RFID Gazette

RFID Gazette - Wed May 16, 2007

This is a roundup of recent RFID news and views.

The ROI of RFID
While many small vendors cannot use the volume of RFID tags to make the ROI (Return on Investment) worthwhile, some companies are finding it. A trailer dealership near Toronto, Canada is using RFID to manage over a 1,000 trailers in four lots and claims they've had a return on their investment since the installation last September. [via RFID Journal]

RightTag Acquired
RightTag, an RFID equipment manufacturer, has just been acquired by Inova Technology. RightTag were the first company in the RFID industry to manufacture a 13.56 Mhz Bluetooth-enabled scanner.

NCR Division Acquired
NCR's Systemedia Division's RFID assets have been acquired by The Kennedy Group, who provide RFID labels, packaging and other products. [via RFID Update]

Surge of Cashless NFC Vending Machines

NFC, or Near Field Communication, is a technology that's been in use in Asia and Europe for a few years, allowing consumers with appropriate NFC-enabled cell phones to pay for all manner of self-payment purchases, such as bus fares and movie tickets, or for items from vending machines.

To date, that hasn't really been the case in North America. However, MasterCard and USA Technologies are in the process of pushing out 6,000 vending machines in over twenty American cities. Customers can use an NFC phone for purchases, thanks to the new e-Port technology from USA Technologies.

One thing I see holding back the popularity of such vending machines is the lack of NFC phones, though Nokia is making progress in that regard. Still, ABI Research said back in 2004 that by 2009, about 50% of all cell phones would have NFC. What remains is to see whether consumers become comfortable using such a payment method.

New RFID Training Program

Domino ISG and OTA Training recently announced a teamup to provide RFID training and certification courses. They will take place at four Domino CoEs (Centers of Excellence) in the US and UK, and newer centers in Asia and elsewhere in Europe. [via RFID Solutions Online]

The courses are an extension of those that OTA Training already provides their clients, and by partnering with Domino, students will have hands-on training at the CoEs. Start dates are expected to be announced later this year.

Last year, Domino received approval from GS1 UK to offer training for GS1, particularly in SCM (Supply Chain Management). OTA has previously had their training program adapted by CompTIA for the latter's RFID+ certification program, which is vendor-neutral.

RFID training is a critical step for the industry, as a lack of skilled workers is expected to hold companies back from adoption of the technology. Hopefully, more companies follow the lead of Loftwares, who recently had several employees certified.

RFID Gazette - Mon Mar 26, 2007

What RFID Is Not
Spychips points to an AIM Global newsletter item that kills some so-called RFID truths. Keep in mind that AIM Global is an important  RFID international standards body with very well-placed industry people in its membership list. They list 6 RFID myths, amongst them: that RFID is secure and no threat to privacy.

Calling Occupants... Of Interplanetary Craft
[with apologies to Klaatu] RFID is an ideal technology for the supply chain, regardless of what kind of industry. Most of the time, location is not a barrier, either. As such, RFID could be useful for the interplanetary supply chain that NASA is setting up for the planned Moon base for 2020, and crewed missions to Mars. New Scientist Space has more details, though RFID is not mentioned in the article.

RFID Industry Mergers
PanGo networks and InnerWireless have announced a merger. The two companies had been working on an asset tracking project together for a joint customer, a hospital. [via RFID Update]

Loftware Employees RFID-Certified

Loftware, Inc., in New Hampshire, announced that they now have the honor of being the 2nd largest employer in the world in terms of the number of certified staff. Eighteen of their staff are now CompTIA RFID+ certified. Congratulations to Loftware. This is good news, and hopefully other companies will follow along.

CompTIA RFID+ is relatively new RFID certification program. A CompTIA surveylast year showed that there is a lack of skilled workers in the industry. A few colleges in North America are starting to get RFID labs and study programs, and there are new training centers in Canada and the US. In fact , industry insiders have suggested to me that the RFID training niche is likely to explode in the next few years. RFID kits are also becoming more readily available at a lower price.

Company Drops RFID Patents

With all the companies levying lawsuits about patent infringement, you'd think that Australia's Sandtracker would at least sell their patents or give them to the RFID Consortium patent pool. Instead, they've decided to abandon them [Stuff NZ]. According to the Stuff New Zealand article, Sandtracker had original thought they could crack the 7-cent barried for RFID chips. So they created their RFID tags with their chips, which use quartz crystal diodes instead of the typical silicon.

Problem is, regular RFID readers cannot be used with these tags. They apparently wanted to redesign their reader and transponder, but decided to abandon the patents. Meanwhile, an Israeli company, SmartCode, has cracked the 5-cent silicon-based tag level. And there's printable RFID tags, which Philips is working on, which if successful will result in sub one-cent tags. However, some people have said that they feel printable tags are a ways off yet.

Still, RFID chips are bound to go down under normal economic influences, as production volumes increase. The catch-22, of course, is that chips (and thus tags) are too high for many organizations to want to adopt RFID technology. Which is why the projects of larger organizations such as Wal-Mart and the US DoD (Dept of Defence) are so important in helping bring prices down.

Implant Thyself, VeriChip

In one of my random updates about VeriChip, I'm unpleased to report that the chairman of VeriChip's parent company still hasn't had himself implanted with an RFID chip - as far as I know - despite claiming he would do so, what, about two years ago? Now, if you've kept up with the RFID industry, you might know that VeriChip is planning an IPO (which they filed for a year ago). And this in the midst of poor performance for some companies in the industry and the generally accepted view that most human beings would never willingly allow themselves to be implanted. Feel free to disagree, but in my opinion, forced implanting is one of the worst applications of RFID, not to mention a travesty of personal privacy, regardless of the political BS being fed to us. Besides, there are so many useful, legitimate, non-infringing applications.

I haven't followed the IPO but I'm thinking they'll have a very hard time with it. (Even VeriChip, in their SEC filing, stated that many patients would be unwilling. Apparently a lot of doctors are uncomfortable with implanting their patients - thank goodness.) Nevertheless, they don't seem to be having any problem implanting 222 people in total with RFID chips, for a sales total of about US$100K. [Speaking of implanting, one of the character's in this week's episode of Smallville is abducted and has a tiny GPS chip implanted in his/her shoulder (don't want to spoil it). Though at first, I thought it might be an RFID chip.]

