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RFID
RFID Vendors Unite Behind Item-Level UHF
A powerful group of RFID vendors have weighed in on the side of UHF in the ongoing debate about whether HF or UHF RFID is the superior technology for item-level tagging of pharmaceuticals. In a jointly sponsored white paper, ADT/Tyco Fire & Security, Alien, Impinj, Intel, Symbol, and Xterprise present evidence to "dispels myths" about UHF RFID and demonstrates why they believe it is the right choice for pharma-tracking. The long-held view by most in the industry is that UHF cannot be used at the item level -- particularly for pharmaceuticals -- because proximity to metals and liquids causes unacceptable degradation in performance. It is this conventional wisdom that the white paper sponsors seek to counter, says Vinay Gokhale, vice president of RFID business development for Impinj, the company that has emerged as the de facto leader of the item-level UHF camp. Instead of treating it as a forgone conclusion that UHF can't work at the item level, the informal pro-UHF consortium believes the industry should integrate recent developments around near-field UHF's capabilities and consider whether the conventional wisdom is flawed, he says.
Impinj's "near-field UHF" item-level solution allows UHF tags to be used in and around metal and liquid. At the company's booth at RFID World, the company displayed near-field UHF chips floating in a bottle filled with water while still being actively and accurately read by a nearby reader.
The new white paper contradicts the findings of another document released earlier this year by RFID solutions provider ODIN technologies. In the benchmark entitled Pharmaceutical RFID: Battle of the Frequencies, ODIN concluded through its own testing analysis that HF is clearly superior to UHF for item-level tagging in the pharmaceutical supply chain. A key caveat to the findings, however, is that ODIN did not evaluate near-field UHF during the benchmark's production because sample product was not made available in time. Were ODIN to reevaluate using the near-field product available today, Gokhale expects that it "would come up with quite a different conclusion." While ODIN has not announced its intention to do so, the release of a follow-up item-level pharma benchmark seems likely given the developments in near-field UHF.
"As an industry we need to have a discussion about this with the more recent [UHF developments] instead of years-old information that people are baking into their analyses," Gokhale says. "What the (sponsoring) group has concluded is that UHF Gen2 is the ideal protocol and frequency for item-level pharmaceutical applications."
www.rfidupdate.com
Microsoft Biztalk to Support RFID
The new release of Microsoft's Biztalk Server integration software will include the capability to manage and support RFID devices, says Burley Kawasaki, group product manager for the upcoming Release 2. Biztalk will be able to connect real-time RFID events fed into it to relevant supply chain processes, such as updating the warehouse inventory database and other back-end business systems. It will include a plug-and-play architecture for dealing with RFID devices so that multiple devices can be managed in a uniform manner. Business rules may be applied to RFID messages, allowing them to be quickly integrated with business systems. "In the past, we hadn't talked about how we would deliver RFID handling in Biztalk Server," Kawasaki says. It won't matter who supplies the RFID devices. Biztalk users will be able to interface to them through the same application programming interface as any other supplier, he said. RFID users interested in testing the new release may do so through Microsoft's technology adoption program at http://connect.micorosft.com. Microsoft is seeking feedback from users before the mid-2007 launch of Release 2.
www.informationweek.com
Sun Moving RFID Center to Longmont
Sun Microsystems Inc. has moved its test center for RFID products from Dallas to Longmont, Colo., where it has been combined with the Sun Advanced Product Testing (APT) environmental test laboratory. This move meets the growing demands of customers to test multi-vendor RFID and sensor solutions for the ability to withstand extreme, "real-world" environmental conditions, including excessive heat and cold, shock, humidity, vibration, altitude and pressure. The new facility is called the Sun Advanced Product Testing Lab for RFID and Sensors. In addition to sharing Sun's existing APT facility in Longmont, additional operations are located at Sun's nearby Louisville campus in suburban Denver.
www.bizjournals.com
Boeing and FedEx Launch Aircraft Pilot
Aircraft manufacturing giant Boeing is partnering with FedEx to test the effects of regularly beaconing active RFID tags in a functioning aircraft. For a 120-day period ending September 15th, the companies will jointly monitor and evaluate an active tag deployment on one FedEx MD-10 Freighter. The ultimate goal is to increase aircraft part visibility and improve aircraft maintenance by storing inspection data directly on tagged parts. The tags chosen for the evaluation are provided by Identec Solutions of British Columbia, Canada. Operating at 915 MHz, they can transmit data to distances of 300 feet. The tags are powerful enough to be read from an interrogator positioned outside the aircraft while the aircraft's access doors are closed. For the first 90 days of the evaluation, 40 such tags broadcasting their data every three seconds will be deployed. For the remaining 30 days, an additional ten tags will be added to the mix. These ten include eight kilobytes of readable and writable storage onto which FedEx technicians will record inspection data when the freighter passes through the company's main hub in Memphis.
