle back up. The tag then transmits that information to the interrogator's antenna, along with the microchip's unique identification number, and the brand and size of the liquor bottle to which it is attached. The spout's tag has a maximum read range of 100 feet from the antenna. The Peabody Memphis says it chose the Beverage Tracker system to ensure that drinks, such as exotic cocktails, are prepared consistently using the same amount of alcohol. Since May 2007, the hotel has been using the system in its lobby bar and also for banquet operations, including special events leveraging cash bars. Douglas Browne, general manager of the hotel, claims the hotel has significantly reduced its liquor inventory costs and increased revenues associated with free-pour drink control.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3854/1/1/

Jan. 14, 2008 - RFID Journal - Boeing Approves Intelleflex Chip, Weighs Higher-Memory Fujitsu Tag
Though dogged by delays, Boeing's initiative to employ passive RFID tags to track the maintenance and repair history of parts for its upcoming Dreamliner 787 family of airplanes may be ready for takeoff by mid-2008, according to Ken Porad, program manager of the automatic-identification program at Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group.

In December, Porad says, the company tested the latest samples of an integrated circuit manufactured by Intelleflex, a semiconductor company based in Santa Clara, Calif. The results, he explains, show that the chips meet the memory and performance requirements Boeing set forth in an April 2006 agreement with the firm. Under the terms of that contract, Intelleflex agreed to produce a chip for an EPC Gen 2-compliant passive RFID tag with 64 kilobits of memory (see Boeing Selects Chipmaker for Parts Tags). The chip prototype, according to Porad, is the fourth Intelleflex presented to Boeing; the first three had unspecified problems, delaying progress by more than a year.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3850/1/1/

Jan. 11, 2008 - RFID Journal - Sam's Club Tells Suppliers to Tag or Pay
Companies supplying goods to Sam's Club will soon pay a price if they don't meet the warehouse retailer's RFID tagging requirements by month's end.

Sam's Club, owned and operated by Wal-Mart, sent letters dated Jan. 7, 2008, to all of its suppliers, stating that by Jan. 31, every full single-item pallet shipped to its distribution center in DeSoto, Texas, or directly to one of its stores served by that DC, must bear an EPC Gen 2 RFID tag. Any supplier failing to comply will be charged a service fee, starting at $2 per untagged pallet on Feb. 1, and capping at $3 per pallet on Jan. 1, 2009. The fee will cover Sam's Club cost in having to tag the pallet itself.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3845/1/1/

Jan. 8, 2008 - RFID Journal - Zebra Announces UHF RFID Card Printers
Zebra Technologies has unveiled two devices that will enable companies to print and encode their own passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID-enabled plastic cards, useable for a range of applications, from personal identification to asset tracking. Prior to the availability of these printer-encoders, end users have had to farm out the printing of such cards to RFID tag makers or custom print houses able to both embed an RFID inlay in a card and print the card faces.

. . . . The R3i and R4i are available now in North America, with prices beginning at $4,390 and $5,390, respectively, for models with USB connectivity. Versions containing Ethernet ports cost extra. Both machines can print on cards compliant with ISO standards CR-80-ISO 7810, ISO 7811 (which include a magnetic stripe on the card that the machines can also encode) and ISO 7816-2. According to Bulzoni, Zebra contracts with a third party to manufacture RFID plastic (polyvinyl chloride) cards made with an inlay developed by Zebra, using a dual-dipole antenna design and the latest Impinj Monza EPC Gen 2 chip. Bulzoni says end users can expect to pay $4 to $5 per standard Gen 2 UHF card.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3842/1/1/

Jan. 4, 2008 - AIM Insights - RFID and Brand Protection
Sifting through all the predictions from industry analysts and pundits, it's clear that closed loop applications will continue to provide companies with a recognizable ROI as we move forward into 2008.

It's obvious how RFID can offer significant benefits by providing greater insight into internal processes, inventories and asset allocation. These are "hard" benefits that can be easily put into an ROI calculation. However, other benefits such as product authentication and brand protection are more difficult to calculate but might, in the long run, produce even greater benefits.

Consider the case of Dole Fresh Vegetables, a division of Dole Food Company, Inc. In September 2007, it issued a voluntary recall of salad mixes that might be contaminated with E-coli. (The previous September, the company had to issue a recall of tainted lettuce after a number of cases of illness had been reported.) This second recall could have been a public relations and brand nightmare except for the fact that Dole was proactive in the 2007 recall and issued the notice before anyone became sick. The speed and specificity of the recall, limited to two batches, was made possible by the use of RFID for tracking product into the supply chain.
(more....) http://www.aimglobal.org/members/news/templates/template.aspx?articleid=3158

Jan. 4, 2008 - RFID Journal - Alameda County Gives RFID Ballot-Tracking a Vote of Approval
Ever since the contentious 2000 U.S. presidential election, the balloting systems employed in many states have come under scrutiny—in part, because the means by which ballots are brought from polling places to a central depository, once polls are closed, has not been a well-officiated process in some states. Alameda County, the seventh largest in California and home to much of the East San Francisco Bay area, including the city of Oakland, is employing RFID to help it ensure that ballots are collected and managed properly. The county debuted the system during a small, local election held on Nov. 6, 2007, and plans to use it during upcoming presidential primaries, scheduled for Feb. 5 in California.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3837/1/1/

Dec. 17, 2007 - RFID Journal - Raflatac Releases RFID Tags With Built-In EAS
UPM Raflatac is releasing a series of four EPC Gen 2 tags targeted to the retail market and made with the first ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID chips with built-in electronic article surveillance (EAS) capabilities. The tags can be read by any EPC Gen 2 interrogator, and can have the EAS function turned on and off by the same interrogator. One of the tag models (the Web) is available now, while the other three (the Belt, the DogBone and the ShortDipole) are slated for release in January 2008.

