RFID Gazette

RF Code TAVIS Data Router for RFID Network

RF Code has announced that it will supply a new developer's kit for its TAVIS Data Router for RFID networks.

According to the press release at TMCnet.com:

Launched in June 2004, RF Code's TAVIS Data Router is a self-contained device that enables the delivery of cost-effective, real-time Auto-ID solutions, eliminates many of the complexities of RFID integration and reduces the investment in network hardware. It features an embedded version of the company's award-winning TAVIS data management software and can manage multiple RFID readers from a variety of the industry's leading vendors.

The TAVIS Data Router is a key component to a complete Auto-ID installation, which may incorporate a full spectrum of technologies beyond passive EPC tags in the retail supply chain. The TAVIS-powered software platform enables developers to collect, consolidate and manage data from passive RFID as well as bar code, active RFID, Real-Time Locating Systems (RTLS), mesh networks, remote sensors, and GPS systems.

Read more: RF Code Releases Developer's Kit for RFID Network Appliance

RFID Identity Chips: Health Versus Privacy

Identity chips may spark a small revolution in the efficiency of patient healthcare, but what will it mean for privacy when everyone will be broadcasting personal information that could fall into the wrong hands? Could identity theft become wireless?

According to MENAFN.com:

Some believe that any new technology ultimately can be hacked or protected by newer technology.

"At this stage it does not seem to be much of a problem," said David MacDonald, an attorney who practices privacy law.

MacDonald, in a phone interview, suggested that in the case of any RFID device, an individual could vanish simply by wearing a transmitter with a stronger signal than the device in question.

Read more: Identity chips could protect health, but hurt privacy, some say

Wal-Mart RFID Rollout Delayed

In mid-2003, Wal-Mart announced that it expected that its top 100 suppliers would be RFID-compliant by January 1, 2005. With that date less than a week away, Wal-Mart is admitting that the goal will not be met by most suppliers.

According to the New York Times:

Wal-Mart's goal was to wring billions of dollars from the supply chain by using the tags to keep shelves filled with whatever consumers were buying, cut back on shipments of other goods and combat theft.

The mandate was soon defined in narrower, more practical terms as supplying tagged cartons and pallets, not individual items, to a limited number of stores through just three Texas distribution centers by the Jan. 1 deadline.

Wal-Mart said recently that more than 100 suppliers would be tagging bulk shipments to the three Texas centers next month. But only 40 will be tagging everything they send.

Read more: Despite Wal-Mart's Edict, Radio Tags Will Take Time

Wal-Mart Pushes RFID Market

Wal-Mart is singlehandedly responsible for fueling the RFID industy, according to AMR analyst Kara Romanow, who says this despite pushes from other retailers and the department of defense.

According to ZDNet:

Romanow noted that several other major retailers, including Albertsons, Best Buy, Target and Britain's Tesco, are also launching RFID projects with their merchandise suppliers. The U.S. Department of Defense and the Food and Drug Administration are encouraging companies to deploy the technology, too.

But Wal-Mart appears to be leading the way. The company's project may more than double the U.S. retail industry's spending on RFID equipment this year.

Read more: Wal-Mart tagging fuels RFID market

IntelliTrack Releases RFID Slap & Ship Software

The new IntelliTrack RFID Slap & Ship software is compliant with all mandates and will greatly improve the implementation process in warehouses. It is a module for the IntelliTrack Warehouse Management System (WMS).

According to the press release at eMediaWire:

Key features of the system include the ability to generate EPC compliant Global Trade Identification Numbers (GTIN), easy integration with existing pack, ship and putaway processes, and RFID tag validation to insure that any defective tags are caught prior to shipment. As orders are built, case and pallet serial numbers are associated and stored in the system to preserve a record of what product was selected for an order and how it was shipped. Throughout the system the user has the ability to associate transactions with existing orders and customers, giving RFID Slap & Ship the ability to product Advance Shipping Notification (ASN) documents and integrate with ERP and accounting systems.