The tags will be installed throughout all areas of the aircraft. Boeing and FedEx will be testing for electromagnetic interference and related environmental effects that the tags might cause. However, the companies seem to consider it a forgone conclusion that RFID's effects are benign. Ken Porad, Boeing's RFID program manager, said, "It's key to keep the power levels of these tags in perspective -- cell phones and laptops emit a great deal more power," he said. Identec's tags transmit less than a milliwatt; cell phones transmit 500. "These tags are very safe for use on an airplane."
Assuming no unforeseen hitches, Boeing will work with the US Federal Aviation Administration to certify that active RFID is indeed safe for use in aircraft. Federal certification would presumably pave the way for far wider adoption throughout the airline and aerospace industry.
www.rfidupdate.com
China RFID White Book Coming Soon
Industry pros wanting the scoop on China's RFID development, as well as a bit of historical perspective, won't have to wait too long to get the goods. The China RFID Technology and Policy White Book will be released mid-June, according to an article posted to ChinaTechNews online. The White Book is a guideline document about China's RFID development. It details China's creation of an RFID national standard and the establishment of the standards system, its policy support in the RFID industry, relevant RFID product development and base construction, talent training, international technology exchanges and cooperation on RFID technology. In particular, it points out that the development of a coherent RFID national standard is the most important issue for RFID development in China. The book was drafted by 14 Chinese ministries, including the Ministry of Information (with guidance from the Ministry of Science and Technology).
www.RFIDnews.com
IP in RFID Again Challenged as Alien Sues Intermec
It appears the issues surrounding intellectual property in RFID are not fully resolved. Alien Technology has filed suit against Intermec in the state of North Dakota "seeking a declaratory judgment for patent non-infringement and invalidity on ten Intermec patents for RFID products and processes." Essentially, Alien is asserting that its products do not infringe on certain RFID intellectual property of Intermec's, intellectual property for which Intermec has been attempting to collect royalties from vendors industry-wide.
"With this action, Alien is seeking to quickly resolve any confusion and uncertainty in the RFID marketplace about Alien's products created by Intermec's lingering public threats of litigation," said the company's vice president and general counsel David Aaron. Intermec, for its part, issued the following statement shortly after Alien's announcement: "Today's action by Alien Technology is not unexpected. We continue to believe, as we stated during our last quarterly conference call on May 8, that Alien, among others, makes and sells products that infringe Intermec RFID patents. We have consistently said we will pursue those companies that infringe our intellectual property patent estate. We continue our due diligence related to these matters."
Many IP issues appeared to be resolved last year when Intermec and Symbol settled a long running patent dispute and Intermec introduced a formalized royalty structure. Many companies signed on to license Intermec's IP during a 90-day “rapid start program,” but Alien did not.
www.rfidupdate.com
Ford Canada Implements RFID
Later this month, workers at Ford Motor Co. of Canada's 5.4-million-square-foot assembly complex in Oakville, Ontario, will begin tracking the whereabouts of about 50 trucks loaded with parts using an RFID-based Real-Time Locating System (RTLS) from WhereNet. The deployment uses active tags that will emit a signal every four minutes. By late July, the system will track nearly 1,000 trucks each day. Fourteen WherePort exciters, positioned at the facility's entrance and exit gates, will activate dormant tags and 68 wireless WhereLAN access points that collect location information as tags come into their purview.
Ford has installed the system to streamline assembly processes and electronically manage the flow of parts for the production of the new 2007 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossover utility vehicles, the automaker says, as well as the existing Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey models. Location-based data can be used to ensure parts and components are staged at the final assembly areas at the precise moment they are needed, and in the proper sequence. According to Ford spokesman John Arnone, the RTLS is part of an approximately US$910 million investment to revitalize the Oakville Assembly Complex into a leading flexible manufacturing facility.
