Sirit to Enable NFC and Contactless Support for Windows Mobile® Operating System
Sirit Inc. collaborates with
Microsoft Corporation to bring Near Field Communication
(NFC) and contactless support to the Windows Mobile® operating system. By leveraging Sirit's embedded software
and technology, the companies aim to speed the adoption of NFC and contactless technology in Windows Mobile powered
smartphones and the development of Windows Mobile powered NFC applications.
NFC is expected to have a significant impact on mobile phones and devices as well as consumer electronics. Leading
analysts predict that up to 1/3 of all mobile phones will be equipped with NFC within the next three to five years, which
will enable mobile phones to operate as electronic wallets, electronic tickets, and access control devices.
To date, a significant barrier to the rollout of NFC devices and applications has been the lack of readily available support
for NFC and contactless technology in embedded operating systems. To overcome this barrier, Microsoft intends to develop
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and other native support in the Windows Mobile operating system for NFC and
contactless technology, thereby providing Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and applications developers with a consistent
and easy-to-use platform for developing NFC devices and solutions. Microsoft will use Sirit technology and expertise as an
important part of its development and testing program.
"As a Sponsor-Level member of the NFC Forum, Microsoft believes in the significant benefits that NFC and contactless
technology bring to the wide range of devices powered by the Windows Mobile operating system," says David
Turner, Director of Mobile Communications Business at Microsoft. "Sirit demonstrates NFC expertise and technology,
as evidenced by its work helping OEMs bring NFC products to market. We plan to utilize this expertise and Sirit's NFC software
technology to bring NFC and contactless support to the Windows Mobile operating system.”
"The Windows Mobile operating system is at the heart of a broad range of devices that will be enhanced by NFC and
contactless technology," comments Chris Leong, Vice President, NFC and Contactless, Sirit Inc. "We are pleased
that Sirit's technology and expertise will help bring NFC and contactless to Windows Mobile powered smartphones. We look
forward to utilizing the expertise and knowledge we develop in this collaboration to help Microsoft's customers and partners
develop NFC and contactless devices, applications, and solutions."
Sirit welcomes inquiries from any OEMs or service providers seeking to create NFC and contactless devices, applications, and
solutions. Please contact Chris Leong, VP NFC and Contactless at Sirit at cleong@sirit.com
or 646-321-6020 for more information.
Precise Real-time Location for Logistics
Ubisense announces its focus on solutions for process optimization within
the logistics industry. The Ubisense series 7000 product line launched last year is already enabling considerable improvements in
security, transparency, quality, and availability for many logistics operators. “We have multiple applications running in major
logistics centers that are demonstrating real process improvements to a level that has not been seen before,” explains Ubisense
Executive Terry Phebey. “We are seeing Returns on Investment (ROIs) in less than 12 months for some of these applications.”
The system tracks items to a precision of 15 cm in 3D and in real time. This provides transparency of material flow both by direct tracking
of goods and by indirectly tracking the movement of equipment used in the transportation process (such as ground conveyors, tools, and
ID scanners or fork lifts). By combining existing barcode or RFID scanning, the system can enable automated management of movements
of goods in manual warehouses without the installation of further software. Within such applications, the Fork Lift Trucks (FLTs) are
continuously tracked as they move goods around the warehouse. The combination of conventional pallet ID scanning with FLT tracking
enables automated storage of the goods’ locations on the floor and within 3D storage racks. ”The system can also be deployed
in larger warehouses with full Warehouse Management Systems,” says Phebey. “We can integrate directly with these standard
WMS to deliver storage location data and to analyze process flows and enable process optimization.”
The Ubisense system consists of three key parts:
- Battery-operated tags transmit UWB RF impulses (location signals) in the frequency range of 6 to 8.5 GHz. The very short, precisely
timed radio pulses provide a reliable and accurate location measurement even in difficult environments, such as those storing large
amounts of liquids and metals. Radio multipath effects often disturb conventional radio communication systems in such environments,
but have a lesser effect on the Ubisense technology, which leads to a much more reliable location measurement when compared to
alternative technologies.
- Location sensors mounted around the facility receive and process the tag signals and communicate the results back to client
software via industry standard IT networking.
- The location data is recorded, edited, and visualized by the Ubisense Location
Platform software and presented via unique applications which, for example, can log automatically the insertion and removal of goods
to and from the warehouse storage racking.
The Ubisense Series 7000 product line is CE and FCC certified for license exempt use in both the EU and North America.
Alien Technology® Announces Newly Formed Alliance with SATO
Alien Technology announces that it has entered into an expanded
RFID reseller and systems integration agreement with SATO America. The newly formed
alliance includes RFID tags, readers, and SATO integration services. The agreement adds Alien’s RFID tags and readers
SATO’s stable of solutions, and adds SATO’s integration services to Alien.
“We continue to see growth
for UHF RFID and as a result we have expanded our product offering to include complete RFID integration solution services with tags
and readers from Alien Technology,” says Mike Beedles, Director of Integration Services and Development at SATO America.
”As part of our expanded relationship with Alien Technology, SATO now offers our supply chain customers access to
Alien’s industry-leading portfolio of Squiggle® tags, powered by the Alien® H2 chip, in addition to the new readers and
in alliance with Alien Technology. SATO America’s ISD group provides integration services to Alien Technology customers.”
