Brillo is Google's new IoT platform

Every tech company worth its salt is running to get involved in the Internet of Things; Ubuntu is in on it, and Microsoft has teamed up with more than one company to plant its IoT flag. Today Google unveiled its new IoT platform, Brillo. Google is not entirely new to the Internet of Things -- it already has its cloud platform in place and has also acquired Nest. Destined for all manner of connected devices, Brillo is a stripped down and streamlined operating system based on Android. Google has not revealed how its size compares to Huawei's LiteOS, but has said that -- like Android M -- there is a focus on security, and the platform will run on Weave.

Stauff Markets RFID-Based Hydraulic Pressure Measurement System

Measuring the pressure of hydraulic machinery or equipment in a factory or at an industrial site can be the best way to learn how well the machine or other equipment is operating. Excavators, lifting equipment and other types of hydraulic machinery, such as those used at mines or by the timber industry, often experience a change in hydraulic pressure prior to suffering a failure. Equipment operators and owners, however, find that detecting such pressure changes is not always easy. Analog or digital gauges provide measurements, but they can be difficult to access on the machinery and typically cannot transmit that information to the interested parties. In addition, storing a device's pressure-reading history on paper can be time-consuming.

First Electronic Wallet that Takes Protection and Security to Another Level

Devion Falconer has been developing the Electro-Wallet (E-Wallet) for over three years. This is an innovative solution that adds peace of mind and unmatched protection to valuable contents people typically carry in his or her wallets such as credit cards, cash, personal identification, and much more. The creator has developed the final prototype and has a trusted manufacturer ready to produce the E-Wallet. However, he needs seed money to make the first purchase order. He has turned to the crowdfunding community for support. Falconer has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $50,000 by June 13th, 2015.

Are QR Codes Thriving or Dying?

It might be the greatest marketing debate of the 2010’s: are QR codes things of the past or the future? The question is more difficult to answer than one would imagine; on one hand, consumers consistently report low QR code use. On the other hand, marketers consistently rate QR codes as being effective. Who are we to believe? Are QR codes thriving or dying?

RFID gateless gantry toll system ahead of schedule

We’ve reported on PLUS’ plans to introduce a gateless gantry toll system (we’ve even shown you pics of what appears to be the system being tested), but works minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof has revealed to The Sun some new details regarding how we will pay toll in the near future. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) will be part of the system, which is in its final stage of implementation. It’s expected to be operational by the second quarter next year at highway tolls and border entry points, ahead of its 2018 schedule.

New smart label, or chipless RFID tag, set to kill off the barcode

Imagine filling up your trolley with groceries and rolling out the door. No queues or checkouts. This could be the reality - and completely legal - with Australian researchers developing a "smart label" they hope will supersede the barcode and revolutionise retailing. Associate Professor Nemai Karmakar from Monash University has created a new generation of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags that, until now, could not work on products with metal or water. A trial by Coles in 2006 failed because liquids and metals interfered with the signals. He hopes the superior tags will renew the supermarket's interest in the technology.

Cubeacon wants to be Indonesia’s pioneer in iBeacon technology

It’s a rare thing to hear about software-as-a-service (SaaS) ventures from Indonesia, and even more rare to hear about hardware innovation. But Cubeacon combines both. It focuses on customer loyalty management with a hardware component based on Apple’s iBeacon technology. The startup may be so far ahead of the curve in Indonesia that its CEO Tiyo Avianto is focusing Cubeacon’s distribution in the Japanese market for the time being.

China's RFID market value will reach $4.3 billion by 2025

Not only will the use of RFID in China become a $4.3 billion market in 2025, but that figure will almost double if we include the value of tags and readers made in the country and exported elsewhere. Already in 2014 China had 85% of the global manufacture capacity of RFID tags, with over 150 RFID companies operating in the country. In this new report titled RFID in China 2015-2025 , IDTechEx provide a full study and assessment of the prospects of the RFID market in China. The research was carried out by IDTechEx analyst Dr Xiaoxi.

Target will roll out RFID price tags to improve inventory management

Target is turning to radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to make sure shoppers have consistent access to the chain's cheap-chic wares. The Minneapolis-based retailer says it is working with key vendors to begin outfitting price tags with RFID smart labels, which Target hopes will improve inventory accuracy and out-of-stock issues.

