RFID

The SDiD™ 1212 Low Frequency (LF) RFID Reader SD Card is now available from Wireless Dynamics Inc. It is the first RFID SD Card with embedded 512MB SD Memory in the industry. In addition to the Low Frequency RFID read and write functions, SDiD™ 1212 can store user applications and data. This true plug-and-play RFID SD card can be configured to instantly load drivers and launch applications. By inserting the SDiD™ 1212 into the SD slot of a Smartphone or PDA, the integrated device can be used for most low frequency RFID applications such as asset tracking, field services, work-flow control, logistics, pet and livestock animal identification. RFID tag data transactions can be processed in real time through mobile connections such as WiFi, CDMA, GSM / GPRS or UMTS associated with the portable device.

Awarepoint Corporation has been granted U.S. Patent No. 7,324,824. The patent covers Awarepoint’s mesh network plug-in sensor appliance and describes the use of a plug-in network appliance to perform a bridge between two wireless communication formats and perform position location services.

“This patented sensor is a small, unobtrusive device that plugs directly into AC outlets forming an automatic mesh sensor network. It requires no cabling, and it can be moved to other AC outlets as needed to optimize the system’s performance,” said Ron Hegli, Chief Technology Officer of Awarepoint.

Some believe RFID chips have great promise for commerce. Others raise the specter of an Orwellian society where an individual’s every move and purchase are analyzed.

Whether one believes this RFID technology to be auspicious, suspicious, or somewhere in between, if that’s the road that commerce is headed down, then the Washington state Legislature just constructed the first techno-checkpoint of its kind.

On March 7, 2008 researchers and students of the Digital Security group of the Radboud University Nijmegen have discovered a serious security flaw in a widely used type of contactless smartcard, also called RFID tag. It concerns the "Mifare Classic" RFID card produced by NXP (formerly Philips Semiconductors). Earlier, German researchers Karsten Nohl en Henryk Plötz pointed out security weaknesses of this cards. Worldwide around 1 billion of these cards have been sold.

Worldwide radio frequency identification (RFID) revenue is forecast to total $1.2 billion in 2008, a 30.9 percent increase from 2007 revenue of $917.3 million, according to Gartner, Inc. By 2012, worldwide RFID revenue is forecast to total $3.5 billion.

Gartner maintains that the forced adoption of RFID created faster uptake than would have occurred normally within a technology cycle. This uptake was swiftly followed by a delay in sales and in further adoption. Since then, lessons have been learned and new applications and standards have helped to rejuvenate demand as companies have realized that the value of RFID lies in the business process innovation, not the technology.

At the International Solid State Circuit Conference, Holst Centre, IMEC and the Dutch research center TNO - presented a plastic 64-bit inductively-coupled passive RFID tag operating at 13.56MHz. With a record 780bit/s data readout of 64 bits over 10cm, the device approaches item-level tagging requirements. The tag generates a 5-fold higher bit rate compared to state-of-the-art plastic RFID systems. The achievement paves the way for low-cost high-volume RFID tags to replace barcodes.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has extended the time and increased the value of its Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) II contract with Savi, a Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] company. The contract has been extended to Jan. 31, 2009 and its ceiling increased by about $60 million to $483 million for the company’s active RFID products and services.

The contract amendments were made by the U.S. Army’s Information Technology, E-Commerce and Commercial Contracting Center (ITEC4), and the executive agent for the DoD is the office of the Product Manager, Joint-Automatic Identification Technology.

Agreed standards help ensure coordinated, efficient and rapid development of new technologies such as RFID radio tracking. A major report maps the stakeholders and rules affecting RFID and provides ground rules for successful standardisation.

When a technology is developing as rapidly as radio frequency identification (RFID) with the active participation of a huge range of industry sectors worldwide – from automotive manufacturing to pharmaceutical distribution and fashion retailing – it is not surprising that overlapping and, at times, conflicting standards develop, according to Peter Gabriel, spokesman for a European research project in this area.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) worked with METRO Group to implement Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to improve the availability of products in its stores. The companies are successfully using RFID in a system which tracks shipments from suppliers to warehouses, distribution centers and stores. The companies are also teaming on an innovative customer focused RFID project in one of METRO Group's Galeria Kaufhof department stores.

Key Features:

1. World's highest-capacity RFID tags
Featuring 64KB high-capacity FRAM, Fujitsu's RFID tags deliver high-speed data writing capability and high durability. The tags also offer state-of-the-art security functions, such as password management for each part of the memory area.
2. Compatible with different frequencies used around the world
The new RFID tag can be implemented globally as a result of compliance with the EPCglobal Class 1 Generation 2 standard, supporting a variety of frequencies used in different countries. Furthermore, the tag can be mounted on metal surfaces and meets fire retardancy standards by satisfying the testing requirements for SAE AS5678(3) specifications, which are required to be met for high-quality aviation parts.