All of the tag models are available with NXP Semiconductors' Ucode G2XL or Ucode G2XM ICs, both of which not only offer EAS capabilities but also have more memory than many other EPC Gen 2 chips (see NXP Boosts EPC Gen 2 Tag Memory, Performance), allowing retailers and manufacturers to store a greater amount of data on the tags. Both chips have 240 bits of memory available for encoding an Electronic Product Code (EPC), but the G2XM chip offers 512 bits of additional user-programmable memory.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3818/1/1/

Dec. 17, 2007 - RFID Journal - Gerolsteiner Unbottles ROI From Its RFID Deployment
Gerolsteiner Brunnen, a manufacturer of bottled non-alcoholic drinks and mineral water, needed to comply with European Union (E.U.) regulations (EU 178/2002) regarding tracking food and beverages. Two years after implementing an RFID-based system, the German company says it has recouped approximately half its investment, and that the system has required little more than routine maintenance in the interim.

Each day, up to 20,000 pallets move through Gerolsteiner's distribution center in the city of Gerolstein. In April 2005, the company began employing an RFID system that works differently than many similar applications. Instead of placing RFID tags on the pallets, it has embedded passive 136 kHz tags in the distribution center's floor.

The project took Gerolsteiner and its integrator, SAP SI - a subsidiary of SAP - about a year to complete, because the company conducted extensive testing on hardware and frequencies. It needed to find a frequency that would enable the tags to work well while the forklifts carried bottles of liquid, and even if a crate of drinks were to spill on the floor.

Gerolsteiner decided to use 136 kHz transponders encased in small glass vials—the same transponders frequently utilized in animal-tracking applications. Measuring 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) long and 3.5 millimeters (0.14 inches) wide, the transponders are set into the ground and covered with a type of plaster. The tags are supplied by Texas Instruments and use a proprietary air-interface standard.
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3775/1/1/

Dec. 13, 2007 - RFID Journal - Intelleflex Partners With Motorola, Secures $15.5M in Funding
Motorola's Enterprise Mobility unit and Intelleflex, a provider of battery-assisted passive (BAP) ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID technology complying with EPCglobal's proposed Class 3 standard, have announced plans to jointly develop, market and sell RFID products for a variety of applications.

The companies will combine Intelleflex's experience developing BAP UHF inlays compliant with the proposed Class 3 standard, with Motorola Enterprise Mobility's expertise in passive EPC RFID interrogators and antennas. Enterprise Mobility's RFID division traces its roots to RFID pioneer Matrics, which in 2004 was purchased by Symbol Technologies, which in turn was purchased by Motorola in September 2006 (see Symbol Acquires Matrics and Motorola Acquiring Symbol).
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3812/1/1/

Dec. 13, 2006 - AIM Insights - RFID and Data Access Security
Data security is a serious concern these days with continuing reports of identity theft, breaches of corporate and governmental databases, lost or stolen laptops and hard drives with sensitive information and, yes, questions about RFID systems. Although virtually all data breaches to date have been the result of system security flaws and did not involve RFID, it's clear that ensuring the security of data on RFID tags should be a priority for anyone developing or deploying RFID systems.
(more....) http://www.aimglobal.org/members/news/templates/template.aspx?articleid=3123

Dec. 7, 2007 - RFID Journal - ADT Announces iREAD Network Antenna System
RFID Systems provider ADT says it has developed a means of RFID-enabling store shelves in a manner designed to lower infrastructure costs related to tracking products at the item level, while also enabling retailers to add merchandising functionality to product displays. It calls the system iREAD and it consists of networked antennas integrated in shelving and managed by ADT software. The iREAD antennas can be used with any standard EPC Gen 2 reader. German retailer Karstadt has installed the platform as part of its RFID pilot test that began in late summer and focuses on examining ways to use RFID to improve internal business operations (see Karstadt Readies for RFID).
(more....) http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3789/1/1/

Dec. 7, 2006 - AIM Insights - RFID: Sensors, Health and Safety
Can RFID help diabetics maintain proper blood sugar levels? Can RFID help ensure the efficacy of vaccines and other biologicals in the healthcare environment? Can RFID help make sure your food is fresh and help identify the source of contaminants? Can RFID keep you safer on the highway?

Alone or in combination with a variety of sensors, RFID can do all of these things -- and sometimes in ways that aren't immediately obvious.
(more....) http://www.aimglobal.org/members/news/templates/template.aspx?articleid=3114