This smart pistol only fires when in proximity to a RFID wristwatch

Detailed by the Washington Post earlier last week, the Armatix iP1 is a handgun that is only capable of firing when in range of the included waterproof wristwatch. Utilizing a RFID chip with a proximity of about ten inches, a light just above the grip will turn green when the gun is ready to fire. When the watch is more than ten inches away from the pistol, the light on the handgun will turn red and nothing will happen when the trigger is pulled. In addition to displaying the time, the watch also shows the charge level of the device, can be set for timed weapon deactivation and includes a PIN system for managing the weapon.

eAgile Awarded Patent for RFID Technology Breakthrough

eAgile, Inc. announced  the U.S. Patent Office has granted a patent for the company's eSync technology. eSync has been proven to solve many of the vexing problems which have plagued the RFID industry for years by identifying individual RFID tags then, in real time, uniquely encoding and validating data to a 99.9999% degree of accuracy. eSync provides the backbone for RFID systems where error-free tag encoding is crucial; even in high-speed, high volume processes where dense tag populations often contribute to undetected errors. "We have implemented eSync to produce millions of RFID tagged products and our clients are seeing quality levels greater than Six Sigma," stated Gary Burns, CEO of eAgile. "The technology has been extensively tested worldwide and has proven itself under the most demanding quality standards."

Omnience and Stark RFID Announce Strategic Partnership

Omnience Inc. and Stark RFID, an integrator of enterprise-level RFID solutions, today announce a long-term strategic and exclusive go-to-market relationship that will enable development of proprietary systems to more seamlessly track and measure the ROI of portfolios of large-scale marketing events, while creating efficiencies for corporate partners.
The new partnership will allow the companies to better serve its mutual customers by integrating real-time event attendee RFID tracking data into Omnience's proprietary tools that report on engagement. Together the technologies deliver big data in a meaningful way to large, Fortune 100 corporations which desire holistic visibility into the activities of event participants. Essentially, Stark RFID's customized software and hardware plus Omnience's technology closes the loop in measurement.

PIN or Signature: Which Card is Smarter?

Smart cards — already used for credit transactions in about 130 countries — are coming to America. But it’s going to be several years before we all have these fraud-resistant items in our wallets. Which technology should new "smart cards" use? Some countries use chip-and-PIN, while others use chip-and-signature. The nation’s banks have slowly been issuing these new cards for a few years, but there's a new sense of urgency because of the recent rash of data breaches at Target and other retailers.

RFID Bikealarm scares off would-be bike thieves

Very little beats a sturdy U-lock for securing a bike. For when there's nothing available to which you can secure your bike, however, or if you just want a little extra security against anyone tampering with it, designer Dennis Siegel has devised a solution. The RFID Bikealarm attaches to your saddle and emits a 120dB alarm when it senses movement.  "The RFID Bikealarm is meant to be a useful add-on to mechanical bicycle locks because it massively extends the range of protection with only a few components," Siegel explains on his website. "It is low-cost, durable and easy to use."

Whether PIN or signature, smart cards are coming

Smart cards, already used for credit transactions in about 130 countries, are coming to America. But it will be years before we all have these fraud-resistant credit cards in our wallets. Though U.S. banks have been issuing the cards for a few years, the recent rash of data breaches at Target and other retailers has injected a sense of urgency into their efforts. The big question is what type of smart cards the banks will issue. Will they require a PIN code for authentication or simply a signature?

Trimble Adds Ultra High-Frequency RFID to Juno T41 Rugged Handhelds

Trimble has introduced the Juno T41 rugged handheld computer with integrated Ultra-High Frequency RFID capabilities. In addition to high-speed 1D/2D barcode imaging technology, smartphone capability and enhanced, real-time 1-2 meter GPS accuracy, the Juno T41 series now offers new models that provide more functionality and configuration choices for data collection and mobile workforce management, Trimble said.
The RFID capability can be combined with Enhanced GPS and/or smartphone connectivity so customers can choose a specific handheld model that meets their needs.
The Juno T41 R will automatically recognize tags across a variety of frequencies and work with any size or style of RFID tag that is designed for customized solutions. UHF RFID is an increasingly commonplace technology using the 860 to 960 MHz frequency range.
Using the latest EPCglobal Gen 2 RFID technology from Trimble’s ThingMagic Division, the device uses two different antenna ranges to read or recognize the unique identification of an asset anywhere in the world.

