Avery Dennison RFID Inlay Utilized in Meat Tagging Application for METRO Group’s New real,- Future Store

AD222 Avery Dennison RFID
(www.rfid.averydennison.com) announces that METRO Group is using AD-222 inlays for a meat tracking pilot program at METRO Group's real,- Future Store in Toenisvorst, Germany. The AD-222 inlay will be used to tag the foam meat packing trays used in METRO’s real,- Future Store. The meat tagging application will help METRO better manage the flow of its perishable products, cut down on cost, and save time on restocking.

FutureStore "New technologies and concepts are key to meeting our customers’ changing demands now and in the future," says Dr. Gerd Wolfram, Managing Director of MGI METRO Group Information Technology. “Radio Frequency Identification has a key role to play in quality management for fresh food. This automatic product identification technology will contribute to product quality and efficiency in our stores.”

The European Avery Dennison RFID team worked to develop a solution, including a feasibility study and the tag design. One of the particular challenges was to meet safety requirements for labeling food. Avery Dennison RFID has worked together with Fasson® Roll Materials Europe, a division of Avery Dennison, to provide S-2000N food contact compliant adhesive. The RFID tags are readable when stacked in the freezer and meet METRO Group’s food labeling safety requirements.

“METRO Group’s continued commitment to implementing RFID demonstrates to other retailers that RFID technology has real operational benefits by improving efficiency and lowering costs,” says Robert Cornick, Vice President and General Manager at Avery Dennison RFID. “The AD- 222 meets METRO Group’s high performance standards and our proprietary high volume manufacturing process ensures uninterrupted supply.”

Agility RFID Tag Performs Reliably, Efficiently in any Environment

Agility The Information and Telecommunication Technology Center (ITTC) at the University of Kansas (www.ittc.ku.edu) is seeking licensees for its Agility Tag, a new RFID technology that enables one tag to work in contrary environments.

“Before Agility, it was assumed one tag could not be designed to operate efficiently near a conducting surface, such as metal and in air,” says Dan Deavours, Principal Investigator and ITTC research assistant professor. “In more than one case, we found Agility Tags worked better on metal than comparable vendor tags did in free space.”

Since most RFID tags are used on RF-friendly materials such as cardboard or plastic, industry has tried to develop quick and cheap fixes to enable the tracking of computers, containers, equipment, and other metal assets. Manufacturers often use foam attached (FAT) tags, which employ a thick foam spacer to separate the antenna from a metal surface. The average read distance for a FAT tag is reduced to less than six feet when near metal.

In comparison, the Agility Tag is readable from 15 to 20 feet away when placed near metal and operates reliably and efficiently regardless of its location, says Deavours. Furthermore, the Agility Tag uses only 1/8” of foam while FAT tags require as much as 1/4”, increasing the cost of the tag.

“Previously, users had to choose between expensive asset tags and cheap FAT tags. Agility Tags give the performance of expensive asset tags, but at a manufacturing cost and complexity similar to FAT tags,” says Deavours.

ADASA Inc. (www.adasainc.com) tested the ITTC tag at its headquarters in Eugene, Oregon. “KU tags are a breakthrough in RFID tagging,” says Clarke McAllister, Chief Technology Officer at ADASA. “Unlike other tags, the KU Tag is completely tolerant of its environment. Its reliable performance across a broad range of conditions combined with an ADASA mobile RFID tag encoder/dispenser, enables tagging of anything, anywhere.”

A number of companies are producing RF absorbing technologies to enable better tag performance near metal. Deavours says that RF absorbing materials hurt performance in one area to improve performance in another area, hoping for a net gain. Agility Tags use polyethylene foam, one of the most non-absorbing RF materials ITTC researchers tested.

SkyeTek Announces Embedded and Networked RFID Educational Webinar Series

SkyeTek, Inc. (www.skyetek.com) launches a series of free webinars dedicated to all aspects of embedded RFID. SkyeTek will host a total of 12 webinars in 2008 detailing the business cases and technological implications associated with designing and embedding secure RFID into existing solutions, such as handhelds, cabinets, and containers. SkyeTek has already hosted five webinars this year with a total of more than 3,000 registrants and 1,200 attendees. These previous webinars are freely available at www.skyetek.com/webinars.

Responding to SkyeTek poll questions, 46% of webinar registrants have already, are in the process of, or are planning to design an RFID-enabled product. Sixteen percent said that they have one or more RFID-enabled products already in production. And 40% said their companies are in the process of evaluating RFID, but have no plans to begin development. Respondents also said RFID security is growing increasingly important to them.

Cisco and AeroScout Collaborate to Deliver Context-Aware Mobility

AeroScout, Inc. (www.aeroscout.com) announces its joint solution with Cisco (www.cisco.com) to deliver Context-Aware Mobility for the enterprise. With the launch of the Cisco 3300 Series Mobility Services Engine (MSE), which includes integrated AeroScout Location Engine software, Cisco customers will receive a single, converged platform that combines multiple forms of contextual information about mobile assets — enabling enterprises to move beyond basic location tracking.

