Pakistan pharma firms ask to revise barcode deadline

Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association (PPMA) has urged the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) to review its directive that gives six months to drug manufacturers for adopting ‘serialisation and barcode’ for their products, calling the deadline very short. Drap has made it binding on the pharmaceutical industry to adopt within six months the system of serialisation, which includes barcodes for medicines, in order to ensure authenticity and quality of products sold in the market.

Barbadillo and Thinfilm partner on NFC tags for Spain’s top wine

Thin Film Electronics, an NFC mobile marketing and smart product company, has partnered with leading Spanish winemaker, Barbadillo, to launch a consumer-focused marketing campaign using Thinfilm’s SpeedTap tags and CNECT brand analytics SaaS platform. This national campaign includes 126,000 NFC-enabled ‘smart’ bottles of Castillo de San Diego and is believed to be the largest global deployment of NFC to date within the wine and spirits industry. The connected bottles are being sold through 15 major supermarket chains and superstores, including El Corte Inglés, Carrefour, Hipercor, Alcampo, and Eroski.

Want to go to a ‘chip party’? That’s where your boss puts a microchip in everybody’s hand

Yup, the same technology used to microchip your pets is being offered to employees at a company in Wisconsin — a first in the U.S. The optional program will allow employees to use an RFID chip between their forefinger to open doors like a hotel keycard, as well as make purchases in their break room, log into computers, use the copy machine and more. The company, which is based in River Falls, Wisconsin, 32M, and provides a self-service kiosk alternative to vending machines, partnered with Swedish tech company BioHax International to bring the chip technology to the U.S.

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CST Global introduces real-time electronic barcode tracking of all work in progress

Compound Semiconductor Technologies Global Ltd (CST Global) of Hamilton International Technology Park, Blantyre, near Glasgow, Scotland, UK (a subsidiary of Sweden-based Sivers IMA Holding AB) has introduced real-time, electronic barcode tagging for all work in progress (WIP) in its III-V optoelectronic foundry. “Our laser production now exceeds 1 million per month, so managing production electronically is essential,” says senior production engineer Meg Armstrong. “A barcode is allocated to each wafer when it is released to our production line and becomes a ‘lot’. This barcode is used to track the lot, containing up to 100,000 lasers, as it progresses through the production line to finished goods."

DNA barcodes provide a new high-tech tool for environmentalists

A Canadian technology that can identify a substance by scanning it — as a character in Star Trek might — could become a crucial tool to capture DNA data in the environment and protect it. DNA barcoding, developed at the University of Guelph by Professor Paul Hebert, uses genetic variations to identify different species. It’s similar to how a supermarket checkout scanner reads variations in a UPC barcode’s lines to identify a product you buy.

Cratus leverages Thinfilm's NFC technology

Thin Film Electronics ASA ("Thinfilm") announced a partnership with Cratus Technology, Inc. Through the collaboration, Cratus will integrate Thinfilm's technology into mobile sensor platforms, enabling location sensing and tamper-evidence monitoring of high-value goods through the simple tap of a smartphone or commercial reader. 

Cratus' newly launched mobile sensor-platform for high-value shipments was designed to record ambient environment data including temperature, pressure, shock, orientation, and humidity. Serving as a silent sentinel on a package's journey through the supply chain, the sensor platform was designed to capture adverse events and record them for dispute resolution and general supply chain monitoring. In addition to GPS tracking and multiple methods of communication options including Bluetooth, cellular, WiFi and LPWAN, Cratus wanted to add location tracking capabilities and next-generation tamper detection functionality to its sensor platform and turned to Thinfilm's OpenSense technology to enhance the security, flexibility and user experience in its offering.

NXP Identifies Top Global Trends in RFID for the Retail Market

While the on-demand economy has led to many brick-and-mortar stores declining, omnichannel services continue to grow. Smart supply chain management with advanced tracking and monitoring capabilities enabled by RAIN (Radio frequency IdentificatioN) RFID support both, short and extended range communication, are empowering retailers to address a multitude of new use cases. In combination with consumer-to-goods interaction through NFC (Near Field Communication) tags are increasingly adopted as key elements of consumer interaction and loyalty strategies. Interactive store functionalities, brand verification solutions, and contactless payment with NFC smartphones are also gaining traction as an integral part of the consumer shopping experience.

