Newsdesk

Handheld Reader for Dubai's TJS

The Jewellery Store dmcc (TJS) is a Dubai-based service provider to jewelry wholesalers and retailers that sees many benefits of RFID tagging. For the next phase of its state-of-the-art jewelry identification project, TJS selected an RFID reader plug-in module for handheld devices by ACG Identification Technologies, a leading component and technology supplier in the smart card and RFID markets.

The reader module can easily be connected to typical handheld devices, upgrading them to RFID readers that can replace traditional mobile RFID readers. TJS's unique RFID-based jewelry tagging solution, which enables the company to guarantee traceability and accurate inventory across the supply chain, provides the jewelry wholesale and retail industries with various benefits. With greater accountability for stock, TJS and its partners are able to offer their retail and wholesale clients enhanced financing options and more cost-effective insurance solutions.

Retailers use ACG reader-equipped handheld devices to carry out inventory checks, enhance customer interaction, and provide detailed item information to salespeople. Furthermore, by linking a retail system back to TJS and the wholesalers, both parties will be able to track jewelry down to the retailer and receive up-to-date information on the stock levels at each store.

Mr. Gabriel Nasser, IT Director at TJS comments: "The small and sleek design of the ACG reader module, combined with its performance and affordable price, allows us to provide an important tool for tracking and identifying items in a jewelry retail environment."

In-Mold Labels That Hide RFID Tags

Imagine the convenience of a refrigerator which automatically orders your groceries for you. It sounds like science fiction, but new technology being introduced at NPE 2006 by HEKUMA GmbH of Eching, Germany, paves the way for just such a development.

Building on its breakthrough Thermoforming-IML development demonstrated at the 2004 K Show in Dusseldorf, HEKUMA's engineers have integrated TF-IML with RFID technology to create intelligent packaging. In the future, consumers will have their refrigerator order food for them. The fridge will know when and where to order new milk, butter, cheese, and yogurt because each product will be "intelligent."

The stores of the future will automatically be able to receive individual customer information and provide products just-in-time to the front door. This new in-mold labeling technology is a big step toward this future because it makes the use of RFID tagging more convenient and economical than ever.

PDC's RFID Wristbands Offer Convenience and Service to Resort Guests

The wristbands allow for keyless entry into hotel rooms, easing the concern of losing room keys. Contactless payment can be carried out with these at point-of-sale locations throughout the park and facility. This eliminates the need to carry cash and the concern of getting money lost or wet. Smart Kiosks are located throughout the park, through which money can be transferred to the wristbands using cash, credit, or the hotel room account. Arcade tokens can be dispensed by holding the wristband in front of a token machine.

The new Great Wolf Lodge in Canada's Niagara Falls also uses the PDC RFID system, as does Hyland Hills Water World in Federal Heights, CO. Visit Great Wolf Lodge at http://poconos.greatwolflodge.com and PDC at www.pdc-rfidpm.com.

IBM and GSK Develop e-Pedigree Solution

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is distributing its Trizivir¨ HIV medicine in the U.S. with RFID tags attached as part of a pilot project to help protect patient safety. The tags help to verify that the bottles contain authentic Trizivir, a drug listed by the National Associate of Boards of Pharmacy as one of the 32 drugs most susceptible to counterfeiting and diversion.

IBM (www.ibm.com/us) worked with GSK (www.gsk.com) to develop the electronic pedigree and product authentication solution. IBM was responsible for the installation, configuration, integration, and testing of the RFID middleware, EPC Information Service, and e-Pedigree, as well as overall project management.

The tag can be read by wholesalers when it is received from the manufacturer and when it is shipped to pharmacies, who would then record when they have received the medicine. This allows manufacturers to more precisely account for medicine as it moves through the distribution chain and authenticate medicine at the point of dispensing. The tag contains information about the product only, not the patient. Testing RFID technology on more GSK products will be evaluated by GSK with guidance from the FDA as this pilot progresses.

"This is one more step toward safeguarding Americans' supply of medicine," says Mark Shaefer, Vice President of the HIV and Infection Disease Medicine Development Center at GSK. "The hope is that RFID tags can tighten the supply chain even further to help assure patients that the medicine they buy is indeed the medicine their doctor has prescribed."

