How Savvy Pokémon Fans Use QR Codes To Catch ‘Em All

Even though Nintendo regularly gives away free Pokémon at events and with special download codes, it simply does not seem to be enough to satiate fans who are eager to complete their monster collections. Gamers on Reddit are using a third-party hacking program to create customized Pokémon. Then, they share their Frankenstein-esque creations with the community by generating a QR code that any player can use to inject the Pokémon into their own copy of the game.

Airbus Enters New Phase of RFID Usage, Digitalization

Airbus has revealed that it has asked its supply base to tag all traceable items with passive RFID transponders. Traceable items are those that are serialized, repairable, replaceable, maintainable or life-limited. Suppliers can choose to put an RFID integrated nameplate on an item in order to replace a conventional non-RFID nameplate, or they can opt to add a separate RFID tag elsewhere. At the same time, Airbus is strengthening the RFID training of its own supply chain engineers based across the United States, Asia and Europe, in order to support the supply chain adoption of radio frequency identification.

Google's UriBeacon: More Disruptive than iBeacon?

In October 2014 Google created UriBeacon, an open specification to connect Bluetooth Low power beacons to the web, an experiment they called the Physical Web. UriBeacon could well be bigger than iBeacon in its disruptive role, providing a bridge between the physical and digital worlds. Let’s explore why that is, how UriBeacons work and what to expect when you start browsing the Physical Web.

Mobile Savvy Shoppers Prefer NFC over Competing Alternatives when Shopping

The NFC Forum and Strategy Analytics unveiled the results of a comprehensive retail research report and web survey on mobile consumer engagement and purchases, revealing the needs and preferences of today’s mobile-centric consumer. The in-depth report – which includes both observational research of retail scenarios comprising 36 participants and a web survey that included more than 1,000 participants – offers retailers insights into providing more relevant, convenient and enhanced in-store shopping experiences and a better understanding of the full potential of in-store engagement opportunities. Overwhelmingly, NFC technology was preferred over competing alternatives including Bluetooth Beacons and QR codes.

A step towards smart city: RFID tags for Mumbai dustbins soon

Mumbai's dustbins will now be fitted with radio frequency interface devices (RFIDs) that will give garbage collection squads information on which bins remain uncleared. A part of BMC’s vehicle tracking management system (VTMS), the project will also include real-time monitoring of the civic body’s garbage vehicles. Introduced as a pilot project in the G/South ward (which includes Worli) on Friday, the project has been touted by municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte as a step towards making Mumbai a ‘smart city’.

RFID table tracking helping fast casuals get orders out quickly, accurately

It's a familiar scene. The dining room is crowded, a sea of guests at tables awaiting the arrival of their food. Numbered cards pop up from tables, and crew members crane their necks, searching the the number that matches the order they are carrying. But the card is turned at an odd angle, or has fallen off the card holder, or is being gnawed on by the guest's baby. So the crew member circles the dining room frantically searching while the soup on her tray cools. That scene may be fading in some fast casuals, thanks to new technology that leads the crew member directly to the guests table.

New TIPP Standards Help Retailers Prove the ROI of RFID

Introducing radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology into the retail environment has spawned some pretty amazing innovations. The Mount Hood Meadows Ski Resort in Oregon rolled out ski passes with RFID technology embedded in them, as BizTech reported in 2013. This upgrade allows skiers to bypass the time-consuming process of having their passes scanned with bar code scanners. More recently, Marc O’Polo, a German clothing brand, rolled out RFID technology across its supply chain, which will enable “the retailer to track its merchandise from the point at which they are made,” reports RFID Journal.

CYBRA Getting Creative With RFID Solutions

Ten years ago, when Wal-Mart first started mandating that its suppliers use RFID tags in product deliveries, the unit cost of RFID tags was seen as the biggest barrier to adoption. Fast forward to 2015, and improvements in manufacturing have dramatically lowered the cost of RFID. But it's been the adoption of new business models that has led to an explosion of RFID use cases, according to the folks at CYBRA. CYBRA has closely monitored the evolution of radio frequency identification (RFID) in the consumer processed goods supply chain. Back in 2003, CYBRA jumped at the chance to help its iSeries customers move forward with Wal-Mart's RFID mandate.

