UAE-based Pakistanis can now apply for new “tamper-proof” smart ID cards designed to prevent identity fraud and serve as the gateway to various services and benefits. Each SNICOP (Smart National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis) carries its holder’s fingerprint and eye scan, making fraud impossible, officials say. It also has 30 built-in security features and laser engraving.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
InterContinental Atlanta and Park Hyatt Chicago Implement RFID Inventory Tracking
The InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta and Park Hyatt Chicago have both benefited from the control and accountability established by the InvoTech Systems, Inc. Uniform System for more than ten years. The RFID upgrade will provide cost saving benefits with more efficient operations by automating manual tasks. The InvoTech Uniform System with RFID technology automatically tracks each piece when it is assigned to an employee and as it goes to and from our laundry company. The company knows how many pieces we send out, and how many return after washing
Monday, September 29, 2014
Smartcard Tech Provides Benefits for Customer Loyalty Programs
Ingenico Group has announced that Elavon will rely on its EMV-ready payment solutions to power two key Elavon initiatives in the United States. Elavon has worked with Ingenico Group to build EMV-enabled payment solutions in Europe, as well as in Canada and Latin America. Based on its demonstrated ability to deliver consistently high quality infrastructure and support, Elavon has now selected Ingenico Group to be a key partner in supporting its migration to EMV-based payment processing infrastructures in the U.S. In addition, it has chosen Ingenico Group to run Fanfare, Elavon’s omni-channel marketing and customer loyalty program for small-to-medium size U.S. customers.
RFID helps robots locate objects
Robot vision -- and comprehension of what the robot sees -- is one of the major sticking points when it comes to household helper robots. But robots don't have to be subject to the limitations of human senses -- particularly if they can tap into technologies such as NFC and RFID. The latter has been implemented by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology to help robots locate objects. To be more precise, they have used small ultra-high frequency RFID tags, stuck onto objects, which robots can then track in a room -- even when the tag is hidden out of sight.
Friday, September 26, 2014
Securing the Internet of Things
The new Mini ad reads, “High-Speed Mobile Device” and touts the car’s “digital hub that syncs with your devices and social networks. So now you can motor like the wind and tell everyone all about it.” Cars are just one of the everyday objects slated to become digitalized and connected as the Internet of Things, which impacts industries and products as we know them today. In essence, companies that make cars, toasters, elevators, construction equipment, washing machines and more, become companies that are, basically, producing Internet-connected devices. With this fundamental change, CEOs and business leaders will need to start dealing with the same challenges that IT has dealt with since the advent of the Internet — securing your devices and networks from malicious attack.
The Technology of Contextualized Content: What's Next on the Horizon?
Mike Wehrs is the president and CEO of Scanbuy and the former global CEO and president of the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA). Scanbuy, based in New York City, uses dynamic mobile triggers such as QR codes or near field communication (NFC) to "bridge the physical world with the digital world." Scanbuy, says Wehrs, "makes it so that the end user can easily take their phones out and engage with objects around them." Importantly, it does it in such a way that the interaction is unique to that individual. For instance, if you're an English-speaking shopper at a grocery store and you scan the QR code on a soup can, you'll receive information in English; if you're a Spanish-speaking consumer, though, you would receive it in Spanish.
Silverline RFID Label Allows Easy Attachment to Any Surface, From Metal to Bottles
The Silverline RFID label is a high performance RFID label designed to be
versatile, easy-to-use and can be attached on any surface, including
metal. Although the Silverline RFID labels are manufactured by Confidex, they
are being made available in Canada through Markham-based technology provider RFID Canada.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Robots Use RFID to Find and Navigate to Household Objects
Vision is, in theory, a great way for robots to identify objects. It works for us humans, so all of the stuff that we have to deal with regularly tends to have distinguishing visual characteristics like pictures or labels. Robot vision can certainly work as a way to identify objects, but it's not easy, and often requires a ridiculous amount of computing power, whether it's on the robot or off in the cloud somewhere. And even then, if the object you want to find is facing the wrong way or behind something else, you're out of luck. So when you think about it, there are two essential pieces to identifying things, and localization is a big one. Vision is often bad at this.
