NEWS DESK

Sokymat Makes an Imprint on New Tags and Games

Sokymat, a supplier of RFID transponders, announces that its glass tags have been chosen by CompControl GmbH to provide full traceability of printed circuit boards (PCBs) in the manufacturing process and throughout the entire lifecycle of a product. Its 125 kHz glass tags are being mounted onto the PCB at the beginning of production. The solution gives the user full visibility over the entire process down to the level of individual parts.

"La Fuga" is a high-tech Spanish game that uses RFID transponders embedded in wrist-wearable PDAs carried by the players.

Egon Konopitzky, Vice President of Sokymat, says, "With the fully automated mounting of Sokymat glass tag transponder onto the PCBs, CompControl has demonstrated how to efficiently use RFID technology for the identification and tracking of electronic products, providing enough advantages to ensure the needed ROI for specific products."

Another—and very different—application in which Sokymat's tags are being used is a game called "La Fuga" (The Breakout). A Spanish high-tech entertainment company called Negone selected Sokymat's 13.56 MHz tag to identify and track the players of La Fuga as they make their way through a 4,000 m2 building, decorated to resemble a futuristic high security prison called "Mazzinia." The players solve puzzles and overcome obstacles, both real and virtual, to escape.

The RFID system embedded in the game includes a network of 200 readers and control units. The Sokymat transponders are embedded in the wrist-wearable PDAs each player carries. The identification points are connected through a CAN bus, making it possible to collect data from players, activate doors and lights, and verify the proper operation of every device in the network. Visit www.sokymat.com.

Impinj and Texas Instruments Announce Supply Agreement

Impinj Inc. and Texas Instruments have announced their supply agreement under which Impinj will supply its Monza(tm) Gen 2 chips for insertion in Texas Instruments' initial production of inlay and strap products. Texas Instruments then passes the Monza-loaded inlays and straps to the converter companies, who incorporate them into the completed tags that are used by consumer goods manufacturers.

The Monza chip is part of Impinj's GrandPrix solution for robust RFID systems. It is the first chip to be certified in the EPCglobal Gen 2 standard. Being Gen 2 compliant, the chips feature improved tag readability and throughput, compliance with global spectral regulations, 96-bit EPC identification codes and enhanced security, privacy, and robustness.

"With this announcement, we add to the already impressive list of strap and inlay customers who have selected Impinj's Monza chips as their choice for high volume Gen 2 solutions," says Dr. William Colleran, President and CEO of Impinj. Tony Sabetti, UHF/Retail Supply Chain Director of Texas Instruments RFID Systems, says, "This agreement with Impinj, in combination with TI's development of Gen 2 inlay and strap products, has accelerated our global retail supply chain customers' transition to this new standard." Visit Impinj at www.impinj.com and TI at www.ti-rfid.com.

RFID Alliance Forged Between LogicaCMG and Power Paper

LogicaCMG has made an alliance with the PowerID Division of Power Paper Ltd., a provider of next-generation printable microelectronic devices and thin and flexible batteries. Together, they will focus on the aerospace, automotive, and logistic markets to deliver RFID solutions that offer customers industry-leading performance.

PowerID's hardware has been integrated into LogicaCMG's back-end software. PowerID's battery-assisted labels are very reliable, even in the presence of liquids, metals, or other environments in which many passive labels cannot function reliably. The combined system allows high performance wireless tracking at a lower price than active tag solutions.

"We have a proven RFID solution that we know can improve the performance and capabilities of businesses in those sectors that have a need for RFID but so far have been disappointed by the performance offered," says Paul Stam de Jonge, Group Director RFID Solutions of LogicaCMG. "By linking our knowledge and solutions to Power ID's hardware, we have a compelling proposition for these vertical markets." Visit LogicaCMG at www.logicacmg.com and Power Paper at www.power-id.com.

UPM Raflatac Gen 2 Inlays Used by REWE Group's Pilot

German retailer REWE is beginning to pilot pallet-level RFID at its Norderstedt distribution center. Complying with RFID mandates from global retailers, it is using Gen 2 inlays provided by UPM Raflatac. REWE's ambition is to optimize the joint supply chain with its suppliers through RFID implementation, thereby reinforcing its competitive advantage and market position. As many as 30 suppliers will be involved in the first phase of the pilot.

