Gain ICs' Solution for Making RFID Tags as Cheap as Bar Codes

A few days ago, I had a conversation with Christopher Wright, the chief operations officer at Gain ICs, an integrated circuit design company based in Colorado. He was all fired up about Gain ICs' technology that, if added to a passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID chip, promises to dramatically increase wireless data transmission speeds, read range and tag sensitivity, as well as enable RFID tags to be as inexpensive to deploy as printed bar codes. The technology was invented by the company's CTO and cofounder, Jed Griffin, an engineer formerly with Intel. - See more at: http://www.rfidjournal.com/blogs/rfid-journal/entry?10856#sthash.TUFLlztk.dpuf

Best Practices On NFC Mobile Payments Issued In Hong Kong

Near field communication (NFC) mobile payment services are on the rise in Hong Kong, and are offered in many retail outlets as a payment method. To facilitate the growth of such technology whilst balancing the security concerns of the public, the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB), in consultation with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), has recently issued a Best Practice on NFC Mobile Payments in Hong Kong (Best Practice). The Best Practice is intended to provide the minimum security requirements and other best practices for the development of NFC mobile payments in Hong Kong.
NFC mobile payment services are already offered in Hong Kong by, amongst others, HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and the Bank of China. The Octopus Group is also set to introduce NFC mobile payments as an alternative to its widely popular Octopus card, and Jetco recently announced that it will team up with several banks to build an NFC mobile payment platform. With the growing popularity of NFC mobile payments, concerns have arisen as to the security and infrastructure of this new payment method.

Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion Music Festival Opts for RFID

Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, a three-day music festival held in the twin cities of Bristol, Va., and Bristol, Tenn., will be the first to use a new RFID-based ticketing and access-control solution provided by a San Francisco firm called Vendini. The California company will supply RFID-enabled wristbands for everyone onsite—whether personnel, performers or ticket holders—for the September 2014 event. Vendini will also provide handheld and fixed high-frequency (HF) RFID readers, as well as hosted software for managing access control and ticketing data. - See more at: http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?11290#sthash.YA8KQWBc.dpuf

TSL Arms the 1128 Bluetooth UHF RFID Reader

Technology Solutions UK Ltd (TSL) introduced a new wrist mount and belt holster accessory for the 1128 Bluetooth UHF RFID Reader, facilitating fast, accurate and cost-effective tracking of products, assets and data in such applications as retail, logistics, warehousing and distribution. The 1128 Bluetooth UHF RFID Reader from TSL is designed to communicate wirelessly with a variety of Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices, including enterprise handhelds, consumer phones, touchscreen MP3 players, tablets and PCs. Using the new MC40 Wrist Mount and carrying the 1128 Bluetooth UHF RFID Reader in the Belt Holster, data can be captured and transmitted completely hands-free via automatic RFID scanning.

Colorado Readies System for Monitoring Marijuana

Hundreds of recreational marijuana shops are slated to open in Colorado on Jan. 1. Once that happens, every package of buds or processed products, such as marijuana-laced brownies, will have an RFID tag attached to it, intended to help the state regulate product and ensure that it comes from authorized sources. In July 2011, Colorado's Department of Revenue issued medical marijuana regulations requiring that the pot plants' and products' status and whereabouts be recorded throughout the supply chain. The agency also indicated that the state will eventually require the use of EPC Gen 2 ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tags to authenticate and identify each product or plant.

Omni-ID adds active tag to product portfolio

Omni-ID, the original inventor of the on-metal tag and leading global supplier of high-performance, RFID tags and visual tagging systems announced a new addition to its lineup of products the power 400 Tag.

Traditionally known for its robust portfolio of passive RFID tags and its groundbreaking visual tagging system for manufacturing, the addition of this highly rugged active RFID tag makes Omni-ID's product portfolio the broadest and most complete in the industry.

