RFID Gazette

Forrester Research Surveys RFID Middleware Providers

With mandates coming from Wal-Mart, Target, Tesco, Metro-AG, and the Department of Defense, suppliers are experiencing an urgent need to get with the RFID program as soon as possible. One of the aspects is RFID middleware. And choosing the right middleware provider should prove beneficial down the long run.

retailindustry.about.com reports on the Forrester Research results:

To assess the state of the RFID middleware market, Forrester evaluated 13 middleware vendors using the Forrester Wave methodology, including approximately 75 criteria. The following companies, which include RFID pure play vendors, application vendors, platform giants, and integration specialists were included in the assessment: ConnecTerra, GlobeRanger, IBM, Manhattan Associates, Microsoft, OATSystems, Oracle, RF Code, SAP, Savi Technology, Sun Microsystems,TIBCO Software, and webMethods.

Many early RFID middleware solutions focus on features like reader integration and coordination and basic data filtering capabilities.

Read more: RFID Middleware

Grantex Puts RFID Chips in Uniforms

Privacy watchdogs are concerned about Grantex Inc. sewing RFID chips into the uniforms it supplies to companies such as Steelcase Inc. and General Motors. The chips are meant to track inventory, but of course the same technology could be used to track the people wearing the uniforms.

According to the Detroit Free Press:

Grantex uses the low-frequency "smart tags" to automatically track and sort its thousands of uniforms. After the chips are programmed, a computer scans the garment to tally how many times it has been laundered or if it needs to be mended or undergo special cleaning.

Company president Douglas Singer said he and vice president Gordon Reynolds looked into RFID and determined it would cut down on sorting time, improve efficiency and capacity, and reduce labor costs.

Read more: Computer chips in uniforms: tracking inventory or wearers?

ABI Research: RFID Integration Increases with Specialization

The RFID integration industry is growing as more consultants target specialized fields, according to research group ABI Research.

Tekrati reports:

Initially, the RFID consulting opportunity focused on helping enterprises understand what the technology is and how it works, as well as scoping the business case for its use. ABI Research says that large consulting organizations have already morphed their services to act as integrators and project managers, and to help develop their clients' longer-term planning.

The analysts say the next phase in this evolution is beginning in earnest: the staffing and organization of consulting groups targeting vertical markets.

Read more: RFID Integration Services Grow with Industry Specialization, Says ABI Research

RFID E-Pharmacy NEXT GENeSYS Corp. Formed by Merger

Four have merged to create a $65 million corporation, NEXT GENeSYS.

According to eWeek:

Earlier this week, Swedish-based RFID smart packaging startup Cypak announced new R&D funding. Meanwhile, analyst groups released research pointing to stronger growth for RFID in pharmaceuticals than in some other sectors.

Geared toward delivering prescription drugs directly to uninsured minority members, NEXT GENeSYS is an entity that comprises medical and hospitality RFID specialist FutureCom Global; Wi-Fi PDA maker CareDecision Corp.; mail-order pharmacist CareGeneration Inc.; and KCWG Pharmaceutical Solutions, a $100 million-plus wholesale prescription-drug provider.

Read more: Merger Creates $65M E-Pharmacy with RFID

Using RFID to Track Prisoners

Alanco Technologies division TSI has rolled out RFID tracking systems in a few prisons around the U.S. including the Calipatria State Prison of California, the J.W. Maxie Maximum Security Youth Institution of Michigan, and the Ross Correctional Facility in Ohio.

SecureIDNews reports:

TSI PRISM is made up of six component parts-two types of personal transmitters and five infrastructure components. The personal transmitters include a wristwatch worn by inmates and a pager-like device for prison officers and staff. The five infrastructure components include indoor and outdoor antennas, calibration transmitters, collection nodes, a central server, and client terminals.

Read more: Real-Time Prisoner Tracking

Meta Group Studies Pharmaceutical RFID Usage

According to a recent study by Meta Group, use of RFID by pharmaceuticals will pass use of radio frequency identification by consumer packaged goods within a year and a half.