Read more: IntelliTrack Releases “RFID Slap & Ship” Software for Easy and Inexpensive Compliance with RFID Mandates

Worldlabel.com Xtrack RFID Smart Labels

Worldlabel.com's newest development is the Xtrack RFID Smart Label system, which allows RFID labels to be printed on 8.5" x 11" sheets from a laser printer.

According to TMCnet.com:

Prototypes of a 4” x 6” label on a laser cut sheet with an EPC UHF tag inserted have been produced. Worldlabel.com has the ability to embed any size label on a laser label sheet.

Worldlabel.com is a leader in the converting of RFID Smart Labels and laser and inkjet labels.

Read more: Worldlabel.com develops first RFID Smart Label for Laser printers in sheet form

EPCglobal Approves RFID Gen 2 Standards

The nonprofit group EPCglobal, Inc. announced Thursday that it has approved the RFID UHF Generation 2 specification.

According to Information Week:

The new standard also will provide the foundation for the continued build-out of the EPCglobal network that combines RFID technology, Internet, and electronic product code. “There’s already interest from EPCglobal’s healthcare action group to build a 1356 high frequency standard,” says [EPCglobal president Mike] Meranda. “Once the Gen 2 standard is out and spurs innovation, I’m sure there will be updates to the specifications in 2005.”

Read more: EPCglobal Approves Gen 2 RFID Specs

New IBM RFID Middleware WebSphere

IBM is releasing three new RFID middleware projects from its new Sensor & Actuator arm today.

According to eWeek:

The new IBM WebSphere RFID Device Infrastructure and IBM WebSphere RFID Premises Server are specifically geared to RFID. The third new middleware product, IBM WebSphere Remote Server, supports emerging handheld, kiosk and self-checkout devices, either with or without RFID.

"One of IBM's points of differentiation is that we're offering an end-to-end solution," Ann Breidenbach, director of strategy for IBM's S&A, said in an interview with eWEEK.com.

Read more: IBM Unleashes New RFID Middleware

Target May Tag Imported Goods

Target is already using RFID tags to improve its supply chain. Now it is considering implementing the same technology for imported goods.

According to Information Week:

Target just completed a yearlong test using RFID on imported goods as part of the Smart and Secure Tradelanes program, an industry initiative founded in 2002 by commercial and government agencies. The aim is to develop an automatic identification and data-collection system that integrates with other networks, such as EDI, to secure cargo in the supply chain and provide real-time visibility across international shippers.

The Smart and Secure Tradelanes program, installed at more than 15 ports in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States, along with Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection program launched post-9/11, is meant to speed cargo through customs more securely.

Read more: Target Considers RFID Tags On Imported Goods

RFID Certification

CompTIA and the Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility are pushing for RFID certification in an industry where there is an extreme shortage of IT professionals with RFID skills at a time when they are needed most.

According to SearchCIO.com:

" We've seen a great deal of interest in having more people skilled in RFID," said David Sommer, vice president of electronic commerce at CompTIA. "There's a foundational need for RFID skills and vendors want a means to measure them."

According to CompTIA spokesman Steven Ostrowski, attendees agreed that any certification not only must be broad, it must be comprehensive enough to reach beyond "RFID 101" so companies hiring RFID pros, contractors or vendors know they're getting the skills they need.

Read more: RFID certification push may be premature, experts say

ClearOrbit Combines RFID, Bar Code Management

ClearOrbit has introduced their new Xtended Label Management Software, which allows for management of both RFID and bar code labels without the need for the company using the technology to invest in custom code, consulting, or new IT infrastructure.

According to Information Week:

The Xtended Label Manager software is written in J2EE and connects to any warehouse management or ERP system to bar-code label and RFID printers. It has rules-based printing and label selection, and Web printing capabilities designed for companies that have workers in remote facilities. There are two versions, X.LM Gold and X.LM Silver.