Here are the top global trends in RFID for the retail market:
Trend 1: Retailers are embracing RFID to enhance the “smart” consumer shopping experience
Today, smart fitting rooms equipped with intelligent mirrors assist and enhance the shopping experience. Smart mirrors read the RAIN RFID tag of the merchandise and displays the item on a touchscreen behind the mirror’s glass while a recommendation engine displays matching accessories such as shoes or a purse. By enabling interaction between the customer and shop assistants or feedback from friends via social media, the smart fitting room meets demands of a new generation of customers that perceive smart connectivity as a natural enhancement of shopping experiences. Some high-end retailers like Ralph Lauren¹ or Rebecca Minkoff² attribute interactive changing rooms to a 30 percent increase in sales, confirming the attractiveness of smart assets in the physical shop.

Trend 2: Retailers are leveraging RAIN RFID for omnichannel smart-supply chain management
With the advent of the on-demand economy, multichannel processes and omnichannel retailing have grown considerably to address the need for accurate information about stock and location of goods. Brick-and-mortar stores are leveraging predictive analysis software that allows optimization of processes and enables retailers to recognize sales potential in order to introduce new and special “click and collect” departments into the store. In order to power both of these solutions and turn big data into smart data, retailers are utilizing RAIN RFID technology, as it delivers accurate real-time data to software analytics. Some retailers have confirmed that smart-supply chain management helps maximize shares in the competitive customer market, for example, sports retailer, Decathlon³, reported that sales have increased by 2.5 percent with improved stock visibility, and Macy’s⁴ recently reported it reduced inventory costs by $1 billion as a result of RFID implementation.

Trend 3: Retailers are integrating RAIN RFID solutions to monitor perishable goods
For food retailers, getting the products from the warehouse to the shelves at the right time before expiration is a challenge. These industries often do not have accurate insight in durability of perishable goods in inventory. This results in unnecessary waste worth $162 billion annually⁵, not to mention the health risks and environmental impact. According to an industry study⁶, a $10 billion retailer can reduce losses by up to $60 million a year through effective shrinkage and freshness management. To maximize such savings, food retailers are conducting large scale testing of RAIN RFID solutions, including tracking and sensing technology for temperature and humidity monitoring. Such solutions allow distributors, logistic companies and wholesalers to locate their orders online, in real-time. In combination with electronic shelf labels, retailers would be able to react to expiration dates with reduced prices, or even make general sales campaigns directly visible to the customer.

Trend 4: Enhanced consumer interaction and contactless payment via Smartphone with NFC will continue to gain traction
NXP’s RFID product portfolio supports the entire retail ecosystem, including reader chips enabling smartphones to read NFC tags and establish Internet-of-Things (IoT) connection and the reader chips in the Point-of-Sale (POS) that enable secure contactless payments via smartphones or payment cards. Contactless payment is increasingly seen as an integral part of a seamless shopping experience by both the customer and retail partners.

Brady Selected by Rockwell Collins for Corporate RFID Program

Brady announced that its Aerospace RFID Solution has been selected by Rockwell Collins to meet RFID labeling and tracking needs within its Interior Systems business​, formerly B/E Aerospace, which was acquired by Rockwell Collins in April 2017. This printing and encoding system from Brady will produce on-metal and off-metal RFID tags used to wirelessly identify and track flyable parts, including oxygen generators, for Rockwell Collins.

This solution also includes high-performance label materials designed to resist exposure to extreme environmental conditions for aerospace applications. Tags include Brady’s Alloy Tags for on-metal applications and Air Tags for non-metallic surfaces, such in-cabin moveable assets.

In addition to providing RFID tag printing and encoding for Rockwell Collins, Brady is also supplying mobile, handheld software and hardware to scan and track part information.

EMVCo standardizes QR codes for mobile payments

Payments standards body EMVCo has published “EMVCo QR Code Specification for Payment Systems: Consumer-Presented Mode”, a technical specification that marks the organization’s first move into standardizing the use of QR codes for mobile payments. “EMVCo’s activity in this area is providing specifications pertaining to the use of QR code for payment purposes,” the standards body says. “To this end, the QR code serves as a one-way communication between the point of interaction and a mobile application in a consumer device. EMVCo’s areas of focus are consumer-presented QR codes and merchant-presented QR codes.”

RFID Technology Revolutionizing Pharmaceutical Industry

A recent report from TMR Research has detected that the market for RFID in the pharmaceutical industry is currently in developing stage, with enormous growth possibilities. The report, titled “RFID in Pharmaceuticals Market – Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 – 2025,” notes that the FDA has played a pivotal role in escalating the adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in the drug delivery market as it helps in strengthening the anti-counterfeiting and track-and-trace efforts.

