RFID Gazette

-- Intelligent Systems and R4 Global Solutions release findings of study on item-level RFID in the retail supply chain. Retail Industry Pilots and Pioneering Study Signal First Phase Of Global Alliance Aimed At Advancing The Adoption Of Item-Level RFID In The Retail Storefront --

San Francisco and New York, March 29, 2005 – Intelligent Systems (www.is-mwv.com), a division of MeadWestvaco (NYSE: MWV), and R4 Global Solutions™ www.r4gs.com, a leading provider of RFID-enabled technology and services, today announced findings from a recent study focused on the use of item-level RFID technology in the retail receiving, stock room and store floor environments. The study is the first step in a broad alliance agreement between the two companies aimed at solving two of the retail industry's largest problems: out-of-stocks, which cost U.S. retailers an estimated $50 billion annually, and shrinkage, which costs an additional $31 billion annually.

WJ Communications is now offering the dynamic link library (DLL) for its MPR Series RFID Card products to the public. A supplier of RF semiconductors and RF modules, WJ Communications also provides code call examples and documentation to allow its customers to develop reader control software. WJ’s MPR5000 and MPR6000 operate in the UHF frequency band and are based on the PCMCIA Type II standard. Both can read EPC Class 0, 0+ and EPC Class 1 tags and program/write 0+ and EPC Class 1 tags. According to Digital Media Europe:

The MPR 5000 includes a single integral antenna while the MPR6000 includes two separate antenna ports. Operational control is performed via high-speed parallel communications over the PCMCIA bus or via serial communications through the standard 68-pin PCMCIA connector.

Read more: WJ provides open source software for MPR series RFID cards

Wal-Mart is looking to add mobility to its RFID tag readers. At its lab in Bentonville, Ark., it is testing an RFID reader that could be installed on a forklift. This reader would read tags on pallets and transmit data through the RFID network, informing users a myriad of supply-chain data. In six weeks, Wal-Mart hopes to run trials on a new type of RFID tag that uses ultra-high frequency. Such tags are more akin to a global RFID standard.

Standards group EPCglobal Inc. is spearheading efforts for adoption of Gen 2 specifications by manufacturers of RFID tags, readers, printers, and antennas. Three classes are being developed, including semipassive tags that operate on low-power batteries. Working with suppliers to deploy those tags and create a temperature-sensor network for cold-storage food is a possibility within the next 18 months, Langford says. The network would monitor temperature so employees will know if goods thawed at any point during shipping, for example.

Read more: Wal-Mart Assesses New Uses For RFID

The Department of Homeland Security and Philips Semiconductors have begun a sort of spin campaign. In recent documents, RFID technology was referred to as "proximity chips," "contactless chips" or "contactless integrated circuits" -- not "RFID." Perhaps this spin Attic is to avoid the privacy debate that has recently flared up over the technology. The Department of Homeland Security has already began to use RFID internally. Very soon it is expected to launch RFID tagged employee cards. Wired.com reports:

The department is also evaluating technology pitches from several RFID tag manufacturers, including Philips, for an RFID-tagged passport containing biometric data. The government's plan will earn billions of dollars for the RFID suppliers while helping security officials track individuals more effectively by detecting their ID documents' radio signals in airport terminals, or wherever reader devices are present.

Read more: RFID Cards Get Spin Treatment

The use of RFID at the airport still is a technology waiting to happen. The reason for the absence is the costly investment required. While seen as an answer to the massive problem of lost luggage, the cost of implementation of RFID at airports at present is not worth the cost. Perhaps one solution to this price problem is tags that are being developed by Globalbagtag.com. This system uses tags that are traced though the internet. Supply Chain Review writes:

"The success of globalbagtag has, in most part, been due to the fact that it does not charge airlines or airports to use the system and the do not need any kind of costly equipment to read the globalbagtags, all that is needed is internet access," he says.

Read more: RFID tracking for luggage fails to take off

-- Maxell Introduces New, Flexible RFID Platform For Use In Various Pharmaceutical, Clinical Trials and Laboratory Applications. Maxell's Heliport RFID System Provides the Foundation for Next-Generation Track and Trace and Information Management Solutions in Life Science Industries --

Fort Lawn, NJ, March 28, 2005 – Maxell Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Hitachi Maxell Ltd., today introduced the flagship product in the company's line of Radio Frequency IDentification solutions. Maxell's new RFID system provides original equipment manufacturers and system integrators in the medical, pharmaceutical and laboratory markets a flexible technology platform for the development of customizable and secure RFID solutions for a variety of high-value, life science applications.

-- San Diego-based company now capable of full RFID vertical integration and break-through antenna manufacturing --

San Diego, CA - RSI ID Technologies (RSI), founded in late 1991 and headquartered in Chula Vista, California, recently acquired the assembly line machinery necessary for full RFID vertical integration.  In November of 2004, RSI brought in-house the machinery for antenna manufacturing and inlay assembly, adding to their already existing label converting capabilities.  As a result, the company is now able to offer customers "one stop shopping" for the design, manufacturing and assembly of RFID labels.  In addition, RSI also works directly with the end-user on system design and full system integration including support and consultation.

Fusion Consulting has authored an RFID report that affirms that the use of contactless payment methods for public transit systems is the most popular application of RFID-enabled payment devices in Asia. It also predicts that credit cards with RFID chips will become a norm in Asia, if card companies can implement RFID into existing networks. The research for this report was attributed to sources within the industry, RFID vendors, and credit card executives. RFID Journal writes:

Based on the fact that few of the individuals consulted for the report had a complete or accurate understanding of how RFID works and how the user's identification information on RFID payment devices is secured, Fusion's report concludes that RFID providers need to educate consumers about the safety of RFID systems.

Read more: RFID-Enabled Credit Cards Apt to Lead

RFID has found its way to Las Vegas. Casino chips embedded with RFID are currently being tested at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. At the new Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, NV, RFID chips are currently on display. The new chips will be able to track players behavior, including where they were in the casino, and how much they are wagering. The companies that have a cornerstone on the Vegas RFID industry is Progressive Gaming International and Shuffle Master. Currently, outfitting one table with an RFID system costs $8,000. Business 2.0 writes:

"With the chips, we're just scratching the surface," says David Lopez, vice president for product management at Shuffle Master. He says casinos will eventually be able to follow a chip's every move, including when it leaves the premises.

Read more: Casinos Bet Big on RFID

Several new RFID tag technologies have been introduced that should reduce the cost of the tag to the lowest possible level. Looking at the history of RFID, their first real application was in the agricultural sector, where they were used to identify animals. Today's RFID tag is used in many applications, most notably in highway toll collecting. RFID is found in E-Z Pass and FastPass systems. RFID now allows vehicles to pass through a scan point without stopping, which saves lots of time and increases traffic-flow. According to Bmp Today:

The value of the RFID passive tag is approximately the same as for a barcode; the tagged item has a unique identity. The data for the tagged item is usually located in a computer database, not on the tag. Simplicity of the tag keeps the cost at a minimum.

Read more: RFID Unites the Supply Chain