Rugged RFID antenna suits baler, compactor applications

Tyco Electronics has expanded its RFID solutions product family with the introduction of a line of ruggedized RFID antennas for use in baler and compactor RFID applications.

The M/A-COM MAAN-000210-AT0000 is a linear polarized antenna with a high-density polyethylene radome that is said to provide superior protection from constant abrasion. It also has a neoprene gasket to prevent liquids from infiltrating the antenna.

The M/A-COM MAAN-000210-AT0000 antennas operate with a typical gain of 2.5dB. The antennas have a beam width of 130° at 3dB, and a typical Voltage Standing Wave Radio (VSWR) of 1.5:1. Multidirectional conduit access holes and a removable connector access panel are available for more efficient installation. The connector housing is removable for use in National Electrical Manufacturer's Association (NEMA) enclosures.

The M/A-COM MAAN-000210-AT0000 is a customized antenna. Price and delivery quotes can be obtained directly from Tyco Electronics' M/A-COM sales channels.

Source : EE-Times

Motorola, Avery team to deliver RFID solution

Motorola Inc. and Avery Dennison Corp. announced a strategic relationship under which Avery Dennison RFID will supply EPCglobal Gen 2 RFID tags to Motorola, increasing the speed of RFID deployments and product availability to large markets.

The agreement aligns Avery Dennison's cost effective inlay manufacturing capabilities with Motorola's hardware and tag design expertise. Motorola will now be able to more quickly fulfill the growing demand for its portfolio of custom RFID tags, including its high-performance airline baggage tag and durable tags for asset tracking. In addition, by working together on RFID solutions, both companies will be able to optimize RFID systems for real world deployments.

"Together, Motorola and Avery Dennison can build on successful customer engagements with an even stronger reader-and-tag solution," said Joe White, vice president of RFID marketing and business development for the enterprise mobility business, Motorola Networks & Enterprise. "Motorola's broad portfolio of intellectual property in EPC RFID tags and readers, combined with Avery Dennison's expertise in high-volume inlay manufacturing, will provide Motorola customers with a reliable supply of quality, high-performance RFID tag products."

"By working together, Avery Dennison and Motorola will enable customers to better manage their assets and enhance their return on investment in RFID," said Bob Cornick, vice president and general manager of Avery Dennison RFID.

Motorola plans to start shipping Avery Dennison-supplied Gen 2 tags in 2H 2007.

Source : EE-Times

NIST issues RFID security guidelines

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued guidelines for RFID. NIST's report on RFID security was released last week as it urges everyone using the technology to evaluate security and privacy risks and use best practices to mitigate them. The institute said it released the report to meet some of its responsibilities under the Federal Information and Security Management Act of 2002, which requires federal agencies to secure information technology systems.

NIST also said the report is likely to benefit other types of organizations as well.

"The goal of our report is to give organizations practical ways in a structured format with checklists and specific recommendations to address potential RFID security risks," said NIST's Tom Karygiannis in a statement.

The document focuses on asset management, tracking, matching and supply chain uses. It recommends the use of firewalls to separate RFID databases from other IT systems and databases. NIST also urges users to encrypt radio signals, authenticate approved users, and block tag signals with metal shields to prevent unauthorized skimming of information. The report states that auditing, logging, and time-stamping should be used to detect security breaches and it urges users to establish tag disposal and recycling procedures for disabling the devices and destroying data.

"RFID tags, commonly referred to as smart tags, have the ability to improve logistics, profoundly change cost structures for business, and improve the current levels of safety and authenticity of the international pharmaceutical supply chain and many other industries," Undersecretary of Commerce for Technology Robert C. Cresanti said in a prepared statement. "This important report lays the foundation for addressing potential RFID security risks so that a thoughtful enterprise can launch a smart tag program with confidence."

The 115-page report covers several aspects of RFID technology, including applications, requirements, middleware, networks, economics, environment and durability.

Source : EE-Times

ISO acknowledges South Korea's mobile RFID technology

The South Korean Commerce, Industry and Energy Ministry reports that the country's proprietary mobile RFID technology, known as Object Identifier (OID), has been adopted as an international standard by the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization.

