RFID Enables Industrie 4.0

In 2017 the RFID market grew at almost double digit and we expect the growth in 2018 to be even higher.  While Western Europe and Japan already have a good installed based of RFID readers and the markets are mature, North America and China are now catching up.  While North America has a good RFID penetration in the supply chain and logistics area, the usage in manufacturing is still behind Western Europe. Next to the adoption of RFID for basic manufacturing applications, including track & trace, product and material flow, intralogistics, asset management, etc. there are new applications rising, which promise to push the market further.  These include IP protection, smart maintenance, or even RFID used within sensing solutions.  This also means that there is a deeper integration into ERP, MES, PAM, and the control layer. 

Sainsbury’s lets UK supermarket shoppers check out from their mobile phones

In a UK supermarket first, Sainsbury’s is trialling new scan, pay and go technology that will enable customers in one of its busy London convenience stores to pay for products in-store using their smartphone. The new technology gives shoppers the option to grab their groceries and skip the checkout completely. Using the latest version of the SmartShop app, customers visiting the Clapham North Station Local can use their smartphones to scan their shopping as they go and then pay for it through the app, from anywhere in the store, using Apple Pay. (Photo: Chris J Dixon)

Methode Electronics To Acquire Grakon For Vehicle Lighting Tech

Methode Electronics (MEI) has announced it has agreed to acquire Grakon for about $420 million.
Grakon creates custom lighting solutions for specialized vehicles and engineering trim components.
MEI is acquiring Grakon to diversify away from the automotive industry and provide high value-add LED lighting for commercial, public, and specialty vehicle markets.

RFID tagging for waste collection soon

With the clogging of drain by the imprudent dumping of waste leading to frequent inundation of the nearby areas in the monsoon season, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) is set to introduce radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging technology to ensure a strict monitoring on the clearance of garbage in its limit. During a recent visit to Ward 31 after a wall collapse, Municipal Commissioner M. Hari Narayanan said suitcase, bed and etc were found to have dumped into the drain in the area. The efforts to de-silt and clear the accumulated garbage and plastic in the tail-end areas would have been more effective, if the residents desisted from throwing garbage into drains, he pointed out.

Google rebrands its Tez mobile wallet to Google Pay

Since launching the India-first payments app Tez last September, over 22 million people and businesses have used Tez to make over 750m transactions that are collectively worth over $30bn annually. Google believes that many of the innovations and features it has pioneered with Tez will work in other countries. To take Tez beyond India, Google will be unifying all of Google’s payment offerings globally. As a first step, Tez will now be called Google Pay.

RFID Technology Could Help Shape the Future of Retail

RFID technologies are branching out to use cases beyond inventory control, thanks in part to the proliferation of active RFID systems. A bit more complex than passive RFID, active systems use battery-powered tags that constantly broadcast their own signal to accurately track the real-time location of assets.Through active systems, retailers are beginning to see how RFID can directly benefit their bottom line in unexpected ways. Here are a few new use cases in which RFID technology can be deployed as a resource to cut through the sensory overload of busy shopping malls and improve the shopper experience.

QR code ‘clouds’ protect 3D printing from piracy

Researchers have developed a way to prove the authenticity of a 3D-printed part by employing QR codes for unique device identification. The worldwide market for 3D-printed parts is a $5 billion business with a global supply chain involving the internet, email, and the cloud—creating a number of opportunities for counterfeiting and intellectual property theft. Flawed parts printed from stolen design files could produce dire results: experts predict that by 2021, 75 percent of new commercial and military aircraft will fly with 3D-printed engine, airframe, and other components, and the use of AM in the production of medical implants will grow by 20 percent per year over the next decade.

