ThingMagic's New Astra RFID Reader Simplifies Asset Management

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ThingMagic, Inc. (www.thingmagic.com) debutes the Astra integrated RFID reader/antenna for asset management applications. Astra's low profile, unobtrusive design, and Power over Ethernet (PoE) and WiFi options make it ideal for asset management in offices, healthcare facilities, and other environments where ease of installation and deployment flexibility are essential for solution success.

"Traditional fixed RFID readers, antennas, cable and electrical power requirements, while appropriate for warehouses and loading docks, are not well suited for office and commercial environments," says Yael Maguire, ThingMagic CTO and Co-Founder. "Astra is specifically designed for office and commercial environments and is ideal for enterprise asset tracking applications including document management, inventory control, baggage tracking, and medical equipment location."

"In office and commercial environments, RFID adopters prefer systems that blend in with both existing IT infrastructures and office layouts, and minimize installation requirements," says Louis Bianchin, Senior Analyst & Program Manager RFID, Venture Development Corporation. "Products like ThingMagic's Astra, which address this, will further drive adoption of RFID into new applications."

Astra reader features include:

High performance, EPCglobal Generation 2.0 (ISO 18000-6C) support with anti-collision, Dense Reader Mode (DRM), and advanced anti-jamming functionality
Power over Ethernet (PoE) option, reducing cabling and electrical outlet proximity requirements
WiFi option, providing low cost integration with existing enterprise WiFi networks, and supporting enterprise WiFi security standards including TKIP, AES, and EAP-TLS
An integrated 865-956 MHz, circularly-polarized antenna with 6 dBiL gain and 65o beamwidth
ThingMagic's MercuryOS software, for application development, network management, and security
16MB of flash and 32MB of RAM available for reader-hosted applications
An external antenna port for an additional antenna
An easy to use Development Kit, for customized applications, settings, deployments, and management
A small form factor (10.2"H x 10.2"W x 3"D)

Driven by ThingMagic's Mercury5e embedded reader module, Astra has a read range of up to 30 feet for Generation 2 RFID tags, and can read over 190 tags per second. Fully supporting ThingMagic's enterprise-class MercuryOS software, Astra's network management and security features include DHCP for configuration and firmware management, and SSL/SSH-based security.

Astra is immediately available for North America, with other country versions available in the near future. The MSRP is $995 in the U.S., with volume and other discounts available.

Covidien Imaging Launches Groundbreaking RFID-Enabled Contrast Delivery System

Covidien (www.covidien.com), a global provider of healthcare products, announces the U.S. commercial availability of Covidien Imaging Solutions' contrast delivery system with RFID technology. The components integrate RFID technology to create a system that is designed to aid in patient safety by helping to reduce the risk of medical errors in radiology departments.

Covidien's contrast delivery system combines its unit-dose RFID-enabled Ultraject™ prefilled contrast media syringes with its RFID-enabled Optivantage™ DH power injector to provide the only contrast delivery solution of its type available in North America. RFID is an automatic identification technology that captures, stores, and transmits data between the RFID-enabled Ultraject prefilled syringe and the RFID-enabled Optivantage DH power injector using RFID transponders.

"Covidien's new, innovative system has the potential to help reduce medical errors and increase efficiency in CT imaging," says Steve Hanley, President, Imaging Solutions, Covidien. "We expect this technology to be the platform for future innovation."

The RFID-enabled system creates an intelligent interface between the contrast media syringe and the power injector that helps radiology technologists to better ensure that each patient receives the prescribed concentration and programmed dose of a contrast media-related drug during a procedure. The interface allows the injector to physically alter the RFID label on a syringe once it is used, which can substantially reduce the probability of life-threatening air injections or air embolisms caused from using an empty, used syringe. It also helps reduce the potential for infection from cross-contamination by automatically preventing the injection of contents from a previously used RFID-labeled syringe in another patient exam. Covidien's system also indicates if the drug in an RFID-labeled syringe is past its expiration date. Additionally, the system automatically transfers drug and achieved exam protocol information onto a printed label for the patient record, which reduces the need for manual data entry, thereby offering the potential to help increase efficiency and accuracy.