Access to a label pool for REWE's partners will be provided through an RFID Intranet from which labels can be purchased. Two types of labels will be offered: the standard 4" x 6" label and the UPM FlagTag(tm) (developed together with SATO). The FlagTag is useful for tagging pallets containing metals, liquids, or other challenging materials. This is accomplished by having the tag folded 90 degrees so that it is not flush to the surface, but rather sticking out vertically from the pallet, creating free-air performance from the tag perspective.

Additionally, Finnish RFID system integrator ToP Tunniste has agreed to make UPM Raflatac products available at its netstore. This would include EPC Class 1 Gen 2 OneTenna(tm) tags as well as HF smart labels. Visit UPM Raflatac at www.rafsec.com, REWE at www.rewe.de, and ToP Tunniste at www.toptunniste.fi/topshop.

Standards Revealed for RFID Airline Bag Tags

The International Air Transportation Association (IATA) has introduced a global standard for implementing RFID in airline passengers' baggage tags. Member airlines of the IATA endorsed the standard unanimously at the IATA Joint Passenger Services Conference in Geneva this past November. According to IATA, the cost for each mishandled bag is about $100 U.S. It is estimated that the industry could save $760 million U.S. annually by implementing RFID technology.

The introduction of this standard may help to influence widespread adoption of RFID technology of baggage management by the airport and airline industry, as the technology improves and the price drops over time. The standard uses the UHF labels (850-950 MHz frequency), and the air interface protocol is ISO-18000-6-C. Visit the IATA at www.iata.org.

GPI Has Gambling Chips With Embedded RFID

Casinos are beginning to use RFID in their gaming chips around the world to increase the security of the chips, security of their production, transportation, and utilization. A company called Gaming Partners International Corp.® (GPI) has sold more than 5 million 125 KHz RFID chips and installed hundreds of readers worldwide.

GPI USA uses a microchip manufactured by Philips. All chips are programmed and saved in a database. Data embedded in the chips include casino names and chip values, and is read-only. Additional information that may be stored includes chip specs, validation date, and type of chip. The memory programming is the last step of the chips' production after the final quality inspections, so only good chips' data are programmed and saved in the database.

With this new technology, all chip movements and transactions can be tracked anywhere in the casino—from the table to the office, cashier, vault inventory, and so on. The system saves the casinos a considerable amount of time, as GPI USA readers are capable of reading 100 different gaming chips in seven seconds. Visit GPI at www.paulsongaming.com.

Possible IBM Solution to Relieve Privacy Concerns

A potential solution to ease the privacy concerns of many consumers about RFID technology has been developed by researchers at IBM. As the EPCglobal Gen 2 protocol stands now, the kill command utilized does not offer any visible indication that a tag has been deactivated. The research recommends two ways to alleviate this problem, and both can be easily manufactured into current specs for RFID tags with minimum additional cost.

These ideas incorporate a device similar to a pull-tab. When pulled, the consumer can remove part or all of the tag's antenna, physically disabling the "clipped tag" from being read ever again. There are two suggested ways to accomplish this clipped tag, both of which require that all or part of the antenna to be exposed.

One way would be make the antenna (or part of the antenna) out of a scratch-off material, similar to lottery tickets. The other way is to create antennas that are perforated and can be ripped off of the tag. Both solutions would require the manufacturers of the tags to initiate the designs. Visit www.ibm.com.

ABI Research Predicts a Drop in UHF Reader Prices

Companies trying to comply with retail RFID mandates often discover RFID readers in the UHF band are extremely expensive. ABI Research analyst Sara Shah has reported that a common UHF reader today costs $2,500-$3,000. What causes these prices to be so high is lack of IC integration and low production volumes. The manufactures buy off-the-shelf components to assemble the circuit boards themselves, which is a costly process.

ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com) predicts that when integrated chipsets become available, the prices of the readers will fall. This decrease is expected to occur in the medium-term—likely in 2006 or early 2007, assuming semiconductor vendors gain enough confidence to make large investments. As RFID activities evolve from small-scale trials to full-scale deployments, the increased reader production volume should cause prices to decrease.