Gentag Wins RFID Patent For Sensor Networks

Gentag, Inc., has received a broad patent entitled "RFID Based Sensor Networks" that apparently covers a wide range of wireless devices including cell phones, PDAs, and laptops. Such devices, if RFID-enabled, would be nodes in sensor networks such as those used in crowdsensing applications. [via MoreRFID]

It's hard to say right now what the implications of this patent are, by my own personal opinion is that this could be a coup, as sensor networks based on mobile devices will very likely grow in importance in the medium to long-term. This would be both for experimental community-based projects and commercial applications. Combined with Internet databases, some very powerful applications could result.

The patent is actually co-owned between Altivera (Gentag) and Symbol (Motorola).

RFID SurvivalTags For EMS Workers

RFID, Ltd., is completing the design of uniforms embedded with RFID tags. The uniforms would be worn by firefighters, EMTs, and police. In the event of a high-risk situation, the tags can be used to pinpoint the wearer's location, making rescue easier. The design was spurred on by fire chiefs, whose squads are typically at high risk. Said Nicholas Chavez, president of RFID, Ltd.

...not only monitor locations of their squads but also their heart rates, respiratory developments, and skin temperatures.

This could in fact be an incredibly groundbreaking application of RFID, if it saves even one life. The uniforms are been targeted at the one million US firefighters.

source: Biz Yahoo.

5 RFID Issues

RFID Update has a 3-part series on RFID trends for 2006. Number 10 was "RFID and the Citizen: Passports, Privacy, and Politics". I would have have put this as number 1 myself, in terms of public concern. Their number 1 was "The Industry itself". Each item has a number of links to related articles, and the series is definitely worth a read to get a perspective of what's happening. These types of articles are never easy to write - I know first hand. But here are my 5 issues in RFID (not quite the same type of list).

1. RFID and identification. Should citizens be concerned? Is it all fear-mongering or do we really need RFID citizen cards between Canada and the US?
   
2. The industry itself. How's the industry doing? Can it support RFID IPOs?
   
3. Item-level tagging. I'm referring to the retail industry and the intent of giants such as Wal-Mart to tag everything. A reduction in price for item-level tags should push this application forwards.
   
4. RFID in the pharmaceutical industry. The FDA D-Day, Dec 1st, has come and gone, but in fact, a US Federal Court judge apparently issued an injunction lifting the e-pedigree requirements on certain drugs. The pedigree requirement is a good idea, especially for fighting drug counterfeiting, by the industry has been self-admittedly behind the curve. Will they catch up in 2007? Well, it's been 10 years since an e-pedigree solution was mandated. What's taken so long? (Item-level tagging costs, technological hurdles, etc.)
   
5. RFID in payment systems. Do we need contactless credit cards? Are they secure? And should it be legal for merchants to refuse cash?

Of these, three concern me, but only because of my own personal feelings about them. I've written about them often enough, so I'm not going to repeat myself. You'll notice, though, that I'm talking less about the technology and more about issues.

Nokia RFID Phones To Monitor Security Guards

Here's watching the detectives. Well, security guards at any rate. (Anyone else remember that old British TV show, which pseudo-nebbish angry young intellectual punk Elvis Costello immortalized in his 1970s new-wave song Watching The Detectives?) It seems Nokia   feels the need to watch their secruity guards, so they're issuing them RFID phones to  keep track of assigned work within some of their US premises.

Each Nokia handset has an embedded 13.56 MHz RFID tag and a reader. As soon as a guard enters the work premises, s/he waves an RFID-enabled employee id in front of the provided Nokia handset. This enables guards to log their in-time/ out-time.

The phone is carried in the open position while guards patrol the Nokia premises. This allows the embedded reader to pick up information in RFID tags installed at various locations on the premises, which will stand as a record of the posts the guard has supervised on that day.

At the end of the work shift, the handset is closed and data on the phone's RFID tag is transferred via the cellular network to a web-based application termed the Service Manager. Supervisors can retrieve the records in the Service Manager to get information about any guard's assigned and actual work.

RFIDJournal  reports:

The RFID system has been in use for just four months at Nokia's U.S. facilities in Atlanta, Dallas, New York and Seattle. Thus far [...] ithas collected well over 5,000 reads on the guards' activities.

Nokia, who not long ago bought RFID manufacturer Symbol Technologies, is pushing the technology into other applications, including a collaboration with JCDecaux  Finland. The latter provides billboards and other marketing materials. Nokia RFID-enabled phones will be used to track the installation and removal of billboards and posters.

[UPDATE: It was Motorola, not Nokia, that bought Symbol. Apologies for the error.]

RFID Ltd Shares To Split

RFID must be doing well. RFID Ltd. that is, whose shares (NASDAQ: RFDL) will undergo a six-for-one stock split on Monday, Dec 11, 2006 (payout date Fri Dec 15/06). There are currently just over 26 million shares outstanding, and after the split there would be nearly 130M. The last trading price for the share (as of Fri Dec 8/06) was US$2.10. It's a pretty low share price to be undergoing such a high-volume split, but I think this is good news as it suggest executive confidence in their own company. That in turn might spark investor confidence on speculation that the company expects good things coming their way - which has been happening anyway. It makes me wonder why another "pure play" company, Alien Technology, decided to postpone their IPO.

sources: Business Wire via Biz Yahoo.

RFID Cold Chain: Yes We Have No Bananas Today

How could I resist? Chiquita, well known for being a banana supplier, is now using refrigerated cargo containers for shipping their produce. That means the need for CCM (Cold Chain Managment) and RFID technology. So that's what they did, teaming up with the University of Arkansas' RFID Research Center to come up with a way to monitor temperature conditions and determine when produce might have been compromised. This would replace the current method, which produces false temperature readings at times, sometimes resulting in a full trailer of produce being rejected. Obviously, efficient CCM will reduce instances of lost revenue. [via RFID Journal]

Of course, if Chiquita's wholesaler partners also using RFID for SCM (Supply Chain Management), they'd know when they have no bananas.

Avery Dennison And RFID In China

Avery Dennison, who have put around US$175M into all Chinese operations since 1995, recently announced RFID technology transfer initiatives in that country, with total expenditures to total over $275M by 2010. Previous efforts include setting up the Avery Dennison Self Adhesive Label Converting College in Kunshan, China, in 2000. Imagine that school name on college jackets.

Avery Dennison created their RFID division in 2004, adding RFID systems, Gen2 inlays and wireless compact flash cards amongst their offerings. They later implemented a Qualified Converter program to certify partner companies. With their their Chinese RFID initiative, they are hoping to capture some of the 5.0+ Bln Yuan expected to be spent in China on RFID by 2009.

additional sources: China RFID News.