Covidien has assisted medical professionals by giving them tools to help reduce the risk of certain medication-dispensing and mislabeling errors that may occur when syringes are manually filled from multi-dose packaging. Additionally, RFID-enabled Ultraject prefilled contrast media syringes combined with the RFID-enabled Optivantage DH power injector help radiology facilities address Joint Commission (formerly known as JCAHO) and U.S. Pharmacopoeia 797 standards, which are aimed at ensuring compliance with labeling and unit-dose requirements, as well as the use of aseptic techniques.

"Risk reduction is one of the key challenges facing the radiology community," Hanley adds. "Our new delivery system underscores Covidien's commitment to helping our customers address safety-related concerns — we want to give them not just technology, but solutions."

Intersoft and Logica Systems Announce Rapid Personnel Mustering System for Deep Sea Oil Platforms.

JPG A major oil and gas company uses personnel logistics software by Logica Systems Inc. and RFID hardware by Intersoft Corporation (www.intersoft-us.com) to manage the arrivals, departures, and emergency muster of personnel at several deep water platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, about 200 miles south of New Orleans.

Upon arrival at the facility, personnel receive Intersoft's FOBBRO tags. During muster, personnel pass their tags across Intersoft's TRR01WM readers. Real-time muster activity appears on a computer monitor in the facility's command center and the logistics officer quickly identifies any missing personnel.

The custom readers, some housed in a Class 1 explosion-proof enclosure, provide all the functions necessary to identify the tags presented and provide visual acknowledgment of monitoring. Multiple readers communicate with a single computer via a reliable RS485 serial interface.

WhereNet's Real-Time Locating System Expedites Production of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles

WhereNet Corp. (www.wherenet.com), a Zebra Technologies company, announces that Navistar Defense (www.navistar.com) has deployed the standards-based WhereNet® active RFID, Real-Time Locating System (RTLS) to automate work-in-process tracking at its West Point, Mississippi, manufacturing facility. Implemented in 30 days, the system helps reduce production costs and accelerate delivery of the MaxxPro™ MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles for the U.S. Department of Defense. MaxxPro MRAP vehicles are designed to protect troops from roadside bombs and other growing threats in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"After a thorough evaluation of solutions providers, we selected WhereNet because its real-time visibility solution has a proven track record of reducing costs, improving quality, and expediting production in industrial manufacturing environments," says Rex Baldwin, IT Project Lead for Navistar Defense. "Among all of its other benefits, the system's impact on reducing cycle time aligns perfectly with our ultimate goal of rapidly delivering MRAP vehicles to the U.S. military to protect our troops in harm's way."

Spanning more than one million square feet indoors and out, the WhereNet system consists of a local infrastructure of five wireless WhereLAN™ location sensors and 13 WhereLAN locating access points that can be used for determining the location of assets as well as WiFi mobile data communication; 400 active RFID WhereTag™ transmitters that are attached to MRAP chassis at the beginning of the armor-plating process; and WherePort™ magnetic "exciters" that trigger the transmitters to emit a signal when entering or leaving a specific work cell, enabling the system to automatically record such information as arrival, dwell, and departure time without any human intervention.

The WhereNet Visibility Software Suite (VSS) provides constant visibility for each tagged vehicle, enabling Navistar to track and manage the manufacturing of every MRAP vehicle as it passes through the assembly, paint, testing, adjustment, and inspection processes. After the on-site Defense Department officials perform the final testing on each finished MRAP vehicle, the WhereTag transmitters are removed, and the vehicles are loaded onto flatbed trailers for final delivery.

Navistar expects to realize a complete return on its investment in less than one year through numerous benefits, including:

Reduced labor cost for MRAP production processes, as the WhereNet system eliminates search time and automates much of the workflow
Increased throughput/reduced on-site dwell time
Higher-quality vehicles, as the system support Six Sigma standards and ensures that every finished vehicle meets the customer's specifications

Based on the rapid deployment and benefits the company has already gained from this initial implementation, Navistar will install additional WherePort devices this summer to provide more detailed event management reporting from the production line. Navistar is also evaluating WhereNet's vehicle tracking and management system (VTMS) software, which would leverage the same WhereLAN infrastructure and drive additional value and return on investment through enhanced workflow automation.

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