"At this point," says Shah, "everybody agrees: 'volume is coming,' but nobody knows when, so they don't want to move prematurely. Will first-movers have an advantage? Yes, but as prices fall, it may be short-lived."

Omron Makes Important Investment in Global Sites

Omron Corp., Japanese manufacturer of automation and sensing products, is making a worldwide investment of $20 million through March 2007 to sequester a larger share of the U.S. global RFID market. It is looking to take advantage of Wal-Mart's RFID mandates, competing with other industry players to push its RFID label inlay and reader products.

Omron's competitive edge depends on its ability to produce more reliable RFID inlays than the other companies. Omron plans to target other mass retailers, including Target and Best Buy, as well as the U.S. DoD and various electronics, pharmaceutical, and consumer packaged goods companies.

Omron's RFID products sold in the U.S. are designed and manufactured in Japan. Initial U.S. investments have included a headquarters and training center for a division in Schaumburg, IL. A testing center will be opened nearby in St. Charles, IL. Omron plans to establish other similar operations in Europe and China. There is an office in Amsterdam and one is scheduled to open in Shanghai in March 2006. Visit www.omronrfid.com.

NCR Teams Up with Business Effectiveness

Business Effectiveness S.A., based in Greece, is an RFID integrator and provider of hardware and supply chain solutions. It has agreed to join forces with NCR Corporation in identifying, developing, and supporting RFID solutions designed for various industries in Greece and neighboring countries. Their approach is to combine business strategy consulting, systems integration, deployment, and project management.

"Business Effectiveness is at the forefront of RFID innovation and plays an important role in enabling companies to improve their businesses through the adoption and strategic application of this important technology," says NCR RFID Solutions Vice President John Greaves. "This agreement will deepen NCR's RFID offerings in the region, spanning multiple industries and benefiting our global customer base through the advanced consulting and integration knowledge received from Business Effectiveness."

Business Effectiveness President Stelios Tsezos says, "This relationship will draw upon NCR's vast technology resources and extensive experience deploying RFID solutions in order to streamline supply chains and help solve business process problems, improving the bottom line for our clients." Visit NCR at www.ncr.com and Business Effectiveness S.A. at www.businesseffect.gr.

Datamax and SAMSys Partnership Introduces New Printing Capabilities

Datamax Corporation, a supplier of RFID printing solutions, has partnered with SAMSys Technologies, an RFID product manufacturer. This joint venture introduces a new RFID option for use with Datamax I-Class and A-Class RFID printers. SAMSys will broaden the RFID tag protocols supported by Datamax printers and offer a built-in migration path to EPCglobal Gen 2 standards.

SAMSys is providing a module that operates in the UHF band, supports all current EPC and ISO tag protocols, and can be configured to work in any geographic location, including North America, Europe, the South Pacific, and Latin America. "SAMSys' ability to provide Datamax with a single RFID module that can support all UHF first-generation tag protocols, Gen 2 standards, and all global frequencies in the same unit increases the flexibility of our RFID printing solutions," says Doug Salvador, Datamax Vice President of Marketing. "This will extend the life of the user's printer investment substantially."

Cliff Horwitz, Chairman, CEO, and President of SAMSys states, "Datamax's decision to embed our new MP9311 RFID reader module in their RFID printers demonstrates the value of our multi-protocol, multi-frequency technology. For the printer manufacturer, it simplifies product development and stocking requirements by allowing one module to meet all customers' RFID printing needs. For the end-user, it offers the option of switch tag technologies at any time and even print first and second generation tags with the same printer." Visit Datamax at www.datamaxcorp.com and SAMsys at www.samsys.com.

Parelec's Printer Certification For Producing RFID Antennas

Parelec Inc. (www.parelec.com), manufacturer of Parmod® conductive Inks and Modflex(tm) films, has developed a comprehensive program for rapid turnover and lower cost. This program permits customers to acquire RFID antennas from Parelec's Certified Printer Partners for inlays, labels, packaging, and other applications.