RFID Trailer Seals

A large UK grocery distributor, Nisa-Today's, is using RFID-enabled resuable electronic seals on their trailers as an increased security measure. The seals, whenever they're closed, record a random four-digit number as well as the date and time. The use of a random number ensures that, should a seal be opened and re-closed, there will be evidence of it. That is, if a trailer comes into the holding yard and the seal is closed, tampering will generate new random numbers, which obviously will not match the initial number stored. Yard operators can retrieve this information via an interrogator at the gatehouse or around the yard.

While there are other companies, such CN Railways, using RFID to manage shipping trailers (train or truck), only a few are likely using electronic seals. Though this is such an innovative use of raadio frequency technology, and the resulting ROI (return on investment) is high enough that we're likely to see more use of such systems.

McMaster University Gets RFID Lab

McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, an institution known for several top-notch programs including medicine, recently announced the creation of the McMaster RFID Applications Lab (MRAL), to be situated in the McMaster Innovation Park in Hamilton. It's said to be the only one of its kind in Canada. An equipment management system for hospitals will be one of their first projects, to be jointly developed with Hamilton Health Sciences. MRAL itself is being supported by several companies and organizations including EPCglobal Canada, Hewlettt-Packard, Sun Microsystems, RF Code and others. [via EurekAlert]

There are so few academic RFID labs in North America, so this is excellent news for academic development of radio frequency technologies. Hopefully it will lead to an RFID study program at McMaster. As I've said many times previously, industry has to get involved and even approach universities and colleges to build more labs, offer degree courses. The predicted worldwide market for RFID for 2016 may be US$26B, but not if there are not enough qualified workers.

Combining RFID and Wireless Tech

Symbol Technologies, now part of Motorola, is working on making a RFID and a number of wireless technologies (Wi-Fi, mesh, VoWLAN, WiMax) play nice together, with the goal of converging "infrastructures beyond voice, video and data." Their new RFS7000 RF switch, available early 2007, can manage RFID readers, Wi-Fi access points and, with extra modules, FMC (fixed-mobile convergence) for dual-mode cellular/ Wi-Fi mobile handsets.

This means that a wide variety of wireless devices for human and machine communication can be managed centrally, potentially allowing for some very powerful applications. Not everyone thinks there is a market for it, though, as VoWLAN (Voice over Wireless LAN) and FMC are relatively new technologies that enterprise is still considering. However, Intel and a few select others are pushing WiMax in the United States.

[sources: Computing UK]

RFID Roundup - Sun Nov 5/06

RFID In Europe: Mood For EPC + Gen2 UHF Tech Improving
New UHF readers that work with new ETSI radio frequency regulations means that European companies are now more interested in EPCglobal's EPC (Electronic Product Code) RFID standard. Since the Gen 2 UHF protocol was introduced, ETSI has relaxed their regulations a bit to provide a wider frequency spectrum, amongst other things. And as a few companies rollout projects, those create interest in other companies. [via RFID Journal]

Another RFID Company Lays Off Staff
A Spychips article suggests that no one is "buying" Checkpoint Systems' plan to put RFID chips in clothing and shoes, and as a result of low systems sales, they are laying off people. They are still planning to sell their products including library inventory-management systems. Late last year, Checkpoint's BCS (Bar Code Systems) businesses were acquired by SATO.

Military + Aerospace RFID Use Growing
ABI Research has a new report on the military and aerospace use of RFID, a market that is expected to reach US$2B by 2011. Part of this market will be due to RF tech use in maintenance and repair applications. [ABI Research via EE Times]

RTLS Firm Gets Funding

Real-time location systems (RTLS) company Ekahau announced US$16M in financing earlier in the week. Only $12M is from Series B venture capital. The company's systems work over Wi-Fi networks. The funding would go towards the development of new products. [via RFID Update]

Earlier this year, Ekahau launched a 3G Wi-Fi tag for use in healthcare and other applications. The RTLS market is expected to grow past US$1.6B by 2010. RTLS systems fall into Wi-Fi-based and spectrum-based unlicensed categories. Common applications of RTLS systems are patient monitoring in hospitals and high-value asset tracking.

Please Mr Postman: Deutsche Post Uses RFID

The Deutsche Post is is following Australia Post's lead in using RFID to manage the delivery of postal mail. However, unlike Australia Post, who use tagged test letters in each mailbag, Deutsche Post is using yellow mail trays tagged witih a new type of tag, the D-RFID, where the D probably stands for the ultra-flat/ thin display. The display replaces the old paper barcode labels, aka "info carriers", that carry processing status information. These reusable D-RFID tags would replace the 500 milion or so info carriers that they use each year. The tags have to withstand harsh conditions and last 4-5 years.

The project is still in the test phase and will last until Sept 2008. It involves engineers from several organizations including Deutsche Post AG and Fraunhofer Institute.

[sources: PhysOrg via The RFID Weblog]

Big Blue Postpones RFID Demo

IBM called off an RFID demonstration in Australia recently, at the Australian Tennis Open. They stopped due to the interference they were causing to a nearby Vodafone mobile phone tower, because of frequency overlap. The irony is that IBM was demonstrating the accuracy and reliability of RFID. [Australian IT via Storefront Backtalk]

As the Australian IT article indicates, this interference with a cellular tower is not a normal occurrence. Apparently the non-IBM RFID reader did not conform to standards set by GS1 (Australian branch of a standards body). However, differences in operating frequency ranges for RF equipment in different countries has occasionally been a hindrance to projects where RFID tags are used in different countries. Adoption of a single band for RF activity in all countries is difficult due to legacy use of various frequencies in each country. IBM has been looking to standardize RFID and is also involved in a new US-UK RFID research consortium, which they are leading.

Enterprise Employee Smart Card Use

Who says large enterprise isn't warming up to RFID? German energy giant RWE recently completed the phase in of an ICMS (Identity and Card Management System) and contactless id badges for all 45,000 of their employees in 25 companies, over eight European countries. The solution was provided by vps Video Print Systeme. [More RFID via RFID Blog]

Interestingly, the European Union announced last year that they wanted a Europe-wide ban on RFID employee tracking. Cisco Systems was criticised last year for planning to track their employees with RFID tags embedded in their personnel uniforms. It should be noted that many large companies in North America have been using RFID-enabled contactless access passes for employess for over decade. These are not ID cards, but it is possible that each on contains a unique code, so a form of general tracking could be accomplished with these, every time an employee passes by an access area's reader.