Oyster readers begin accepting National Rail ITSO smart cards
UK: Passengers using the Key smart card issued by train operator Southern and
its parent rail and bus company Go-Ahead can now buy tickets to London including
weekly, monthly or annual Travelcards which are valid for unlimited travel on
public transport within Greater London. The official launch by Transport Minister Baroness Kramer on September 17
builds on the £65m ‘ITSO on Prestige’ project to adapt Transport for London’s
proprietary Oyster smart card technology to read cards meeting the open ITSO
standards which the Department for Transport requires train operating companies
to use.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Daher Aerospace Expands RFID Usage Throughout Supply Chain
U.K.-based aerospace manufacturing and logistical services firm Daher Aerospace is managing its fleet of reusable containers via a radio frequency identification solution provided by Waer Systems Ltd. The system consists of passive EPC Gen 2 ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tags affixed to containers, as well as fixed readers at key portals through which containers pass, and cloud-based software to manage the collected read data.
Subway to accept NFC payments starting in October
Subway will soon allow customers to pay for their sandwiches with the tap of a smartphone. The sandwich franchise chain said it will launch contactless NFC payments across more than 26,000 restaurants in the U.S. starting Oct. 1. The company is working with Softcard, a mobile payments joint venture operated by the big four cellular networks, to launch the system, but a Subway spokeswoman said that any payment app based on the NFC standard will be accepted. That includes the soon-to-be-launched Apple Pay and existing services from Google Wallet, PayPal and other vendors.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
NFC Forum adds analog testing to certification program
The NFC Forum, a non-profit industry association that advances the use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, is launching Analog testing as part of its Certification Program. Consistent RF performance is essential to smooth and swift NFC interactions, fulfilling NFC’s promise of a seamless experience for the consumer. The testing comes at an opportune time: according to IHS Technology, global shipments of NFC-enabled mobile phones will surge four-fold from 2013 to 2018, reaching 1.2 billion units and penetrating 63% of the global mobile phone market. Transparency Market Research reports that the NFC market is expected to reach USD 20 billion by 2019.
Micro beacon stickers turn any object into a smart one
GPS already helps smartphones make sense of the outdoor world, and devices such as iBeacons are enabling indoor spaces such as stores and homes to be connected to mobile devices. For example, San Francisco Airport recently installed beacons to help blind people navigate its Terminal 2. Now Estimote stickers are tiny adhesive beacons that can be attached to any surface to help unconnected objects interact with smartphones.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Leading RFID Firms to Exhibit at RFID Journal's Third Conference in Brasil
RFID Journal announced that the floor plan for this year's RFID Journal LIVE! Brasil conference and exhibition (rfidjournalevents.com/brasil), focused on radio frequency identification technology and its deployments across all industries in that country, is steadily filling up as new sponsors and exhibitors sign on to participate. The event will take place on September 24-25, 2014, at Espaco APAS-Centro de Convencoes, located in Sao Paulo.
This event, produced by RFID Journal in partnership with Hewlett-Packard (HP), will showcase leading end users presenting powerful real-world case studies. These presentations, offered in Portuguese, will highlight how businesses are employing RFID, and where they are achieving real benefits today. The high-quality content is designed to help Brasilian companies considering an RFID deployment to address real business challenges, determine the best technology to meet their needs, learn best practices from early adopters, find the right technology partners and move forward. Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet the leading technology firms and view their latest solutions.
This event, produced by RFID Journal in partnership with Hewlett-Packard (HP), will showcase leading end users presenting powerful real-world case studies. These presentations, offered in Portuguese, will highlight how businesses are employing RFID, and where they are achieving real benefits today. The high-quality content is designed to help Brasilian companies considering an RFID deployment to address real business challenges, determine the best technology to meet their needs, learn best practices from early adopters, find the right technology partners and move forward. Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet the leading technology firms and view their latest solutions.
Metova to Offer RFID Products
Metova, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) and mobile-application company based in Tennessee, is forging into the radio frequency identification market, following its acquisition of assets from bankrupt RFID company epcSolutions. Metova has been selling cloud-based software solutions and mobile applications for the commercial, government and educational sectors since 2006. This week, the company announced its plans to offer solutions involving passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tags and readers as part of its product offerings.