OT Takes Part in NFC Launch in Russian Transportation with the Top 4 Mobile Operators

Oberthur Technologies announced its involvement as the supplier of the latest generation of high end NFC SIM card – “dragonFly”, in the first NFC commercial project jointly launched by top operators in Russia. The project concerns public transportation payments in Kazan, Russia. It is jointly implemented by the four top mobile operators, MTS, MegaFon, Vimpelcom and Rostelecom alongside the local transport system operator.
This NFC project has been launched in order to provide the city with a solution aimed at increasing the convenience of using public transport in Kazan, and to promote its use through the introduction of non-cash fare payment via a mobile phone. In addition to the transport ticketing service, some of the operators offer subscribers a combination of transport and payment services based on NFC technology. This brings NFC services in Russia to a new level: from a single NFC service to a multiple offering.
OT participates in this project as the sole supplier of NFC SIM cards in the first phase of project with embedded transport and payment applets. The electronic transport purse released on the SIM card is compatible with the current MIFARE-based ticketing solution “Transport Card”."
This initiative will enhance user experience by reducing queues and save time, for example when a ticket is purchased with cash. In addition, when paying a transport fare with a mobile phone, the purchase is made even easier for the subscriber as no other action needs to be completed after service activation, with all actions performed automatically.
OT was chosen for its leadership in innovation and in particular, in the field of NFC technology. It has the unique ability to quickly supply end-to-end solutions, from development and production to personalisation for both telecom and banking markets. This selection makes OT the first supplier to provide commercial volumes of NFC SIM cards to all four main telecom groups in Russia.

Folding-Carton Manufacturer Gains Visibility With RFID

Packaging manufacturer  Accord Carton is preparing to expand its RFID system that currently enables automatic identification of pallets loaded with its products as they move through a robotic storage system. With the RFID system—provided originally by Miles Technology, an RFID company that was acquired last year by Barcording Inc.—the company can identify when each pallet is loaded, sized and placed into or taken out of storage. The expansion, planned for later this year, consists of installing an RFID reader at the loading dock, in order to extend that visibility to the shipping of goods. With it, Accord Carton can prevent errors and gain a more detailed inventory of where each pallet is, and when, which it can also share with its customers.

BLE vs. NFC: The future of mobile consumer engagement

BLE and NFC each have several use cases, but they're not the same sort of use cases. Think of it this way: Cellular communications provide wireless coverage with a footprint measured in miles; WiFi's footprint is measured in yards; BLE's is measured in feet; and NFC's in centimeters. As this infographic illustrates, a BLE beacon is great for passively enabling a retailer's mobile app to deliver promotions, coupons or offers direct to the consumer's smartphone when the consumer is in the general vicinity. NFC can't do that. But if you want to research a specific Nikon SLR, for example, you can scan an NFC-enabled shelf tag next to it and study to your heart's content. BLE can't deliver that much location granularity.

RUD and its Customers Track Lifting Equipment With RFID

German lifting equipment and chain systems company RUD is inserting RFID transponders into all the products it makes, as well as providing access to data about each item for customers that wish to automatically track inspection, maintenance and other records. Ferrites and inductive components company Neosid is provided the tags, while RUD is using its own software for accessing data related to lifting products it makes. RUD has spent at least five years experimenting with RFID technology solutions that would enable it as well as its customers to better track the history of the steel chains, rings and links used for lifting heavy objects, but in the past two years has begun tagging all of its new products, and offering access to data about each item on a hosted server.

Barcode DJs Are Sound-Bombing Grocery Stores

Inspired by the incessant beeps of a cash register, Košice-based artist Jakub Pišek gathered his friends for a DIY grocery store performance called Barcode DJ. By scanning all kinds of stuff in the aisles while armed with a cart full of speakers, they make music by scanning barcodes. And they won’t leave the grocery store until the sound art is finished (that is, when they’re approached by store management).