Boeing Using Item-Level Tagging

What has 4,000,000 parts, has temperature conditions ranging from -40 F (Fahrenheit) to +1200 F, is subject to regular vibrations, and costs US$100M? The Boeing 787 Dreamliner airplane, which uses 2,000 special high-memory passive tags that run about $15-20 apiece, compared to the typical item-level tags of about forty cents. Boeing is using these tags to help in the documentation and maintanence cycle of each plane in this new line. Despite the four million parts, only 2,000 particularly critical parts are being tagged since they are known to be of "low reliability". This includes expensive items like landing gear and hydraulic pumps. [via Storefront Backtalk]

If you didn't notice the math, that's about $30-40,000 in tags alone. Interestingly, they have found that having that many tags on an airplane does not seem to cause any interference with flight equipment. Obviously a good thing to know. Boeing has previously jointly tested RFID with FedEx on MD-10 Freighter planes.

Alien Technology Opens RFID Factory

Alien Technology, who called off their IPO a few months ago, has been moving ahead despite the perception of the market. They officially opened a 48,000 sq foot manufacturing center in the state of North Dakota. The plant has a yearly production capacity of 2 Bln UHF RFID tags. The goal is to eventually manufacture 10 Bln tags per year. Alien is working on manufacturing processes to bring the cost of tags down, as they make up a large portion of the total cost of an RFID project. [via Industry Week] This doesn't seem like a company that's all that worried about their future.

Offshoring Affecting Australian RFID Industry

While radio frequency technology has been around for a long time, its use for RFID and smart cards is relatively new, maybe 20 years at most, in limited trials, with the bulk of projects conducted only this decade. Still, offshoring has reared it's head enough that an Australian smartcard firm has found the need to close up one factory in Melbourne, Australia, and move part of its operations to Christchurch, New Zealand. The result is that 70 jobs will be lost in Australia and 30-40 created in New Zealand. Approximately 10 Australian employees will be re-employed.

Australia has a number of ongoing RFID projects including chipped driver's licenses, and has even been working on a code of practice since mid-2004. Local firms, however, are being outbid by not China and India but countries like Germany. The country's AMWU (Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union) suggests that this is partly attributable to "... the lack of vision by the Australian Government."

[sources: Australian IT]

RFID Middleware Market: Big Opportunites Ahead

The market for the business software needed to manage RFID implementations is expected to grow significantly this decade. According to a Venture Development study, last year's market was US$24M, and should reach about $192M in 2010. That's an increase of seven times, an approximate 50% compounded annual growth rate.

Who is expected to dominate in the market? Giants like Cisco, IBM, WebMethods, and possibly NCR. What's more, IBM and WebMethods are expected to be acquiring a number of RFID software start-up companies.

Fact is, if you're in the software business and are forward thinking, there are numerous industries that use RFID and can all benefit from custom middleware to manage the data collection and management. There's also the analysis and reporting afterwards, which is a different category. And the middleware functional parameters for each industry are already inherently defined by their needs. If you know where to look, the answers are available.

So opportunities will abound in the near future, if you get started now in your software design. Pick one of the hot industries for RFID implementation, study functionality requirements, and start designing code and testing your systems. While I'm not going to pretend to give you a coding lesson, the biggest hurdle in designing new RFID middleware, besides the lack of standards, will be understanding all of the "exception conditions" that will arise from collecting data in real time. If you get this sorted out, and have useful software, chances are that you may just get a courtship letter from IBM or others. But the competition will be fierce. See the SDA India article linked below for a breakdown.

[sources: The Register UK, SDA India]

RFID Acquisitions: Thoughts From Savi Technology CEO

RFID Connection of AIM Global interviewed Vic Verma, co-founder and President/ CEO of Savi Technology. The company was acquired recently by the giant defense contractor Lockheed Martin. The RFID Connection article is a transcript of a podcast, which is also available. A partial summary, plus my commentary, is below.

Verma talks about a number of things, including why Savi agreed to be acquired instead of going IPO. (Alien Technology called off their IPO a couple of months ago, but Savi had agreed to be acquired by L-M just before that.) His answer is that RFID needs for someone to do for it what IBM did for the personal computer. For example:

Nobody wants to build an entire network in order to make the first phone call. On the other hand, once you have a global network, people will buy a cell phone to make multiple calls... there is a need for a global network [for RFID] so people can share the cost of the infrastructure and really just pay per use.

Verma also uses the Apple iPod as an example, to show that their business is not just about producing RFID technology, but packaging it up into a complete, integrated solution for customers (presumably enterprise). This is of course something that a smaller tech company may not be able to do, and which a large company such as Lockeed Martin can help with, and who has credibility.

Now, Motorola just agreed to buy Symbol Technology, and there are positive implications for the RFID industry. Which suggests that Alien Technology will likely have some courtship offers on the table soon, if not already. Lockheed Martin wants to expand out into commercial markets instead of just being in the defense contract market. And it's expected that Motorola wants to implement radio frequency technology in their cell phones, for use in contactless payment systems. It's likely, then, that several other smaller RFID tech companies will be courted by larger companies, possibly in defense, communications, retail or manufacturing.

RFID Roundup - Thur Oct 05/06

RFID VC Funding: Reva Systems
Reva Systems, based in the state of Massachusetts, USA, just received US$13.5M in venture capital funding from Cisco Systems and SAP Ventures (a division of SAP AG) in a second round of funding. Total VC funds from rounds one and two is $20M. Reva's focus is RFID-related network infrastructure appliances. [via EE Times] Cisco has been investing in a number of RFID companies including AeroScout  and ThingMagic, as well as forming partnerships with T-Systems and others. SAP AG has previously teamed up with Sun Microsystems and Acsis.

Honda To Track Shipments With RFID
HUM (Honda UK Manufacturing) will be using RFID for logistics, to track 250,000 plastic containers and 100,000 metal cages. Intellident will be providing the tracking system. [via TUV]

Mexican University To Use RFID For Asset Management
Mexico's Universidad Regiomontana, an academic institution, will use AXCESS' ActiveTag RFID asset protection system to help prevent theft or loss of computer and other assets. [via PR Newswire]

DOD RFID Deployment: First Phase

ODIN Technologies is just completing the first of two phases of the RFID infrastructure for the DoD (Dept of Defense). This phase includes the deployment of 19 bases containing 69 facilities. ODIN Technologies was selected because of their 100% read rate for their RFID tags. DoD criteria indicate the ability to read either Gen 1 or Gen 2 tags. [via RFID Update] Earlier this year, ODIN Technologies was ranked as number two in the top ten RFID providers list, according to a survey conducted by RFID Update. Last year, they were granted an experimental license by the US FCC to test RFID devices using frequencies prohibited in North America but which are used in a number of European and Asian countries.