Friday, September 19, 2014
Sandro Ferrone to Expand RFID Deployment
For the past three years, Italian women's fashion brand and retailer Sandro Ferrone has been tracking goods tagged from the point of manufacture through to its primary distribution center. During the coming months, that deployment will be expanded to a second DC, as well as to some of its more than 200 store locations, most of which are in Italy. Since the system was taken live at its DC in Rome, the retailer reports that it was able to reduce the amount of labor required to pick products for store orders from 18 full-time employees down to six, while achieving 99 percent inventory accuracy.
BT Trace Brings RFID Retail Solutions Customized to User
For the past two years, BT Trace, a division of British Telecommunications (BT), has been offering RFID-based solutions to its customers. BT Trace first launched in October 2012, with a product portfolio known as BT Supply Chain Solutions. The portfolio included multiple solutions offered regionally, before the firm renamed its products as BT Trace, with specific vertical markets established to meet customer needs. In addition to BT Trace for Retail, the company offers BT Global Trace for Supply Chain Visibility, BT Asset and BT Inventory Trace (for use with both bar-code and RFID technologies) and BT Trace for Health (to track mobile assets at hospitals via radio frequency identification).
Thursday, September 18, 2014
RFID system lets New York City keep better tabs on firefighters' whereabouts
New technology on 15 New York City fire department vehicles lets firefighters see which responders are nearby and relay that information to the city's Operations Center. Invented by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's, or NRL, Space Systems Development Department and radio frequency identifier firm Manning RF in close partnership with the New York City Fire Department, the system is based on an active RFID tag that firefighters carry. It works similar to E-ZPass, the electronic toll-collection system, or how retailers track inventory.
TSL Bluetooth RFID Reader Deploys Tyco's TrueVUE 5.1 Software
Technology Solutions, a developer of best-in-class RFID devices and mobile data capture solutions, announced that TrueVUE 5.1 software from Tyco Retail Solutions works with TSL mobile UHF RFID readers for retail inventory management.
TSL’s wireless-enabled handheld readers, such as the high-performance 1128 Bluetooth UHF RFID Reader, offer cost-efficiency, ease-of-use and compatibility with a range of host devices via Bluetooth wireless communications. These universal UHF RFID readers are ideally suited for use with the TrueVUE software and iOS-powered mobile devices, including the iPhone or iPod Touch, in retail environments.
The Tyco TrueVUE application facilitates centralized setup and control of inventory management for retail accuracy, visibility and operational efficiencies. Using centralized system deployment and increased mobility, personnel are empowered to easily access information anytime, anywhere, and from any device.
TSL’s wireless-enabled handheld readers, such as the high-performance 1128 Bluetooth UHF RFID Reader, offer cost-efficiency, ease-of-use and compatibility with a range of host devices via Bluetooth wireless communications. These universal UHF RFID readers are ideally suited for use with the TrueVUE software and iOS-powered mobile devices, including the iPhone or iPod Touch, in retail environments.
The Tyco TrueVUE application facilitates centralized setup and control of inventory management for retail accuracy, visibility and operational efficiencies. Using centralized system deployment and increased mobility, personnel are empowered to easily access information anytime, anywhere, and from any device.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
New York City Adopts RFID Tags to Track First Responders
With the tragic events of September 11, 2001 in mind, the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) has achieved great success implementing a new technology using radio identification to coordinate its 14,000 firefighters and emergency responders. "The events of 9-11-2001 revealed that FDNY did not have a reliable method to account for all members responding to an incident,” said FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Edward Baggott in a statement. In response, David DeRieux of the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Space Systems—the Navy’s corporate laboratory—and Michael Manning of Manning RF, partnered with FDNY to invent a system to track firefighters who may be in danger through an active radio frequency identifier (RFID) tag carried by each firefighter.
Smart-cruise will have all passengers connected on RFID
The Quantum’s facilities include high-speed Internet, which enables passengers to interact with a radio frequency identification (RFID) bracelet that keeps them connected to the ship’s network from the moment they step aboard. These WOWband wristbands manage room access, as well as on board purchases, dining and tour reservations. The rubber-protected bands never demagnetize, moreover.