Italian zoo visitors walk on the wilder side with iBeacon network

Visitors to Zoom Torino Biopark in Cumiana, Italy will be able to unlock information and rewards on their smartphones thanks to a network of Bluetooth Low Energy beacons that send location-based messages to their devices. “The 160,000 sq meter park now offers a full edutainment experience with Zoom Torino’s new iBeacon-enabled mobile application,” platform provider LabWerk explains.

Auburn University cuts the ribbon on new RFID laboratory

It started with a single project and then a basement laboratory. From modest beginnings, Auburn University launched into the forefront of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. Major companies such as Amazon, Target, Avery Dennison and VF Corporation now sponsor RFID research at AU.

To push electric cars, Seoul rolls out portable chargers with RFID

Seoul is trying to put one of the world's highest concentrations of electric vehicles (EVs) on its roads with a project that would let drivers charge their vehicles in residential parking lots and other everyday locations. The city is planning to give out electric charger cables fitted with RFID readers that would allow drivers to recharge their batteries through standard power outlets at 100,000 locations -- a huge increase from current numbers.

RFID Patents Available from ICAP Patent Brokerage

ICAP Patent Brokerage announces for sale patents related to RFID and mobile payments, including systems and methods for configuring an RFID device as a data logger and switchable tags, available from inventor Steven M. Colby. This portfolio is offered as part of the Internet of Things IP Auction, with a bidding deadline of July 30th, 2015.

"This portfolio covers a broad array of RFID related technologies, with an early priority date of 2005. It is an important portfolio for smartphone manufacturers, financial institutions, and credit card, sensor companies, and retail security system companies," says Dean Becker, CEO of ICAP Patent Brokerage.

How Snapchat Made QR Codes Cool Again

Snapchat launched a feature called Snapcodes (also known as Snaptags). Each user now has their Snapchat-branded QR code on their profile that can be opened by pressing the yellow ghost icon atop the camera. If another user scans someone’s Snapcode by focusing their Snapchat app’s camera on it, they automatically follow that person. Now Snapchat tells me millions of Snapcodes are scanned each week.

Stratos smart card replaces the need for a wallet

For the last week, my wallet has felt a bit lighter than normal thanks to a new smart card called the Stratos Card. The swipeable electronic card works with a mobile app to store your credit, debt and gift card information that you can use at any time to pay for purchases. The all-in-one payment card is fairly new and began officially shipping last month. The company’s only real competition is Coin, although other startups such as Plastc, Final, and Swyp offer similar services and are currently taking pre-orders.

RFID Making Electronics Products Easier To Reuse

Sinctronics, a company based in Brazil, is utilising Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to determine the materials in consumer electronics products so that they can maximise the efficiency of disassembly and component separation. The plant is reportedly handling around 100 tons of discarded products every month, but representatives of the company suggest that there is potential to multiply that capacity six times. RFID assists Sinctronics in segregating flows of materials sending off metals to specialist recyclers and recovering the plastics and plastic parts to be re-utilised in new products.

Connect Your Garden to the Internet of Things With Today’s Amazon Deal

The Internet of Things is affecting every area of life and business, including the trucking industry, as reported in a recent article on the Wall Street Journal. Jason Hope, futurist and tech guru, indicates that advancements in data collection in the trucking industry using the Internet of Things shows yet another way that these technology changes are changing the future permanently. According to the April 29 article entitled "Internet of Things Reaches Into the Trucking Business," which Erica E. Phillips wrote, Saia LTL Freight Inc recently enlisted the help of Intel Corp. technology in its 3,000-truck fleet.

Japanese carrier to secure mobile payments with iris scanning phone

Japan’s largest mobile network operator NTT Docomo has unveiled an NFC smartphone that comes equipped with an iris authentication system from Fujitsu that will let owners unlock the device and authenticate mobile payments just by looking at it. “It authenticates a person [with] the pattern of the person’s iris, which is the ring around the pupil of the eye,” Fujitsu explained when the system was first unveiled in March.

Brazilian Recycling Plant Uses RFID to Facilitate Reverse Logistics

Radio frequency identification is part of the set of cutting-edge technologies and innovations adopted by Sinctronics, which calls itself a Green IT Innovation Center. Located in Sorocaba, a city in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, Sinctronics operates what it says is Brazil's first integrated ecosystem for electronic products, processing 100 tons of discarded equipment per month, and generating raw material for the manufacture of new products, thereby reducing the extraction of natural resources, saving energy and reducing carbon emissions.