“As the demand for WiFi RFID tag tracking has increased, we sought to complement our Cisco Motion vision with best-in-class tag tracking capabilities. AeroScout delivers the high quality and accurate location determination that our customers require,” says Ben Gibson, Senior Director, Mobility Solutions at Cisco.

The Cisco MSE is an appliance-based, open Application Programming Interface (API) platform that centralizes and scales a broad set of mobility services and provides software to enable them. Among these services is Context-Aware Software that allows enterprises to capture detailed information about assets including location, temperature, and availability over the Cisco Unified Wireless Network. This contextual information can then be integrated into third-party enterprise business applications via the open API on Cisco’s MSE to provide deeper intelligence and end-user tools for asset tracking.

Cisco Context Aware Software, with the integrated Aeroscout Engine will be sold as a Cisco product for the MSE, under the name “Context-Aware Software.” This new product will power customer applications that require active RFID tags, enabling the MSE to provide accurate visibility for up to 18,000 tagged assets from a single appliance. For these applications, WiFi-based active RFID tags such as AeroScout’s T2 and T3 models will communicate over the Cisco Unified Wireless Network. The MSE with Context Aware Software will provide multiple types of context-aware information about these assets, including:

Accurate RSSI-based Location — A received signal strength indication (RSSI) algorithm provides accurate real-time location tracking and status updates of assets in enclosed indoor areas, over the Cisco Unified Wireless Network. Relevant enterprise environments include hospitals, offices, manufacturing, and retail environments.
Accurate TDOA-based Location — A time difference of arrival (TDOA) algorithm provides accurate real-time location tracking and status updates of assets outdoors or in high-ceiling environments, over AeroScout TDOA receivers. Relevant enterprise environments include shipping yards, distribution centers, and manufacturing facilities.
Choke-Point Detection — AeroScout Exciters enable immediate and highly accurate detection of assets at pre-defined points. Relevant enterprise applications include triggering immediate alerts when assets arrive at doors, shelves, gates, and docks, etc.
Sensors and Telemetry — AeroScout’s market-leading WiFi-based active RFID tags can transmit environmental and device information over the Cisco Unified Wireless Network, from built-in or external sensors. Relevant enterprise applications include temperature monitoring, device operational status monitoring, vehicle diagnostics, etc.

New High Performance RFID Systems by TAGSYS for Textile Services

TAGSYS (www.tagsysrfid.com) announces the availability of a high performance product line designed specifically for textile supply and service companies. The new solution set includes state-of-the-art tags, readers, and tunnels that are designed to perform up to two times faster than previous generation systems, while maintaining 99.9%+ accuracy levels. These technological improvements in speed and accuracy enable textile service companies to add or improve service levels to their customers.

Jeff Markman, President of POSITEK, says: “The products introduced enable textile services companies to gain a competitive advantage through labor reduction and lowered merchandise consumption costs. TAGSYS RFID delivers item-level tracking that provides textile service companies with the ability to guarantee order accuracy to their customers.”

Each product in TAGSYS’ portfolio is specifically designed to align with a textile service company’s operational needs while meeting the rigorous and rugged requirements found only in these types of applications:

Encapsulated Tag Family — The ARIO 370L-HL and ARIO 370L-DL ISO 15693 tags are uniquely designed to withstand extreme humidity, temperature, pressure, and chemical applications. Each tag is guaranteed to survive 200+ wash cycles ensuring durability and high performance beyond the life of the laundered item. By utilizing a technology that significantly improves performance in electrically noisy environments, the new tags perform up to 20% better than the previous generation of tags.
Medio L400 Stations — Both the Medio L400 reader and textile services antenna series are designed for the rugged industrial applications found within processing plants. Each product is tested and tuned to accurately track various types of items — ranging from stacked linens to hanging uniforms. The Medio L400 delivers industry-leading performance with processing speeds up to six times faster and 40% greater read ranges than earlier TAGSYS readers.
TS400 RFID Tunnel — The latest release of TAGSYS’ best-selling tunnel line, the TS400, seamlessly integrates RFID technology with existing factory automation equipment and processes. The TS400 can read multiple items at once in bulk or stacks, up to two times faster than the previous generation tunnel, allowing operators to maintain traditional line speeds used in textile plants. Performance accuracy is achieved through a patented three dimensional antenna architecture that provides 99.9%+ accurate read rates.

The textile service market has stringent requirements for environmental ruggedness. TAGSYS tags and hardware have been designed and field-tested to exceed the requirements of companies working on cleaning processes for medical uniforms, work garments, bed sheets, covers, and towels for hotels, linens for restaurants, industrial floor mats and mops, and personal garments. The focus on specific market requirements has fostered significant adoption within textile service companies for over 10 years.

“The Textile Services market is one of the fastest adopters of RFID technology,” says Drew Nathanson of Venture Development Corporation (VDC). “We expect to see continued growth in excess of 30% per year within this industry as companies like TAGSYS continue to deliver robust and scalable solutions that are strongly aligned with the industry’s requirements and preferences.”

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