Apple iBeacon Indoor Mapping Patent sheds more light on Future Location Services

Last April we posted a report titled "When it comes to iBeacon Readiness, iOS-7 iDevices Score 87% vs. Android Devices at a Paltry 2.5%," followed by a report in May titled "A Brief Overview of iBeacon Technology that could also be used in Future Home Automation" which also covered businesses. Both reports provided basic overviews of Apple's iBeacon technology along with graphics illustrating indoor mapping. Today the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals some of their intellectual property on the subject of indoor mapping using beacon technology. Apple's patent generally relates to techniques for monitoring device locations within buildings and enhancing user services with indoor traffic information. Finding your friends or kids in a mall, or a colleague at a crowed trade-show could be a new service that we could look forward to on our iDevices in the future.

QSRs, fast casuals provide table service with RFID technology

As the restaurant industry trends toward using more and more technology to enhance customer experience, age old problems like searching for a guest’s table are finally being solved. Staff need no longer wander a dining room shouting out orders and searching for table numbers with today’s innovations. One way table service is being made more efficient is through table tracking. Gone are the days of searching for flags that guests may or may not have remembered to place on the table. The Vuze Table Location System by HME Wireless, used by QSRs and fast casuals like McDonald’s, McAllister’s and soon Wendy’s, employs RFID technology so that staff can track a guest’s table. 

Zwipe integrates access biometric card with HID Global smart cards

Biometric authentication firm Zwipe announced that it has integrated its patented on-card authentication technology into HID Global’s iCLASS smart cards and 125kHz ProxCard proximity cards. The integration eliminates the need to add biometric readers to an existing HID Global iClass or Prox-based system, and therefore enabling HID Global to incorporate the Zwipe Access card into its existing systems.

This Stamp-Sized Sensor Can Sniff Out Explosives Using RFID Tags

Detecting explosives is, obviously, an important task—but many of the sensors are large and require manual operation. So GE's tiny and affordable new RFID sensor could help automate the process, to help keep us safe without much in the way of man power. Developed in collaboration with the Technical Support Working Group (TSWG)—a task force dedicated to anti-terrorism—the device repurposes RFID tags as sensors, by applying a lick of sensing material to their side. GE is tight-lipped about exactly what they entails, merely explaining that it's developed "a sensing material that responds to explosives and oxidizers."

RFID Goes Into the Shark Tank

I've become a big fan of Shark Tank, an ABC television show that features ordinary Americans offering to sell a stake in their startup businesses to five venture capitalists. Virtually all of the businesses featured on Shark Tank are consumer firms that all viewers can relate to, but as I watch each night (I catch the reruns on CNBC), I often think about what would happen if an RFID startup went on Shark Tank. In my experience, RFID companies often make the same mistakes that the newbies on Shark Tank do: They try to sell what they want to produce, not what people want to buy, and they don't market effectively.

Smart cards expected to multiply across U.S.

By the end of 2015, roughly half of all credit and debit cards in the U.S. will have been converted to smart cards with microchips, while about half of all merchants are expected to have upgraded their payment terminals to accept the new technology. That was the outlook from the major payment card networks — Visa, MasterCard and American Express — on the rollout of chip card technology replacing the familiar magnetic stripe technology.

Railways eyes RFID tags for wagons, coaches and locomotives

Indian Railways is likely to propose the use of radio-frequency identification tags in its upcoming budget for tracking and tracing of wagons, coaches and locomotives even as the public transporter looks to leverage information technology in a big way to improve services. Rail Budget 2015-16 is expected to propose extensive use of IT systems in everything from the management of rolling stock to the development of Apps for passengers and provision for Wi-Fi on rail premises.

Six Ways Brands Can Use NFC Technology to Enhance Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty

Brands can use NFC technology during the customer journey to improve in-store experiences, generate more sales, and enhance customer loyalty and trust, according to a comprehensive retail research report and web survey released by the NFC Forum and Strategy Analytics. The report focused on mobile customer engagement and purchases, revealing the needs and preferences of today’s mobile-centric consumer. The in-depth report includes both observational research of retail scenarios comprising 36 participants and a web survey that included more than 1,000 participants.