Read more: New Software Combines Bar Code And RFID Label Management

New IBM RFID Centres

IBM has invested S$12 million in two new RFID test centres in Singapore that will allow businesses to pilot and test the radio frequency identification technology before implementing it.

According to Channel NewsAsia:

IBM Singapore's managing director, Patricia Yim, said: "Students will have access to leading-edge RFID standards, architecture, best practices and also leading-edge technologies in the RFID area. They will be taught both the technical and business aspects of RFID. In this centre, students will have the chance to develop proof of concepts with RFID technology as well as based on real life business examples."

RFID is a data collection technology that uses electronic tags to store identification data.

Read more: IBM launches 2 centres to promote RFID technology

Starbucks Considers RFID Tags on Deliveries

RFID-enabled deliveries to Starbucks stores would make after-hours deliveries possible and allow employees to focus on customers, rather than shipments when they are received.

According to Information Week:

The company uses approximately 40,000 suppliers, many of which are regional companies that deliver fresh muffins and pastries daily.

So how does a company manage that many suppliers and keep its customers the top priority? Starbucks is looking at a strategy it's calling "dark deliveries," meaning that everything from milk to pastries to roasted coffee beans would be delivered after store hours, Dettloff says.

Read more: Starbucks Considers RFID For Deliveries

IDC: RFID to Reach $2 Billion by 2008

Research from IDC indicates that RFID-related consulting, integration, management, and deployment will grow by 47 percent this year and reach $2 billion by 2008.

According to Electronic News:

IDC’s report also indicated that RFID and wireless auto-sensing solutions have evolved into a legitimate consulting, implementation and managed services opportunity for many of the world’s most well respected services organizations. Further, about 66 percent of enterprise organizations considering an RFID solution this year reported they would prefer to use external resources when implementing such projects.

Finally, services companies are increasing levels of investment in personnel, marketing and partnerships for RFID in anticipation of increasing demand for services through 2008, IDC reported.

Read more: RFID Deployments to Reach $2B by 2008

Intermec EPC Gen 2 RFID Reader

Intermec Technologies, which has intellectual property claims on many RFID aspects, has demonstrated an EPC Generation 2 compliant RFID reader.

According to Line 56:

That's just the beginning of a Gen 2 wave, says Mike Wills, VP of RFID and general manager of Intermec. "There are plans to have each product family compatible with Generation 2 in 2005."

The big deal about Gen 2 is not only that it is the RFID flavor of choice for Wal-Mart but also that it brings about a ton of operational improvements in RFID: think read rates ten times faster than Class 0 and Class 1 and a 50-fold improvement in fighting the spectrum interference that can plague RFID readers in various environments.

Read more: Intermec's Gen 2 Progress

RFID in Retailer Supply Chain Increases

A report from the Economist Intelligence Unit indicates that only 15 percent of manufacturing manufacturers say that their supply chain data is accurate. But more manufacturers, including retailer suppliers, are looking to improve their data with RFID technology.

According to vnunet.com:

The survey, sponsored by Unisys, says technologies such as radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are increasingly important in improving the visibility of assets.

A separate report last week also suggests that one in three European retailers are using RFID in their supply chains, with nearly half expected to do so in the next six months.

The report, which polled 158 mid-sized and large retailers across Europe, highlights the increasingly rapid take-up of the technology in retail supply chains.

Read more: RFID use grows in supply chain

Lack of China RFID Standards Slows Progress

China is the source of a myriad of manufactured goods, but the country still has not settled on RFID standards, creating a significant roadblock in many firms' willingness to employ the technology.

According to MSI Mag:

Chinese contract manufacturers make many of the bicycles sold by Pacific, a Madison, Wis.-based supplier of popular Schwinn, GT, and Mongoose brands. Ed Matthews, IS director for Pacific, says that ideally the company would like its contract manufacturers to place RFID tags on the products, but that's not possible because China's standards aren't set.

Most expect China to have adopted RFID standards compatible with the Western world within the next several months.

Read more: China drafts RFID standards, but compatibility expected