Information Week reports:

The "immaturity of EPC tag technology" is the limiting factor in the rate of RFID adoption, the report says. Current EPC specifications, for example, lack safeguards to prevent one chip's programming being copied onto another, a key requirement for guaranteed authentication. Such technology limitations, according to the report, reduce RFID's potential usefulness in the pharmaceutical industry to simple "track and trace" applications until EPC specifications are revised.

Read more: RFID To Flourish In Pharmaceutical Industry

USDA to Test RFID Cattle Tracking

Twenty-nine states in the U.S. will begin testing RFID cattle tracking.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded $615,000 to the state Agriculture Department for a pilot study to track cattle using radio frequency identification, or RFID, tags attached to the ear.

Pennsylvania is one of 29 states participating in the 12-month study. State Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolf said the technology promises to allow animal movements to be rapidly traced in the event of a disease outbreak.

Intermec to Provide RFID Solutions for METRO Group

The new METRO Group Innovation Center in Neuss, Germany will be using RFID solutions designed by Intermec for its RFID inventory tracking system.

According to E-consultancy:

The Innovation Centre is designed to give METRO Group's suppliers access to live RFID demonstrations, systems and products. Intermec is supplying RFID forklift, conveyor and dock door readers for the centre, as well as RFID-enabled mobile computers and printers.

The partnership builds on Intermec' RFID participation in METRO Group's Future Store in Rheinberg, Germany, which demonstrates how emerging technologies can benefit retailing operations from inventory to point of sale. Intermec provides RFID case and pallet-level tracking capabilities to the Future Store.

Read more: METRO Group Selects Intermec to Provide RFID Systems for New RFID Innovation Centre

Checkpoint's Intelligent Library System with RFID

Checkpoint's RFID-enabled inventory tracking system has increased its library market share.

According to TMCnet.com:

Checkpoint's new library partners include the prestigious Berkeley Public Library in Northern California; Plano Community Library (Ill.); Chicopee Public Library (Mass.); Redford Township District Library (Mich.); Salem-South Lyon District Library (Mich.); Port Charlotte Public Library (Fla.); Lincoln Parish Library (Ruston, La.); City of Allen Public Library (Texas). Additionally, two academic institutions, the University of Southern Indiana's David L. Rice Library and the New York Institute of Technology, have also selected Checkpoint's Intelligent Library System based on the company's strength in serving the demanding and specialized needs of university libraries.

"We are happy to have the opportunity to work with such a diverse collection of libraries," notes Doug Karp, General Manager, ID Products Group at Checkpoint Systems.

Read more: Checkpoint Systems Grows RFID Library Market Share; 10 New Customers Opt for Company's RFID Library Solution

RFID in Biometric Passports

Balancing privacy with security is always tricky business. Enter the RFID passport, which has caused heads to turn at CASPIAN. They argue that biometric passports containing an RFID chip could aid governments in tracking their citizens going about their personal business, or worse yet, the private information could land in the wrong hands. But in today's world of terrorist threats, many countries around the globe are seeing the use of RFID on passports as a necessary upgrade of important paper documents. Most likely, each RFID chip would contain a digital image of the citizen's face, which would then be compared to a facial scan taken at the airport. Limiting human inspection of the documents would help to lessen the amount of errors made.

According to CNET News.com:

The first country to take the plunge will likely be Belgium, which plans to conduct an e-passport trial later this year, with possible real-world implementation by next year. The U.K. Passport Office recently announced that it is looking for volunteers to help test the recording and verification of facial recognition, iris and fingerprint biometrics. And New Zealand and Canada are also actively looking into conducting trials.

Read more: E-passports to put new face on old documents

McDonald's to Accept RFID Payments Later This Year

Customers at McDonald's will be able to pay with Mastercard Paypass later this year. The Mastercard Paypass uses RFID technology to complete the transaction.

According to the Inquirer:

This will let you, according to McDonald's, "wave" your card near a till that uses RF chips to complete payments.

Verifone card tills which can interpret the wave and charge you for your burger and chips will be used to detect your Paypass credit card, said McDonald's.

Read more: Wave your RFID credit card to get a burger

London May Use RFID to Enforce Congestion Charge

Transport for London (TfL) is looking into the use of RFID technology to enforce the congestion charge in central London.