Changing Perceptions of RFID

Perceptions of new technologies change over time. That's what both the Gartner Hype Cycle and Geoffrey Moore's technology adoption life cyle are all about. Initially, there is a great deal of optimism about a new technology, as there was about radio frequency identification from 2003 to 2005. But then reality sets in. Companies find that it's more complex than they were initially led to believe. The technology falls into the "trough of disillusionment" or the "chasm." In the case of RFID, tag manufacturers developed passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) tags that can work on metal and around water, and that can be read more consistently, regardless of orientation, and at longer distances. Active RFID solution providers increased the location accuracy of their products and made performance more reliable.

Starbucks links to Apple Pay

Starbucks, which arguably runs the most popular mobile payment service in the US, is updating its app to work with Apple Pay, although not so that users of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus can make payments in its outlets. According to 9to5mac, the latest version of the app enables users to top up the balance on their Starbucks Card via Apple Pay. The Apple service handles both digital and physical payments transactions.

One million-plus university smart cards issued in Brazil

Digital security specialist, Gemalto has worked with Santander Universities deploy more than one million Optelio contactless EMV cards this past year for Banco Santander Brasil. These University Smart Cards (USC) are issued to academic institutions throughout Brazil and, according to Gemalto, represent the largest card deployment of its kind in South America.

The Gemalto-Santander solution combines the security of EMV with the speed and convenience of contactless transactions using MasterCard PayPass features. The credentials also offer a range of features including digital ID for access to university facilities, as well as a variety of everyday features and student services.

RFID tagging of apparel is now the largest and fastest growing application

The RFID tagging of apparel is now the largest and fastest growing application of RFID in retailing, the retail supply chain and associated industries. About 100 organizations are tagging apparel in trials and rollouts. Just two - taken together - will buy 500 million tags yearly. According to new IDTechEx analysis, the systems and tag business concerned with apparel RFID will grow at double the rate of the overall RFID market through the next ten years.

This new IDTechEx report "Apparel RFID 2013-2023" has detailed sector analysis and ten year forecasts. It gives numbers, unit prices and total market values for retail/ retail supply chain and separately for laundry/ rented apparel for the next ten years. It looks at the contest between proprietary and EPC systems, the 2010 Wal-Mart initiative and the companies that are ahead of it, with consideration of technology, regional and other trends. For example, the merging of retail and laundry tag technology and the frequency issues are considered. In this report, there are a remarkable 112 case studies of users of apparel RFID and what they are doing right and wrong. You do not just catch up with the subject, you keep ahead.

Beabloo To Showcase POS iBeacon Integration at ISE 2015

At ISE (Integrated Systems Europe) in Amsterdam, Beabloo will unveiled its more advanced solutions for digital marketing and analytics, while incorporating iBeacon — the sensor application which helps to interact with the consumer by sending customized notifications to their mobiles to enhance customer loyalty. According to the digital marketing company, the iBeacon impacts the profitability of a business by providing the customer product information dynamically. The business then receives data about the consumer’s behavior to analyze purchasing habits which subsequently simplifies the decision-making process.

Harvard Square Startup Debuts a Super-Skinny Wallet on Kickstarter

Big Skinny Wallets is introducing a line of RFID-blocking wallets in order to prevent identity fraud and card skimming. The Big Skinny Wallets Kickstarter will be funded on Feb. 10 (six days from now) and has already received commitments from more than 2,300 backers and $93,000 in pledge money—blowing away their $22,000 goal. Many RFID-blocking wallets are relatively pricy but the Big Skinny wallets can be backed by contributions of at least $35. The Big Skinny wallets are estimated to be delivered in March

Cleveland Cavaliers now sending iBeacon push notifications to iPhone users at games

Like several other professional sports teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers will now be sending out location-aware notifications to iPhone users at its games using Apple’s Bluetooth beacon iBeacon tech. The team will send out the usual reminders, video content, and promos available to those at the game. The team announced that the notifications (pictured above) will be sent to fans through the official Cleveland Cavaliers app. YinzCam, Inc develops the app and is using Gimbal Bluetooth beacon hardware at the Cav’s Quicken Loans Arena to get the job done.

What Is the Usual RFID Label-Printing Process?