RCom's Unlimit, China's Fibocom Partner to Develop IoT Solution

Reliance Communications' Unlimit has announced a strategic alliance with Chinese telecom gear maker Fibocom to design and manufacture modules for wireless communications and develop Internet of Things (IoT) solutions. Unlimit said the number of connected devices in India is projected to rise from 200 million today to 3 billion by 2020, and nearly every part of the economy will be positively impacted by IoT.

Chipless RFID Market to Reach $11 Billion by 2022

The Chipless RFID market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 30.41% to reach the total market size of US$11.163 billion by 2022, from US$2.959 billion in 2017. These RFIDs are witnessing high adoption rate on account of advantages like cost elimination associated with tags and higher operational efficiency. The need for enhancing inventory management in retail and logistics sector through asset tracking and security of products are some of the key features driving the market growth. Prevention of counterfeit products and the need for document management in government and healthcare sector is also boosting the demand for these RFID solutions over the forecast period.

New UHF RFID Tag Can Be Read On and Around Metal

Taiwan's Securitag Assembly Group (SAG) has built its company history around solving radio frequency identification technology challenges, such as difficult form factors and reading environments. This year, the firm has developed the Overmolded Uni Metal Tag to bring on-metal RFID reading to users that had previously not been able to make RFID technology work. The tag uses a metal object to which it is attached as an RF antenna, and can be mass-produced on rolls. It is being used in the industrial and logistics sectors, as well as by manufacturers to track work-in-progress and enable assembly automation.

Estonian firm Thinnect is offering cloud-based intelligent controls for Internet of Things networks

If you're asked to name a country that's a frontrunner in the promising field of the Internet of Things, Estonia may not immediately spring to mind. But one company wants to change that.

Thinnect is a startup founded just two years ago to focus on developing technology that enables management of the last 100 meters of IoT networks. Its technology is already being used in five countries to manage lighting, heating, and cooling systems in buildings as well as in intelligent street lighting deployed in cooperation with another Estonian company, Cityntel.

Khushi Baby adds biometric security to NFC health records

Khushi Baby, a service that uses NFC necklaces to track the healthcare given to mothers and babies in India, has added biometric security to its platform to further protect the personal information of patients. “By combining the NFC, biometric and security features of the MorphoTablet, the Khushi Baby platform can authenticate individual ownership of their health record and take patient consent before making any updates — all in a manner that is offline and independent of the specific tablet used”, says biometric security supplier OT-Morpho.

Eftpos Australia completes contactless debit card and mobile payments upgrade

Australia’s Eftpos debit card network has completed an infrastructure upgrade that will enable its partners to roll out new products and services including Eftpos Tap & Pay and Eftpos Mobile payments. The update also includes Australia’s first domestic token service provider (TSP), “complete and ready for commercial deployment.” Eftpos AustraliaMore than a million Tap & Pay cards have now been issued by Australian financial institutions, according to Eftpos managing director Bruce Mansfield, with the number expected to reach “well over three million cards by the end of the year”. More than 20m multi-network debit cards are also enabled with Tap & Pay technology.

About 50 billion IoT-connected devices by 2020

As many as 50 billion devices, ranging from smartphones and TVs to watches, pipelines and trucks, will be connected by 2020, a new report said. According to a report by global research organisation Software.org: the BSA Foundation, Internet of Things (IoT) has the potential to drive huge economic gains, generating up to $11.1 trillion a year by 2025 in global economic impact. “Innovators are taking everyday things and making them infinitely better by adding computing power and software, and connecting them to the Internet. These devices open the door to smarter ways to grow our economy,” said Chris Hopfensperger, Executive Director of Software.org: the BSA Foundation, in a statement.

RFID tech expansion in iOS 11 allows Apple iPhone to authenticate goods, buy on the spot

Starting with iOS11, Apple supports the NFC Forum's NDEF NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) tags, making WISeKey's solutions instantly available. Data read by the app is encrypted end-to-end, with any stored data retained in a server in a secure vault. The technology is in use now for authentication of goods, like wines. A different deployment of the same technology can broadcast personalize messages to the phone holder on status of the product, like if the bottle has been opened or not.