Monday, September 15, 2014
Gemalto Unveils the Most Comprehensive Hub Service to Accelerate the Roll-out of Mobile Payment
Gemalto introduces its Allynis Trusted Services Hub, a turnkey business service that enables financial institutions, enterprises, transport operators and more generally all digital service providers to benefit from a single connection in order to securely deploy their value-added and mobile payment services across a comprehensive portfolio of smartphones and mobile networks around the world.
Through Gemalto’s Allynis Trusted Services Hub customers get a one-stop and immediate access to the largest user base using NFC smartphones already equipped with Secure Elements. Over 1.5 billion mobile users worldwide are covered by Gemalto-contracted Trusted Services Management (TSM) platforms, with over a hundred million high-end “multi-tenant” SIM cards already in place to protect and manage sensitive application credentials.
Ready today to handle a large number of future configurations, including Embedded Secure Elements (eSE) which are becoming available in some handsets and Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) that will be running inside next-generation mobile devices, as well as the emerging tokenization standards, the Allynis Trusted Services Hub offers both the broadest reach of users and the most future-proof technology across mobile platforms.
“Mobile contactless services are becoming mainstream and the Allynis Trusted Services Hub is open today to connect service providers who desire security, to mobile customers exactly at the right time,” said Jean-Claude Deturche, Senior Vice President of Mobile Financial Services at Gemalto. “Service providers understandingly want a simple way to deploy their services, and mobile operators and handset makers are investing in more security capabilities. Gemalto is caringly matching these needs and capabilities, addressing service providers’ desire to maximize market reach in a simple and secure way, removing deployment complexity and slashing upfront cost.”
The Allynis Trusted Services Hub in particular removes the need for multiple individual contracts between service providers and mobile security enablers, which are typically required in open security schemes. The Allynis Trusted Services Hub is operated from Gemalto’s certified secure data centers, delivering state-of-the-art standards of scalability and availability, and banking-grade security to ensure payment and services inter-operability. Equally important, customers connected to Gemalto’s Allynis Trusted Services Hub benefit from the high assurance of confidentiality and control over their own data, as they would with in-house implementations.
Through Gemalto’s Allynis Trusted Services Hub customers get a one-stop and immediate access to the largest user base using NFC smartphones already equipped with Secure Elements. Over 1.5 billion mobile users worldwide are covered by Gemalto-contracted Trusted Services Management (TSM) platforms, with over a hundred million high-end “multi-tenant” SIM cards already in place to protect and manage sensitive application credentials.
Ready today to handle a large number of future configurations, including Embedded Secure Elements (eSE) which are becoming available in some handsets and Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) that will be running inside next-generation mobile devices, as well as the emerging tokenization standards, the Allynis Trusted Services Hub offers both the broadest reach of users and the most future-proof technology across mobile platforms.
“Mobile contactless services are becoming mainstream and the Allynis Trusted Services Hub is open today to connect service providers who desire security, to mobile customers exactly at the right time,” said Jean-Claude Deturche, Senior Vice President of Mobile Financial Services at Gemalto. “Service providers understandingly want a simple way to deploy their services, and mobile operators and handset makers are investing in more security capabilities. Gemalto is caringly matching these needs and capabilities, addressing service providers’ desire to maximize market reach in a simple and secure way, removing deployment complexity and slashing upfront cost.”
The Allynis Trusted Services Hub in particular removes the need for multiple individual contracts between service providers and mobile security enablers, which are typically required in open security schemes. The Allynis Trusted Services Hub is operated from Gemalto’s certified secure data centers, delivering state-of-the-art standards of scalability and availability, and banking-grade security to ensure payment and services inter-operability. Equally important, customers connected to Gemalto’s Allynis Trusted Services Hub benefit from the high assurance of confidentiality and control over their own data, as they would with in-house implementations.