PDC Demonstrates RFID Cashless Wristband For Waterparks

PDC, Precision Dynamics Corporation, will be promoting their Smart Band RFID Wristband at a waterpark association symposium on Oct 20-21, Orlando, Florida. The wristband is waterproof and can be used both for keyless entry into hotel rooms and lockers, as identification, and for cashless POS payment. Get more details at More RFID. Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls uses RTLS RFID wristbands from MICROS Systems. RTLS (Real Time Location Systems) is an area of growth for RFID.

Zebra Invests In RFID Patents

Zebra Technologies spent US$10M to acquire over 200 RFID patents and applications originally owned by BTG, a UK company. BTG is planning on focusing on their medical research and technology projects, thus leaving RFID completely. Get more details at RFID Update. Zebra has been investing and promoting RFID for quite some time. According to the RFID Update article, they were the first company to produce an integrated RFID printer/ encoder. Last year, they were a founding member of the RFID Consortium, a patent pool. They gifted an RFID lab to Indiana University's Kelley School last year, and are providing technical support to University of California Irvine's RFID Certificate Program.

Implications of Motorola's Purchase of Symbol Technologies

RFID Update reflects on what the big announcement about Motorola buying Symbol means for both Motorola and the RFID industry. The gist of it, from the RFID Update article and my own thoughts, is as follows:

• Motorola's products are more consumer-focused; Symbol's are enterprise-focused. There's little to no overlap in products. Although Motorola is involved in RFID to a degree, and is even a member of the NFC (Near Field Communications) forum. 
• Symbol's yearly revenue will double, and more, Motorola's enterprise-specific revenue. That's always a good thing. And with no product overlap, that probably means no job cuts - and that's also a good thing, depending on your perspective. 
• Motorola made a very smart buy. As RFID Update says, Motorola can "exploit the enterprise computing trends of mobility and convergence." 
• Expect to see RFID-enabled mobile communication devices (i.e., cell phones, VoIP phones, etc.) next year.  Also expect to see hybrid RFID/ VoIP wearable communication devices for enterprise use (pun intended), such as the Vocera Call Badge, but with RFID for identification/ access. This is a prediction, not based on anything specific other than my knowledge of the RFID and VoIP markets. If I'm wrong, no harm done. 
• Symbol's customer list will be valuable to Motorola, as will its distribution channel. More sales for Moto.
• Motorola has the funds and patience to wait out the couple of years before RFID achieves greater, more widespread penetration in terms of business use (manufacturing, retail, consumer, transit, etc.) When that happens, the ROI for them will start to be realized. 
• Symbol had announced intent to build a "convergence platform" (Wi-NG, Wireless Next Generation) for all types of wireless and mobile devices. Motorola is involved in convergence, will thus benefit from continuing with the Wi-NG project, as would other companies who may partner with Motorola.
• Motorola may spin-off (and sell?) Symbol's barcode tech.
   

It's easy for me to say that this is a good buy, despite Symbol's own recent problems. (Symbol bought Matrics, an RFID hardware maker, in 2004. Though I'm not sure if this contributed to their business difficulties. They also announced an RFID partnership with Microsoft in Jun 2005, but the latter's focus isn't on hardware like Motorola.) But I think we will see important announcements in RFID, cellular technology, convergence, etc., in the next few years, thanks to this acquisition. And maybe this time, Motorola can find value in RFID, unlike their previous effort.

New RFID Research Consortium Led By IBM

ITA (International Technology Alliance), a defense technology research program between the US and the UK was announced this week. It consists of 25 organizations led by IBM [RFID Update]. Areas of involvement include military, industry, and academics.

Does anyone else find it strange that no other English-speaking countries are part of this? It's considerably surprising, since, for example, IBM Canada does a considerable amount of R&D (research & development) for IBM head office. Canada has had RFID programs in place since the mid-1980s. Also, Australia has several current RFID initiatives.

Have a look at the RFID Update article to see the list of some very influential partcipating organizations from business and academia. The research program could run for ten years, but no explanation is given of why just these two countries are participating. RFID Journal offers some supplemental information.

This isn't the only RFID consortium. Several others have been forming lately, including RFID Consortium and RFID CUSP. The former is an industry group formed for several reasons including managing an RFID patent pool, as well as promoting UHF (Ultra High Frequency) RFID. The latter is a joint effort between academics and industry reps, to study security and privacy implications of radio frequency technology.

Volkswagen + Jaguar Using RFID

Apparently Volkswagen doesn't seem to have the financial problems that some American auto makers are having. In fact, Volkswagen is doing so well that they have a theme park which has up to 700 visitors daily. But instead of going on rides, visitors come for their ride, to pick up their car. They do this to save on the delivery charge for their vehicle. This quantity of visitors at the theme park (supposedly the second-most popular in Germany) has to organize the visits so that people get their cars in good time. So they use RFID to manage the process. RFID Weblog summarizes the process.

Jaguar cars are also tracked with RFID in a different manner. Unipart and Savi Networks will jointly be monitoring Jaguar car parts in cargo containers using Savi's information service. The service uses a combination of "bar codes, sensors, passive and active RFID, and GPS." [via Auto Industry UK] Savi, which was acquired by Lockheed Martin, has a hardy container tag which might be suitable for this task. Several other companies are using Savi's tech to monitor cargo.

  By the way, here are 5 other uses of RFID in automotive and related sectors.

RFID Consortium Adds 3M As A Member

3M Corp has joined the RFID Consortium, an organization of companies with the mandate to promote UHF (Ultra High Frequeny) RFID and EPCGlobal EPC Gen2 standards. UHF tags broadcast at much greater distances and is often used in applications such as supply chain management - for example to control inventory in warehouses. Late last year, the RFID Consortium set down a structure for creating a patent pool, for which they recently hired an administrator. A different consortium, RFID CUSP, recently received a million-dollar grant from the NSF to study the security and privacy implications of radio frequency technology.

RFID Roundup - Tues Sep 12/06

Free Copy (PDF) Smart Labels Analyst
The Sept 2006 issue of IDTechEx's Smart Labels Analyst is now available, in PDF (32 pgs, no paid ads), for free download. Content summary: Hot applications, profile: Wavetrend UK, RFID in Australasia, RFID in Action Case Study, etc.

RFID Mergers & Acquisitions Lessons
The last few months have shown an increasing number of company acquisitions related to RFID products, software, and/or services. IDTechEx says, however, that the rate of M&As (mergers and acquisitions) is less than the rate of formation of new RFID companies. There's room for more mergers and acquisitions, which will weed out the weak companies. You can read more at their website, or from the latest (free) edition of Smart Labels Analyst.