Visa Looks To Bring QR Code Payments To Taiwan

Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Android Pay all debuted in Taiwan this spring, but Visa still thinks there’s untapped opportunity in this seemingly saturated market: quick response (QR) codes. According to a recent Payment Week article, the problem Visa predicts all three mobile payments systems are going to face is endpoint logistics. The Taiwanese people do not necessarily have the right smartphones to run these payment platforms, and the wireless connectivity to make them practicable is lacking.

Visa aims to spark cashless trend

Visa is looking to push more small businesses into updating their digital-payment technology, offering up to $10,000 each to 50 U.S.-based small-business owners who are committed to going cashless. The program will focus on restaurants and food establishments, Visa said Wednesday, with the expectation that Visa will expand the program in the coming months and years to other industries and possibly other countries as well.

CYBRA Enables SATO Printer Integration into Manhattan Associates WMOS

CYBRA Corporation has integrated SATO thermal label printers into Manhattan Associates' Warehouse Management for Open Systems (WMOS) solution. To mark the occasion, SATO also joined Manhattan Associates MVP Partner Program as a Silver Hardware partner as of May 2017.

For more than 20 years, CYBRA and SATO have partnered to deliver integrated thermal labeling solutions to customers across various computing platforms. SATO required a Linux-based solution to design and print barcode and RFID labels with mixed UTF-8 character sets (Kanji and English) in text and barcode fields – including the popular QR barcode type. CYBRA’s MarkMagic PI (Platform Independent) edition, with its native support for SATO Barcode Program Language (SBPL) for desktop and portable barcode and RFID printers, was the perfect tool to meet this challenge.

The CYBRA team transitioned SATO to the Manhattan WMOS software so that it could leverage the MarkMagic PI extensive functionality with support for mixed Kanji and English thermal barcode labels on SATO PW208, PT408e, L’esprit V-ex, CL4NX and CL6NX printers.

Boeing Deploys RFID In-House for Assembly Management

Global aerospace company Boeing has deployed a radio frequency identification system for internal manufacturing purposes at four facilities since 2016, using recently released RFID labels from Fujitsu. Boeing's deployment of Fujitsu's RFID Integrated Label is consistent with the aircraft company's use of passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID technology for its own purposes, as well as those of airlines. In 2012, Boeing first began working with Fujitsu to launch a system to tag components with RFID tags so that airlines, maintenance workers and inspectors could read and write data about each part's history as it is used, inspected or repaired.

Scottish Mackerel Factories, Norwegian Researchers Track Fish Health via RFID

The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research (IMR) is managing populations of mackerel, as well as some spawning herring in parts of the Northeast Atlantic, using an RFID-based program that tracks the number of fish and their size and weight as they are caught and harvested in Scandinavia and the British Isles. Recently, fish producers in Scotland have joined the growing number of participants in the program to better understand mackerel populations on both sides of the Northeastern Atlantic. Nearly every Scottish mackerel processing factory is now employing low-frequency (LF) RFID readers to identify tagged fish before processing begins, joining factories in Iceland and at the Faroe Islands that were already doing so.

Improve RFID by killing noise

RFID is great technology, but noisy power and other aggressors can ruin performance. RFID readers using low frequency signals (ca. 130 kHz), like the industry-workhorse TIRIS RFM-007B, are of course very sensitive to noise in that frequency range. Given switched-mode power supplies often generate grunge in this range,  a heavy and expensive linear supply is often needed to get maximum sensitivity. However, the operational cycle of the RFID reader has several phases, only one of which is noise sensitive. They are: high power (transmit, 50ms at 10W), low power (receive, 18ms), and idle phases (up to 33ms depending on firmware). Noise is an issue only during the short receive phase.

Smartrac Launches RFID-enabled Cable Ties for Industrial IoT

RFID and IoT pacesetter Smartrac has announced its Ratch tag product line, the first RFID-enabled cable ties with fully integrated RFID tags. Available for both HF and UHF frequency bands, Smartrac Ratch tags are ideal for the tagging and asset control of critical equipment in applications such as lifting, automotive wiring and supply chain, offshore operations or entertainment and stage rigging. There have been RFID-enabled cable ties on the market before – but they use transponders that are somehow fixed to the cable tie. Instead, Smartrac has securely concealed the RFID component on the inside surface of the tag housing.

Sony’s semi-smartwatch now a leather strap with NFC

Remember Wena Wrist, the analog-style smartwatch developed at Sony’s internal incubator? It looks like a regular watch, but it tracks your movement and sends you notification alerts via an LED in the steel bracelet, which also has an NFC chip for mobile payments. Well, Sony just announced a new version called Three Hands Square along with a new option for a leather strap.