Building on Retail's RFID Foundation
In 2007, the RFID Research Center identified and began promoting what we call the four foundational use cases for RFID in retail: inventory accuracy, out-of-stocks, product location and loss detection. All retailers face these issues, and RFID addresses each of the issues head-on. By 2009, inventory accuracy, which affects the other foundational use cases, had become the silver bullet for RFID adoption. That's why, in my first column for RFID Journal magazine, in 2012, I wrote that any retailer not actively considering tagging and tracking items to improve inventory accuracy had better "get in the game"
Friday, September 12, 2014
Coin gadget can replace every credit and store card in your wallet
It promises to replace all your credit cards with a single slim, digital card. San Francisco firm Coin first took the internet by storm last year when it revealed the $100 card. Now, it is set to let the first customers test the gadget that could take over your pocket. The Coin card is that is uses a magnetic strip like any regular credit or debit card. However the information on the strip can change depending on what card the customer wants to use.
Believing in RFID
My conviction that radio frequency identification will benefit companies and individuals is not based on blind faith. I'll explain why in a moment, but yes, I have considered the possibility that I might be wrong, or at least that there might be obstacles to adoption so great they cannot be overcome, or that an alternative technology could make RFID irrelevant. And I continue to consider that possibility. Not doing so would constitute negligence as the head of a company whose sole focus is on RFID. My conviction that RFID will be an incredibly important technology is based on the fact that there is a tremendous amount of waste in the world, and there is no other technology that can cut that waste. Consider these facts:
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Mobile NFC Payments Comes To Mickey D’s This Month
McDonald’s has set a Sept. 15 deadline to have new point-of-sale equipment installed and employees trained for a contactless payment system that uses near-field communication (NFC), according to Mobile Commerce Daily. The deadline was specified in a memo sent to McDonald’s franchises this week. The Sept. 15 date means the fast-food restaurants would be ready less than a week after Apple is expected to announce NFC payment capabilities in a new iPhone model on Sept. 9.
UF research could improve how companies ship fresh produce
A University of Florida-led research team’s development of a tracking system could change the way companies ship fresh fruits and vegetables, letting them know which produce is closest to expiration and providing consumers the freshest products available.
Jeffrey Brecht, director of the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences’ Center for Food Distribution and Retailing, studied strawberries, beginning with their harvesting from fields in Florida and California to their delivery to stores in Illinois, Washington, Alabama and South Carolina.
Jeffrey Brecht, director of the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences’ Center for Food Distribution and Retailing, studied strawberries, beginning with their harvesting from fields in Florida and California to their delivery to stores in Illinois, Washington, Alabama and South Carolina.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
eAgile Inc. announces eTap intelligent packaging solution
U.S.-based RFID specialist eAgile Inc. announced their eTap solution for an intelligent packaging solution for consumer products utilizing near field communication (NFC). This announcement is concurrent with Apple news that the new iPhone 6 will join the rest of the smartphone marketplace incorporating NFC capabilities.
The current marketing surrounding NFC is focused on mobile payments but there is a much broader use for this technology which connects manufacturers with consumers to provide robust product information.
NFC technology can be used to open up a direct line of communication between businesses and their end customers in a manner which was previously not available. NFC-enabled tags on products provide immediate access to valuable information such as product authenticity, safety and other key information. This functionality is important for all products, especially those intended for human consumption in the medical, food and beverage markets. NFC technology is positioned to be a key component in the Internet of Things (IoT) movement, which links people and organizations to the products and services they use through the internet.
“eAgile’s solution helps brand owners build trust and loyalty by establishing a dialog with their customers. eTap NFC tags can be created to launch specific web pages, videos or social media content through a quick tap of a smartphone,” states eAgile President Peter Phaneuf. “Businesses of all sizes are already putting NFC technology to work to improve the customer experience and we are excited to expand our NFC-based products to the greater marketplace.” eAgile is one of a few companies with the infrastructure and experience already in place to help businesses gain easy access to NFC.
“NFC products are easy to use, functional and fun, which are key aspects for broad adoption of this technology,” explains Gary Burns, CEO of eAgile. “Research has shown that customers are 12 times more likely to use NFC than a QR code. Our eTap solution becomes the perfect way to communicate with consumers and compete in an increasingly information driven marketplace.” eAgile offers many patented solutions for brand protection, inventory and high volume production incorporating NFC tags.