According to silicon.com:

Although the main congestion charging contract is held by Capita, the current analogue camera and telecoms contracts are held by Initial Electronic Security Systems, BT and Colt, who send images to a central site. Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology at this central site is used to capture images of vehicles entering the zone and identify their registration plates.

For the proposed western extension zone, TfL initially wants the ANPR function to be carried out digitally at the roadside, with the full evidential record then being transmitted over low-cost cabled networks using digital technology.

Read more: Car-tracking RFID tags may enforce Congestion Charge

Sybase Developing RFID Middleware with AeroScout

Sybase Inc. has partnered with AeroScout to develop a real-time tracking program over a Wi-Fi wireless network using RFID technology. Sybase is developing the middleware.

According to Information Week:

Sybase plans to work closely with a select group of customers, system integrators, and original equipment manufacturers to help them leverage the Sybase middleware now in development. The middleware includes new technologies and existing Sybase Unwired Enterprise products that have been adapted to handle RFID requirements.

Also Monday, Sybase and wireless-networking company AeroScout said they would launch a combined RFID and Wi-Fi application to support relational database management systems, such as Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise and SQL Anywhere Studio.

Read more: Sybase Gets Into RFID

RFID to Aid Homeland Security's Counter-Terrorism Fight

In the near-future, the Department of Homeland Security hopes that RFID technology can help fight the battle against terrorism in the U.S.

According to UPI:

"The security of American ports continues to be a critical issue for homeland security," Robert Jackson, an attorney with Reed Smith LLP, located in the firm's Washington, D.C., office, told United Press International.

RFID technology, long touted as in-store anti-theft devices for retailers, is evolving and now is "the answer for homeland defense at our ports," Ben Quinones, a partner in the technology law practice of Pillsbury Winthrop in California's Silicon Valley, told UPI.

The technology, developed by private sector research and development labs -- at companies like Avery Dennison, among others -- goes by several names, but one well-known product is called the "security strap," a spokesman for the company told UPI.

Read more: Wireless World: RFID to thwart terrorism

RFID in China's Manufacturing and Healthcare Sectors

China manufactures approximately one-half of all products sold by mega-retailers, like Wal-Mart, in the U.S. This fact will invariably lead to an RFID revolution in China.

According to Asia Times Online:

Naturally, given the depth of China's involvement in global manufacture, the retailer's directions to its suppliers in the US on RFID tags will have a major impact on China in course of time. "The Chinese are not unfamiliar with RFID technology. However, the true impact of Wal-Mart's direction to its suppliers would be felt in 12 months' time in China," estimates Tony Cotterell, principal and consumer business industry leader in China for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

In addition to its manufacturing sector having a demand for RFID technology, China's healthcare sector is looking into implementing RFID to help track donated blood bags, specifically to deal with HIV and hepatitus.

Read more: Radio tags for China's products, blood and people

Emergent Technology to Sell Psion Teklogix RFID Handhelds

Psion is poised to capitalize on Emergent's key applications, including YardTrack, StockTrack, TimeTrack, and RouteTrack, which all employ RFID handhelds.

According to eChannelLine Canada:

Emergent has been focused on what it called the recent surge of RFID technology in the market. The company has been planning for and developing software applications that will take advantage of the benefits of RFID, officials said. Psion will provide Emergent with its complete line of rugged mobile computing devices, such as the 7535 handheld, as well as their full line of wireless LAN products.

Read more: Psion Teklogix inks new partner to sell RFID rugged handhelds

Developing Privacy Standards for RFID Tags in Consumer Goods

How can one be assured that the RFID tag in a pair of jeans won't be used against the consumer who purchased them?

According to SearchSecurity.com:

Some proposed solutions, such as carrying a protective mesh or aluminum foil to make detection difficult, aren't practical, he says, since tags can be placed in apparel from head to toe. An alternative is to "kill" the tags, essentially letting them self-destruct once they leave a store.

However, Juels said, "RFID tags are extremely beneficial devices and much too useful in their 'live' state."

