Swatch partners with Visa for NFC-based watch

Switzerland’s Swatch Group signed credit card giant Visa as the payments partner for the launch of its NFC-enabled wrist watch outside China, said Le Temps. The Swatch Bellamy will launch in China in January 2016, the company announced last month. Its partner is China UnionPay, the country’s dominant card-payment processor.

Matsui makes RFID licensing deal with Walker Digital

Matsui Gaming Machine Co Ltd, also known as Matsui Group, a specialist in casino currency and table layouts, says it has made a technology licensing agreement with Walker Digital Table Systems LLC, a specialist in technology for casino games. Under the deal, Matsui will manufacture and supply gaming chips that can be tracked – on compatible casino tables or within a certain geographical range – via specialised radio frequency identification (RFID) tags.

This site will tell you if your fake ID’s bar code is real, or total nonsense

Earlier this month, we discovered that if you leave an airplane boarding pass lying around, someone could pick it up and run its bar code through a scanner to discover information hidden away that wasn’t printed on the actual ticket. To test that discovery out, most people went to a free online bar code scanner from Inlite Research, a company that specializes in making bar codes. The company’s VP of marketing, Michael Salzman, was surprised by the traffic bump he got as a result of the boarding pass incident, and more surprised by what people were scanning.

Chinese Nuclear Plant Tracks Workers With RFID

The Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant, part of the China National Nuclear Corp. , has deployed a system that employs passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tags and readers to identify the locations of thousands of workers, according to zone, as well as help locate individuals in the event of an emergency and prevent anyone from entering unauthorized areas. Since installing the solution last year, the company has also been able to use it to verify workers' hours, according to Sun International, the system's provider.

The Eloquence of the Barcode

The history of the barcode is not as cut and dry as one would think. More than one group has been credited with inventing the technology. How does one encode data on a machine, store it on a physical media, then read it at some later date? Punch cards and paper tape have been doing that for centuries. The problem was storing that data without cutting holes in the carrier. The overall issue was common enough that efforts were launched in several different industries. In the 1930’s, John Kermode, Douglas Young, and Harry Sparkes created a four bar barcode. They were Westinghouse engineers, and not surprisingly the application was to automate the payment processing of electric power bills.

Longest Chance Offers RFID Baggage-Handling Technology as Service

A Russian airline and four airports have completed a pilot, under the oversight of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), of an RFID-enabled baggage-tracking system in Europe as part of the IATA's Resolution 753 requirements. The resolution is aimed at requiring airlines to accurately monitor the acquisition and delivery of each item of baggage by June 2018. The solution, known as the Hand-to-Hand RFID Baggage Tracking System (HHRBTS), was supplied by Hong Kong RFID solution provider Longest Chance. The six-week pilot began in early September and ended late last month.

Singtel adds NFC to Dash mobile payments service

Singapore mobile network operator Singtel has added NFC to its Dash mobile payment platform, letting customers make in-store payments with a tap. The NFC feature is available at more than 200 NTUC FairPrice locations, including FairPrice supermarkets, FairPrice Xtra hypermarkets and standalone Cheers outlets.

Polo Ralph Lauren Store Gets Smart Fitting Rooms

Ralph Lauren Corp. opened eight RFID-enabled interactive fitting rooms this week at its Polo Ralph Lauren flagship store located on New York City's Fifth Avenue. The company plans to install such fitting rooms in additional stores as well, following an evaluation of their effectiveness at the New York location. The interactive technology, provided by startup Oak Labs, consists of a smart mirror with a touchscreen and a built-in RFID reader to identify the RFID tag of every garment brought into a fitting room.

Impinj Launches RAIN RFID Retail Solutions With Detego, Inmotion and Nedap

Impinj, Inc. today announced the first solutions in its retail portfolio, built in collaboration with partners Detego, Nedap and Inmotion. Based on the Impinj platform, these end-to-end solutions answer the needs of retailers looking to improve store operations, deliver exceptional customer experience and improve sales.

