Impinj Introduces Monza™ 3 RFID Tag Chips

jpg UHF Gen 2 RFID solutions provider Impinj, Inc. unveils its Monza™ 3 tag chips with high-performance tag read and write reliability optimized for successful enterprise-wide RFID deployments. Designed for both near- and far-field applications tagging everything from items to pallets, Monza 3 chips undergo rigorous testing and provide a number of RFID performance advantages over competitive products including:

Up to 40% improvement in tag read sensitivity

increases readability of tags on previously “difficult to tag” items and materials such as metals, liquids, and products within densely packed cases and pallets
significantly expands tag placement options

Greater than two times improvement in tag write sensitivity

enables new item-level applications such as high-speed mass serialization and real-time field commissioning
allows encoding, aggregation, and association of items to cases, or cases to pallets, in one reliable step

Industry-leading interference rejection

improves read reliability in dense RF environments where fluorescent lighting, cordless phones, mobile radios, etc. interfere with tag operation
provides increased reader channel selection flexibility in regions with limited frequency bands available for RFID operation

Unique dual antenna input configuration

establishes redundant opportunities for contact between chip and inlay
further increases tag readability
allows greater flexibility in tag orientation and position

“We are very pleased to be able to offer our next generation of Rafsec UHF tags and inlays based on Impinj’s Monza 3 tag chips,” says Christer Härkönen, Senior Vice President RFID at UPM Raflatac. “We have had great customer success with Monza-based products in the past and look forward to continuing to deliver the highest quality and performance products using Impinj’s superior RFID silicon technology.”

“We have once again raised the bar when it comes to RFID tag chip functionality, quality, and performance,” says William Colleran, President and CEO of Impinj. “Monza 3 tag chips solve many RFID deployment issues while enabling new and exciting RFID applications.”

First introduced in April 2005, Impinj’s family of Monza tag chips are successfully deployed in the pharmaceutical, apparel, food safety, and general retail supply chain sectors. Monza tag chips are compliant with EPCglobal’s UHF Gen 2 RFID specifications for conformance and interoperability and operate globally in the 840-960 MHz band.

Monza 3 tag chips are sampling to leading RFID tag and inlay manufacturers and will be available in production quantities starting in May 2008. Information about Impinj’s network of RFID solution providers is available at www.impinj.com/rfid/where-to-buy.aspx.

Sirit and 3M Sign Cooperative Marketing Agreement

gif Sirit Inc., an RFID technology provider, announced it has signed a cooperative marketing agreement ("CMA") with The Traffic Safety Systems Division of 3M. The CMA is a global distribution agreement to offer RFID reader and tag technology based on open architecture protocols to support comprehensive solutions developed for the transportation market.

3M, a St. Paul, Minnesota-based company, is a supplier of materials and systems to departments of motor vehicles and ministries of transportation around the world. The partnership immediately facilitates Sirit's efforts to penetrate the transportation marketplace and makes the IDentity 5100 reader and transponder solution easily accessible to transportation agencies that look to 3M for trusted traffic technology solutions.

"We are extremely excited to partner with 3M to meet the needs of transportation agencies around the world and particularly to address the rapidly emerging EVR marketplace," says John Freund, Vice President AVI Solutions, Sirit Inc. "As a trusted and premier global traffic solutions provider, 3M offers customers the opportunity to purchase products that have been rigorously tested and approved to the highest quality standards."

Freund adds: "This partnership exposes Sirit and our IDentity brand to 3M's elite global audience. Customers who have enjoyed a long-standing and supportive relationship with 3M can now rely on them for an expanded suite of transportation solutions including electronic tolling, vehicle emissions testing, and proof of insurance compliance as well as EVR."

The companies anticipate jointly targeting transportation markets in the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe where the addressable registered vehicle opportunities are in excess of half a billion. The relationship enables 3M's 70 plus subsidiaries to offer their customers attractive solutions that solve a variety of critical challenges facing these agencies.

"After extensively testing other available RFID products, we are very pleased to add Sirit's innovative products to our portfolio," says Terry Griffith, 3M's International Marketing Manager. "We believe this partnership will benefit our customers by offering RFID solutions that are based on open standard technology, as well as bringing additional RFID expertise to our projects through Sirit's highly experienced technical team."

"While our initial focus will be targeted at worldwide EVR opportunities, Sirit's IDentity 5100 is a versatile solution which can be applied to many transportation applications," claims Freund. "Industry estimates suggest that a significant number of vehicles are not properly maintained or insured, impacting the environment, public safety, and agency revenue. Applying the IDentity 5100 solution, agencies can implement compliance programs which can combat these issues in a meaningful way.”

The Department of State Awards L-1 Identity Solutions with the U.S. Passport Card Program

L-1 Identity Solutions — and its portfolio of companies — offers products and solutions for protecting and securing personal identities assets. In March, it became the prime contractor by the Department of State for the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) border crossing credential (new passport card). This contract is estimated to be worth $107 million over five years.

The passport card is being issued as an alternative to the traditional passport book to ease monetary constraints on members of resident U.S. communities who regularly cross the border. Its aim is to reduce crossing time and traffic congestion at the crossing points. The card carries an RFID chip that links it to secure government databases. The card may become the model for the new U.S. Border Crossing Card for Mexican visa applicants.

The subcontractors in the program are: Datacard Group, American Bank Note, RCD Technology, Identity StrongHold, Intermec, and Trascore.

Intelleflex and SATO Partner around Extended Capability RFID and Data Solutions

gif Intelleflex Corporation, who specializes in extended capability RFID, announces a partnership with SATO to deliver advanced RFID solutions worldwide. SATO offers a wide range of passive and active RFID products and Global Positioning System (GPS) solutions based on various worldwide standards such as EPC C1G2. This agreement will enable SATO to expand its offerings to include battery-assisted passive technologies integrated with the i-TRAK TM software system.

A leader in the application of automatic data capture technologies in the supply chain and beyond, SATO has delivered multiple closed-loop RFID solutions, including vehicle yard management, reusable container tracking, and high-value asset tracking such as medical equipment. These demanding applications often require features beyond the capability of conventional passive RFID technology: long read/write ranges, outdoor use, large tag memory storage, and robust operation around RF-unfriendly materials such as metals and liquids. SATO saw the need to deliver this advanced functionality, but required a solution that is cost effective for the customer. Intelleflex offers battery-assisted passive RFID-based products that deliver exactly this combination of performance, versatility and value.

“As our core Telematics business grew, we saw the opportunity to take data capture technologies such as RFID and GPS into areas of the customer’s business that could significantly improve operations beyond the supply chain,” says Mike Beedles, Director of Integration Services at SATO America. “We chose Intelleflex not only because of their superior products and technologies, but that it is available at a fraction of the cost compared to active RFID and even GPS.”

SATO will be integrating the i-TRAK® application solution with the Intelleflex platform and plan to initially focus on new fleet inventory and vehicle yard management applications.

“SATO is a recognized worldwide leader in RFID solutions and applications and has emerged as a premier systems integrator,” says Steve Smith at Intelleflex. “We are excited to have them as a partner and look forward to working closely together to provide the best solution to customers worldwide.”

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