This smart ring gives you instant mobile payments with beefed up security

Token, a new smart ring, promises to give its wearers a chance to make mobile payments, unlock doors, and ditch their passwords — all while protecting their identity with an extra level of security.   The wearable uses the same type of near field communication (NFC) technology found in credit cards and hotel keys to make purchases, and Bluetooth — along with a wake gesture, like knocking — to log into computers, lock car doors and more.

US pop band adds NFC tags to merchandise range

Fans of US pop group Airspoken can now access music, videos and other digital content by tapping their NFC mobile devices against NFC tags embedded in the band’s merchandise, from t-shirts, stickers and hats to bracelets and more. “Labeling on the shirts instruct the wearer to tap the left sleeve with an NFC-enabled smartphone to activate videos, music and other smart content embedded within the garment,” technology provider Innercell says.

How Is RFID Being Used for Archaeology and at Museums?

RFID is used in a variety of ways in museums. One way is to create interactive experiences for visitors. At the Horsens Prison Museum in Denmark, for example, visitors can receive a badge with a specific historical figure's name and image on it. They can then follow that prisoner's experiences through the prison. A passive HF RFID transponder inside the badge has a serial number associated with the specific prisoner, so when a visitor places the badge near a reader corresponding with an exhibit, it calls up a video associated with that particular prisoner (see RFID Locks Up Visitor Interest at Horsens Prison Museum).

More than 30m journeys made using NFC mobile phones across London

More than 31m journeys have been made using NFC mobile phones across Transport for London’s (TfL) network in the last 12 months, the transport operator has revealed. 40% of all pay as you go journeys across the network are now being made using contactless — up from 25% in early 2016 — with almost one in ten of these being made using a mobile device. In all, more than one billion pay as you go journeys have been made using contactless payment cards across TfL’s network, the company adds, with an average of two million contactless journeys now being made every day.

There Are Plenty Of RFID-Blocking Products, But Do You Need Them?

Pickpockets don't actually have to pick your pockets anymore. That's the message you might see on TV or in ads warning that hackers can access your credit card data wirelessly, through something called radio frequency identification, or RFID. In the last few years, a whole RFID-blocking industry has sprung up, and it survives partly on confusion. In videos like this YouTube demo, a man holds a black scanner the size of a large remote near a woman's back pocket and, voila, he's got her credit card number and expiration date. That's because her card has a tiny RFID sensor chip.

Impinj Aims for Smaller, Custom RFID Installations With Latest Reader

Impinj has released a new fixed RAIN RFID reader with just a single port, designed for smaller, specific applications for which a lone antenna is a better fit for retailers, health-care companies and logistics providers. The offering, the company says, signals a growing need for a broader choice in deploying custom installations. The Speedway R120 RAIN RFID reader is intended to compete with handheld readers in small installations or in very specific locations, at a price competitive with the handheld devices: $795.

Delhi Metro Goes Cashless

Delhi Metro commuters will now be able to buy token and recharge their smart cards through their mobile banking application, the Delhi Metro Rail Corp (DMRC) said on Sunday. "The DMRC today launched the cashless token sale/smart card recharge facility by using the Bharat Quick Response (QR) code displayed at the token counters and customer care centres of metro stations," said a DMRC statement. The service can be availed through any bank application and has been provided by HDFC Bank.

Spark announces LoRa IoT network rollout across New Zealand

New Zealand telecommunications carrier Spark has announced that it has begun constructing a nationwide low-power, wide-area Internet of Things (IoT) network. Spark said it has partnered with Actility and Kordia on designing and building the network, with a "significant proportion" to be operational as of June 2018. The IoT network marks Spark's intent to "take a leadership position in IoT", IoT GM Michael Stribling said.

Beijing subway system is replacing tickets with mobile phones

(Foto: Thyristorchopper)

Forget about waiting in line at the ticket counter. Beijing Metro wants its passengers to swipe their smartphones instead of tickets and prepaid cards. The subway has started promoting the use of mobile payments on the Fangshan Line which runs through the south of the city. Beijing has thus beaten New York, where the local authorities have announced introducing NFC payments by 2018. To use the service, passengers need to download an app and have smartphones with wireless NFC (near-field communication) technology.

73% Are Using Internet Of Things Data To Improve Their Business

73% are using Internet Of Things Data to improve their business. The data and insights gained from IoT are most often used for improving product quality or performance (47%), improving decision-making (46%) and lowering operational costs (45%). Improving or creating new customer relationships (44%) and reducing maintenance or downtime (42%) are also strategic areas where IoT is making a contribution today according to the Cisco study.