You can use your Delhi Metro smart card for DTC bus rides too

From August 24, you will be able to use your Delhi Metro smart card for bus travel too! In order to implement this move, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has been equipping all its buses with electronic ticketing machines in order to swipe the smart cards. The bus services of the cluster scheme will also be following the same. After a delay of nearly five months, the date for the soft launch of the ‘common mobility card’ project has been finally fixed, according to an HT report (Photo: Ashwin Kumar)

Apple Pay, NFC services face competitors that could disrupt payment processing

Apple reached a milestone recently when it became the world’s first trillion-dollar company. It helped that, during its more than 40-year history, it has introduced some incredible innovations and products, most cannily directed at and designed for the enduser. But a fairly recent one, Apple Pay, also took aim at the retail and commercial markets. Now, nearly four years after its introduction, Apple Pay has competitors including Samsung Pay, Android Pay, PayPal, Square, Walmart Pay and bank mobile apps from Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Simple and others. LevelUp and Verifone SAIL are other types of mobile payment services involving scanning a QR code, and that’s not an exhaustive list.

C3 IoT inks Google Cloud Platform pact

C3 IoT and Google Cloud have partnered on artificial intelligence and Internet of things deployments. With the Google Cloud partnership, C3 IoT can run on the big three infrastructure as a service players. C3 IoT first launched on Amazon Web Services, partnered with Microsoft Azure this year and now adds Google Cloud. C3 IoT also has a hardware integration pact with Intel. Under the terms of the partnership, Google Cloud Platform and C3 IoT will co-market, co-sell and train to scale various projects. The C3 Type System, a set of micro services used for data structures, models and programs, will interoperate with Google Cloud Platform's AI services

Brazilian Post Office Expects to Consume 461 Million RFID Tags by 2021

Brazil is the starting point for a project to improve processes and offer new postal services around the world based on the use of radio frequency identification technology. Under the baton of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates postal policies among member countries, the postal service is implementing the use of smart labels on correspondence and product boxes. The increasing demand for e-commerce has increased the volume of this type of delivery.

NBC recruits banks for QR code system

A new QR code-based payment system, which is being developed in cooperation with Thailand, will launch next year, representatives of the central bank announced last week. Speaking at a workshop Friday, Chea Serey, director of the National Bank of Cambodia, said they are now selecting the banks best fitted to help the central bank finalise the promising QR code-based app. “We are now determining the financial institutions that will join us, and we will also prepare the rules and procedures with the central bank of Thailand,” she said.

iOS 12: How to Add QR Code Scanning to Control Center

iOS 11 added QR code scanning to the Camera app, and iOS 12 makes that feature more obvious with a new Control Center tile. The Camera app automatically scans QR codes when it sees one and iOS 12 does the same, too. You can turn the feature off if it creeps you out and scan those codes only when you want, which is where iOS 12’s net Control Center Tile comes in. iOS 12 is currently as developer and public betas. The official public release is coming this fall as a free upgrade for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users.

The Power of RFID

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology is one of the fastest-growing retail initiatives today. RFID consists of electromagnetic tags attached to objects, tickets and merchandise that contain electronically stored information, sensors and antennae. RFID entered the retail market in the late 1980s, primarily for tracking inventory. Early on, RFID hardware and tags were cost-prohibitive for the mainstream with a price of $1 per tag or higher plus antennae and sensors. In 2015, the RFID market was valued at $26 billion, and innovations within the Internet of Things (IoT) was on the rise. Today, the cost of tags is approximately 10 cents per tag, making it cost-effective for the industry at large.

The Rapid Debuts New Smart Card For Paying Fares

The Rapid (Grand Rapids, USA) is releasing The Wave, an e-fare smart card that will make riding the bus faster, easier and more convenient and that benefits both riders and operators. The Wave did go on sale Tuesday, Aug. 14 and can be purchased at Central Station and online at The Rapid website for a one-time card fee of $3, which will last up to 10 years. The Wave cardholders can then add funds onto their card through the app, website, phone or at Rapid Central Station whenever needed. Frequent riders can also choose the auto-reload option.

Why don't more retailers use Apple Pay, other NFC payment systems?

During Apple's second-quarter earnings call with analysts, CEO Tim Cook said Apple Pay had a record billion-plus transactions during that period. In addition, he said, Apple Pay was coming to two big holdouts - the 7-11 and CVS chains. It will also soon be available in Germany. Why don't more retailers offer it? It's not necessarily more expensive, because Apple takes its reported 0.15 percent cut at the bank level, not from the retailer. Merchants do need to invest in terminals that support it, but many of the chip-reading terminals can handle NFC transactions out of the box.