The process starts with assigning specific serial numbers to specific items. This is done in a database application, and the precise process depends on the software and tags you are using. A tag might come preprogrammed with a serial number, or you might write the number to the transponder when printing the label. If the tag is preprogrammed, then you would simply print the label and apply it after assigning the serial number to your product in the database.

China will be next major NFC payments market

Chip maker NXP will focus on the “significant” Chinese market for mobile wallets, the firm’s CEO has said, as the company revealed a 40% increase in sales for its emerging ID business in a fourth quarter earnings call. Rick Clemmer said the company would be more focused on China than other regions of the world, adding that “the opportunity in China will be significant and will represent a very significant growth picture”.

How a Swedish soup experiment points to a better use of iBeacons

A Swedish marketing experiment involving soup could show the optimal way to employ iBeacons: physical retargeting. Glimr, a mobile data management startup that frequently works with publishers, recently launched an iBeacon-based project involving soup for Sweden’s largest newspaper, Aftonbladet. “All the use cases we’ve seen so far [for iBeacons] use a push approach,” Glimr CEO and cofounder Robert Hedberg pointed out to VentureBeat.

New Demonstrator Enables Faster Design Time for Mobile Payment Solutions

NXP Semiconductors, Creditcall and ViewAt Technology Co announced the launch of a complete hardware and software reference demonstrator for secure near field communication (NFC) enabled mobile point of sale (mPoS) solutions. The demonstrator provides a universal solution for all payment technologies – covering both cards and mobile payments – and is pre-validated for international EMVCo and Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards. The demonstrator also conforms to the People's Bank of China (PBOC) specification for financial transactions, enabling secure transactions in small local retailers, for local service businesses or for delivery-based merchants, such as taxi drivers or food delivery services. The mPOS demonstrator provides a full payment terminal experience to small merchants resulting in shorter queues and reduced waiting time to pay. By equipping store staff with mPOS devices merchants will now also be able to create multiple points-of-payment in their stores maximizing the opportunity to sell.

The reference module offers NFC payment functionality in an mPOS system, enabling system designers to incorporate the technology into future payment terminals, devices and infrastructures. According to ABI research, the installed base of mobile point-of-sale systems will grow from 1.4 million units in 2012 to around 51 million units in 2019. Recent market developments indicate that the use of NFC technology for secure payments will further increase as NFC payment card functionality becomes increasingly integrated in mobile devices.

Improving supply chain visibility through RFID

For years retailers have relied on Radio Frequency (RF) EAS labels to help decrease shrinkage and ensure merchandise is available for customers to purchase. However, with increased competitors and greater pressures from consumers, retailers are seeking ways to further streamline operations and optimise their inventory. As a result, major retailers are now looking to Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to improve visibility from the point of manufacture, throughout the supply chain and crucially in-store from the back room to the shop floor, all the way to the exit door.

What is Zebra's Strategy for Motorola's Mobile Wireless and Data Collection Businesses?

In early 2014, printing and RFID system focused Zebra Technologies announced it was acquiring the "Enterprise Systems" business from Motorola Solutions, in a deal that closed in late October. That left Motorola to focus on its radio systems business. It was a somewhat surprising move, certainly moving Zebra up the supply chain food change. What was the strategy behind the deal? How fast and how far will the integration of Motorola into Zebra go? Is Zebra now a "solutions" company?

SCDigest editor Dan Gilmore recently interviewed Mike Terzich, Zebra's Chief Administrative Officer who is leading the integration program, on these and several other topics.

VMETER, a battery-free RFID voltage level monitoring tag

A full passive RFID tag that measures voltage level of the device connected to it with a 0V to 1.5V range. The VMETER-DCLV10 from Farsens S.L., San Sebastián, Spain, is a battery free RFID sensor tag capable of transmitting a unique identifier and the associated voltage level measurement data to a commercial EPC C1G2 reader without the need of a battery on the sensor tag. This device can measure voltages in a range from 0V to 1.5V with an adjustable gain of 1-1000.

Are RFID Chip Implants On The Horizon for Employees?

There has been a lot of press in the past two days about an existing technology being used in a new way at an office complex in Sweden: RFID chips implanted in tenants' hands.  The occupants of this new complex are being given the opportunity to have a tiny RFID chip implanted in their hand that will give them access to doors and photocopiers, with the promise of future services tied to the chips.  Not surprisingly, this new use of the technology has been met with mixed reactions among the tenants.