Omron Increases Inlay Manufacturing Capacity

Omron RFID (www.omronrfid.com) announces a major expansion of its capacity for RFID inlays. It plans to support 250 million high-yield Gen 2 inlays at its Minakuchi factory in Shiga, Japan. The factory was chosen because of its 30 years of experience and its standards of clean air. The expansion is part of the specific plans for Omron to spend $20 million on RFID investments announced in November. Bill Arnold, Chief Strategist, says the announcement of the plant expansion "should give a clear indication that Omron RFID is stepping up its capabilities, responding to the increasing market demand and aggressively pursuing the global RFID market."

Omron RFID inlays are manufactured using a patented process called Jomful. Instead of applying adhesives, Jomful bonds the chip and strap to the substrate using an ultrasonic welding method. Inlays can be produced up to 10 times faster than adhesive-based processes and contain a more robust electrical connection. This results in higher survivability and reliability for label conversion and application for supply chains.

"Armed with Jomful-quality RFID inlays now enhanced by production in class 10000 clean room standards, Omron is ready to supply the high volumes needed for the supply chain market and lower the total cost for RFID tags," says Arnold. Omron will continue to add inlay production capacity to further increase annual production above 350 million inlays within the next 12 months.

New Wal-Mart CIO Confirms 'No Slowing Down' on Initiative

Rollin Ford, Wal-Mart's new Executive Vice President and CIO, gave RFID technology a huge endorsement at the biannual CIO summit in April. He stated that RFID is "a strategy that offers tremendous competitive advantage." He claimed that his appointment to CIO would have no negative impact on Wal-Mart's RFID initiative and that "there will be no slowing down." He follows in the footsteps of Linda Dillman, former Executive Vice President of Risk Management and Benefits Administration, who is widely credited as the lead proponent for Wal-Mart's RFID initiative.

Ford asserted Wal-Mart's commitment to the EPC standard. He announced the "sunset date" for use of the Gen 1 standard—the date when all tagged goods must comply to Gen 2 standards. That Gen 2 compliance date is June 30th.

Ford praised advancements in UHF Gen 2 tags produced for pharmaceuticals. "Many thought UHF tags couldn't be read around water or metal and that only HF tags could meet these tests," he said. "However, our team and our technology partners proved that the new UHF Gen 2 tags could, in fact, be read in water and on metal. That's nothing short of a breakthrough."

He closed by saying, "RFID will transform the way we do business, and I am privileged to be a part of this technology that is bringing positive change to Wal-Mart, the retail industry, and many other sectors as well." Visit www.walmartstores.com.

American RFID Solutions Has eLearn Training on Web

American RFID Solutions, LLC (ARS), a provider of RFID training, testing, and professional services, announces the launch of the ARS eLearn Center Web-Based Training course curriculum. The courses are offered through the ARS Web site to registered users at www.americanrfidsolutions.com. Courses include CompTIA RFID+ Certification preparation tracks. Individual classes, full course tracks, enrollment with e-commerce, certification profiles, training calendar, and other features are all included.

It will be packaged with the ARS recognized Instructor Led Training (ILT) and will be provided via e-commerce. The courses include pre- and post-assessments, full streaming audio and graphics, and interactive questions placed throughout the classes. Individual classes and courses include training on topics such as: readers, tags, and antennas; standards and regulations; testing and troubleshooting; and basic and advanced RF physics.

"We are pleased to launch the eLearn Center to support our vision to provide end-to-end learning options for the RFID professional, from subject expert lead instructor training to self-paced internet learning," says David Neumann, Vice President at ARS. "Our training solution facilitates what we call 'RFID Learning-4-Life' and the Web-based training is a key component of this."

Symbol and ARS Jointly Offer RFID Implementation Course

Symbol Technologies (www.symbol.com) collaborates with American RFID Solutions (ARS, www.americanrfidsolutions.com) to offer an advanced course in RFID implementation including modular training programs exclusively for Symbol Professional Services and PartnerSelect partners, customers, and Symbol sales and support associates. Included in the course are on-site demonstrations of RFID solutions by subject matter experts and hands-on training labs to help promote a best-practices training experience.

The course will be conducted at ARS's facility in Chicago. Symbol and ARS manage the curriculum, instructors, hands-on labs, student certification testing, and RFID associated technology. The enrollment is open to Symbol partners who want to participate in Symbol's Services Certification Program.