Kyocera ceramic UHF RFID tag works for aerospace

Kyocera has developed a tiny ceramic UHF RFID tag that can be attached to metal tools in the aerospace industry for identification and tracking.

RFID tags will be attached to workshop tools of maintenance and repair service providers. The attached tag will withstand harsh environments which are typical for workshops, including impacts and dirt (e.g. oil, fuel, lubricants, etc.) without negative effects on the reading performance due to the robust ceramic package of the RFID tag.

Edge Mobile announces NFC ring payment device

Edge Mobile Payments, a San Francisco based fintech startup, announced that it will be adding an NFC ring payment device to its product line. The ring is supported by a patent application, originating from its recently-acquired Nexus IP assets and is positioned to be one of the earliest in the NFC wearable payments space. This patent application is one of several divisional filings tying back to the Nexus 2005 patent portfolio relating to wearables.

The Edge Ring will be added to Edge’s growing body of payment devices designed to give consumers a commerce experience that fits their lifestyle. “The ring represents a new form factor that will make NFC payments possible even when a consumer is without their smartphone. Our goal is to build out a comprehensive digital banking platform with multiple connected payment devices that will give our customers options for how they make payments and how they interact with their finances – making transactions easy, fast and safe.”, said Peter Garrett, CEO of Edge.

Identiv Joins RAIN RFID Alliance

Identiv, Inc. has joined the RAIN RFID Alliance. RAIN RFID technology connects billions of everyday items to the Internet of Things (IoT). Identiv's membership in the RAIN RFID Alliance will enable businesses and consumers to identify, locate, authenticate, and engage each item. Over the next several years, Identiv predicts that major markets in ultra-high frequency (UHF) transponders will include fashion and retail in which self-checkout roll-outs, in addition to traditional inventory management and asset tracking, are driving demand.

Furthermore, smart logistic applications, including radio frequency identification (RFID) based baggage tagging, will grow into a larger trend moving forward. Lastly, automatic vehicle identification, as well as other e-document applications, will generate some additional significant demand.

RAIN RFID is a global alliance promoting the universal adoption of ultra-high frequency (UHF) radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in a way similar to other wireless technology organizations including NFC Forum, WiFi Alliance, and Bluetooth SIG. RAIN uses the GS1 UHF Gen2 protocol which ISO/IEC has standardized as 18000-63. The word RAIN -- an acronym derived from radio frequency identification -- is intended as a nod to the link between UHF RFID and the cloud, where RFID-based data can be stored, managed, and shared via the Internet. A RAIN RFID solution uses a reader to read and write a tagged item, manage the data, and take action.

Identiv's team of experts focuses on the design and manufacture of embedded high-frequency (HF) and UHF transponders for objects, such as medical devices, books, toys, athletic apparel, and perishable food items and pharmaceuticals. Identiv's RFID, near field communication (NFC), and inlay portfolio features various transponder form factors, including dry inlays, wet inlays, labels, and tickets. These transponders are uniquely positioned to deliver RFID connectivity to any object in the IoT market, and applications range from brand authenticity, consumer engagement, and item level tracking to tamper detection and embedded sensors. Identiv is strategically entering the UHF market with a broad range of generic designs and the intention of creating custom products in its state-of-the-art RFID lab.

RFID Ensures Equipment Is on Hand for Poker Tournaments

When poker tournaments take place across the United Kingdom and worldwide, a large amount of equipment comes with each event, whether it's a matter of a few tables or thousands of items. That equipment can include chips, tables, chairs and the machines used to shuffle cards. Alpha Logistics Europe, a company that specializes in managing that equipment, has a complex task of ensuring that the proper equipment is on hand for each event and is then returned. The Kent-based company is now using RFID technology to accomplish this task. The system consists of UHF RFID tags affixed to items, as well as handheld RFID readers from Zebra Technologies and RAM's cloud-based software.