SML Group Joins RAIN RFID Alliance

Leading apparel brand identification solution provider, SML Group, announced that it had joined the RAIN RFID Alliance. The collaboration will bring additional strength to RAIN's effort in evangelizing and fostering the advancement of technologies that connect billions of everyday items to the internet, enabling businesses and consumers to identify, locate and authenticate each item.
 The data from these items will help businesses run their operations more efficiently and provide better services to their customers.

The SML Group, which has more than 5000 employees and operations in over 30 countries, delivers RAIN RFID solutions to apparel brands around the world. SML's global footprint, combined with its deep experience in RFID-based item-level solutions, should provide a valuable and unique synergy with the RAIN Alliance thereby contributing to the mass adoption of RFID technology in retail supply chains.

Thinfilm will fight counterfeiting with new NFC tags

Thinfilm Electronics is teaming up with the world’s customs agencies to make a new wireless tag to authenticate products and fight global counterfeiting and piracy. Oslo, Norway-based Thinfilm makes electronic chips that can be printed onto thin plastic rolls, resulting in tags that can be placed like stickers onto products. It’s a replacement for the old bar codes on products, but it works better because it is tamper-proof and can communicate data via near-field communications (NFC), or short-range wireless links, the company said.

E-Pass out, RFID in

Some motorists who use the Skyway elevated tollroad system that spans the Makati to Alabang stretch are chafing over what looks like a shortage in supply of so-called E-Pass devices. This E-Pass unit is a radio device that allows the user to skip long queues at tollbooths thanks to electronic “handshakes” between the device (attached on a vehicle’s windshield) and the entry and exit points of the tollroad. Biz Buzz learned that the owner of the Skyway system—San Miguel Corp.—has begun to phase out the E-Pass in favor of a more efficient and effective system.

Marks & Spencer Expects to Achieve 100 Percent RFID-Tagging by 2017

Global retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) is expanding its use of EPC ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID technology at most of its stores, from 80 percent of its general merchandise toward a goal of tagging 100 percent of goods within the next two years. The company has already been tracking 100 percent of its chilled food items via 10 million tagged food totes as they move through the supply chain and into stores. Last year, M&S reported that all merchandise at 750 of its U.K. store locations will be identified via RFID tags, which will be implemented by spring 2015, and that RFID will be employed by 200 of its factories throughout 20 countries (see Marks & Spencer Embraces Change). The company says that it is very near to achieving these goals. Currently, 100 percent of the clothing it sells is now RFID-tagged, as is half of its homeware items—bedding, bathroom products and soft furnishings.

Petrol Smart Card Programme to Roll Out Mid-June

Amr Badawi, Egypt's Deputy Minister of Finance, has announced that no one will be allowed access to subsidised fuel without using obtaining and presenting a Smart Card at the point of sale. Having rolled out a campaign to ask Egyptian motorists to sign up nearly two years ago, the often postponed scheme is said to go into effect across the country mid-June. The idea is to preempt fuel shortages by curbing 'fuel smuggling' through the monitoring of consumption. The new regulations will apply to all types of vehicles including tuk-tuks, motorcycles and agricultural machinery.

Putting a Stylish Face on RFID Tags

The apparel industry is embracing radio frequency identification with perhaps more ardor than any other sector. Its nearly endless host of stock-keeping units (SKUs), combined with rapid item turnover at the retail level, make apparel inventories notoriously difficult to manage. RFID offers a solution, but one that traditionally involved some undesirable tradeoffs in terms of tagging costs, minimum order requirements and unattractive additional Electronic Product Code (EPC) item tags.
 

RFID Carves Out a Place in Woodworking Industry

When LIGNA, a leading tradeshow for the woodworking industry, opens its doors in Germany, it intends to bring some focus to radio frequency identification and how the sector can use the technology. This is the first year that the trade fair is including an RFID technology demonstration, known as the RFID Factory, to showcase RFID vendors and help educate the woodworking and furniture industries about the technology, says Christian Pfeiffer, LIGNA's director.