Less NFC/ RFID-Enabled Cell Phones By 2011 Than Expected
ABI Research revised their prediction for the number NFC (RFID)-enabled cell phones shipped for 2011, reducing the expected quantity to 450 million units - which will be less than a 1/3 of total handsets shipped. [via Cellular News] Personally, I'm not so sure that cellular network-based phones have much of a chance by 2011, what with cheap VoIP calling, Wi-Fi IP phones, and municipal Wi-Fi networks going up all over the place.

RFID Roundup - Mon Sep 04/06

CMP Technology RFID Applications Event: Hospital and Healthcare
Washington, D.C., will be hosting a CMP Technology event for RFID in hospitals and healthcare. The event runs Sep 21-22 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City just outside Washington. Areas of application focus include inventory control, identification, supply chain management, and more. Event details and registration instructions are available at RFID World. Other RFID events are listed at RFID World, including RFID Germany (October) and RFID World 2007 Dallas (March 27-29, 2007).

Fast Food, Fast Contactless Payment
It appears that more fast food businesses are accepting payments via RFID-enabled contactless key fobs. My observation is that such key fobs first started being used for payments at gas pumps. Later - or possibly simultaneously - consumers could pay for items in the convenience stores you find at gas stations. Now contactless payment has spread out to other businesses including select Smoothie King and McDonalds stores. Some of these businesses will also be accepting payment with Wells Fargo contactless payment cards.

RFID Industry Acquisitions: Acuity ID and Organic ID
  There have been a number of acquisitions in the RFID industry lately, with more to follow. Barcoding Inc recently purchased Acuity LLC, and forestry products giant Weyerhaeuser bought Organic ID. RFID Ltd is preparing to acquire up to four radio frequency technology companies, none of which have been named yet. Other companies in the industry, such as BEA, are focusing on software acquisitions.

RFID Roundup - Fri Sep 01/06

RFID Solutions Center For NEC
Earlier this week, NEC announced an RFID solutions center, which will be opened in Tokyo later this year. The center will employee 350 people. [via RFID In Japan]

California Passes RFID Legislation
The California Senate passed new legislation on RFID by a vote of 30 to 7 yesterday. The legislation would impose a number of regulations on the public use of RFID, and is the result of security and privacy concerns. [via RFID Law Blog] The California Legislature had postponed banning RFID last September.

Resort Island In Singapore Goes Contactless
The resort island of Sentosa, off the coast of Singapore, will have all of its admissions gates and outlets upgraded to use a contactless payment system from INSIDE Contactless. This includes thermal printers, tickets, and smartards, all of which use INSIDE's dual-standard memory chip, PicoPass. [via Contactless News]

Choose A Controller For ZigBee
Comms Design has some (technical) tips for selecting a MAC (Media Access Controller) for ZigBee wireless networks, which are increasingly being used for RFID projects. [via Comms Design]

More RFID Woes: Wal-Mart Sued For Alleged Patent Violation

Wal-Mart is being sued for supposedly violating an RFID-based inventory control patent filed in 2002 by a company called RFID World. Also named in the suit are Gillette (now owned by Procter & Gamble), Michelin, Home Depot, Target, and Pfizer). Visit RFID Journal for more details of the suit.

Wal-Mart and Target are probably two of the largest retailers using RFID for inventory control and supply chain management. Conflicting media reports suggest that Wal-Mart has had some difficulties with their RFID rollout and might have scaled back their expectations, but they say they are moving ahead. Some of their suppliers are reluctant to use RFID because they have not perceived a reasonable ROI (return on investment). As a result, some suppliers have lagged behind expected milestones from Wal-Mart, causing the retailer to get heavy-handed and mandate the use of RFID by all suppliers.

While implementing the technology is often perceived as being expensive, one small manufacturer managed their initial RFID trial for around US$6,000, with just one employee. Part of the misperception might come from the confusion betweeen item-level tagging and pallet- and case-level tagging - the latter two of which are generally less costly than item-level tagging. However, with a lawsuit in progress, one which suggests that suppliers will also be in violation RFID World's patent if they comply with Wal-Mart's standard, it's possible that there will be more setbacks in Wal-Mart'sRFID rollout.

RFID Roundup - Fri Aug 25/06

CPI To Make Wells Fargo Contactless Payment Cards
CPI Card Group will be making the cards for Wells Fargo Bank's Visa Contactless cards. [via Contactless News]

Swedish Miners Tracked With RFID For Safety
Miners working for Swedish mining company LKAB will be tracked with RFID for their safety. The Wtek wearable active RFID tags being used have a range of up to 100 meters. Scanners will be placed at a number of locations. [Ferret via RFID Blog] Wtek is involved in a number of projects that use RFID for safety. A number of other companies, such as AeroScout, are also exploring mine safety RFID applications.

RFID Volume Pricing Nonexistent?
In many industries, buying a company's product in bulk qualifies you for discount pricing. According to an eWeek article, that doesn't appear to be true for RFID. Quantity pricing of tags seems to be all over the place, depending on several factors including sector use, supplier, and country.

Positive Side Effects Of Learning About RFID

Marisa Torreri writes in RFID News about how a small mom-and-pop style manufacturer got started with RFID for less than US$6,000 and less than 40 person-hours of effort. [via RFID News] Thus, despite the high cost of item-level tagging, projects like this one are not so costly.

What I find interesting in the article is that the guy who was in charge of the project is now lecturing at conferences. This is a man that either has foresight or managed to luck out. Since the RFID industry is expected to suffer a shortage of skilled workers, especially system integrators and consultants, he is going to be a hot commodity.

So for the entrepreneurs out there, consider such positive side effects as motivation for learning all you can about RFID. Buy a few kits and try your own RFID experiments. (Makezine is a good starting point for a few easy projects.)

RFID Industry Teamups: Sybase and Intermec

More team-ups in the RFID industry. software giant Sybase is marrying their RFID Anywhere software platform to Intermec's RFID hardware. They will jointly provide their services to create RFID solutions for their customers in Australia and New Zealand. [via RFID Blog]

Sybase had previously teamed up with AeroScout to provide RTLS middleware solutions. Intermec was formerly known as UNOVA has had a number of partnerships within the industry.

RFID Industry IPOs: Who's Next?