Barcode Printers Market Reflecting a CAGR of 7.4% by 2026

According to a recent market report published by Future Market Insights titled, “Barcode Printers Market – Global Industry Analysis & Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2026,” revenue generated from sales of barcode printers globally is estimated to be valued at US$ 2,758.0 Mn and pegged at 3,086.8 ‘000 units by 2016 end. It is expected to increase at a CAGR of 7.4% over the forecast period (2016–2026), to be valued at US$ 5,656.1 Mn by 2026 end. In terms of volume, the global barcode printers market is projected to be pegged at 5,384.3 ‘000 units by 2026 end, expanding at a CAGR of 5.7% over the forecast period. Barcode printer is defined as an electronic device designed specifically for printing of barcodes. The working principle and built of a barcode printer is slightly different from computer printers as it uses ribbons and labels working in tandem to get a barcode printed.

Controversial 2007 Prediction that RFID Would not Replace Bar Coding in the Supply Chain Still Proving Accurate More than 10 Years Later

It was more than 10 years ago, in the summer of 2007, that Ronan Clinton, then managing director of Heavey RF, an Irish mobile data collection system provider, wrote a blog post on the company's web site that caused a minor stir in the RFID and AIDC (automatic identification and data capture) sectors when he said RFID was unlikely to ever replace bar coding, at least in the supply chain. "History is littered with large technical blunders; RFID in the supply chain is potentially one of the biggest," wrote Clinton back then. Heavey RF's Clinton's perspectives in 2007 remain a lot more right than wrong - in the supply chain, good old bar coding continues to mostly rule the roost.

Cracking down on fake steak with invisible, trackable beef barcodes

You can Shazam a song: what if you could Shazam your steak? Well, before too long, it will be possible to point your smartphone at a premium cut of Australian beef, fire up an app and …voila! Up comes the meat's entire back story including where it was raised, what it ate and when and where it was processed. In a world-first for the food sector, accounting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers has developed an electronic etching procedure that creates an invisible, trackable barcode for beef based on edible, non-toxic silicon dioxide.

GE's Alexa microwave cooks when you scan a barcode

Want to know just how connected even a relatively ordinary microwave has become? Just ask GE Appliances. The brand has unveiled the Smart Countertop Microwave with Scan-to-Cook, which touts both Alexa voice control compatibility and its namesake scanning feature to speed up your culinary duties. The Alexa support is fairly self explanatory (you can use an Alexa device to add time or stop cooking), but Scan-to-Cook could be particularly helpful if you hate interpreting instructions on food boxes. You just have to scan a barcode on the packaging with a mobile app and it'll choose the appropriate time and power levels. In other words, you shouldn't risk ruining your macaroni the first time you nuke it.

Phone payments still need work

Apple Pay, Google Pay and similar apps on the Apple Watch and competing smartwatches use NFC, short for “near field communication.” (Samsung Pay also employs NFC but adds a separate system to emulate a credit card’s magnetic stripe.) This wireless technology works at least as fast as swiping a card and does so far more securely. But most phone users ignore it, even after all the buzz over Apple Pay since its 2014 launch. “Twenty-nine percent of iPhone users reported using Apple Pay ‘recently’ (i.e. within three months) at the point of sale,” e-mailed James Wester, research director for global payments at the market-intelligence firm IDC. “But 19 percent reported their last use of NFC was more than three months ago, and 52 percent said they have never used it.”

Police in eastern China use QR codes on dog collars to bring pet owners to heel

Dog owners who let their pets roam the streets, fail to clean up after their animals or allow other misdemeanours can now be fined by police by scanning a QR code in eastern China. The latest city to introduce the system is Xuzhou, in Jiangsu province, where a mobile phone app is soon to be launched that will allow dog owners to register their animals online, Jiangsu Television reported on Thursday.

Homeless people wearing barcodes to accept cashless payments

Homeless people are wearing barcodes around their necks in an attempt to increase donations in a cashless society, under an Oxford University backed initiative. A new social innovation project, called Greater Change, hands homeless people a QR code, similar to the kind issued for online tickets. Passersby who wish to give money - but who may not have any change in their pocket - can scan the code using their smart phone, and make an online payment to the person.