Access to Parelec's fully trained and certified printers who manufacture RFID labels will be granted to any eligible customer who is looking to begin implementing RFID products. The program is intended to promote cost efficiencies and partnership opportunities to simplify and speed up RFID project implementations.

"The program covers a lot of ground and brings real benefits to its members. Certified Printer Partners are selected for their depth of knowledge and experience in printing," says Geva Barash, CEO of Parelec. "Our extensive familiarity with the Parmod family of conductive inks helped us in establishing this group of printers worldwide that have the expertise and ability to print conductive inks with high quality and workmanship. The program brings together printers, substrate manufacturers, chip suppliers, attachment technologies, label makers, customer integrators, and end users to streamline project production."

MPI and Alien AgreeOn Multi-Year Deal

MPI Label Systems' partnership with Alien Technology has been enhanced with a multi-year volume purchase agreement, hailing MPI an "Alien-Certified Label Converting Printer." In 2004, MPI became the third converter to be qualified from Alien through its partner Qualification Program after receiving the highest ever quality rating during Alien's Squiggle and M tag inlay qualification testing. This new alliance allows MPI to offer significantly lower prices on high-quality Gen 1 and Gen 2 labels to match or surpass the cost savings offered by competitors.

"Alien-Certified Label Converting Partners are proven industry leaders that have been selected by a majority of customers worldwide as their primary suppliers of EPC Smart Labels due to their outstanding product quality, availability, and pricing," says Alien Technology Director of OEM and Consumables, David Bledsoe. "In addition to MPI's outstanding quality, we chose to partner with MPI because of their knowledge of the RFID product category, strong sales forecast, and excellent support."

"We are very pleased to enter into this partnership with Alien because they have a proven record for being a price leader while still providing exceptional quality," said MPI's President Randy Kocher. Visit MPI Label Systems at www.mpilabels.com and Alien Technology at www.alientechnology.com.

Impinj Secures Funding of $26.5 M from Investors

Impinj Inc. (www.impinj.com) announces that it has secured a $26.5 million round of funding. Its investors included GF Private Equity Group LLC, VentureTech Alliance, ARCH Venture Partners, Madrona Venture Group, Mobius Venture Capital, Polaris Venture Partners, Unilever Technology Ventures, UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund, and the Viterbi Group.

"This new injection of capital allows Impinj to maintain our excellent progress delivering the semiconductor solutions that our customers in the explosive RFID and the nascent embedded nonvolatile markets are demanding," says Dr. William Colleran, President and CEO of Impinj. "We will continue to aggressively drive our product development and operations to maintain our leadership positions in those markets."

"We've followed the RFID marketplace closely and feel that Impinj's products offer the most compelling and differentiated solutions in the field," says David Fallace, Vice President of GF Private Equity Group. Ron Norris, a Managing Partner of VentureTech Alliance, says, "We've been tracking Impinj for quite some time and see extensive applications for their technology and products in RFID, nonvolatile memory and beyond."

Gartner Expects RFID Spending to Surpass $3 Billion by Year 2010

Gartner Inc. (www.gartner.com), a provider of research and analysis on the global information technology industry, announces that it expects worldwide RFID spending to surpass $3 billion in 2010. Gartner forecasts the adoption of RFID to continue to gather momentum, and for hardware and software spending to accelerate in late 2006 and 2007 as the true benefits are documented.

"Businesses are beginning to discover business value in places where they cannot use bar coding, which will be the force that moves RFID forward," says Jeff Woods, Research Vice President at Gartner. "As the innovators' trials become public, broader deployments across emerging sectors, not just consumer goods and retail, will become evident in 2006 and 2007.

Woods notes that there is a significant focus on using RFID in pharmaceutical manufacturing because of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's interest in using RFID tags to help combat diverting and counterfeiting. "If regulatory activity proceeds, we'll likely see the beginnings of widespread tagging around 2007," says Woods.

ABI Research Studies China's RFID Progress

A new study from ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com) describes the Chinese RFID market as developing unevenly according to technology type and subject to uncertainty around proposed standards. Analyst Junmei He reports that the Chinese LF RFID market is mature both in terms of industry chain and market applications. The largest market in China, the HF ISO14443 standard, is used for identification, transportation, campus and highway toll collection, and in Internet cafes. The HF ISO 1563 market is relatively small, but should experience strong future growth.