“SATO America’s understanding of customer requirements enables them to offer timely RFID solutions to a fast-growing
market segment,” says Terry Pruett, Director of North America Channel Sales for Alien Technology. “With tags and readers,
printers, as well as integration services and software in their portfolio, SATO is well positioned to help the supply chain meet current
and future compliance requirements for RFID implementation.”
‘Ekahau Vision’ Offers Clear Visibility into Real-Time Location Tracking
Ekahau Inc. introduces Ekahau Vision: a web-based visual interface that enables
enterprise users of Ekahau RTLS to automatically monitor the location of tagged assets and people in real time. Similar to consumer
mapping applications, Ekahau Vision is based on Rich Internet Applications (RIA), which results in a user-friendly and consumer-like
intuitive interface designed to significantly reduce training requirements for users that need to locate critical assets and staff.
“The launch of the Ekahau Vision significantly strengthens our application offering,” says Antti Korhonen, President and
CEO of Ekahau. “While Ekahau RTLS’s superior positioning accuracy is an important enabling factor for several different
location tracking use cases, the Vision application software is what finally turns the ‘x’ and ‘y’ location
coordinates into a meaningful enterprise benefits and return on investment. The new Ekahau Vision follows the current trend of
consumerization of enterprise IT applications and delivers an easy-to—use interface. No other tool in the industry offers the ability
to monitor, query, and collect asset data in such an easy and visual way.”
When used in conjunction with the Ekahau Positioning Engine (EPE) — a software-driven location platform that enables
location tracking over standard enterprise WiFi networks — Ekahau Vision enables enterprises to identify, from any
Internet-enabled device, the real-time and historical location of objects and individuals with building-, floor- and room-level accuracy.
On its graphical map-based interface, Ekahau Vision delivers real-time information, including the location of assets, timestamps of the
last known location, location history, and event management, such as identification of all equipment that require maintenance in a
given time period. Ekahau Vision also supports configuration of the home page to display variety of customized views, such as asset
and staff location in a dashboard format.
Making Ekahau Vision unique is the use of RIA, which allows it to function like a traditional desktop application without the need
for any client-side software installation. RIA enables Ekahau to deliver a tracking visualization tool that is richer and more responsive
than other traditional web applications that primarily are based on static HTML. Because it is easy to use, a technical background is
not required to operate Ekahau Vision. This, in turn, speeds end-user adoption across the enterprise and allows more users to benefit
from RTLS.
Ekahau Vision leverages Ekahau’s unique “zone” technology. Unlike other RTLS systems that require proprietary
door readers or gates to alert on exit and entry events, Ekahau Vision incorporates zone functionality within the software, enabling
system users to create virtual chokepoints anywhere in a building or on a campus.
Ekahau RTLS with Ekahau Vision offers users the best cost/performance ratio in the industry, enabling tracking of 40,000 objects on
a single server across more than 100 million square feet and locating up to 800 objects per second. The Ekahau location tracking
solution is also easy to install and maintain because it works on any generation or brand of standard enterprise WiFi equipment.
Ekahau Vision is available now. Customers currently having a support contract for Ekahau Finder or Ekahau Tracker are eligible for
free upgrades to Ekahau Vision.
PowerID Partners with STMicroelectronics to Develop Gen 2 BAP RFID Technology
PowerID Ltd. announces that it has concluded a strategic
partnership with STMicroelectronics in which they will cooperate to foster
the further penetration of BAP technology into existing and new markets. The companies will explore, in a future deal, ways
to co-market EPCglobal Class 1, Generation 2 technology to customers that demand high performance RFID where the
performance of passive RFID is limited and where active RFID technologies are too expensive or bulky. Based on the known
technological constraints, the companies estimate that general availability of PowerID’s BAP EPCglobal Class 1,
Generation 2 label would occur in Q2 2008.
The co-developed technologies will be based on the marriage of the unique technology of both companies: PowerID’s
thin, flexible, environment-friendly battery and STMicroelectronics’ integrated circuit family designed to support BAP
technology. The resulting technology will provide affordable, high performance RFID products in the Ultra High Frequency (UHF)
range (850-960 MHz) for tracking high value assets in challenging environments.
Both companies are longstanding members of the RFID community. PowerID has been involved in the BAP RFID field since
2003. STMicroelectronics is one of the world’s largest semiconductor companies and provides HF and UHF RFID chips.
Prior to co-developing the integrated circuit for PowerID’s BAP label, STMicroelectronics released a product line for
use with regular passive RFID technology. Active in RFID standards bodies, both companies are integral members of working
groups that are defining BAP and sensor-enabled BAP RFID standards.
“To date, PowerID’s BAP technology has been successfully deployed at industry-leading logistics providers,
paper manufacturers, aerospace companies, and automobile manufacturers,” says Erez Kahani, Chief Executive
Officer of PowerID Ltd. “As the pioneer in the BAP field, we are thrilled that a market leader such as STMicroelectronics
has chosen to partner with us. We look forward to developing and marketing BAP products together and to further expanding
and deepening the BAP RFID footprint worldwide.”
EASYLABEL® 5 Multi-User Labeling Software
Tharo Systems, Inc. presents EASYLABEL® 5 Multi-User software for designing and printing product identification,
barcode, and RFID labels. EASYLABEL Multi-User is an efficient method for licensing multiple copies of EASYLABEL over a
network.
It eliminates the need for individually licensed PCs, providing substantial savings.
EASYLABEL Multi-User is available in packages of five, 10, or 25 user licenses. A free trial edition is available for download
from Tharo’s website.