With Alien Technology cancelling their IPO, RFID Update speculates about which "pure-play" RFID company might be first to go public. Amongst others, candidates include Impinj and ThingMagic. Both have received VC (Venture Capital) funding recently. However, some ThingMagic insiders openly state that they are more likely to be acquired than to go public - with Cisco being the likeliest acquirer. [via RFID Update; a very informative article and recommended reading]

Wal-Mart Moving Ahead With RFID Plans

Last week, Wal-Mart's new CIO, Rollin Ford, talked about RFID at the NRFTech (National Retail Federation Tech) conference near San Diego. While less than 10% of their 6600+ worldwide stores are RFID-equipped, they do plan to continue with their RFID rollout. [via Extreme RFID]

This is despite all the little indicators that suggest that maybe their plans aren't going so well, primarily because their suppliers are lagging behind in implementing RFID due to the cost and the lack of incentive, from their point of view. (A Forrester Research report from 2004 says that the start-up cost is about $9M for the typical Wal-Mart supplier.)

So Which Is It? Boom Or Bust For RFID?

Depending on which articles you look at, the RFID market will either booming next year or will be down in revenue. For example, ABI Research dropped its revenue projection for RFID software and services by 15 percent, for a variety of reasons, including less spending by consumers. Still, they expect that next year's RFID market to generate over $3 billion, with the greatest gains in asset management and supply chain management.

Another reason for the reduced forecast from ABI has to do with market consolidations and collaborative solutions. Who would've thunk it, that collaborating might be bad for the bottom line?

Then there's the issue of Alien Technology indefinitely delaying their IPO. At first, I thought that this had more to do with the state of the stock market, especially for tech stocks, than with the RFID industry. However, the rumors from company insiders suggest otherwise. In fact, jobs were supposedly cut.

Whether jobs are cut or increased will likely significantly depend on the RFID programs of large retailers such as Wal-Mart. Despite public claims that they're moving forward with the RFID program, there are some indications they've scaled back, primarily because suppliers have not themselves move forward. Wal-Mart's actual decision will probably have a ripple effect through the RFID industry.

Still, given the positive RFID trials in other countries, it's likely that these are probably short-term situations, and that the growth of RFID is inevitable.

Great Wolf Lodge Using RTLS RFID Wristbands

Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls, Canada, is using MICROS Systems' property-wide RFID-enabled hospitality management system. This allows guests to traverse the 100,000+ square foot water complex wearing waterproof RFID wristbands.

POS (Point-of-Sales) stations all over the complex allow guests to make contactless payment with the wristbands. [via PR Newswire] This is similar to SafeTzone's RTLS wristband for kids at theme parks, but does not track wristband wearers per se.

I guess this is an ideal environment for such wristbands, not just because it's an outdoor theme park, but because it's a water park. If you're spending most of your time in shorts or swimming gear, it's hard keeping your money dry.

RFID Roundup - Tue Aug 08/06

The new Gen2 RFID chips from STMicroelectronics support over 10,000 write/erase cycles and can sore data for up to 40 years. [via RFID Update] The Gen2 chip market has been recently joined by Texas Instruments, who used to purchase chips elsewhere to make inlays, a product they've since ceased making.

The Asian nations appear to be having very positive RFID markets, and Malaysia is among them. In fact, according to an IDC report, RFID spending in that country is estimated at a CAGR of nearly 46% yearly from 2005 to 2010. [The Edge Daily via RFIDNews]

A new report written by Stanford University professors confirms that RFID technology can help implement security in a business' supply chain, especially coupled with other technologies such as GPS (Global Positioning Systems). [NAM (PDF, 38 pgs) via RFID Law Blog]

Philips is selling more than 80% of their stake in their semiconductor division for a reported US$8 billion. The new majority owner is a private equity group, KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.). Apparently, Philips is moving towards being a "healthcare and lifestyle product company." [via Contactless News]

IBM is now offering a suite of software and services for pharmaceutical companies to track drugs in the supply chain. [via RFID Journal] Recently, IBM announced their free RFID system modelling software to help businesses get up to speed with RFID.

RFID Roundup - Mon Aug 07/06

To get the public more acquainted with RFID in the supply chain, the technology is being demonstrated in an interactive learning exhibit at the Retail Technology Expo in Melbourne, Australia, from Sep 19-21, 2006. [via Ferret]

The Pathfinder group of companies in New Zealand is running an RFID trial, at both both pallet- and case-level, to test their supply chain. If the trials are successful, that bodes well, as Prime Minister Helen Clark feels that 2007 see NZ exporting a lot of goods, many of which will need to be tagged. Previous RFID trials in NZ were fairly restricted, but the variety of applications is increasing. [via Stuff]

It might suprise you to know that JP Morgan Chase in the USA has already released around seven million RFID-enabled contacless smartcards for banking and payment. Chase recently released first-year statistics show some benefits of use for the smartcards for consumers, but retailers stand to benefit even more. [via Storefront Backtalk]

While the auto industry used RFID tags as far back as twenty years ago, and in a more widespread fashion about fifteen years ago, RFID-enabled cars can be stolen. Some of the methods used include disabling the RFID reader by removing a fuse, or a variety of brute force techniques. And unfortunately, even a former police officer whose SUV was stolen and vandalized was accused of lying because the thieves hadn't damaged his RFID transponder.  [via The RFID Weblog]

RFID Roundup - Fri Aug 04/06

Informit.com has a tutorial on the basics of RFID interrogation zones, courtesy of a sample chapter from Que Books.

RFID Solutions asks, are your RFID tags breaking the chain? The US DoD (Dept of Defense) and giant retailers such as Wal-Mart insist upon their suppliers using RFID for the supply chain. So not only do CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) suppliers have to comply, they have to ensure that they're shipping with good RFID tags that will not fail somewhere in the supply chain.

Food suppliers in the UK have been slow to use RFID, but with the launch of a new RFID food network, thanks to BT (British Telecommunications), that may change. BT's Auto-ID will provide retailers with 24/7 access to stock data through the supply chain. [via Food Production Daily]

The USDA (US Dept of Agriculture) has approved the RFID-enabled livestock tags of Digital Angel Corp. The intent of the use of these tags is to track livestock shipments and hopefully reduce the spread of a number of diseases, including Mad-Cow, Foot and Mouth, etc. Each tag has an AIN, or Animal Identification Number, which uniquely identifies each head of livestock during its lifetime. [via Biz Journals, More RFID]

The CoBIs project, funded by IST (EU Information Society Technologies) will have RFID-enabled devices, such as drums of chemicals, talking to each other. [via European Process Engineer] CoBIs, which stands for Collaborative Business Items, is a project concerned with developing communication between physical entities using radio frequency and wireless technologies. This is essentially the same as SEDs (Service Enabled Devices).