Mr. He says the UHF market is still in a startup phase. "People look to the government's UHF timetable, but they neglect the fact that high costs, technological immaturity, and unclear ROI inhibit the large scale applications of RFID," says He. ABI Research does not expect to see a national China UHF RFID standard in place in 2006. Small to medium size Chinese manufacturers may be persuaded to implement UHF RFID once mandated by Wal-Mart, but its effect will be largely limited to export markets. It is unclear when Wal-Mart's direct suppliers will be technically and logistically ready to integrate their Chinese suppliers into their RFID supply chain.

Avery Dennison Reveals 17 'Qualified Converters'

In December, Avery Dennison RFID (www.rfid.averydennison.com) announced 17 RFID converters that met its standards to become Avery Dennison Qualified Converters. To become a Qualified Converter, the companies worked with technical staff from Avery Dennison for months, conducting comprehensive evaluations of both Avery Dennison's RFID inlays and the converters' manufacturing and testing capabilities. Avery Dennison believes that alignment of these capabilities is critical to ensure a high-quality, high-yield RFID label for end users. Similar efforts are underway with European converters.

Mathew Mellis, Vice President of RFID at Avery Dennison, says: "Each converter worked diligently with us to enhance the label product durability and performance. We consider these converters to be our business partners. We are dedicated to working closely with converters to help proliferate high-quality, high-volume, low-cost RFID tags to meet the anticipated increase in demand."

Repacorp and Carolina Graphic Press Introduce RFID in Their Facilities

Repacorp Label Products has 30 years experience with specialty printing, label converting, and insertion technology, and is now adding RFID inlay insertion to its repertoire. The process is highly flexible and frequency neutral, allowing the customer to select the transponder size, shape, and frequency that best fits the application.

Every roll of 13.56 MHz smart labels from Repacorp is inspected and 100% electrically tested post conversion. Repacorp's high-speed automated test system allows for performance verification of every label produced. Faulty labels are disposed to ensure that every roll has no voids or black marks. Visit www.repacorp.com.

Carolina Graphic Press (CGP) announces the addition of RFID to its product line. It recently purchased a new Bielomatic transponder and label attaching machine with the ability to manufacture high volumes of HF and UHF smart labels. Visit www.cgplabels.com.

Pilot Programs Begin for RFID Tags in Passports

This past December began the piloting of RFID-enabled passports called e-passports or biometric passports. These passports are embedded with 64-kilobyte RFID chips with antennas in the back cover. The conversion of these new passports will be staggered, and not all new passports being issued in the U.S. will immediately be e-passports until October 2006.

Each chip contains a unique identifying number and the information that appears on the passport's data page: digitized photo, name, birth date, place of birth, sex, nationality, and so on. A government digital signature that verifies the correctness of the passport information will also be embedded in the chip. Immigration officers will be able to hold the e-passport to a reader to evaluate and compare the person presenting the e-passport with the data page and the information on the chip to detect alteration.

The system was created to comply with a biometric standardization developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, www.icao.int). ICAO is a part of the United Nations that sets international standards for passports, customs, and immigration issues. The ICAO wanted a chip that would store a digital photograph, iris scan, and fingerprint. Although the U.S. e-passport chips will initially only carry the photograph, the chips allow for fingerprints and iris scans to be added later.

Several privacy groups have opposed the plan on the grounds that the e-passports could be covertly scanned by criminals or terrorists, exposing the fact that they are American travelers or other personal information to unauthorized people. To protect against such matters, the chips being embedded are passive so they must be only several inches away from a reader to be read, and cannot be scanned across a room. Also, the chips will be encrypted to ensure that data is only provided to recognized readers. Lastly, an anti-skimming material that blocks radio waves will be installed in the e-passport's back and spine.

Metalcraft Invests in Converting Equipment

Metalcraft has agreed to purchase state-of-the-art RFID converting equipment designed to convert inlays into durable, reusable RFID tags through a high speed production process, adding new capabilities to Metalcraft's existing RFID production process.