The current marketing surrounding NFC is focused on mobile payments but there is a much broader use for this technology which connects manufacturers with consumers to provide robust product information.
NFC technology can be used to open up a direct line of communication between businesses and their end customers in a manner which was previously not available. NFC-enabled tags on products provide immediate access to valuable information such as product authenticity, safety and other key information. This functionality is important for all products, especially those intended for human consumption in the medical, food and beverage markets. NFC technology is positioned to be a key component in the Internet of Things (IoT) movement, which links people and organizations to the products and services they use through the internet.
“eAgile’s solution helps brand owners build trust and loyalty by establishing a dialog with their customers. eTap NFC tags can be created to launch specific web pages, videos or social media content through a quick tap of a smartphone,” states eAgile President Peter Phaneuf. “Businesses of all sizes are already putting NFC technology to work to improve the customer experience and we are excited to expand our NFC-based products to the greater marketplace.” eAgile is one of a few companies with the infrastructure and experience already in place to help businesses gain easy access to NFC.
“NFC products are easy to use, functional and fun, which are key aspects for broad adoption of this technology,” explains Gary Burns, CEO of eAgile. “Research has shown that customers are 12 times more likely to use NFC than a QR code. Our eTap solution becomes the perfect way to communicate with consumers and compete in an increasingly information driven marketplace.” eAgile offers many patented solutions for brand protection, inventory and high volume production incorporating NFC tags.
Apple takes NFC mainstream on iPhone 6
Apple announced Tuesday at its September 9, product launch in Cupertino, Calif., that it is finally joining the ranks of companies, such as Google, that have tried with lackluster success to get consumers to buy things with their phones, by introducing its own mobile payment offering. After years of speculation, the company is finally including the short-range wireless technology known as near field communications or NFC into its latest smartphone, the iPhone 6 and the bigger iPhone 6 Plus. It also announced a new digital wallet called Apple Pay, which can be accessed securely using its fingerprint Touch ID technology introduced in the iPhone 5S.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Vodafone to launch NFC payments in the UK this month
Mobile network operator Vodafone is preparing to make NFC payments available to its customers in the UK in time for the launch of contactless bank card payments on London’s public transport network on 16 September, the carrier has told NFC World+. "Vodafone SmartPass will be offered to customers to make contactless mobile payments for TfL modes of transport,” Vodafone explained. “It will be using NFC-enabled devices.”
New NFC Solution Prevents Counterfeit Liquor in Taiwan
To protect its highest-value liquors, Taiwanese wine and liquor company Fortune Brewery International Co. is launching an anti-counterfeit program that depends on a passive 13.56 MHz RFID tag (compliant with the ISO 15693 standard) that changes its own unique identifier with each read. The solution, provided by UserStar Information System Co., enables retailers and consumers to employ a Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled smartphone and the UserStar's PhoneKey app to confirm that a product is not counterfeit.
Monday, September 8, 2014
EVEN Hotels Introduce PDC's Smart Band RFID Wristband System for Keyless Room Entry
PDC in collaboration with EVEN Hotels, InterContinental Hotels Group's newest holistic wellness hotel brand in the U.S., recently installed PDC's Smart Band RFID Wristband System to enhance the guest experience through keyless and cashless applications. The two new EVEN Hotels properties opened June 2014 in Rockville, Maryland and Norwalk, Connecticut.
Upon check in, EVEN Hotels guests receive an RFID room keycard, and for $8, may purchase a waterproof Smart Band with a securely sealed RFID chip inside that stores and verifies guest data when scanned by a reader. Guests may take Smart Band® with them upon leaving the property, and re-use when visiting any EVEN Hotel. As each chip contains a unique ID number, the bands are impossible to duplicate.
Guests are able to access their rooms by presenting their Smart Band over RFID-enabled locks. Unlike common magnetic stripe key cards that can be lost or misplaced -- particularly in water and recreational environments -- Smart Band is more secure, staying fastened on the wrist. Its re-wearable silicone design allows removal when not in use.