"With the limited knowledge across the industry, we helped create the advanced RFID course to educate attendees how to properly implement an RFID system in a real world environment," says Anthony Bartolo, VP and General Manager of Symbol's Wireless Infrastructure and RFID Divisions. "The course will help prepare Symbol partners and sales associates to take advantage of RFID opportunities that we are seeing across all of our vertical markets."

"Our comprehensive training syllabus provides students with access to subject matter experts, equal hands-on lab time, and advanced lectures to help ensure Symbol's partners and customers are trained to the same high standards as Symbol's experts," says Harold Clampitt, CEO of American RFID Solutions. "In the near future, our young industry will need qualified individuals to add science to the art of RFID."

Teaching English Skills With Interactive Games

Children at the Lafayette Adult Resource Academy, from left, Melissa Gonzalez, Lydia Adams and Mireya Mendoza work with Amicia Elliott and Alexei Czeskis to use learning software called Merlin's Magic Castle.

Two students at Purdue University developed a software program that uses RFID technology to help teach young children English as a second language called Merlin's Magic Castle (MMC). The software won third place in the Burton D. Morgan Entrepreneurial Competition in February and also first prize in the Idea-to-Product Competition sponsored by Purdue's Engineering Projects in Community Service program.

MMC uses RFID technology by having tags embedded in 25 various toys. The toys are scanned by a reader attached to a computer. There are several games to choose from, including a trivia game, scavenger hunt, and fill in the blanks. Each game involves interaction between the child and the computer using the RFID reader and embedded tags in the toys. An example would be in the fill in the blanks game: the child chooses a toy, say a football, and runs it by the reader. On the screen, something like "foot*all" will appear, and the child must supply the missing letter. Another example would be the trivia game, where Merlin (the magician host of the game) asks the player to find a specific toy by giving clues about it. If the player scans the correct toy, Merlin cheers.

The students responsible for the program, Amicia Elliott and Alexei Czeskis, plan to sell licenses of the game to big name companies. They donated $1,000 of their winings to Lafayette Adult Resource Academy — the testing site of MMC. Visit http://news.uns.purdue.edu/html3month/2006/060414.Elliott.lara.html.

Avery Dennison Offers Scholarships for OTA Training Classes

Avery Dennison (www.rfid.averydennison.com) is giving away educational scholarships to help end-users acquire the skills they need to pursue full-scale RFID implementation. With help from OTA Training (www.otatraining.com), students enrolled in "A System's Approach to RFID Implementation(tm)" will learn RFID skills at Avery Dennison's RFID testing and training center, just outside of Atlanta, GA.

Under OTA's direction, students will receive hands-on, vendor neutral training. Using OTA's E3 Learning System(tm), students will experiment with how tags and readers respond in various real world settings. Attendees receive complimentary tags and can bring their own SKUs for live product testing. People can apply for the $500 Avery Dennison RFID Scholarship by contacting rfidscholarship@averydennison.com.

"The combination of OTA's proven E3 Learning System(tm) coupled with Avery's RFID tag and testing offer is sure to be a winner with end-users around the world," says Robert Sabella, Founder and President of OTA Training. OTA and its global partners offer CompTIA RFID+ training and certification at 15 locations worldwide. OTA Training is currently the only training provider in the marketplace to be officially acknowledged as a CompTIA Learning Alliance partner (www.comptia.org).

"Providing our customers with high quality training taught from the best instructors at the best RFID training centers all over the globe has always been our mission," says Sabella. "OTA is well known for its comprehensive, vendor neutral, handsz-on RFID training, and we are very proud to be the first and currently only officially recognized training provider to have both CAQC approval and CLA partner status."

Sokymat Provides Movie Card Kiosks for Europlex Cinemas

Sokymat SA, is providing Europlex Cinemas with contactless movie cards. The cards can be used to quickly and conveniently purchase tickets for any Europlex cinema at the cash desks and interactive kiosks in movie theatres, as well as online through the Europlex Web site.

To obtain a card, customers must open an account with Europlex. The movie card grants access to the account from which all purchases are debited. Several card owners can share the same account, so each member of a family can receive his or her own cinema card while only opening one account.