Barcode Technology Market is expected to reach USD 918.09 million

Global Healthcare Barcode Technology Market is expected to reach USD 918.09 million by 2022 supported by a CAGR of 7.9% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2022. Healthcare barcode technology has not only promoted the error-free data collection but has improved the patient safety. Thus, rising need to reduce medication errors and related healthcare expenditure is majorly driving the growth of this market. In addition, growing focus on patient safety, technological revolution, and rising government legislations on the use of barcode technology are expected to boost the growth of the global healthcare barcode technology market.

The global healthcare barcode technology market is segmented by product, application, and geography. The product market is further classified into three segments, namely barcode printers, barcode verifiers, and barcode scanners. The barcode scanner segment dominated the overall market in 2016 and is also estimated to continue its dominance over the forecast period owing to their increasing adoption in the value chain of healthcare industry for accurate data collection. The barcode scanner segment is further classified into wand barcode scanner, charge-coupled device, laser barcode scanner, and image barcode scanner.

Based on application, the healthcare barcode technology market is mainly segmented into clinical and non-clinical applications. The non-clinical application segment holds the largest share in 2016, owing to the higher adoption of barcode technology in the non-clinical applications such as supply chain and inventory management.

Beyond sensors: RFID and wearables

Retailers are finding a growing and diverse number of ways to apply passive RFID tags not only to inventory and related operations, but also to sales, marketing, and the enhancement of the customer experience. Many of these customer-facing applications combine RFID technology with wearable technologies, such as smartwatches and fitness trackers, to interact with customers in-store.

 Imagine a customer walking into a retail store wearing their smartwatch, which is read instantly upon their arrival. All manner of interactions become possible. The watch may tell the wearer when they are approaching an item they have expressed interest in, or that's recommended based on their purchasing history and profile.

Cable ties are RFID-enabled

Smartrac's novel Ratch tag product line of cable ties comes with fully integrated RFID tags, available for both HF and UHF frequency bands. The Ratch tags are suitable for the tagging and asset control of critical equipment in applications such as lifting, automotive wiring and supply chain, offshore operations or entertainment and stage rigging.Unlike RFID-enabled cable ties that would use transponders fixed to the cable tie, here the RFID component is securely concealed on the inside surface of the tag housing, effectively bonding the transponder unit within the housing which mechanically retains it within a Nylon material engineered for extreme durability and strength.

SGS Plans Cold-Chain RFID Deployments in Africa

SGS, a Geneva, Switzerland-based inspection, verification, testing and certification services company, is currently in discussions with several businesses in Africa to track cold-chain goods as they are transported by truck, thereby identifying or preventing thefts. African agencies and oil companies have already been using the Savi Technology radio frequency identification-based solution from SGS, known as OMNIS, to provide traceability of oil and gas shipments. The technology enables users to manage the location of their cargo, such as oil and gas, and to confirm that it has not been tampered with as it is moved in tanker trucks through the supply chain, down roads and across borders. The OMNIS system has reduced the loss of cargo for the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and other agencies.

Barcode technology still delivers efficiencies

Barcode technology has been around for some time, but government organizations are still benefiting from its use. Some applications come easily to mind; barcodes are common on agency ID cards  and are frequently used for access control to a facility. They can be used for tracking assets and tagging evidence in investigations In Pennsylvania, the Buffalo Valley Regional Police Department scans the barcodes on drivers' licenses and registration cards into an app that populates citation forms, allows officers to print citations in their vehicles and sends the record of the citation to the courts. Officers noticed a significant increase in citation accuracy, in addition to spending less time writing up each citation.

MulteFire introduces another contender in the IoT space for LPWAN

The MulteFire Alliance was formed in December 2015 with founding members Nokia and Qualcomm, joined by Ericsson and Intel, to promote MulteFire as an LTE-based technology for small cells operating in unlicensed and shared spectrum. The alliance has since grown to include close to 30 members. Now, "the MulteFire Alliance is adapting LTE IoT to operate in the unlicensed spectrum to expand beyond mobile broadband and high-performance IoT supported by MulteFire 1.0,” wrote Hao Xu, principal engineer/manager at Qualcomm, in a blog post. “This will in turn bring new opportunities for private LTE networks and enable LPWA (low-power wide-area) use cases, leveraging narrowband LTE IoT technology."