Read more: Low-cost ways to 'foil' low-tech RFID tags

Target Begins RFID Project in Texas

Following in Wal-Mart's footsteps, Target has decided to mandate many of its suppliers in the Dallas / Fort Worth area to implement RFID into their supply chain management.

According to Line 56:

If the association with RFID and Texas sounds familiar, it's because Wal-Mart is conducting RFID projects in the same geography. "There's almost a complete overlap between Wal-Mart and Target suppliers" in this project says AMR analyst Kara Romanow. As such, most Target suppliers will be well on the RFID path, already spurred there by Wal-Mart's mandate.

Read more: Target Launches RFID Project

WhereNet Announces RFID Vehicle Tracking and Management System

WhereNet's new VTMS will track vehicles in real time using RFID technology.

How it works according to the Yahoo! Finance press release:

When new vehicles roll off the assembly line in a factory or upon arrival at vehicle processing centers, each vehicle is assigned an active RFID WhereTag(TM) transmitter that is "married" to the vehicle identification number (VIN). The WhereTag remains on the vehicle until it has been processed and is ready to ship to its final destination -- either directly to a dealership or to a processing center. The WhereNet RTLS architecture includes an array of WhereLAN(TM) locating access points that capture and calculate the location of every tagged asset within an accuracy of 10 feet. The local-area network also leverages WherePort(TM) devices that trigger the WhereTag to emit a signal when entering or leaving a specific zone, enabling more granular data capture information.

Read more: WhereNet Automates Vehicle Tracking and Management for Automotive OEM's; Active RFID Technology Expedites Dealer Shipments, Cuts Costs, and Improves Customer Service

Department of Defense Publishes RFID Policy

The Department of Defense has published its RFID supply chain policy guidelines that state the requirements for its suppliers.

According to the RFID Journal:

RFID tags will be mandatory in DOD contracts issued as of Oct. 1, 2004, for delivery of materiel on or after Jan. 1, 2005. The department published its policy guidelines in three appendixes to a memo from Acting Undersecretary of Defense Michael Wynne, dated July 30. The memo states that all contracts with the DOD shall require that passive tags be applied to cases and pallets and to individual high-value items (those currently requiring the military's Unique Identification code, or UID).

Read more: DOD Releases Final RFID Policy

METRO Installs RFID Self-Checkout System

The new METRO Group RFID Innovation Center has had NCR Corporation install a self-checkout system that reads both barcodes and RFID tags.

According to Business Wire:

The NCR FastLane(TM) installed at the Innovation Center is the world's first self-checkout solution with an integrated RFID reader. In its current implementation, the hybrid self-checkout deactivates the merchandise security function of the RFID tag during the scanning process, thus enabling the customer to exit the store without triggering a security alarm.

"Working with the METRO Group RFID Innovation Center gives NCR a unique opportunity to test innovative technologies before actual deployment," said Chris Herwig, NCR's director of retail technology.

Read more: World's First ``Hybrid'' Self-Checkout Installed in METRO Group's RFID Innovation Center

Oracle Upgrades to RFID to Manage Supply Chain

Oracle Supply Chain Management has upgraded to RFID.

According to InSourced:

Developed with extensive input from Oracle customers spanning numerous industries and sizes, the new Oracle Supply Chain Management 11i.10 helps companies meet evolving supply chain management challenges, eliminate waste, comply with government regulations, improve standards-based collaboration and increase profitable growth.

"Our supply chain impacts every facet of our daily business operations and, ultimately, corporate goals, including providing unparalleled customer service, increasing revenue growth opportunities, and streamlining our major supply and demand processes," said Robert Moon, CIO and vice president of Information Services at ViewSonic Corporation. "We are very interested in the latest release of Oracle Supply Chain Management and believe it will play a critical role as we deploy advanced business initiatives, such as RFID-enabled inventory management, global order fulfillment processes, and new customer relationship and partner relationship management capabilities, to support our overall corporate objectives."

Read more: Oracle updates supply chain management system

Deloitte & Touche: China's RFID Standards Are Important

The rapid growth of manufacturing in China has made it a significant player in the development of technological innovation and standards. Ajit Kimball, global director of Deloitte research, says that to ignore the RFID standards in China would be a mistake.