The solutions deliver item-level visibility and in-store analytics with Detego, inventory intelligence with Nedap, and interactive visual displays with Inmotion. Impinj plans to continue adding solutions to its retail portfolio, as well as introduce portfolios for other industries.

The solutions are built on the Impinj platform, which comprises endpoints (tag chips that uniquely identify items), connectivity (readers and gateways that wirelessly identify the items) and software.
The Impinj platform is the most comprehensive and widely deployed RAIN RFID platform. It gives businesses the ability to implement one infrastructure and leverage Item Intelligence -- item identity, location and authenticity -- in any number of enterprise applications to run their business and deliver compelling consumer experiences.

The Impinj and Detego solution delivers intelligent item-level article management and in-store analytics through complete, real-time supply-chain visibility. The solution delivers insights to store managers about merchandise flow and product availability, allowing them to minimize markdowns.
The solution helps apparel companies receive accurate inventory information and track goods from point-of-manufacturing to point-of-sale. The resulting benefits for retailers include increased delivery accuracy and fewer mis-shipments, reduced processing costs, and improved inventory accuracy thereby leading to more sales.

RFID Goes to Bat Against Gray Market for DeMarini Sports

Sporting goods company DeMarini Sports is employing radio frequency identification technology to track its baseball and softball bats, thereby ensuring the integrity of the supply chain for its high-value products. An ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID solution provided by Entrigal Systems makes it possible for the firm to automatically create a record of each bat's shipment to a specific retailer, so that if the bat turns up listed elsewhere—for instance, for sale on eBay—the company can identify the original retailer to which that item was shipped.

Startup unveils Bitcoin mobile wallet with NFC

Startup Plutus is inviting consumers to take part in the alpha release of a Bitcoin mobile wallet that allows POS transactions via NFC. “It is powered by a Decentralised Exchange Network (DEX), which traders can use to buy and sell Bitcoin in return for fiat at the checkout,” the company says. “Merchants do not need to directly accept any digital currencies and customers can convert their balance into fiat on-the-go.”

Las Americas Golden Tower to Open with RFID Door Locks

The recently built Las Americas Golden Tower is set to offer guests advanced property security with electronic door lock and safe innovations by ASSA ABLOY Hospitality. Boasting 30 floors of luxurious guestrooms and amenities, the 285-room Panamanian property is on track to open in January 2016, equipped with VingCard Signature RFID door locks and Elsafe Sentinel electronic safes in all rooms and suites.

Edeka rolls out mobile payments to 800 stores

German supermarket chain Edeka has added mobile payments to its mobile app, letting customers in 800 stores across the country complete transactions by presenting a barcode at the point of sale. “The barcode creates the link between your mobile phone and the POS system when shopping and is part of the payment process,” Edeka says. The service also includes loyalty and coupon redemption.

The World's Largest iBeacon Network Emerges

The world's largest network of iBeacon devices has emerged in China, consisting of 110,000 units run and managed by Sensoro. The network spans 25 movie theatres, sixteen airports, 39 high-end retail stores, 40 major tourist destinations, 200 universities, 260 high speed trains, 1,500 Pizza Hut restaurants, and 2,100 Chow Tai Fook (CTF) jewelry retail stores among other locations.

During Chinese holidays, traffic at these beacon outfitted locations reached hundreds of millions. An estimated 12 million visitors visited the 40 Class 5A tourist attractions (the highest level of tourist attraction rating category rated by by the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), while more than 300 million passengers rode on the 260 CRH trains to their holiday destinations. Chow Tai Fook, the largest jewelry stores by market share in Mainland China with annual sales of over 11 billion dollars, owns more than 2,100 stores. Key co-operations in digital marketing have significantly expanded public exposure to beacon devices around the world, building momentum for further innovations in the applications for iBeacon and the results seems to be unexpectedly positive.