Incoming raw inlays will be inspected to determine read/write capabilities, so only good inlays will pass to the next step. Many different substrates will be converted with the primary focus of creating a durable, long-lasting, reusable tag. The inlay will be encapsulated between layers of adhesive and die cut to a custom size with an option of programming the inlay (primarily HF and UHF) on the read/write station. The final product may be provided in roll form or individually singulated tags.

Metalcraft will be able to print a barcode on the label, which can then be written to the RFID inlay so that users will be able to utilize both barcode and RFID when desired. The labels will be subsurface printed using a digital printing process, allowing printing of finely detailed logos and custom colors. Visit www.idplate.com.

Secura Key Adopts Privacy Principles and Practices for RFID Products and Services

Secura Key (www.securakey.com), a division of Soundcraft, Inc. announces the adoption of a set of privacy principles and practices for the company with respect to its RFID products and services. Secura Key has been working with other industry players to use RFID technology to enhance information security while also addressing issues of privacy protection. In announcing these principles, Secura Key has decided to adopt a version of the privacy principles developed by HID Corporation of Irvine, CA.

"With our technology experience and manufacturing facilities for both RFID readers and cards/tags, we are well-placed to meet the expanding needs of this diversified industry," says Bill Newill, Vice President, Sales and Marketing. "The industry is committed to educating end-users and the public about RFID technology, and addressing privacy concerns with reasonable solutions that offer the desired security."

'Sensor' Defined by Smart Active Labels Consortium

The Smart Active Labels Consortium (SAL-C), a non-profit group that promotes the benefits and uses of Smart Active Label technology, is asking the RFID community to clarify its use of the term "sensor." SAL-C (www.sal-c.org) is concerned that the term sensor is being used in too many different ways, confusing both user and supplier communities alike, to their mutual disadvantage. Sensor is being variously used to describe RFID tags, RFID readers, and monitoring devices.

SAL-C believes that the word sensor should be reserved to describe devices that sense and report the status and value of environmental and physical attributes such as temperature, humidity, gases, radiation, temper, vibration, shock, etc. Such sensors may communicate by many different means, from screen displays to wired and wireless networks. A clear definition is needed, assert SAL-C leaders, because confusion in the marketplace can handicap adoption of smart label technology and possibly hinder the further development of the industry and of good standards.

Compliance 1st from EIS Provides Mandate Solution

Enterprise Information Systems Inc. (EIS), an RFID systems integrator, offers Compliance 1st—a bundled RFID package that includes all necessary services, software, and hardware, to meet RFID mandates. Compliance 1st provides vendors with a complete, fixed-cost compliance solution that is delivered on a fixed timeframe.

The package primarily concentrates on correct tag placement and maximum read rates. EIS provides clients with the tools to generate EPC Compliant labels for retail suppliers and DoD-compliant labels that incorporate ASN Support and UID unit labels. Clients also receive an ROI Forecast, which takes a high-level approach to pinpointing areas where the application of RFID technology has the potential to produce ROI. The program typically takes one week to fully install, which includes services, software, and hardware installation.

EIS uses its branded methodology, "educate & enable," to ensure a complete knowledge transfer to the client in the most efficient way. EIS achieves this through its myRFID Seminar to cover basics, on-site RFID Tag Placement Testing, and thorough ROI forecast services. Visit www.eis-sys.com.

Walgreens Will Use RFID To Track Displays in Stores

Walgreens and 15 top package goods marketers are rolling out an RFID system in over 5,000 stores to analyze the sales impact of in-store displays. Goliath Solutions is the company that will be supplying the sales display tracking systems that will use RFID to electronically track when, how long, and where displays are placed in the stores. This will allow markers to track results of promotions.

Combining this data with point-of-sale data could aid in the design and use of more effective displays that will help increase sales. It would decrease the need for auditors, allow participating manufacturers to monitor when displays are in place, ensure store compliance, or notify store managers when to use or remove certain displays. Visit Walgreens at www.walgreens.com and read more about the solution at www.goliathsolutions.com.