Intersport Expects RFID to Boost Its Sales, Decrease Its Costs

Intersport Jan Bols, an athletic equipment and clothing store located in Hoogeveen, the Netherlands, reports that it has boosted sales and decreased inventory-tracking costs via a radio frequency identification solution that tracks approximately 10,000 items storewide, from the back room to the point of sale (POS). Based on the results of a two-month pilot at that store, Intersport International Corp., based in Switzerland, is now deploying the technology at 10 additional Intersport locations throughout the Netherlands. - See more at: http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?11417#sthash.CWWylHmD.dpuf

Mobeam and Clutch launch mobile wallet that beams barcodes to laser scanners

Mobeam and Clutch released the latest mobile wallet enabled with Mobeam's patented beaming technology. This new feature lets consumers use Mobeam's technology to beam barcodes from their loyalty, membership, and gift cards directly from their smartphone to any laser scanner. The beaming feature is available exclusively on two of the world's most popular phones, the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3. In the past month, Mobeam's beaming technology has driven close to 2 million shopping trips on over 25 million devices.
"The mobile shopping experience needs to be easy, simple and convenient for our customers," said Andy O'Dell, co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Clutch. "Now that our Clutch app is enabled with Mobeam's beaming technology, consumers will be able to use gift cards, loyalty cards and coupons - anything that has a barcode - at the checkout line, right from their smartphone. Now consumers won't have to worry whether or not their merchant will be able to scan a card stored in Clutch, greatly enhancing the convenience of a mobile wallet and saving valuable time at the checkout."
Clutch eliminates the need for multiple apps, enabling consumers to manage gift and loyalty cards, daily deals, coupons, offer searches, purchases, shopping comparisons, social gifting and mobile payments all in one place. Clutch currently supports hundreds of leading brands and merchants and aggregates more than 100,000 deals, offers and rebates daily.
Mobeam's beaming technology, embedded in the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3, solves the key problem that has limited the progress of mobile commerce: widely deployed retail laser scanners are unable to scan a barcode presented on a smartphone screen. Mobeam converts barcodes into beams of light that can be read by the tens of millions of laser scanners in use today by retailers worldwide. Samsung has said retailers prefer traditional barcodes, because they do not have to install any new infrastructure.

Firefly Legal Launches New Barcode Feature to Expedite Service

Process service leader Firefly Legal announced a major update to its document generation program. Now, all service related documents include a barcode that allows seamless electronic upload for a more efficient client experience.
The new feature tags all service related documents with a barcode, page numbers and detailed information about the file, including file number, reference number, case number and timestamp. The new coded documents can now be automatically uploaded to the correct spot within StatusPro, Firefly Legal’s industry-leading proprietary case management system. The bar codes will also automatically transfer data into Firefly’s document system—eliminating manual entry and assuring accuracy.
Firefly plans to support the new automation with its quality control department that will continue to monitor client files for accuracy and with audits of files before they are returned to clients.
“Many of Firefly’s clients are under deadlines and must comply with dates set by the courts. They require service to be effectuated within a limited time frame,” said Matt Massa, Vice President of Firefly Legal. “Our new document barcode feature benefits clients by making our own processes more efficient. When we’re more efficient, we’re able to sort through civil process service orders faster in the office—reducing the time necessary to complete the service.”
Firefly Legal is an innovator that has led technological advancements and improvements in the process service industry. The new barcode document upload feature is yet another way Firefly has leveraged technology to provide a seamless, informed, full-service client experience. To see other recent ways Firefly is harnessing technology to work smarter for clients, see ‘Seven Ways Firefly Legal Uses Technology to Innovate in Process Serving.’
Similar to the new barcodes, Firefly was the first major process server to modify its processes through technology to require only two copies of complaints when filing new cases with the court (one for Firefly and one for the court). Firefly also created a batch printing process that replicated and provided files for the precise number of defendants—an improvement that drastically reduced the amount of paper clients produced, thus saving clients time and money.

QR codes to be further rolled out by Pernod Ricard

The success of the launch in China has led the company to expand the quick response codes program. Pernod Ricard has announced that it intends to broaden its existing program of QR codes used to fight the problem of counterfeit products, sending it into the African and South American Markets. The company has previously enjoyed considerable successes following the program launch in China.

Global Aviation Maintenance Company Tracks Tools via RFID

A global aviation maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) company is using an RFID-based system from Italian IT services firm NG Way to ensure that tools employed for aircraft maintenance remain visible in the tool-management system, whether in storage or in use. While the misplacing of a tool is a rare occurrence, it can also be an expensive one, causing aircraft maintenance to be delayed for days or weeks until the missing asset can be found. That's because a loose object of any kind, located somewhere within the aircraft itself, can result in damage due to foreign object debris (FOD).