Multi-colored barcodes could store three times the data as black and white

Researchers with the Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility (AIM) say they are drafting standards for a type of two-dimensional barcode that can store up to three times as much data as conventional barcodes by encoding data in a colorful matrix of dots instead of a typical black and white pattern. The design is called JAB-Code, a tongue-in-cheek acronym for "Just-Another-Bar-Code," but supporters say it could have a big impact on applications such as embedding identity documents with unique biometric information like fingerprints or iris scans.

Touch ‘n Go plans to kick off RFID pilot in September

Touch ‘n Go and key highway concessionaires expect to roll out RFID (radio frequency identification) system for toll payment across all highways in Malaysia starting January next year. The system uses a sticker embedded with an RF chip which will be pasted on the vehicle. The sticker, which is unique to each vehicle, will be linked to the Touch ‘n Go eWallet, allowing users to easily monitor their balance and top up credit via online banking and debit/credit cards. The use of RFID for toll payment is not new, as the system has been rolled out in countries such as the United States, Argentina and Taiwan.

Hotel Magnolia updates security wth new RFID locks

Hotel Magnolia, a luxury property located in a historic mansion in downtown Santiago, Chile, has partnered with Assa Abloy Hospitality to implement VingCard Classic RFID door locks. Built in 1929, the property recently completed an extensive two-year long renovation. Classic RFID uses the latest in data encryption technology to fully safeguard against the ongoing threat of unauthorized keycard cloning. Hotel staff are also able to remotely monitor and control all access attempts made throughout the property. Keycards that are stolen or used in an inappropriate manner can be instantly deactivated in order to minimize or even prevent a security threat from arising.

Innovation award for rail barcode ticket programme

A smarter ticketing programme for rail passengers has been recognised with an industry innovation award. The ongoing programme, led by the Rail Delivery Group and supported by North Highland, aims to increase the acceptance of barcode tickets on mobile devices at stations around the country. In addition to the 759 barriers that already accept barcode tickets, more than 800 are being upgraded. In addition, over 3,100 handheld scanning devices are being introduced, so by the end of this year the programme will see barcode tickets accepted on more than 70% of travelled routes in the country (outside of London).

Barcode recognition system helps blind and visually impaired people shop

OrCam Technologies has rolled out barcode recognition on its next generation wearable artificial vision system. The OrCam MyEye 2.0 can instantly identify tens of thousands of barcodes for a wide range of consumer products. This uses the same artificial vision technology that allows the wearable system to read printed and digital text off of any surface, recognise faces, and identify bank notes in real time. Shopping can be a particularly challenging and stressful activity for blind and visually impaired people, particularly when the text on product labels is small or hard to identify.

Sato provides resort hotel with RFID wine cellar inventory

Sato has partnered with Tokyo Baycourt Club Hotel & Spa Resort on a new inventory management strategy using an RFID-enabled inventory management system. The system optimized the resort’s stocktaking operations and boosted inventory management accuracy. This is the first system of its kind used by Japan’s hotel industry. Tokyo Baycourt Club is a resort hotel in Tokyo’s Odaiba entertainment district operated by Resorttrust. The stocktaking operations of its roughly 5,000 bottles of wine for its restaurants, bars and lounges previously required sommeliers to carefully and laboriously handle each bottle separately and enter details manually into the purchasing system. The hotel sought a faster and more accurate system to streamline operations.

Chat app Line plots finance 'revolution' with mobile payments

Line, the operator of Japan's leading chat app, is pushing hard into the banking sphere with plans to aggressively expand in mobile payments, aiming to get its 75 million users hooked on transactions without the fees imposed by conventional banks. In a strategy also geared to take on competitors like China's Alipay, the company outlined on June 28 a three-year plan for a "payment revolution" using its Line Pay mobile transaction service, which lets users send one another money free of charge by smartphone anytime and anywhere.