A ministry spokesman said the mobile RFID technology, developed by the state-run Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, allows mobile phones to read a wide range of RFID tags. Through OID-equipped handsets, users can read detailed product data on RFID tags.

With the ISO-standardized RFID technology, South Korea will be able to protect its domestic mobile RFID market, which is expected to reach $752 million in 2010, said the ministry spokesman.

The country's mobile telecommunications service carriers, including SK Telecom and KTF, are now testing the relevant services with various industries, according to the ministry.

Source : EE-Times

ISO acknowledges South Korea's mobile RFID technology

The South Korean Commerce, Industry and Energy Ministry reports that the country's proprietary mobile RFID technology, known as Object Identifier (OID), has been adopted as an international standard by the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization.

A ministry spokesman said the mobile RFID technology, developed by the state-run Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, allows mobile phones to read a wide range of RFID tags. Through OID-equipped handsets, users can read detailed product data on RFID tags.

With the ISO-standardized RFID technology, South Korea will be able to protect its domestic mobile RFID market, which is expected to reach $752 million in 2010, said the ministry spokesman.

The country's mobile telecommunications service carriers, including SK Telecom and KTF, are now testing the relevant services with various industries, according to the ministry.

Source : EE-Times

EPCIS ratification boosts RFID industry

Giving a boost to the RFID industry, EPCIS (Electronic Product Code Information Services) ratification provided businesses a standard way to capture and share information collected by RFID chips. This is done by giving a standard set of interfaces for EPC data.

EPCIS provides a standard set of interfaces for EPC data. Chris Adcock, president of the standards organisation EPCglobal Inc., called the ratification as potentially having more impact than the 2004 release of the UHF Gen2 Passive RFID standard. Those are big words, since the Gen2 standard led to the development of considerably cheaper and better performing Gen2 RFID chips.

Five years after proponents began insisting that RFID would dramatically change the way companies track goods in the supply chain, RFID remains a niche technology partly held back by the complexities associated with exchanging information captured by RFID and turning it into knowledge that leads to such basic business goals as lower costs or higher revenues.

Vendors involved in the interoperability testing of EPCIS—and those likely to offer products that support the standard—include Auto-ID Labs, Avicon, BEA Systems, Bent Systems, IBM, Globe Ranger, IIJ, NEC, Oracle, Polaris Systems, Samsung and T3Ci.

Still, while EPCglobal and RFID vendors are working to create standards-based RFID technologies and processes, other challenges remain. RFID tags are still too costly in many instances, and RFID pioneers continue to struggle with what to do with all of the data they're collecting from the tags, and how to turn it into real business intelligence.

Source : EE Times-India

Cattle give RFIDs field trials

The EM4569 RFID from EM Microelectronic is currently in field trials in North America. The RFID has been adopted by several tag manufacturers and used as a safe and efficient alternative to other forms of branding or marking cattle.

For cattle in England, one identification tag is required, allowing each cow to be tracked throughout its life. Many farms also use a second tag to identify age and medical history. While identification tags are not required by law in the United States, they are a very important management tool.
In addition to its consumer-friendly price, the EM4569 has unmatched performance in terms of detection range. “In a recent field trial using long-range animal readers, the EM4569 embedded in an ear-tag format was read at a distance of up to one metre, considerably more than other conventional RFID tags,” explains Mougahed Darwish, president of the management board of EM Microelectronic. “Additionally, the EM4569 is compliant with ISO 11784/5 and has bi-phase RF/32, making it very functional in the animal world.”

The EM4569 is a passive RFID circuit with long reading range, specifically for use in animal identification. Its features include bumped enlarged pads for direct antenna connection to save space and mounting costs.

Intended for use in electronic read/write RF transponders, the new circuit is a 125 kHz, 512-bit contactless identification CMOS RFID IC. Several data rate and data encoding options are available at a decreased level of power consumption. The RFID IC also increases reading distance, making it suitable for animal identification (ISO 11784/5).

The EM4569 is the enlarged-pad version of the EM4469, says EM Microelectronic; the enlarged pads allow direct antenna connection via bumps deposited on the enlarged pads, so the customer can directly solder the wire of the antenna onto it without the need for pcb support. Such pads also decrease the cost since the IC requires fewer handling operations.

Source : EM Micro Electronics