The power 400 tag is ideal for tracking assets in harsh outdoor environments where high impact, temperature fluctuations and exposure to chemical or other harsh materials are part of the day-to-day use case. The tag has been designed with a rugged over-molding for extreme durability and use in dangerous environments such as the energy industry where the possibility of high impact is probable.
The active RFID functionality provides for exceptional read ranges over widely dispersed areas, with the certainty of passive RFID built in as a back-up. An ATEX certified version of the product will be available in early 2014.

Feig Expands U.S. Operations, With an Eye Toward NFC

Feig Electronics a manufacturer of RFID readers, antennas and passive RFID tags, expects major growth in the electronic-payment market in the United States, following a trend already underway in Europe. To that end, the company is preparing for the growth to follow by relocating its U.S. headquarters to a new, larger facility—dedicated to sales, marketing and technical support—and by increasing its production capacity in Europe. The German company manufactures low-frequency (LF), high-frequency (HF) and ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) passive RFID tags and readers for supply chain management, retail, health-care and payment applications, and has seen some growth in all of those area.

QR codes help track lost school property

When Spencer Sheedy's son lost his $250 school blazer, it was the last straw. Fed up with his two kids constantly losing their school possessions, he and wife Rita have set up My Lost Property. But these are not just stickers and iron-on labels. As well as the child's name, they also contain the unique innovation of a QR (quick response) code which can be scanned, logging the item and its location and texting the parents to arrange pick-up. Mr Sheedy initially created the stickers for his two children. Soon, he was making keyrings, stickers and labels for friends before the idea for a business struck

Alien Technology completes RFID patents licensing

Alien Technology Corp., a California-based technology firm with an office in Dayton, has entered a comprehensive licensing agreement with Round Rock Research LLC, company officials announced Monday. The licensing of Round Rock radio frequency identification (RFID) patents allows Alien to provide licensed RFID tags and readers to its clients, free from Round Rock RFID patent infringement assertions, officials said in a media release.

How Do I Deactivate an RFID Tag?

What you would need to do would depend on the type of tag it is. If it is a passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tag based on the Electronic Product Code (EPC) standard, then the tag has a kill function. If you know the security code that you need to transmit to the tag, you can send that code and deactivate it. If you don't have the code—or if it is a passive high-frequency (HF) or low-frequency (LF) tag—then the best way to deactivate it is to zap it with electricity. - See more at: http://www.rfidjournal.com/blogs/experts/entry?10845#sthash.Jy3Gwa9w.dpuf

Trackwell solution puts QR codes on the menu

Certification of origin is one of the key factors within the seafood industry and it is important for the safety assurance and quality to be able to trace a specific product to its origin. QR codes have been used in the food industry to add details of the product, but Trackwell has launched a solution where it is also possible to use this technique for traceability purposes and for quality control. An Icelandic start-up company Icelandic Fish Export,which is the first customer to use the traceability solution, supplies fresh Atlantic cod and other species caught by longliners from the Vestfjords. The fish is sold directly to top-quality restaurants in Reykjavik and in the UK.

Report: Most Consumers Don’t Trust NFC

It’s basic human nature to fear or distrust that which isn’t known or well understood. As a result, many consumers continue to exhibit a lack of faith or trust in near field communications technology – specifically, NFC payments. YouGov’s “The Future of Mobile Digital and Contactless Payments” report indicates that 35% of UK adults are aware of NFC-enabled mobile devices, but fewer than one in ten (9%) mobile and smartphone owners know that their device is NFC-enabled. Even worse, only 22% of these individuals ever use it to make payments.

Avery Dennison Signs RFID Licensing Agreement with Round Rock Research LLC .