IoT boom will change how data is analysed

As more devices come online, each generating data, the way information is analysed and used to facilitate machine learning will have to change. Data is key to improving the accuracy and predictions of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) systems--the more images of apple and oranges it is fed, the better it will be at distinguishing the two. Singapore government has been opening up user data access to ease information exchange and business transactions, but it should observe some caution as major organisations continue to slip up over security.

Sneaker Con bets NFC will keep fakes off its new shoe-selling app

Buying limited-edition sneakers, like Kanye West's Yeezys, isn't easy. Whether they drop on a site, in an app or a brick-and-mortar store, they often sell out in minutes, sometimes seconds. This sense of scarcity is what's behind the growth of secondhand online sellers such as StockX and GOAT, where you can find basically any hyped shoe that's ever been released by Adidas or Nike... for a premium, of course. What makes these sites popular is that they guarantee authenticity. With StockX, for instance, any pair you get from it comes with a QR code verification tag, but that's only for internal use. GOAT, meanwhile, sends you a letter saying the shoes have been authenticated.

New Low-profile 2-D Barcode Scanner

Ziath announced its new 2-D barcode rack scanner, the DataPaq Mirage, at SLAS2018. This innovative camera-based scanner has a low-profile design enabling it to be easily integrated with robotic liquid handling systems, as well as other laboratory automation solutions. As a result, the device allows the benefits of a more sophisticated camera-based 2-D barcode rack scanner to be brought to automation workflows for the same price as an old flatbed scanner. Researchers working in biotechs, academia and pharma frequently manage a large number of samples and, as a result, require automated solutions to assist with routine techniques, such as liquid dispensing.

How to Supercharge the Retail Customer Experience with RFID

How can retailers maintain or even thrive in an environment in which brick and mortar sales and profits have been severely challenged? According to a PwC study, 78% of consumers say sales associates with deep knowledge of a product are important to the shopping experience. And a study by McKinsey and Company notes that retailers that can improve the customer experience by 10% can grow revenue up to 10%. That may sound straightforward, but the problem has been that consumers expect the same shopping experience they get online inside a store – but retailers aren’t yet delivering it. In fact, it remains difficult for them to get product information and recommendations, find items, get assistance in dressing rooms and remember merchandise for later purchases.

Rambus Brings Secure Mobile Ticketing to Scotland’s Railway

Rambus Inc announced the launch of its mobile ticketing solution for a pilot with Scotland’s national rail operator, ScotRail. The new all-in-one solution is fully integrated with ScotRail’s existing ticketing app and will enable customers to skip the queue at ticket vending machines and tap through the gates by purchasing and downloading tickets directly to their smartphone.

Rambus’ HCE Ticket Wallet Service leverages technology proven in the payments industry to create a virtual smartcard that securely stores tickets on mobile devices. The solution integrates with existing software and station infrastructure, allowing transport operators to manage both smartcard and mobile tickets in a single system, reducing integration costs and deployment time.


Customers are increasingly expecting more innovative forms of ticketing and so transport operators are looking to smartphones as the point of delivery for new services. This also reduces the need to issue and manage physical smartcards and provides greater convenience for customers who don’t have to wait for a card to arrive in the post as they can quickly register and download their virtual smartcard instead.


Photo: Geof Sheppard (cc)

Sparkasse banks launches NFC mobile payments

The German Sparkasse savings bank association is launching NFC mobile payments. All of the saving bank's 45 million girocards can benefit from the new mobile payment system. According to Helmut Schleweis, President of the German Savings Banks and Giro Association (DSGV), this makes them a pioneer in Germany in terms of availability and distribution of a mobile payment system. In Germany, around 75 percent of the card terminals are equipped with the corresponding interface for contactless payments, with millions of terminals worldwide available.

RFID security for hospitals

RFID isn’t as secure as it needs to be on its own. Due to many of the implementations out there, there is a perception that people will read information without being traced, and cause identity theft. Android cell phones have been modified to steal contactless credit card information using the NFCProxy application. It’s also possible to clone RFID tokens for physical or computer system access. Because of these findings, there’s a need to build security into the ecosystem supporting it, and guard against several key types of attacks. There are two types of attacks that can cause major issues for a health enterprise, those being the unauthorized interception of patient information, and attacks on the supply chain and associated systems.