EMV Countdown is On: Get Prepped

October of 2015 — the deadline by which merchants must deploy point-of-sale (POS) technology that complies with the Europay/Visa/MasterCard (EMV) standard for chip card acceptance or assume liability for fraudulent transactions — is fast approaching. While Hospitality Technology’s 2015 Restaurant Technology Study revealed that a respective 40 percent and 35 percent of restaurant operators believe they have a well-defined roadmap in place for EMV preparedness or will put a transition plan into place this year, about 25 percent admit that they will not be ready for the transition.

The smart card that finally let me ditch my wallet

Smart, connected cards like the Stratos card are not the future. It’s important that I clarify that right off the bat. These cards offer some very cool functionality, allowing users to store the swipe information from all of their credit cards, debit cards and more on a single device, and then select which card to use on the fly. In time, however, these cards will be made completely obsolete — even once they adopt newer chip and PIN technology. Mobile payment services like Apple Pay will eventually be adopted more widely, and smart cards will become obsolete.

Smartrac Sees RFID's Future in the Cards, the Clouds and the Cosmos

RFID and Near Field Communication (NFC) tag and inlay producer Smartrac is partnering with playing cards company Cartamundi to develop an NFC tag that is small, thin and cheap enough to be embedded in standard cards, such as sports trading cards, playing cards and game cards, that could be used to connect users to Internet-based games. Cartamundi expects to begin offering NFC-enabled cards with the new technology by the end of the year. Smartrac announced the partnership, as well as the release of its new software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution Smart Cosmos, at the RFID Journal LIVE! conference and exhibition, held last month in San Diego, Calif.

A Mass. firm just spent $105M to expand its Internet of Things business

Needham software company PTC Inc. said Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire ColdLight, a Pennsylvania-based maker of software that uses analytics to evaluate data from connected devices, for approximately $105 million. PTC said the acquisition of ColdLight’s automated predictive analytics software will bolster PTC’s technology portfolio and extend PTC's venture into the Internet of Things market.

Dutch supplier Hotek Hospitality Group leading in RFID solutions for access control

After being market leader in their own region for over 15 years, and having installed over 1 million hotel locks in 65 countries, it's time for the next step for Hotek Hospitality Group from The Netherlands. Hotek will attend HITEC 2015 in Austin, Texas and present their RFID Upgrade Kits for magnetic card systems to the US market. These upgrade kits are easy to install, and transform outdated magnetic card locks (from several brands) into up-to-date RFID access control systems.

PayPal begins piloting NFC and records 40% growth in mobile payments

Online payments giant PayPal has revealed it is again testing NFC, though the company’s president has made clear that he’d like the company’s platform to be technology agnostic and he doesn’t see the long-term success of NFC as assured. “We are obviously doing trials around NFC ourselves at this point, but I think the real key and the thing I believe in is that any great open technology payments platform has to have, at its heart, this idea of being technology agnostic at the point-of-sale,” PayPal president Dan Schulman told investors during eBay’s first quarter earnings call as the company recorded a 40% year-over-year growth in mobile payment transactions.

Linxens Closes the Acquisition of KnL, Specialist in RFID Antennas

Linxens, a specialist in the design and manufacture of connectors for smart cards, has just completed the acquisition of KnL Group. KnL Group, founded by Yannick Zoccola, Managing Director, in 2010, is located near Bangkok, Thailand. The company specializes in the manufacture of RFID inlays and antennas typically used in banking cards, ID cards, access and transport cards as well as passports.

NFC based mobile payments tipped for 2015 take-off

Deloitte is tipping more than a tenfold increase in the number of smartphones being used to make contactless payments: from just 0.5 percent of NFC-equipped mobile phones in 2014 to five percent of global population of some 650 million NFC capable smartphones by the end of 2015. Deloitte, in its Technology, Media & Telecommunications Predictions 2015, says these phones will be "used at least once a month to make contactless in-store payments at retail outlets." Contactless mobile payment will not be mainstream by end-2015, but "niche adoption will be a major progression from near nil in prior years," Deloitte says.

RFID Upgrade Kit Enables Single Tag for Inventory Visibility

An RFID upgrade kit for Checkpoint Systems, Inc.’s EVOLVE iRange P10 antennas is now available, offering retailers a smooth migration to RFID by enabling the use of a single tag for both inventory visibility and loss prevention. The upgrade kit is fitted by Checkpoint Systems service technicians to existing or new P10 antennas. The P10 RFID supports Checkpoint’s unique One Tag approach, enabling retailers to use a single RFID tag for inventory visibility and loss prevention; support for differentiated alarms based on the value of the merchandise leaving the store; and support for Checkpoint’s Wirama Radar for tag-read accuracy, directionality and location. This enables retailers to place merchandise closer to exit doors, minimizing the risk for false alarms.

