Sept. 13, 2012—The following are news announcements made during the past week.
India's State of Maharashtra Adopts Confidex RFID Technology for Border Checkpoints
Confidex, a supplier of specialty RFID tags, has announced that its
RFID Windshield labels
are being employed in a fully automatic border checkpoint control
system in the Indian state of Maharashtra. According to Confidex, the
solution is the first of its kind in the country, and represents the
kickoff for modernizing all border checkpoints throughout India, as
mandated by the government. In Maharashtra, Confidex reports, the
commercial capital state of India, the
Maharashtra State Road Development Corp.
(MSRDC) is currently in the process of modernizing the state's border
checkpoints, which had been using manual systems that often resulted in
high processing times and traffic jams at those borders. The new
border-control system utilizes automatic vehicle identification (AVI)
ultrahigh-
frequency (
UHF) RFID technology designed to enable reliable, large-scale vehicle and traffic management, as well as enhanced traffic flow.
Intermec's
IF2 Network readers are being used in the system's implementation. The Confidex Windshield Label—which is compliant with the
EPC Gen 2 ISO 18000-6C standard and is being resold by Confidex's partner,
Rajkamal Barscan System—is
issued and affixed to each vehicle's windshield, and automatically
reads when the vehicle approaches the checkpoint. Several million cars
will be RFID-enabled within the first few years, says Hanna Kosunen,
Confidex's marketing director for object ID, though she is unable to
provide specific numbers. The vehicle's tax, insurance, permit,
pollution and driver information is instantly retrieved from the central
database, according to Confidex, allowing border officers to make quick
decisions regarding border control. Border checkpoint IT system
infrastructure is provided by
HCL Infosystems Ltd., which is serving as the project's systems integrator. The complete border check station infrastructure is contracted by
Maharashtra Border Check Post Network Ltd. (MBCPNL), a sister company of
Sadbhav Engineering Ltd., one of India's major infrastructure and construction firms. According to
MBCPNL's Web site,
the project's goal is to "construct, operate, maintain and transfer
twenty-two modernized and computerized integrated Border Check Posts."
Confidex and
Impinj are hosting a 30-minute webinar about AVI RFID technology on Oct. 3, 2012; those interested can register
here.
IDTronic Intros Bluebox Basic UHF RFID Reader Supporting Four External Antennas
IDTronic, an RFID
hardware provider based in Germany, has announced a new version of its
Bluebox Basic Controller that comes with four external TNC
antenna ports. The new ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID reader supports the
ISO
18000-6C and EPC Gen 2 standards, and is now available as an addition
to IDTronic's existing line of UHF Bluebox readers. This includes a
read-write device and an integrated antenna that plugs into a computer's
USB
port, the Basic Controller with a single antenna port. With its
ruggedized housing, the latest UHF four-antenna Bluebox Basic Controller
offers a reading distance up to 10 meters (33 feet) and has adjustable
output power of up to +32
dBm,
IDTronic reports, making it suitable for professional long-range RFID
applications. The device is available with an RS232/RS485 or Ethernet
interface; supports several standard read nodes, such as scan mode and
notification mode; and has integrated
I/O ports
and three LEDs for status information. In addition, IDTronic offers a
software developer's kit (SDK) and suitable antennas that can be used
with the reader.
Hong Kong RFID Announces RFID-enabled System for Electronic Fuel Delivery Management
Hong Kong RFID Ltd.,
an RFID hardware manufacturer, distributor and consultancy firm in Hong
Kong and the South China Region, has announced its electronic fuel
delivery system (EFDS). The EFDS solution leverages 2.4 GHz active RFID
tags, and is designed to replace existing systems employing bar-coded
labels for the identification of vehicles receiving fuel. According to
Hong Kong RFID, the bar-coding can be easily damaged, and the process of
locating and reading the
bar code
can be time-consuming. The EFDS is designed to track the delivery of
fuel to cranes and other large vehicles in the field. EFDS active RFID
tags are installed on vehicles, so that fuel-truck operators can
identify target vehicles using Hong Kong RFID's Empress Mobile Handheld
Reader. An operator chooses a specific vehicle to receive fuel via the
handheld device, causing an LED on that vehicle's RFID tag to light up
for the purpose of identification, then presses a "start" button on the
reader for fuel delivery. An ES-Box installed within the fuel truck will
then record the starting and stopping time, along with the amount of
fuel injection. In addition, each delivery's operational time is
recorded and stored in the Operation Timer install in the fuel-delivery
vehicle. All data in the ES-Box and Operation Timer can be automatically
downloaded to the Mobile Handheld Reader, which can then be connected
to a PC to generate an efficiency report for further analysis. By
analyzing fuel-efficiency data, companies can better monitor and
understand the health of a vehicle or machine, such as whether it
requires motor oil or lubricant, as indicated by poor efficiency
operation. Hong Kong RFID is marketing the EFDS primarily within the
Asia Pacific region, but intends to eventually extend that reach to the
remainder of the world. According to Hong Kong RFID, both
Shell and
Chevron
are utilizing the EFDS solution in Hong Kong, with plans to introduce
the system to their headquarters and bring it to their North American
and European operations.
Balluff Announces New Version of Its RFID System
Balluff Inc., the North American subsidiary of Germany's
Balluff
and a manufacturer of a variety of sensors, has announced a new version
of its RFID system. The Balluff BIS V solution, which supports the
ISO 14443 and
ISO 15693
standards, is built on a new generation of RFID processors that,
according to the company, maximize flexibility by providing a single
device for both
low-frequency (LF) 125 kHz and
high-frequency (HF) 13.56 MHz
read-write
heads with an IO-Link master port. Each of the four heads can be set up
to interrogate either 125 kHz or 13.56 MHz passive RFID tags. Balluff
sells a very wide range of passive RFID tags for both of these
frequencies, to support both industrial and logistics applications.
These include
read-only
tags for mounting directly to metal, tags that can withstand high
temperatures of up to 230 degrees Celsius (446 degrees Fahrenheit) and
others with longer read distances of up to 280 millimeters (11 inches).
The new system combines up to four-head capability on both LF and HF
frequencies, with local analog, valve manifold or
I/O
access/control, and delivers a solution that can be applied to a
variety of RFID applications. The solution saves time and money, Balluff
reports, by employing a single processor platform across an application
installation base. Typical applications include the tracking and
tracing of materials or parts for assembly-line work in progress (WIP),
the company adds, as well as inter-logistics in automotive, industrial
equipment, electronics, medical and packaging applications. The BIS V
processor provides a functional display and LEDs designed to make setup
easier, and includes a USB service interface for connectivity to PCs. In
addition, the processor offers four asynchronous 125 kHz and 13.56 MHz
read-write antenna channels, an LCD display with control buttons for
setting and displaying the network address and
data carrier/tags'
unique IDs, an industrial IP 65-rated metal housing (meaning that
testing has confirmed that housing to be dustproof and waterproof), a
power plug option for saving parameters on the device, and flexible
mounting options.
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