Paramilitary use RFID tags to recruit jawans

The recruitment procedure for jawans and other junior-rank officials in central paramilitary forces of the country is set for a change as the Union Home Ministry has decided to usher transparency in the process by using gadgets like CCTV cameras and RFID tags. The Ministry, which plans to recruit thousands of men and women in the ranks of Constables, Sub-Inspectors and Inspectors in the five large Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) -- CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP and SSB in the coming years, will take help of OMR sheets, RFID (Radio frequency identification) tags and CCTVs to electronically log every minute parameter of an individual who aspires to join the internal security duties being rendered by these forces

RFID-equipped workcell provides complete traceability

TECO Group’s home appliances division have begun to incorporate passive ultrahigh frequency RFID tags into their air conditioners. The launch this year follows a 2 year pilot that tracked 600 tagged air conditioners through assembly, distribution and purchase. What TECO are doing is not only using RFID to track an air conditioner though its assembly and distribution to provide supply chain visibility, but also using the RFID tag to collect data once it has been purchased about how it is operating. Each tag also serves as a 'black box', storing what has happened to the air conditioner to which it is attached, in the event that the unit malfunctions, as well as sharing error code information with maintenance personnel.

Apple's iBeacon Mobile Payment System Is Death Knell for NFC

While rivals Samsung, Google, Nokia and HTC all rushed to embrace NFC technology as a new way for users to make contactless payments, Apple has kept the industry wondering for the past two years, with at least one analyst predicting that Apple would turn to Bluetooth Low Energy instead of NFC. NFC enables smartphones and point-of-sale (POS) payment terminals to communicate at short range by being tapped together, using NFC tags and other small transmitters to send and receive information.

RedBite Plans Launch of Cloud-based Solution for Managing RFID Data

British RFID software firm RedBite Solutions says it plans to launch a cloud-based service intended to make the installation of a radio frequency identification solution fast and simple, requiring no more than an RFID reader embedded with RedBite software and access to the Internet. RedBite will also offer an application programming interface (API) to enable users to integrate RFID data with their own software. The solution is being rolled out by an international intergovernmental postal organization, in scores of offices throughout the world, and is being used to track tagged items moving through those locations. - See more at: http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?11390#sthash.TJfIgStj.dpuf

QR codes enhance College Athletic Department

Emerson College has become the latest educational institution to discover the practical benefits of using QR codes, as their Athletic Department has now implemented them to help to reduce the need for printing out programs. As smartphones and tablets have become very common, so have quick response code scans. This has allowed organizations such as marketers, brands, and even schools to be able to use QR codes to bridge the gap between the real world and the digital one. Often, this provides access to media that could not be displayed in the real world – such as videos in areas without a screen – and can reduce the need for printed materials because they can be accessed right away by scanning the barcode.

Aviation MRO Service Prevents Foreign Object Damage With RFID Tool Management

An international aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services provider is successfully avoiding foreign object damage caused by tools because of its new RFID-enabled tool tracking system. A leading aviation MRO services provider with facilities in Europe and the U.S. has implemented an RFID tool tracking system from Xerafy and NG Way for foreign object damage (FOD) prevention.
Unattended tools are a leading source of foreign object damage, which costs the aerospace industry an estimated $4 billion annually, Boeing has reported the cost to repair a single engine that is damaged as a result of a foreign object can easily exceed $1 billion, FOD can also cause injuries and damage to airport facilities and support equipment.
An international aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services provider is successfully avoiding foreign object damage caused by tools because of its new RFID-enabled tool tracking system. The system uses XS Series Dot-On and Dash-On read-on-metal UHG RFID tags from Xerafy embedded into tools, plus handheld RFID readers and NG Way’s ToolCheck software to record which tools are assigned to technicians, track tool locations and to verify that no tools are left behind when maintenance activity is completed.
The company wishes to remain anonymous because it considers its processes to be a strong competitive advantage. The company has received Part-145 Maintenance Organisation Approval certification from the European Aviation Space Agency (EASA). Companies must develop and document quality processes and submit a Maintenance Organization Exposition (MOE) to earn EASA Part-145 status.