Smart Band's contactless interface provides performance advantages over magnetic stripe key cards. Dirt and debris can collect on the cards, which can impact performance, often requiring maintenance or replacement. "RFID wristbands are not only recognized as a smarter and more reliable technology than magnetic stripe cards, they're also much more convenient," said Robin Barber, Vice President of Leisure & Entertainment for PDC. "We all know the experience of fiddling for the hotel door card when your hands are full of luggage. Smart Band provides quick access with just a slight wave of the wrist."
The PDC Smart Band also serves as a convenient "wrist wallet," enabling EVEN Hotel guests to make cashless purchases at the hotel's Cork & Kale Market and Bar via a quick scan of the band. Barber said that the instant transactions "take about half the time compared to using credit cards or cash, which leads to shorter lines and happier customers who can spend more time enjoying the hotel's amenities." In addition to the efficiency benefits, the system increases the potential for impulse purchases, which can boost spending.
Upon check in, EVEN Hotels guests receive an RFID room keycard, and for $8, may purchase a waterproof Smart Band with a securely sealed RFID chip inside that stores and verifies guest data when scanned by a reader. Guests may take Smart Band® with them upon leaving the property, and re-use when visiting any EVEN Hotel. As each chip contains a unique ID number, the bands are impossible to duplicate.
Guests are able to access their rooms by presenting their Smart Band over RFID-enabled locks. Unlike common magnetic stripe key cards that can be lost or misplaced -- particularly in water and recreational environments -- Smart Band is more secure, staying fastened on the wrist. Its re-wearable silicone design allows removal when not in use.
Smart Band's contactless interface provides performance advantages over magnetic stripe key cards. Dirt and debris can collect on the cards, which can impact performance, often requiring maintenance or replacement. "RFID wristbands are not only recognized as a smarter and more reliable technology than magnetic stripe cards, they're also much more convenient," said Robin Barber, Vice President of Leisure & Entertainment for PDC. "We all know the experience of fiddling for the hotel door card when your hands are full of luggage. Smart Band provides quick access with just a slight wave of the wrist."
The PDC Smart Band also serves as a convenient "wrist wallet," enabling EVEN Hotel guests to make cashless purchases at the hotel's Cork & Kale Market and Bar via a quick scan of the band. Barber said that the instant transactions "take about half the time compared to using credit cards or cash, which leads to shorter lines and happier customers who can spend more time enjoying the hotel's amenities." In addition to the efficiency benefits, the system increases the potential for impulse purchases, which can boost spending.
Everything we know about Royal Caribbean RFID WOWbands
One of the more interesting parts of Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas technology announcement was the RFID "WOWband" wristbands because of the really intriguing possibilites. Understandably, there's a lot of intrigue regarding this new kind of SeaPass and people want to know what it is exactly and what to expect. We don't know everything quite yet, but here's a listing of all the information on WOWbands that we do know in one place.
Friday, September 5, 2014
Why Apple's iBeacon Hasn't Taken Off—Yet
Hillshire Brands (HSH) sees the promise of Apple’s (AAPL) iBeacon, software that’s been embedded in iOS 7 for a year. With iBeacon, Hillshire can track a shopper wheeling through a grocery store and send his iPhone a coupon or an ad for sausages just as he approaches the right cooler. Hillshire says consumers in 10 U.S. test cities who received iBeacon messages via apps such as recipe service Epicurious have been 20 times likelier to buy its American Craft sausages. Last year, iBeacon promised Apple a new wave of consumer data and looked like a boon to retailers and advertisers trying to reverse a decline in impulse buys.
TimeForge Intros Beacon-based Solution for Managing Staff, Assets
TimeForge, a provider of online labor-management software, is introducing a solution that leverages Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons to help companies view where their personnel and key assets are and have been. The solution, known as PlaceForge, includes Bluetooth beacons provided by Gimbal and Radius Networks, as well as TimeForge Bluetooth readers consisting of omni-directional antennas and a credit-card-sized Linux single-board computer, known as Raspberry Pi.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Smart Card Alliance offers HCE paper
The Smart Card Alliance has published Host Card Emulation (HCE) 101, a white paper that “takes a deep dive into HCE and NFC opportunities and security considerations”. HCE is “an opportunity for application developers to more easily provide convenient and consumer-friendly NFC applications, but also increases the chances of hackers gaining access to information through malware and/or denial of service attacks,” says executive director Randy Vanderhoof.
