Hardcard Systems Successfully Tests RFID for High-Speed Sports Timing and Scoring with Alien Technology®
RFID UHF product and service provider Alien Technology and
motorsports management and consulting firm Hardcard Systems announced
the completion of the first rounds of field testing using RFID for motorsports timing and scoring.
In tests conducted at Buttonwillow Raceway in California in December, 2007, Hardcard and Alien® used standard Gen 2 UHF RFID tags,
antennas, readers, and software to accurately track and time eight motorcycles at speeds exceeding 140 mph. Competition-prepared
motorcycles were successfully time-stamp recorded passing several read points around the racetrack, simulating realistic race
situations where multiple racers pass reader checkpoints. Alien ALR-9900 readers and standard antennas were stationed at the checkpoints,
providing accurate reads up to 10 meters away (over 30 feet) at race-like speeds. The professional racers’ machines were
equipped with a total of two of Alien’s M-Tags each.
“Working with Hardcard Systems, we were able to push the envelope for high speed RFID applications,” says Victor
Vega, Director of Product Marketing for Alien Technology. “Though the results are within the theoretical capabilities of Gen 2
RFID, we were pleased to see that our standard portfolio of tags and readers met the needs of this new racing application. At this
raceway, the limitation was not RFID, but the length of the track and top speed of the motorcycles.”
Utilizing RFID in motorsports applications will allow Hardcard Systems to reduce the cost and complexity of timing and scoring
solutions for racing series, tracks, and competitors. Race vehicles can be time-stamped using trackside antennas and readers
with tags embedded within low-cost and disposable labels, reducing system complexity, and eliminating the need for
costly transponders.
“Radio Frequency Identification technology has the potential to revolutionize motorsports timing and scoring,” says
Andrew Leisner, Managing Partner with Hardcard Systems. “Our team of racers, racing executives, and industry-leading
timing and scoring professionals have found great promise in the use of passive UHF RFID for time scoring, event-related
promotions, field access, and overall use of the technology for asset tracking. Our system will be able to precisely time and
score race machines at high speeds using RFID from Alien Technology and its partners.”
Equally exciting as the on-track applications of RFID, this technology will also be used for pass and ticket access and tracking. By
embedding RFID tags into credentials and tickets, this system can electronically track and help manage access to controlled areas
within the venue. Hardcard Systems will continue to develop RFID for all forms of on-road and off-road motorsport alongside
Alien Technology and its preferred partners.
In October 2007, Racetimer of Sweden, an Alien Technology Value Added Solutions Provider (VASP), announced that it has
implemented RFID at race events around Europe, primarily with the focus on running and skiing events, using standard
passive RFID tags and readers from Alien Technology.
ChronoTrack Systems and Impinj Bring RFID Technology to Los Angeles Marathon
Finish Line: ChronoTrack System's road race timing system, based on Impinj's RFID technology, in action at the March 2nd Los Angeles Marathon.
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Runner's Shoe: ChronoTrack's RFID race timing system includes “D” timing tags attached to runners’ shoes
encoded with each race participant's bib number. The system also includes proprietary race timing software and Impinj's
Speedway® UHF RFID readers with specialized antennas.
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ChronoTrack Systems, Inc. is a timing and tracking company that
has developed a cost-effective system for timing athletic events including road races using commercially available, EPCglobal-certified,
UHF RFID tags and readers. ChronoTrack has developed the disposable “D” Tag, an all-weather design for attaching an
EPCglobal-certified, commercially available RFID tag to the foot. ChronoTrack, in concert with its strategic partner,
Impinj, Inc., has designed custom UHF RFID controllers and antennas
that specifically read “D” Tags in a racing environment. ChronoTrack offers full-service race timing packages including
internationally certified race timers, bibs, tags, and race timing equipment. ChronoTrack also markets its “D” Tag
and timing equipment through its US and international partner network. Its road race timing system, based on Impinj UHF Gen 2
RFID technology, performed flawlessly at the recent Los Angeles Marathon, held on March 2, 2008.
ChronoTrack’s
“D” timing tag allows race organizers to print an integrated bib and tag for each participant, encoding the
runner’s bib number into the tag’s RFID chip at the time of printing. The peel-off, disposable portion of the bib
becomes a tag that runners attach to their shoes. ChronoTrack’s tag solution is lighter, less expensive than previous timing
methods, as well as disposable. Runners no longer need to stand in long lines to “tag check” their timing devices as
with previous solutions; and after the race, tired participants can avoid yet another line to return expensive tags.
“ChronoTrack’s solution contributed to the best LA marathon in its 23-year history and I’m very
pleased,” says Terry Collier, Executive Race Director of the LA Marathon. “Our third-party timing verifier told us
it was the most accurate timing method he’d ever seen, and he compared it against the same method used to time the
Olympics. Both race setup and clean up were much easier — hours instead of days, we needed fewer volunteers and far
less equipment. We easily saved between $15,000 and $20,000, had a smoother race operation, and heard nothing but praise
from race participants. [It was] definitely a win-win solution for me.”
ChronoTrack worked closely with Impinj, Inc., a leading supplier of UHF Gen 2 RFID solutions, to create and perfect the timing
system that includes proprietary race timing software, Impinj Speedway® readers, and specialized UHF reader
antennas. The system provided finish line results and split timing data to runners at the 10K, one-half marathon, and 30K
points. ChronoTrack’s system accurately recorded 99.84% of all race participants, easily matching the best results
achieved using previous timing solutions. “The partnership between Impinj and ChronoTrack has produced a unique
and highly effective race timing solution,” said Mendy Ouzillou, Product Line Director at Impinj. “This application
is a great example of merging Impinj’s flexible and high-performance products with our partner’s deep domain
experience to solve challenging problems with a real and positive impact on the consumer experience.”