The initiative is being advanced by a Swedish biohacking group that wants to understand the technology before implanted RFID chips become as ubiquitous as wearable tech like Fitbits.  But is RFID chipping on the horizon for employees?  There have been reports of employers offering RFID chips instead of keys to employees in security-sensitive positions.

Marc O'Polo Discovers RFID's Benefits

German casual apparel company Marc O'Polo has adopted a radio frequency identification solution to track its products across the entire supply chain, from its distribution center to 86 of its stores throughout Europe. The company finished installing the system at all 87 sites by September 2014, and is now expanding the deployment to include the tagging of products by manufacturers, thereby enabling the retailer to track its merchandise from the point at which they are made. The company is using Detego Suite 4.0, provided by Enso Detego, to capture and manage RFID read data from each tagged item.

Office workers have RFID computer chips implanted under their skin to use instead of ID cards

A new Swedish office block is implanting the workers inside of it with computer chips under their skin, rather than issuing them with ID cards. The small radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips are pushed under the skin in the hand, and can then be used to open doors or use the photocopier. The chips have been offered to the 400 people that have signed up to the Epicenter hi-tech office block in Sweden. That now includes the BBC’s technology reporter Rory Cellan-Jones, who said that when a tattooist put it in there “was a moment of pain - not much worse than any injection - and then he stuck a plaster over my hand”.

Your New Smart Card's Dirty Little Secret: It Won't Stop Hackers

If you haven't yet received a new credit card, the kind with a computer chip visibly embedded in it, you soon will. Card issuers are quickly distributing them to curb credit card fraud. The little integrated circuit on the front, whose encryption capability makes it nearly impossible to copy or forge the card, is a welcome improvement. Since this redesign of the traditional credit card comes in the wake of massive data breaches at Target and Home Depot, you might think it will prevent breaches like those.

QuantumID adds $2.5M for RFID technology

QuantumID Technologies Inc., a turnkey RFID-focused technology firm in Cambridge, has raised $2.5 million of a planned $4.3 million equity offering, according to a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The latest funding comes from one investor, according to the filing. The filing lists Christopher Cheever, founder of Boston venture firm Fontinalis Partners; Prasanna Gogwekar, QuantumID's chief operating officer; and Ron Tilles, an investment advisor at Robert Meredit.

Why QR codes are the blinking VCR clock of the 21st century

There has always been a polarization among the users of the internet of things: those that understand and can manage the internet of things, and those who cannot. This phenomenon can in part be defined by those among us that can scan a QR Code and those of us who have tried and failed. The modern-day equivalent of a blinking clock on a VCR, QR codes elude the majority of us. Just as we all recognized what the clock was for on a VCR, we all have the notion that a QR code contains information, a link perhaps, that can be used on the internet to gain access to even more information. But knowing what it is used for does not mean you know how to use it. How to scan it.

The Internet Of Things Has A Growing Number Of Cyber Security Problems

Is there anything that can’t be connected to the Internet? For example, where I once wore a $10 pedometer clipped to the waistband of yoga pants, I now wear a $130 fitness tracker on my wrist. In the past, I just took a look at the numbers on the pedometer to see how many steps I’d taken; now I need to log onto an app on my smartphone to see how far I’ve walked and how many calories I’ve burned and even how well I’ve slept. Or, if I wanted to, I could turn on any light in the house from the comfort of my couch rather than get up and do so manually. And that’s just a small scratch on the surface of the phenomena that is known as the Internet of Things (IoT).

Smart Septa System Uses RFID to Authentic Medications

Integrated Line Technologies (ILT), a provider of caps for vials, pharmaceutical bottles and test tubes, has begun marketing a radio frequency identification version of its products that will enable customers to read built-in RFID tags on cap liners and thereby prove that an item is authentic, as well as create and track an electronic history of the product inside a container.

QR codes on Zego packages share a product’s allergen level

The quick response codes have been added so that consumers can make informed choices. The Zego energy bar has redesigned its product packaging and is using QR codes in order to better provide consumers with the information that they need in order to determine whether the products that they are considering contain any substances to which they are allergic or to which they have sensitivities.