According to Line56.com:

On the RFID front, as more consumer packaged goods and materials are sourced out of China, those items will be tagged. The real issue is which tag standards they will conform to, Kambil says, and that's an open question right now.

Read more: Don't Ignore China

Lack of Standards Makes RFID Deployment Tricky Business

Research analysts Jeff Woods from Gartner and Mike Dominy from Yankee Group say that they are disappointed in the RFID standardization process. Wal-Mart and the Department of Defense are forcing their suppliers to implement RFID technology into their supply chain management before a consensus has been reached regarding the standards of the technology.

According to NewsFactor Network:

One recent action has made developing such a strategy easier. Last month, EPCglobal, a joint venture between EAN International and the Uniform Code Council, decided to align its proposed standards with those of the International Standardization Organization, in essence agreeing to move toward a global standard.

EPCglobal is one of the main standard-setting bodies in the United States, having assumed responsibility for developing the RFID research of the Auto-ID Center at MIT.

Read more: Behind the RFID-Standards Brawl

iPico Launches RFID Electronic Vehicle Identification (EVI) in South Africa

A new passive UHF RFID tracking system released by iPico in South Africa will enable government agencies and other organizations to electronically track the location of vehicles in real-time. The readers have a range of six meters and can track cars moving as fast as 250 km/h.

According to allAfrica.com:

They use frequencies in the UHF band between 860MHz and 960MHz, operate between -40 and 85 degrees Celsius, have a lifespan of up to seven years, and cost around R3 if bought in volume.

"The RFID problem of reading vehicles at ultra-high speed with very low cost RFID devices has been overcome by our proven iP-X technology," claims [iPico CEO Luther] Erasmus. "In tests, an ENP tag inside a C55 AMG Mercedes Benz was read with 100% accuracy at speeds in excess of 250km/h at a range of 6m."

Read more: RFID Number Plates Introduced

RFID Chips Track Human Resources

Recently, Mexican Attorney General Rafael Macedo de la Concha announced that he and 160 employees of the anti-crime center in Mexico City have been implanted with VeriChip's subdermal RFID tracking chips. VeriChip is a subsidiary of Applied Digital Solutions, headed by CEO Scott R. Silverman, who says that approximately 1,000 people worldwide have been chipped with his company's product so far.

Peter Lewis at Fortune.com reports:

According to Silverman of Applied Digital Solutions, some 1000 people in the U.S. and elsewhere have RFID chips implanted in their bodies. Most, he said, sought the chips as a way to relay medical information to emergency workers instantly and reliably if, say, they had a heart attack or fell into a diabetic coma. The trouble is, the federal Food and Drug Administration still hasn't given its approval for human injection of subcutaneous RFID chips for such medical purposes.

Read more: RFID: Getting Under Your Skin?

Alien Technologies Begins FSA Manufacturing of Gen 2 RFID Tags

Alien Technologies has announced that they have begun volume production of second generation RFID tags using a fluid self-assembly (FSA) manufacturing process.

According to Business Wire:

"FSA has been recognized as the most advanced manufacturing technology for RFID in the world," said Stav Prodromou, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Alien Technology. "It uses massively parallel assembly of tiny RFID integrated circuits into a thin and flexible form factor that is ideally suited for conversion into finished RFID tags. By integrating all the steps in tag production in an automated reel-to-reel manufacturing process, FSA provides far greater capacity and far lower cost than other approaches," added Dr. Prodromou.

Read more: Alien Technology Starts Up Next Generation High-Volume RFID Tag Manufacturing Line

Ohio to Track Prisoners with RFID

Alanco Technologies will install an RFID tracking system in Ohio's prison system to track the state's 44,000 inmates. The system will cost the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRH) $415,000.

According to silicon.com:

The pilot project will run at the Ross Correctional Facility in Chillicothe, Ohio. If all goes well, the technology could be rolled out to all of the state's inmates in 33 separate facilities. Inmates will wear "wristwatch-sized" transmitters that can detect if prisoners have been trying to remove them and send an alert to prison computers.

Read more: 44,000 prison inmates to be RFID-chipped