"Manufacturers like Ford are dealing with existing brick-and-mortar facilities that were set up years ago," says Gary Latham, director of industry marketing in WhereNet's automotive division. "Now they are trying to create a more flexible environment." Instead of bringing in massive amounts of parts and storing them at the complex, for example, parts will arrive on the day they are to be used for assembly. "That requires flexible processes to move materials, and a fast, accurate system that tells them where every trailer is, what is in it and what needs to be done with it," Latham says.
Each tag will contain unique identifiers encompassing a conveyance carrier code, trailer number, route code and unique transponder number-in short, all the information required to link each trailer with Ford's receiving schedule. The access points convey the ID number to the RTLS, which coordinates the location and correlates the number to a matching number and associated data, such as the trailer contents and estimated time of arrival. All this information is stored in a back-end database. WhereNet has designed interfaces that pull that associated information out of Ford's material systems and supply chain systems, says Latham.
Armed with location and associated data, Ford employees can use handheld computers to receive instructions as to where trailers are located, and when and where to move the trailers' contents. In addition, employees can query the system about a trailer's whereabouts, and even pull up physical maps of the facilities and their 170-plus docks.
The system can also alert Ford when a trailer has stayed on-site for too long-an event that can end up costing Ford money. "The system can alert drivers to pick up the oldest trailers first, to prevent Ford from having to pay demurrage charges," says Latham. Demurrage charges are tariffs assessed for detaining freight carriers beyond their specified time limits.
Although the RFID system is just now starting to go live, Ford is already seeing benefits. "System uptime has been 100 percent and provided critical data to our test supplier," Arnone says. "Even during the June pilot launch, we can count several thousand dollars saved in manufacturing costs by using this real-time information for production-planning purposes."
Other Ford facilities implementing RFID-enabled systems includethe automaker's F150 truck assembly plant in Dearborn, Mich.
www.RFIDJournal.com
E-Pedigree Solution Speeds Compliance
With less than a month remaining before Florida's July 1 deadline, many organizations are scrambling to comply with the state's drug pedigree law. To help them meet mandatory Florida requirements for drug pedigrees, SupplyScape Corporation has started shipping its newest product, SupplyScape E-Pedigree Version 3.6. This solution, the company says, is easy and fast to implement and delivers the lowest total cost of pedigree management. SupplyScape also announced an accelerated pedigree compliance program, Compliance Express, by which organizations can implement E-Pedigree within just four weeks. Fast integration with financial ERP and warehouse management systems occurs through the flexible SupplyScape API. Process variations from one warehouse facility to another are managed easily using simple business rule configuration. Common processes including kitting and repackaging are handled automatically through built-in features and don't require custom development.
"The SupplyScape solution is remarkably stable and robust,” says Bryan Russell, ePedigree Service Line Leader, Deloitte Consulting LLP. “My client was able to implement a solution on-time, on-budget, and well ahead of the Florida regulations."
www.supplyscape.com
AT&T Introduces Managed RFID Service
AT&T is the latest technology giant to enter the RFID industry. Through a partnership with Symbol, BEA, and Intel, the company last week announced a managed RFID service that it hopes will "accelerate mass adoption" of the technology. As with other global technology firms like IBM and Sun Microsystems that have staked out territory in RFID, AT&T is taking the long-term view that RFID is just another sensor and represents only the first step toward the eventuality of universal sensor networks (USNs). The new offering, which is being carried out with AT&T subsidiary Sterling Commerce, aims to simplify and secure the end-to-end deployment of RFID. The company cites the diversity of existing technology infrastructures as a major hurdle to RFID deployment and has designed its solution to make the integration of RFID devices "as simple to manage and as secure as any other network element". Intel will work with AT&T to produce "reference architectures" that aid both RFID hardware vendors in their development of better equipment and end users in learning how to best deploy RFID. BEA will provide its Weblogic RFID Edge Server and Enterprise Server software to allow remote management of RFID readers and the data they generate. Lastly, Symbol will provide its fixed and mobile readers.
www.rfidupdate.com
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