Metalcraft announces long-read RFID Hard Tag
RFID Hard Tag on a forklift
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MetalCraft product construction
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Metalcraft announces pricing and availability of its RFID Hard Tag, designed
to deliver longer read range at lower cost for asset tracking applications that require resistance to heavy impact or submersion in
water. Metalcraft’s standardized RFID Hard Tag is a 5” x 1” product engineered to provide a read range over 10
feet using the passive, Gen 2 KSW Windshield RFID inlay. The RFID Hard Tag construction houses the inlay in half-inch thick UV
stabilized polycarbonate with a clear window for an internal label containing barcode or human readable data. Customers can
affix the RFID Hard Tag with mechanical fasteners and permanent, pressure-sensitive adhesive. Testing has shown the RFID Hard
Tags will withstand exposure to a range of chemicals, water depths over 130 feet, and impacts as great as 20 tons.
“Metalcraft is known for durable ID solutions,” says Metalcraft President Steve Doerfler. “Our RFID Hard Tag
furthers that reputation by delivering longer read ranges than similar products.”
The RFID Hard Tags features
digital printing of the interior label, allowing full-color logos and other information including barcode and human readable ID
numbers. Metalcraft can program the printed information — or other data — on the RFID inlay during production.
“All of Metalcraft’s RFID products allow customers to utilize both barcode and RFID technologies,” says Doerfler. “The durability and readability of our label printing is unequaled.”
The Women’s Hospital of Greensboro and RadarFind Partner to Elevate Patient Care Through Location Tracking
The Women’s Hospital of Greensboro, part of North Carolina’s
Moses Cone Health System, has chosen the RadarFind Real Time Location System (RTLS) to monitor the location and status of
its mobile medical equipment, thereby improving patient care and the efficiency of hospital operations.
The indoor
tracking system pinpoints the location of medical equipment throughout the hospital and displays this information via hospital
staff’s computer screens. By reducing the time spent searching for equipment, RadarFind’s new RTLS will enable
the staff at the hospital to spend more time caring for patients. The system also gathers data about equipment utilization rates,
serving as a powerful tool for hospital administrators to more accurately plan for new medical equipment purchases, often
resulting in significant savings.
“We are looking forward to joining other hospitals across the country enjoying the benefits of a technologically advanced location
system,” says Tim Rice, President and CEO for Moses Cone Health System. “RadarFind stood apart from the competition
because of its ease of installation, use, and maintenance. The diverse medical backgrounds of the team at RadarFind are evident in
the design of this system, which expertly addresses a hospital’s unique needs and will enhance our current operations with
minimal disruption to our patients.”
The RadarFind RTLS features a programmable asset tag that goes a step further than providing information about a device’s
location; it also alerts staff to the device’s status: available, in-use, or needs cleaning/sterilization. The system accrues this
information for equipment utilization reports to help hospitals accurately budget for new equipment expenditures. This practice
saved Wayne Memorial Hospital of Goldsboro, N.C. more than $300,000 less than a year after implementing the RadarFind RTLS.
The status tag also serves as an important tool in a hospital’s efforts for infection control. The system tracks individual
devices and reports their time-stamped location history. This information is used by a hospital as part of its infection control
surveillance system and identifies equipment that has come into contact with specific patients, especially those who have
contracted or are colonized with antibiotic-resistant organisms. The data from the status portion of the tag is used to monitor
whether the device passes through the appropriate decontamination process before it is assigned to another patient. In
addition, causal relationships between contaminated medical devices by known infected or colonized patients are easily
determined and additional preventative measures are introduced to reduce spread of these organisms to other hospitalized
patients or locations within the hospital.
The innovative RadarFind platform technology was designed by doctors specifically for hospitals after two years of intensive
research with more than 50 hospitals, and overcomes the technical limitations associated with other RFID solutions. The
system is designed to seamlessly integrate with existing hospital infrastructure and operations. RadarFind’s readers
plug into existing electrical outlets, requiring no new wiring or ceiling or wall penetration and preserving the outlets for use
by other devices. And unlike many other RTLS systems, RadarFind operates independently of a hospital’s critical WiFi
network.
“We collaborated with hospitals in developing a system to solve the unique problems they face daily. Our research
identified the need for a system that offered more than simply tracking equipment in highly active areas such as an emergency
room,” said Terry Kane, M.D., chief executive officer for RadarFind. “We determined which features would most
impact the challenges inherent to a hospital environment and designed a system that is scalable, affordable, can be expanded
to track patients, and offers information about a device’s status along with its location.”
See www.radarfind.com for additional information, including short
video testimonials from customers.
Astron Wireless Technologies’ RFID Reader Patch Antenna
Astron Wireless Technologies’ LPP91DPC model RFID antenna ranges in frequencies from 890 to 940 MHz with a gain
of 9 dBic, VSWR of 2:1, dual polarization, as well as right hand circular and left hand circular polarization. The circular
polarization minimizes attenuation caused by cross polarization.
This broadband antenna’s squared beam
helps isolate signal to a confined area reducing crossover signal capture. Its impedance is 50 ohms with 50 CW power/watts.
The LPP91DPC RFID antenna is thin and light, weighing three pounds and measuring 12” x 12” x 0.7”. It is
easy to deploy in virtually all RFID applications. The radome material consists of .125” epoxy fiberglass (G10). The
antenna comes with a two-year warranty against defects in workmanship and materials.
Astron also customizes
this antenna with customer-specific coax cable lengths and connector styles. For more information on the RFID Reader
Patch antenna, e-mail sales@astronwireless.com, or call 877-567-7646.