Adidas RFID tracking could be used to spy on clothes’ owners
Adidas has sewn RFID tags into national football team’s jerseys, raising concerns from human rights organizations, claiming that such clothes could be easily turned into tracking devices revealing a person’s location, Deutsche Welle reports. The sportswear maker insists it is not going to track football fans using RFID tags, and has said customers can dispose of the tag if they don’t want to wear it, yet digital privacy experts point out that tags implanted in clothes hold great surveillance potential.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Tyco updates retail RFID tools
Tyco Retail Solutions, a global provider of retail performance and security solutions, has announced the release of TrueVUE version 5.1, which it says further enhances its capabilities to accelerate large scale retail RFID deployments faster and more cost effectively across all stores chain-wide.
According to the company, the latest version of TrueVUE facilitates centralized setup and control of inventory management to drive accuracy, visibility and operational efficiencies. In addition, the new features enable retailers to maximize existing investments in iOS devices for RFID inventory transactions and to support in-store mobility strategies.
According to the company, the latest version of TrueVUE facilitates centralized setup and control of inventory management to drive accuracy, visibility and operational efficiencies. In addition, the new features enable retailers to maximize existing investments in iOS devices for RFID inventory transactions and to support in-store mobility strategies.
Frost & Sullivan: RFID Systems ‘Indispensable’ to Manufacturing
The business model and structure of the manufacturing industry has grown well beyond the scope of a single enterprise and location, making radio frequency identification systems indispensable to its functioning, according to a new study from Frost & Sullivan. With increasing adoption of lean manufacturing strategies pushing most manufacturers to focus on and outsource niche operations within global supply chains, RFID technology will help sustain high levels of performance, the firm says.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Wireless location beacons are now the size of stickers
When a company called Estimote released its first product last year, it was about the size of of a kiwi fruit that had been cut in half. Its diminutive wireless Bluetooth beacons were (and still are) designed to replace things like signs and information placards by sending that to the screen of your smartphone. At the same time, the beacons would help retail shops, museums, and restaurants keep track of where visitors were going. But there were a few things holding the initial version back. There's an accelerometer to track motion, but people would just stick the beacons on walls or pillars where they remained stationary. And while aesthetically pleasing with bright colors and a polygonal form, they were still big enough that some places affixed them out of sight.
Internet of Things Technology Doing Some Heavy Lifting
In the last decade, the "Internet of Things" has expanded from a small set of assets with first-generation radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to a proliferation of devices using a variety of wireless machine-to-machine (M2M) technologies. By some estimates, there are as many as 10 billion M2M devices deployed worldwide today, expected to grow to a ubiquitous 30 billion by the end of this decade. The power of M2M lies in its ability to capture, transmit and analyze asset data automatically - without human intervention - and inform business decisions that increase operational efficiencies, improve service capabilities and save money.
Monday, September 1, 2014
More Evidence of NFC Support for Both iPhone 6 Models
Last week, Chinese repair firm GeekBar shared a claimed schematic for the iPhone 6 showing what was claimed to be the pinning diagram for the device's rumored near field communications (NFC) chip. The part addressed on the schematic, PN65V, was thought to be a version of NXP's PN65 NFC package currently used in several Android devices. The leak is one of several schematics shared by GeekBar over the past week and a half, and while some of the components have been misidentified, it is looking increasingly likely that the schematics themselves are legitimate. Seen in that light, it is worth taking a look back at the NFC claim to see if there is additional evidence for it.
Travel is now easier thanks to smartcard technology
Smart ticketing for public transport continues to advance in South Yorkshire, with the launch of more tickets on ‘smartcard’ and the installation of smartcard kiosks in bus interchanges. TravelMaster seven and 28 day tickets, which offer unlimited travel on bus, tram and train in Rotherham, Sheffield and other South Yorkshire zones, are now available as smartcards. Passengers will be able to buy the tickets on an electronic, credit-card sized pass instead of using the scratch cards and paper tickets currently available.