Its most innovative use is for the online purchase of show tickets. The customer reserves tickets via the Internet by providing the unique ID code printed on the card. Then, he or she picks up the tickets upon arriving at the cinema either at one of the interactive terminals or at the cash desks.

The system previously used by Europlex consisted of smart cards with a memory chip. These cards were more fragile and also more problematic in case of loss in comparison to Sokymat's ISO card, as the card contained all the customer information. The new system avoids this problem by storing the account data centrally. Other major advantages for the movie card user are the faster reading speed and improved reliability that Sokymat's contactless cards offer. Visit www.sokymat.com.

Wavetrend Active RFID Tags Offer New Ideas For Prison Management

Wavetrend (www.wavetrend.net) is a manufacturer of active RFID technology, providing a comprehensive range of tags, readers, peripherals, and supporting software through its global Accredited Channel Partners. Through close collaboration, Wavetrend assists its partners in designing, developing, and delivering solutions based on the group's open architecture platform.

Transquest Tag & Tracing Solutions, a Netherlands-based Accredited Channel Partner of Wavetrend, has developed an innovative system for prison security, commissioned by the Dutch Department of Justice (DOJ). The system under construction at a completely new detention center in Lelystad will track prisoners' movements using active RFID bracelets supplied by Wavetrend.

Whereas active RFID has been used in the U.S. for control purposes, the Transquest solution monitors the positions of prisoners within the prison compound at all times. Inmates are equipped with non-removable bracelets incorporating anti-tamper alarms which transmit a signal every 1.5 seconds, identifying both themselves and their position. These signals are read in zones by Wavetrend's long range RFID reader network, providing complete coverage of the prison, and fed into SmartTag software supplied by Transquest's partner Advanced Positioning Systems (www.aps-uk.net).

Each day, prisoners log onto the system with their inmate bracelet to identify themselves and create their individual day programs, dividing time between work, sport, and recreation activities. Once a program has been validated by DOJ systems, it is automatically transferred to Tranquest's system to authorize the necessary accesses within the prison compound. Adherence to the program is monitored in real time with prisoners earning credit for good behavior. Alarms are generated if prisoners are not present in the zones prescribed by their day program.

Guards are able to check on the movements of inmates and are instantly alerted to deviations from preplanned programs on PDA's integrated into the system's software. Guards are also equipped with key fob tags with a panic button which, in the case of an alarm, alerts the control room to the identity and position of the endangered guard.

Chris Bishop, CEO of Wavetrend comments, "We are delighted to have supplied the active RFID tags and readers which power this highly innovative concept. It provides yet another example of the benefits of working closely with our Channel Partners to tackle challenging problems and provide solutions with substantial commercial benefits."

Corporate Acquisitions Still Abundant

NCR Corporation (www.ncr.com) has acquired the assets of IDVelocity, LLC (www.idvelocity.com). IDVelocity has over 200 implementations of its infrastructure and process management software, helping companies collect, move, and utilize data from millions of RFID and other Auto-ID transactions daily. Lee Schram, NCR Senior VP, says that the price of tags is not the greatest inhibitor of RFID adoption, but that transforming RFID data to eliminate the need for human intervention is. "This acquisition virtually eliminates that concern for our customers," says Schram.

Domino Printing Sciences, plc (www.dominoamjet.com) has acquired Enterprise Information Services Inc. (EIS; www.eissys.com)—an automatic identification and data capture systems integration specialist company. EIS will be incorporated into Domino's Integrated Solution Group, specializing in the deployment of RFID technology integration to provide a traceability solution throughout the supply chain.

Sirit Inc. (www.sirit.com) acquired SAMSys Technologies (www.samsys.com), integrating its technology and product offerings with Sirit's family of RFID readers and providing customers and OEM partners with a broad range of RFID solutions and form factors. Norbert Dawalibi, President and CEO of Sirit, says that this brings with it the opportunity to broaden our customer base, expand our RFID product offerings, and increase our geographical reach.

Defense contractor Lockheed Martin (www.lockheedmartin.com) will acquire Savi Technology (www.savi.com), a provider of active RFID solutions to the defense and transportation verticals, by the end of the second quarter this year. Savi's line of software products has been implemented by the DoD, NATO, and other agencies around the world to monitor cargo shipments globally.