Identiv Launches Tamper-Proof RFID Labels for Anti-Counterfeiting

Identiv, Inc. announced the latest addition to its radio-frequency identification (RFID), near-field communication (NFC), and inlay portfolio, the next-generation Tamper-Proof RFID Label. The advanced label is compatible with any NFC inlay.

Identiv’s Tamper-Proof RFID Label integrates a state-of-the-art aluminum-etched antenna and an innovative, tamper-proof release coating. The antenna bridge is guaranteed to destruct after the label is torn from any applied surface, including glass, paper, plastic, and other non-metal environments. The cost-effective design renders it impossible to tear off the complete antenna or label; once torn from an adhered surface, the label is no longer functional and cannot be reassembled. The destructive label is ideal for uses cases in which the end-user needs to ensure an asset is genuine — once removed, the label cannot be reapplied to a new, non-authentic product.

The International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC) estimates that counterfeit goods equate for nearly 5 - 7% of world trade, approximately $600 billion. In a report released this year, P&S Market Research values the global anti-counterfeit packaging market at $114.4 billion in 2017 and projects $208.4 billion by 2023. Identiv’s new Tamper-Proof RFID Labels address the security needs for anti-counterfeiting and brand-protection in the retail, transportation, and pharmaceutical industry, designed for simple use on wine and spirit bottles, pharmaceuticals, and any item in transport that requires broken-seal detection or tamper prevention. The labels can be personalized with custom artwork, different sizes, or chip combinations, providing different security levels. Additionally, each label can be delivered with variable data, including a barcode, numbering, or an end-user’s name.

Nokia seeks IoT startups in Brazil

Nokia is on the lookout for Brazilian startups developing offerings based on the Internet of Things (IoT) approach for a global acceleration initiative. The sixth edition of the Nokia Open Innovation Challenge, in partnership with NGP Capital, wants to attract ventures focused on new products and services within the industrial IoT domain. According to the company's marketing director for Latin America, Diana Coll, one of the local aims of the project is to foster the high volume of Brazilian startups created by students or recent graduates.

New Ceramic Caps Provide Protection and Extend Sensor Life

Balluff's newest ceramic caps extend sensor life and minimize downtime by providing a layer of needed protection to the face of sensors in harsh conditions. The caps, which can be added easily before or after installation, protect flush mount sensors from high temperatures, weld spatter, abrasives, and impact.

Often made of aluminum and magnesium/aluminum alloys, which decreases weight but also reduces sensing capabilities, sensors are being placed in tight proximity to the parts being monitored — and right in harm's way. The face of the sensor is the most vulnerable area and when the face gets damaged, the sensor will start to misread or stop working entirely. The addition of a ceramic cap can help prevent this damage and, therefore, extend the life of the sensor and minimize downtime.

Google’s tiny chip represents a big bet on IoT

Google announced a chip and edge software that could transform the enterprise IoT landscape and put it on better footing against competitors Amazon and Microsoft. Google is taking two steps – one in hardware and one in software – to bring its analytics and machine learning capabilities to edge networks and even to individual Internet of Things (IoT) devices to better deal with the data generated by a growing number of IoT devices, the company said at its Cloud Next technology conference. The first step is Google extending the features of its Cloud IoT software platform to edge networking. The second is a tiny chip that could be integrated in IoT devices themselves and process the data they collect before transmitting it.

How Reynolds saved up to £150,000 per year with its RFID tracking project

Fresh food distributor Reynolds has saved itself as much as £150,000 per year following the implementation of a project to embed RFID tags into its delivery crates. Also known as ‘totes', the project enabled the £210 million turnover company to track the crates to customers and demand their return, rather than writing them off or packaging deliveries in disposable plastic or cardboard material. "We were packing goods into sturdy plastic totes because that's what our customers wanted. That was all very well, but we were finding that we weren't getting them all back," IT director Richard Calder told Computing.