During the 2015 Chinese New Year, Chow Tai Fook's use of iBeacon brought in 11 million dollars in revenue with a conversion rate up to 63%, far surpassing expectations (Source: CTF 2015 annual earnings). The success of the case persuaded CTF to deploy beacons in all 2,100 of their Mainland China retail stores over the next three months, and provided an excellent model of digital marketing for other companies including Real Madrid, Sony Pictures Television, and Yum Brands to adopt.

In May 2015, in cooperation with China's largest traditional television media outlet, CCTV News Channel, and the China National Tourism Administration, Sensoro deployed more than 4,200 beacons at 40 5A-class scenic attractions. The use of iBeacon technology created the first instance of cooperation between traditional television media and offline tourist destinations. Due to CCTV's high-density live broadcasting, reaching over 12 million tourists and uploading more than 60,000 high-value real-time news clues. The large number of obtained real news clues led to crack down on chaotic tour guide market.

World's Smallest, Most Flexible Barcode Readers for OEM Installations

Microscan, a global manufacturer and pioneer of auto ID solutions from the world’s first laser diode barcode scanner to the Data Matrix symbol, introduces the world’s smallest barcode readers for installation into OEM equipment and embedded applications. MicroHAWK readers are designed for incredible power on an incredibly small scale to meet precise requirements for form, fit, and function throughout the life of OEM machines.

'Badbarcode' attacks expose potential vulnerabilities in barcode tech

Researchers with Tencent's Xuanwu Lab demonstrated several attacks that used barcodes to execute commands on barcode reader host systems and could potentially be used to upload trojans at the PanSec 2015 Conference in Tokyo on Nov. 12. Yang Yu, the firm's founder and head, posted several videos to his Twitter account of an attack he has dubbed “Badbarcode” that demonstrate how barcodes that were printed on paper and on digital screens could be programmed to execute any command on a computer.

Royal Caribbean tests charging for RFID WOWband bracelets on Anthem of the Seas

In a reversal of policy, Royal Caribbean has begun charging $4.99 for its new RFID bracelets, known as WOWbands, on Anthem of the Seas. Guests aboard the first commercially available Anthem of the Seas sailing this week discovered Royal Caribbean is now charging for the WOWbands, although WOWbands are still complimentary for suite guests. Guests may purchase WOWbands at Guest Services and purchased WOWbands are reusable on future cruises.

Okemo introduces RFID lift access

Skiers and riders visiting Okemo Mountain Resort will no longer have to fumble with gloves, zippers and lanyards as they search for lift tickets and season passes prior to loading a lift. Instead, they can glide through special gates equipped with RFID readers that scan radio-frequency-identification-enabled cards that can be stowed safely inside jackets or pants pockets. This technology makes the cumbersome visual checking of lift tickets and season passes a thing of the past. After an initial visit to the ticket window to purchase an Okemo Real.Easy Card, skiers and riders can go direct-to-lift on subsequent visits; they simply visit okemo.com to load new products like lift access and even resort credit onto their card prior to visiting.

Microscan Offers Suite of Barcode and Print Quality Verification Products for Regulatory Compliance

Microscan Systems, a global provider of industrial barcode reading, verification, and machine vision technology, adds a full suite of all-in-one barcode and print quality verification products to its line of industrial automation solutions. With Microscan’s 2015 acquisition of verification systems company Label Vision Systems (LVS), Microscan’s technology portfolio now comprehensively addresses factory automation challenges from product packaging and labeling compliance to full-scale product inspection, tracking, and traceability throughout the supply chain.

Microscan’s suite of barcode and print quality verifiers provide both inline and offline verification of codes (symbols and text) printed on labels and packaging. Verifiers identify errors in code readability and compliance as codes are printed, allowing manufacturers to address printing or formatting issues before incurring fines and scrapped product down the supply chain. Microscan offline verifiers enable users to present codes to vision-based inspection systems as needed to check for quality issues in newly-designed labels. Microscan inline verification systems are configurable into manufacturing lines and printers to check label accuracy on the fly during or directly after code printing and application. These verification solutions address the growing need for compliance to the FDA’s Unique Device Identification (UDI) initiative, as well as other regulated barcoding standards.