A subsidiary of Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE:AVY) has entered into a licensing agreement for radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, labels, and readers with Round Rock Research LLC to facilitate further adoption of item-level RFID by U.S.-based apparel retailers and brands.
Avery Dennison's Retail Branding and Information Solutions business (RBIS) is a specialist in RFID-enabled solutions for the apparel and retail industry with more than 800 patents and applications, global manufacturing capabilities that have produced over 3 billion RFID tags and labels, and an industry-leading solution development team that supports retailers and brands from business case development to complete solution roll-out.
"RFID adoption in the apparel industry is accelerating around the world due to the strong investment case and fundamental advantage it affords retailers to better manage inventory and serve customers," said Shawn Neville, president of Avery Dennison RBIS. "This license agreement, along with our significant investments in RFID innovation, manufacturing capabilities and market development, positions us to lead the accelerating adoption of RFID in the U.S. and around the world."
"Item-level RFID in apparel retail significantly improves inventory visibility and accuracy, which results in higher inventory productivity and better enablement of omni-channel retail, and improves the overall consumer experience," said Francisco Melo, vice president of Global RFID, Avery Dennison RBIS. "We are fortunate to partner with leading retailers and brands around the world to improve their overall performance through RFID-enabled solutions."

MasterCard launches new application focused on QR Codes

Quick response codes have long been a powerful marketing and consumer engagement tool. As the codes become more popular, their use in mobile commerce is beginning to grow. MasterCard, which has a relatively strong interest in mobile commerce, has taken aim at QR codes, hoping to make them more attractive and suitable for mobile ventures. MasterCard has launched a new application called QkR, available for iOS and Android devices. The application is capable of scanning any quick response code that a user may come across.

Technicians tasked with setting up RFID system at Kaesong complex

Technicians have entered North Korea to set up wireless data transfer systems that can facilitate the movement of people and materials to and from the inter-Korean factory park in Kaesong, the government said Monday. The six-member team crossed over the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that separates the two countries earlier in the day and are checking sites that can be used to set up the radio frequency identification tag (RFID) system.

China Mobile picks Fime NFC-RF test bench

China Mobile Limited, the leading mobile services provider in Mainland China, has purchased Fime's EMV contactless analogue test bench. Additionally, FIME will offer consultancy services and carry out pre-certification vendor handset testing. Following a competitive tender, advanced secure chip testing and tool provider FIME will provide the test equipment to China Mobile and undergo a period of consultancy in order to support the deployment and continued management of the tool. Pre-certification handset testing will take place at FIME Asia's laboratory where it will also provide near field communication (NFC) handset certification consultancy, expediting the testing cycle and overall time to market.

IBM tackles MRSA and other healthcare infections with RFID-enforced hand washing tech

It’s crazy, but one of the most dangerous things you can do is visit the hospital. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that nearly two million hospital patients contract a healthcare-associated infection (HAI) every year, and 90,000 of those HAIs result in death. These infections — superbugs such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile (C. diff) — are caused by bacteria being transferred from patient to patient, usually via a doctor or nurse. Hand washing is by far the simplest solution to these 90,000 unnecessary deaths, but getting healthcare professionals to reliably wash their hands has proven to be difficult. This is where IBM and its low-power mote technology (LMT) comes in.

Researchers use shopping cart to put mobile, NFC payment theft on wheels

Using a shopping cart turned into an antenna, security researchers captured sensitive data from contactless payment cards, and concluded the wireless theft gear could easily be concealed in a backpack. In a recently published paper called Eavesdropping near-field contactless payments: a quantitative analysis, the researchers assessed eavesdropping attacks on contactless payment transaction for ease and success rates. They specifically made their easily concealable antenna using low-cost electronics.

Boston Ad Agency Experiments With RFID-enabled Marketing Strategies

At advertising agency Allen & Gerritsen's two East Coast offices, the traditional pencil-and-paper game of tic-tac-toe has been transformed into a virtual, two-city contest using digital displays and featuring images from staff members' Instagram accounts, along with Xs and Os, via RFID readers and tags. The company has been testing radio frequency identification technology as one strategy to bring new consumer engagement to the world of marketing. But while its goal is RFID-enabled marketing strategies for its clients, the firm's own employees are having fun with it in the meantime. The company's research-and-development unit, A&G Labs, launched two years ago, has been experimenting with RFID and other technology innovations.