The first smart card that can replace every card in your wallet starts shipping today

Coin was the first smart card that aimed to replace all of the credit cards in your wallet, but the company ran into manufacturing issues and despite its unveiling in November 2013, the device still hasn’t begun shipping. Plastc is likely the most exciting solution of the bunch, but we still have no idea when it will be released. Stratos is yet another smart card that looks to offer a catch-all solution for the cards in your wallet, but there’s one key difference: It’s actually shipping right now.

Army Training Centers Enlist RFID to Help Track Uniforms

The Fort Leonard Wood Recruit Training Center (RTC), in Missouri, is the first of three U.S. Army recruit training center to adopt a radio frequency identification system to manage items for uniforms it receives from a warehouse near Atlanta, Ga., operated by Lion-Vallen Industries (LVI) on behalf of the Troop Support branch of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). The ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID solution, provided by AdvanTech Inc., enables the RTC and DLA Troop Support to automatically track when clothing items are received at the center, and when they are issued to a soldier.

Good delivers smart card-level authentication to Android phones

Continuing the RSA 2015 theme that hardware-based security delivers better threat protection than software approaches, Good Technology is rolling out what it is calling the industry's first Trusted Execution Environment for enterprise mobility management. Available initially for Android smartphones and tablets, Good's solution protects your log-in credentials in a secure container, separate from Google's operating system. By isolating credentials into a separate container, Good says that even if Android gets compromised, malicious software won't be able to intercept your passwords or PINs.

US EMV transition could open door to more NFC mobile payments

The clock continues to tick on the EMV liability shift in the U.S. Merchants have six months left to upgrade their point-of-sale terminals to accept the chip cards banks are issuing to their customers. While the card networks announced the shift in 2012, the transition hasn't been without some controversy. Walmart's Mike Cook recently called the current transition a joke, mostly because the card brands insist on chip-and-signature to verify transactions instead of the more secure chip-and-PIN method, which is the standard in most countries including Canada and the U.K.

Digicel links with Stream on Internet of Things

Digicel Business has signed a partnership with Stream Technologies, an expert in connectivity solutions for the Internet of Things that will see customers connecting their machines, devices and appliances wirelessly using an ‘IoT’ platform that will power Digicel Business’ Machine to Machine (M2M) products. The Internet of Things (IoT) revolution sees more devices from any industry becoming connected, thus allowing easy transfer of data over a network without the need for human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. Digicel Business is bringing this technology to its customers in a way that will make it easy for them to install and use—with high availability and scalability—and Stream’s “IoT-x” platform does just that.

Passive RFID Decal provides secure vehicle identification

Based on Alien Technology HIGGS chip and VENUS transponder, ASTRIA Decal is suited for automatic vehicle registration, electronic toll collection, and access control. User can print and program secure RFID and bar coded data on-demand using STAR's printing software and qualified RFID thermal-transfer printer. User memory can be secured via chip's read-lock and/or write-lock functions. For tamper evidence, decal is available with non-removable, non-transferrable/break on removal feature.

Inlay Companies Testing EM Micro's Dual NFC and EPC Chip

Global semiconductor manufacturer EM Microelectronic has released its new EM4423 silicon chip featuring two types of passive RFID interfaces—EPC Gen2v2 and Near Field Communication (NFC)—on a single IC. The chip would enable companies to create tags that can transmit the same unique ID number and data stored in its memory via ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) EPC or high-frequency (HF) NFC readers. The EM4423 is currently being tested by nearly every major RFID inlay manufacturer, according to Mark Jakusovszky, EM Microelectronic's U.S. sales and marketing manager.

New Chipless RFID Tag Could Transform the Industry

Are so-called "chipless" RFID tags soon to be the next big thing in the auto ID sector, to the extent of replacing the long-familiar bar code on consumer goods products sold at retail. Maybe be so, according to research coming out of Monash University in Australia. The ability to create RFID data storage and antenna through some kind of "printing" process has long been a sort of Holy Grail in the RFID industry. That's in part because for all the talk early on about the "five-cent RFID tag" as being a catalyst for the technology to explode, the reality is that many applications cannot be justified at even a nickel per chip.