RFID Can Do More Than Track Assets

While using RFID to track capital assets such as machinery and tools has proven benefits, some forward-thinking manufacturing and research facilities have also begun using RFID to comprehensively manage assets to achieve even more ROI. After all, while knowing where specific capital assets are located at any given time is very useful, not knowing if the full pool of capital assets are in use — and for which project and by whom — still leaves efficiency gaps.

RFID Brings Work-in-Progress Visibility to Paint Shop

Rittal, a manufacturer of enclosures for servers and other IT equipment, as well as climate-control and power-distribution systems, is employing radio frequency identification technology to manage the movements of its products through the painting process at its Rittershausen assembly plant. By using RFID, the company knows where each product is in the painting process, as well as how much paint has been used and when it will require replenishment. The company can thus ensure that it has up-to-date information about products that will be available for shipping, address any delays in the painting process and reorder more paint in a timely manner. The technology, provided by German integration firm IdentPro, includes Xerafy on-metal tags.

Dutch Firm KPN Starts Network for 'Internet of Things'

Dutch telecoms firm KPN announced Wednesday it had launched in two cities a new wireless technology known as LoRa to wirelessly connect objects, ahead of a country-wide rollout. The network is working in Rotterdam and The Hague from today and will come into effect across the rest of the country in stages in 2016," KPN said in a statement. The network will "allow us to connect to the Internet in an efficient manner millions of devices which only use a small amount of current and data."

Samsung Prepares For Global Rollout Of Its Mobile Payment System

Samsung's mobile payment system, Samsung Pay, has reached one million active users in South Korea alone, with over 100,000 daily transactions being made in the country's restaurants, supermarkets and department stores using the system, reported Android Headlines Oct. 26. To date, $88 million worth of purchases have been made through Samsung Pay since its launch two months ago on Aug. 20, with an average of $1.8 million worth of payments daily compared to the $705,192 in its first few weeks.

RFID privacy concerns getting commercialized

“What’s in your wallet?” is among the most famous advertising slogans, the implied answer being that it should be the sponsoring credit card. There’s a segment of the wallet industry that could make good use of that slogan; however, the implied answer would be that it should be the ability to block RFID. The presence of RFID chips in credit cards has added to privacy concerns about the technology and has helped give rise to RFID-blocking wallets. The irony illustrates the dilemma faced by RFID: the more it becomes mainstream the more it generates screams.

Dynamsoft Barcode Reader SDK update includes ability to decode barcodes from PDF files

Dynamsoft announced version 4.0 of its Barcode Reader software development kit (SDK), which has added a PDF rasterizer to decode 1D and 2D barcodes from PDF documents. The updated SDK has also expanded its list of supported barcode symbols.

The expanded barcode symbol support now includes 2D barcode decoding of DATAMATRIX and PDF417 standards. Also, in another update, the .NET version of the SDK will support Visual Studio’s AnyCPU option for enhanced platform integration. These updates builds upon other recent updates. This past summer, Dynamsoft added support for decoding barcodes from GIF images in addition to already having support for BMP, JPEG, PNG and TIFF images. The company had also recently optimized the decoding algorithm for reading code128 barcode types, resulting in noticeably improved accuracy of around 10 percent.

Are Beacons the QR Code of 2015?

Beacon technology, currently used in some parks, museums, retail stores and restaurants, has failed to gain any meaningful traction in the last few years. It's a familiar feeling to me because it is reminiscent of a time in 2010 when marketers and advertisers rushed to implement a QR code strategy for their business. Similar to QR codes, beacons seem interesting, but most consumers I speak with still do not know how to interact with either of them. For a person to make use of the beacons or QR codes, the technology needs to communicate with a mobile device or more specifically a mobile application -- and this alone makes me skeptical.

RFID-shielded, ultra-strong duffels for carrying cash through dangerous territory

SDR Traveller caters to people who, for one reason or another, need to haul huge amounts of cash money through dangerous territory. The bags are made from a super strong, super light synthetic material designed for yacht sails, are RFID-shielded, and are rated by how much cash in US$100 bills each can carry, from the $1M Hauly Heist to the Money Pouch in denominations from $10K to $400K.