Free RFID System Modelling Tools From IBM

IBM is offering free tools to help businesses model RFID-enabled solutions. The tools are aimed at businesses who are reluctant to move to RFID systems, and feel they're being pressured into RFID use by large companies such as Wal-Mart or even the DoD (US Dept of Defense). [via iSeries Network]

The tools give businesses a chance to model their RFID requirements and determine how they can benefit. Amongst the tools, available from IBM's alphaWorks site, are: a graphical tool (RISE) for drawing solution models; a device development kit for students and developers, for understanding how RFID works; and a preview of IBM's ALE (Application Level Events) for RFID.

In the past, IBM's "free" tools require not so free tools running as well. Unfortunately, that's also the case here. Just to run RISE, you need several WebSphere modules and other IBM tools, as well as Windows 2000 Professional or XP Professional, a minimum of 1.3 Gb of hard disk space, minimum 512 Mb of RAM, etc.

You can find more details at the alphaWorks site, which also has RFID papers and tutorials, as well as links to other IBM RFID development environments.

IBM has been appearing in the news for RFID a fair bit lately, including the RFID Clipped Tag technology they introduced with Marnlen, as well as a number of other RFID innovations.

Additional sources: IBM alphaWorks.

RFID Roundup - Wed Aug 2/06

Are things really this bad in Australia with their Aus$1.1 billion RFID smartcard project? Well, if it IS like this where I live, I'd prefer a picture of my cat on my healthcard, thank you.

On the other hand, another trial in Australia is showing that RFID is producing benefits in the CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) supply chain. Participants include Procter & Gamble and Gillette (now owned by P&G). The trial uses EPCGlobal's network. [via RFID Journal]

A Canadian Crown Corporation (i.e., a for-profit, government-owned corporation, but presumably owned by the citizenry) has been using RFID for several months for functional analysis, and the project will now be rolled out with the help of Ship2Save and AAID Security Solutions. [via XTVWorld]

Everton Stadium is introducing their new Everton RFID-enabled smartcard for regular use starting Thur, Aug 3/06. To promote use of the card, holders get loyalty points for its use. [via Paddock Talk] I'm not 100% sure from the article, but I believe that this is a soccer stadium in England.

First soccer and then NASCAR racing, now golf. Besides the RFID-enabled golf balls that an American company is offering, an exclusive golf club near London is using RFID to ensure that only members use the course. The use of RFID was implemented primarily to allow the club to continue its practice of show-and-play for members. That is, no tee-off time needs to be booked, unless a player is a guest. [via RFID Journal]

RFID Roundup - Tues Aug 1/06

Here are some summaries of recent RFID-related news from elsewhere that you may have missed.

FileTrail, Inc.'s RFID Tracking Solution will be used by the US 7th Judicial Circuit Court to automate the tracking and management of case files in 130 locations, including courtrooms, judges' chambers, etc. The system will eliminate manual searches as well. [via PRWeb]

GAO Tek Inc., formerly GAO Engineering, of Toronto, Canada, has spun out GAO RFID Inc. The website includes an online store for RFID tags, labels, and readers, and supplies information about markets and solutions as well. [via PR.com]

The hospital/ healthcare market for RFID is hot, and a number of companies are offering a variety of RFID-based asset managment solutions. One is Wren Medical Systems from Chicago, Illinois, who have just introduced a RFID-based software for managing medical devices. The sofware is intended for health care providers and is being distributed, through a partnership, in North and Central America. [via RFID Solutions Online]

Paxar Corporation has a new RFID compliance kit, RFID Headstart, aimed, it appears, at SMBs (Small to Medium Businesses) who are suppliers to larger companies that have an RFID requirement - for example, Wal-Mart. The turnkey kit saves SMBs the time and cost of having to put together their own system. It comes with a variety of components including an RFID printer, reader, labels, compliant software, support, service, and consulting. [via More RFID] a similar RFID compliance package is available from Omron.

Symbol Technologies has introduced a new industrial-class Gen 2 RFID reader based on their XR architecture. The device runs on the Microsoft Windows CE operating system, which allows integration with other MS Windows systems.[via Strategiy.com]

Firetide Inc. of California is offering a hybrid wireless mesh/ RFID  system for automobile dealerships. This system ties into the KeyWhere lockbox RFID system, which tracks data on all vehicles in a dealershp. Each lockbox communicates through either Wi-Fi or ZigBee. [via The Auto Channel]

RFID Roundup #3

IBM and T3Ci finished the interoperability testing of a new EPCIS RFID software standard, based on EPCGlobal's EPC (Electronic Product Code), which allows the exchange and query of RFID data. T3Ci is a maker of RFID analytics software. This new feature will allow RFID data sharing across systems. Unilever North America is apparently piloting the standard.

ExtremeRFID has an podcast on RFID between eWeek Senior Editor Kevin Fogarty and RFID expert Fran Rabuck, about the implications of China joining the EU's BRIDGE project.

ABI Research says that the US government should be soothing the fears of citizens regarding the new RFID-enabled smart e-passports. These passports are expected to start being issued in August and are based on the ISO 14443 contactless technology standard.

RFID tag manufacturer Alien Technology was hoping to raise US$88M for their IPO, scheduled for July 27, 2006. (Although it appears that their expectations dropped from raising $120 mln.) A look at their Nasdaq page (Nasdaq: RFID - clever) after close of market on July 28th shows that they have not begun trading yet. A look at Alien's press releases webpage shows nothing dated after June 26th. So I guess we'll have to wait and see.

RF Code, an Arizona-based asset tracking solutions developer, has donated RFID equipment to the University of Ohio's RFID research programs. [via RFID blog]

RFID Roundup #2

State lawmakers are not so sure of the benefits of RFID, given the perception people have of the technology. California state Sen. Joe Simitian is of that opinion, and wants to proceed with caution. He's one of several senators and lawmakers who have become aware of the divide of opinion about the use of RFID and are not sure how to proceed.

Mattel, the toymaker, is launching a kids gaming system called Hyperscan that combines CD-ROM content with RFID-enabled card games. Current offerings include a game base on Marvel's X-Men superheroes.

The UK's RAF (Royal Air Force) is conducting a year-long proof-of-concept trial of RFID on their Harrier jets. The plan to use the tags to help in expediting maintenance, particularly to track equipment across various zones. Source:  QinetiQ [via The IT Shield]

A recent IDTechEx report indicates that RFID system sales will increase worldwide from US$550 mln to nearly $7 bln over the next decade. Much of the growth will be in "disposable RFID sensors."

Apparently, privacy advocate Katherine Albrecht has been relatively successful with her Spychips book(s) and campaign to