Embedded Pallets From Intelligent Global Pooling

The plastic pooling business Intelligent Global Pooling Systems, or IGPS Company LLC, was recently launched, becoming the first large-scale outside pallet supply service to provide RFID in every pallet to track shipments in real time. This reduces the logistical cost of shipping and allows companies to verify food and drug safety.

IGPS will initially target consumer electronics and pharmaceutical suppliers, offering the ability to rent plastic pallets and avoid the ongoing expenses of owning and maintaining wood pallets. With escalating fuel prices the fact that plastic pallets weigh about 30% less than wooden pallets, there is significant potential for savings on fuel.

The company is fronted by CEO Bob Moore, an affiliate of private equity investor Pegasus Capital Advisors and former CEO of wood pallet pool supplier CHEP International Inc. Moore states: "Plastic pallets are lighter, more durable, consistently sized, and easier to tag with RFID than wood. The market has been waiting for a solution that has these characteristics—and the environmental benefit of a 100% recyclable product that does not consume trees."

Symbol Partners With Vocollect Inc. and Expands Gen 2 and Specialty Tags

Symbol Technologies, Inc. has named Vocollect Inc., a PartnerSelect Premier Independent Software Vendor. As a member of Symbol's PartnerSelect Partner Program, customers now can use Vocollect Voice, Vocollect's gold standard voice software offerings, on Symbol terminals, providing the same industry-leading voice performance available with Vocollect's Talkman wearable computers.

By joining the Symbol Partner Select Partner Program, Vocollect and Symbol (www.symbol.com) will develop technical, sales, and marketing programs to address current and future customer demand for voice-directed applications running on select Symbol mobile computers. Vocollect also co-validated its deployment management and distribution applications through Symbol's Solutions Validation Program.

As part of the program, Symbol and Vocollect engineers performed a series of tests to co-validate the performance and interoperability of Vocollect Voice, including Vocollect's deployment management and distribution applications, Vocollect VoiceConsole and VoiceLink, with Symbol's rugged MC9060 mobile computer running on a Symbol Wi-Fi network. As a result, customers can be confident in the performance of Vocollect Voice on the Symbol MC9060 mobile computer to leverage the accuracy and productivity benefits of voice-directed work with scanning, keypad, and display functions in business-critical applications.

Tim Eusterman, VP Marketing and Business Development at Vocollect, says, "This validation means that our mutual customers now have a reliable voice-directed work solution that delivers the accuracy and productivity of Vocollect Voice on one of the most popular rugged mobile computers in the market today."

Symbol also recently introduced a line of Gen 2 inlays that will be sold to customers through Symbol Certified Label Converter Program partners. The inlays feature patent-protected dual dipole technology that allows them to be read from any orientation at distances of up to 30 feet. The antenna design uses two antennas and allows the tag to perform faster read and write functions regardless of the position of the RFID reader antenna.

"Customers are going beyond mandates to find real value in RFID by using readers and tags to gain insight into their supply chain processes and better quantify working capital," says Anthony Bartolo, Vice President and General Manager of Symbol's RFID and Wireless Infrastructure Divisions. "By leveraging Symbol's patented dual dipole antenna design and unique charge pump technologies, Symbol RFID inlay products can be optimized for different applications to help ensure fast business processes or the best read performance over long distances."

Theme Park Linked With Cameras and RFID

Alton Towers, a popular theme park in England, will introduce an RFID system that allows guests to have their day at the park recorded and personalized on a take-home DVD. YourDay Video Technologies' video-capture system will use RFID bracelets to identify wearers who will be filmed by cameras set up at attractions throughout the park. These clips get routed, catalogued, and digitally saved to 30-minute DVDs. The system will be capable of creating and burning the DVD in minutes. Customers can pick up the souvenirs as they are leaving the park. Expectations for customer interest are optimistic.

RFID provider Venue Solutions (www.venue-solutions.com) is the technology partner to YourDay, and is responsible for implementing the RFID system at Alton Towers (www.alton-towers.co.uk/resort) in conjunction with the company's alliance partner, Sony Professional Solutions Europe. The system is expected to be completed by April 2007. Eighty to 100 Sony cameras will be used for the initial use. They will be unobtrusive to keep customers from feeling like they are being watched. The cameras will also be used for security purposes, such as preventing vandalism and break-ins.