RFID chips to make public utilities more efficient

The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority is considering employing RFID (radio-frequency identification) technology for services like garbage collection, parking facility and construction of roads in a bid to better manage essential amenities. Officials said a Bangalore-based firm had made a presentation of the concept to YEIDA CEO Arunvir Singh this week. The technology uses tiny radio transmitter chips, or "tags", that can be inserted in garbage bins, parking slots or embedded under roads to track usage.

How Has RFID Changed the Way Businesses Operate?

It depends on the business. Retailers that are using RFID extensively have automated receiving at stores, so when items come in they go through a portal and are counted, and inventory is updated automatically. They use RFID to take inventory of what's on the floor weekly, rather than conducting twice-yearly inventory counts, and to identify which items are missing from the floor or in the wrong location.

Suretap adds Points loyalty cards to NFC mobile wallet

Canadian mobile wallet provider Suretap has added a loyalty section powered by the Points loyalty network to its NFC mobile wallet, enabling users to earn and use rewards offered by more than 100 global reward programs via their mobile phone. The Suretap mobile wallet is all about making it easier, safer and more rewarding for Canadians to transact — including getting more out of their relationships with local brands and retailers,” says Jeppe Dorff, Suretap president.

Lucky Brand Uses RFID-Enabled Touchscreens to Provide Info, Assistance to Shoppers

This summer, jeans and general clothing retailer Lucky Brand opened two new stores in the United States, each equipped with an RFID system that allows a customer to view how a garment looks on a model, learn more about that item and determine which sizes are available in the store or via the Internet. Catalyst, a U.K. electronic article surveillance (EAS) and retail technology firm, provided the solution, which consists of Keonn Technologies' RFID-enabled touchscreens and Keonn's software on a cloud-based server.
 

How RFID Delivers Big Data On Cows And Milk Production

We know that big data has been used in retail, healthcare and finance, but you might be surprised to find out that it also helps farmers with dairy production. This practice, called precision dairy farming, involves the use of technology such as RFID tags and sensors to track the health of cows, which are essential to the economy in areas such as India.

Vishvas Chitale, director of Chitale Dairy in Bhilawadi, India, explained the role the grass-grazing animals play for farmers. “It’s very important for them as revenue because for farming companies in India we call cows ATMs.”

Xerafy Releases Its Smallest On-Metal RFID Tags

RFID technology company Xerafy has announced the release of two on-metal tags that are no bigger than a grain of rice—tiny enough to be embedded in, or attached to, objects such as surgical and dental tools, in addition to very small automotive components. The Dash XXS and Dot XXS are what Xerafy calls the world's smallest RFID metal tags. Both can sustain high temperatures, making it possible for them to be used in sterilization and autoclave environments. They were designed for the health-care industry, says Dennis Khoo, Xerafy's CEO, as well as for use in the automotive manufacturing and oil and gas industries.

Consumers warned about new smart card scams

Advanced technology in credit and debit cards are helping in the fight against identity theft and consumer fraud, but local experts caution that even the new smart cards are not completely foolproof. The Utah Division of Consumer Protection warned consumers to beware of suspicious emails or text messages that may ask for their personal identity or account information using recent changes to smart chip credit and debit card accounts as a trap. The federal government required retailers to adopt over a billion Europay, MasterCard and Visa — or EMV — smart chip enabled cards by Oct. 1 in an effort to combat fraud.

Citi tests ATMs that replace plastic cards with mobile phones, QR codes, NFC and iris scans

Citi has begun testing a screenless, cardless ATM concept developed by Diebold that lets customers make transactions using their mobile device instead of a plastic card and authenticate themselves using NFC, QR or an iris scan. Customers using one of the new Irving ATMs download a mobile app and set up the transactions they wish to make when they reach the ATM on their mobile phone. They can then chose to have a QR code scanned by the ATM, tap their NFC phone against the ATM or have their iris scanned to authenticate themselves in order to complete the transaction they previously logged inside the mobile app.

Fast-Track RFID Certified Associate Training to Be Featured at RFID Journal LIVE! Europe 2015

Attendees at RFID Journal LIVE! Europe 2015 can sign up for a one-day, fast-track, advanced RFID certification course. The training will take place during the first day of this year's LIVE! Europe conference and exhibition, to be held in London, England, on Nov. 9-10.  RFID Professional Institute Certified Associate Training, presented in partnership with RFID4U, features the latest equipment and real-world RFID deployment scenarios. The course, a combination of lectures and hands-on lab exercises, provides a functional understanding of the use of RFID readers, tags, printers and general-purpose input-output devices.

Making Business Sense of the Internet of Things

With better data – and more of it – comes improvements in efficiency and better, more informed business decision. At least that's the thinking behind the boom in Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. Most American and British business leaders agree, according to new study from Aeris, a provider of machine-to-machine (M2M) and IoT solutions and services, and research firm Vanson Bourne. Seventy-four percent of the 300 executives surveyed by the company in the U.S. and U.K. feel that IoT will enable them to better meet their key business objectives in the coming year, while 71 percent said IoT will help them gain a competitive edge.

BJC Healthcare Adopts RFID Cabinets to Track Surgical Devices

BJC HealthCare, which operates 12 hospitals in Illinois and Missouri, is in a multiyear process of deploying radio frequency identification technology to track and manage the thousands of medical supplies it uses. The high-frequency (HF) RFID system consists of cabinets with built-in readers, passive HF RFID tags, handheld reader wands, and Cardinal Inventory Management Solution software on a cloud-based server to manage the collected data, all provided by Cardinal Health. BJC is installing the technology first in its cardiac cath labs, followed by its gastrointestinal (GI) labs, its intervention radiology department and its operating rooms.

QR codes offer buffs a walk through history

Downtown Auburndale has numerous historic buildings and sites that helped shape the city into what it is today. Those will now be recognized in a 21st century way. QR codes that can be scanned with any smartphone device are being placed on the 11 green historic preservation markers next to the buildings or sites. A visitor can scan the QR code, which is a type of barcode, and get more information. Amy Palmer, Auburndale's community development director, said this idea began as a way for these areas to be recognized by more people in the community.

QuikQ Announces Integration With Fiscal Systems

QuikQ, a provider of a cardless direct fuel connection between truck stop point-of-sale (POS) and motor carrier enterprise systems, today announced an integration with Fiscal Systems, a provider of point-of-sale systems to independent and national truck stop chains. The integration with the QuikQ Fuel Purchasing System (FPS) significantly reduces the risk of fuel fraud and errors in processing fuel transactions.

The Fiscal Systems POS processes commercial fuel transactions using both attended and unattended systems. The integration with the RFID-based, cardless systems developed by QuikQ, the SmartQ system sold by Comdata Corporation, will enable processing of fuel transactions by Fiscal Systems truck stop customers at major chains and independents.

ThyssenKrupp Elevator uses Microsoft Azure IoT for improved building efficiency

While Windows 10 and the various new Windows 10 Devices, announced earlier this month, have been getting a significant amount of time in the spotlight, Microsoft has also been unveiling their ambitions for IoT which include Azure IoT Suite and Windows 10 IoT Core. The idea is to provide platforms like Azure and Windows 10 IoT Core for connecting small embedded devices to the cloud on impressive scales.

RFID doesn't work if you're in the wrong line

All the speed and efficiency that RFID-equipped documents can offer border-crossers at official Customs and Border Protection check points are useless if those people drive into the wrong line. That's what CBP is hoping to make clear at one of its most heavily-trafficked border crossings on Oct.26. The agency is conducting a "Ready Lane education and traffic segregation project" at the sprawling El Paso, Texas, border facility that it hopes will help sort out the long lines to get into the U.S.