Caper Launches Plug-and-Play Autonomous Checkout Counter

Caper, creators of the Caper Cart, the first AI-powered shopping cart for grocery stores, expanded its product line of autonomous checkout technology with the rollout of the Caper Counter, a plug-and-play AI-powered countertop purpose-built for mini markets and retail stores with under ten thousand feet.

The Caper Counter can be quickly installed without a store retrofit or downtime to operations, making it the most cost-efficient autonomous checkout technology for stores. The Caper Counter provides a faster checkout shopping experience to minimize human interactions in the store to keep employees and shoppers safer during the pandemic. The new Caper Counter is deployed today in several stores with a national convenience store chain, with additional stores coming soon.

The Caper Counter uses computer vision and Sensor Fusion technology to visually detect and instantly identify items placed on the Counter and automatically adds the items to the total amount. Shoppers swipe their cards directly on the device or use Apple Pay or other Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to checkout. The Caper Counter requires only a power cord and WiFi password to get the device up and running in a store. The AI-powered device is ideal for stores smaller than 10K square feet and fewer than 10K SKUs.

Increasing Contactless Adoption Will Drive Payment-Enabled Wearables Market to US$7.2 Billion in 2024

The wearable payments market is being driven by a surge in contactless payment adoption, as a result of growing usage of contactless cards and Near-Field Communication (NFC)-enabled mobile payments.

In large part, this usage reflects a growing trend in changing consumer behavior regarding payment habits and trends, driven by maturing smartwatch technologies, evolving tokenization platforms, and the convergence with other end verticals such as ticketing and transport, and fitness and health applications.

As a result of these trends, global tech market advisory firm, ABI Research forecasts US$7.2 billion in global revenue from the sale of payment-enabled wearables in 2024.

A combination of technology maturity, consumer popularity, familiarity with contactless payments, and the unique external phenomena (and notably COVID-19, whereby contactless is being pushed as a safe and hygienic alternative to cash by the payment networks, merchants, government, and the World Health Organization) is accelerating today's market adoption of contactless technologies. Wearable devices are primed to take advantage of this trend, with increasing choice and flexibility in terms of form-factors and available payment methods.

Ecosystem players such as wearable OEMs, silicon and IP providers, payment enablers, and financial application developers are all working to develop wearable payment experiences that are EMV-compliant, lightweight, interoperable, and intuitive UI. But most importantly, wearable payment technology can easily converge with other applications, such as loyalty and rewards, fitness and health, ticketing and transport, access control, etc., offering up new revenue streams and business opportunities for the various stakeholders.

Some of the top players in the market include Apple, CPI Card Group, G+D, Idemia, Infineon, MasterCard, NXP, Qualcomm, and Thales Gemalto, all of which are pushing through innovative solutions in the space. While wearable payments is a small market today, it is not niche. There are increasing and lucrative opportunities that will continue to push adoption and usage, and showcase new applications, including M2M payments, pay on demand, micropayments, 5G for instant B2B payments, and beyond, such as access control and transit.

Mitek Adds NFC Chip Reading to Identity Verification Platform

Mitek’s mobile onboarding platform now offers NFC capabilities. The utility is expected to reduce processing times and increase conversion rates in identity verification workflows.

Previosly, Mitek’s onboarding solution asked users to take a photo of their identity document. The platform would then use document recognition to verify its authenticity before comparing the photo on the document to a selfie with liveness detection.

Instead of requiring a photo, the app will be able to extract the user’s biometric information from an NFC chip with a simple scan, though the user will still need to take a selfie to complete the liveness check.

ExxonMobil to combine NFC and QR mobile payments at the pump

Drivers refuelling their vehicles at Exxon and Mobil fuel stations across the USA will soon be able to use their mobile phone to make both NFC and QR contactless payments at the pump.

ExxonMobil is rolling out its ‘point and pay’ technology to more than 11,500 of its  station.

The contactless payments system supports Apple Pay and Google Pay.

AI, IoT, and 5G (AIoT5G) will be the Most Influential Technologies - 63%, 34%, and 52% Respectively

Technological innovation is one of the driving factors for the development of cities. These innovations are also an important support for those searching for new ways to manage resources and deliver services. A lot of smart city technologies are being developed to manage specific issues in energy distribution, energy management, transportation management, and public safety. New generations of sensor networks, big data analytics, and IoT applications are being deployed in public and privately managed physical spaces to meet these requirements, though many challenges remain.

An important focus area for smart cities is technology infrastructure to enable smart utilities (smart grids, sanitation, water, and gas), smarter buildings, and workplaces. Systems and resources are intertwined as mobility, communications, energy, water, platforms, monitoring/control, performance management, predictability and forecasting all merge together. We see great synergy coming in public and corporate collaboration, but it will take up to twenty years to fully develop.

Major initiatives are beginning to make a substantial positive impact as critical milestones are achieved. This includes network and system interoperability, security and privacy controls, and technology integration. For the latter, one of the key areas that we see is the combination of AI and IoT forming "thinking" cities that rely upon the Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT). Industry verticals we see as early beneficiaries include utilities, public safety, and transportation. Specific AIoT-enhanced smart city solutions within these verticals are poised to improve the overall efficiency and operational effectiveness of delivery systems as well as human capital management.

Select Report Findings:

AI, IoT, and 5G (AIoT5G) will be the most influential technologies for smart cities
Smart transportation will be the top smart cities market application area through 2025
Significant transportation solution areas include Freight, Traffic, Parking, and Passenger Management
Fastest growing professional services for global smart cities is infrastructure maintenance, reaching $3.6B by 2025
5G, AI, and IoT investment in smart cities market represents 63%, 34%, and 52% for each technology area respectively by 2025

HID Global Introduces RAIN UHF RFID and NFC Combo Tags

HID recently announced the HID Keg Tag family of RFID transponders that combine RAIN RFID and Near Field Communication technologies into a single tag for advanced supply chain management of returnable transport items.

The new HID Keg Tag is ideal for advanced supply chain, logistics, inventory management and improved customer engagement for industrial returnable transport items such as bulk containers, gas cylinders, kegs and other curved RTIs. HID Keg Tags can be affixed to steel containers for long-range tracking, logistics and management from the warehouse during preparation to distribution and shipping.

The tags also enable Internet of Things capabilities such as product authentication as well as the ability for customers to directly engage with items and vendors via smartphones.

The tags improve the efficiency of RTI operations while ensuring that the steel containers are safely transported and returned. Distribution center teams can use the HID Keg Tags’ RAIN RFID technology to help manage RTI refills, cleaning and shipping. At the recipient location, NFC technology enables customers to easily identify RTI content, manage expiration dates, process re-orders and interact with the vendor.

Some Pixel 5 owners can’t make NFC payments with Google Pay

Some Pixel 5 owners are unable to make payments using NFC and, therefore, Google Pay.

The problem is limited to Pixel 5 devices, as the same payment card will work as expected on Pixel 4 and Pixel 4a series handsets — provided the payment system is registered.

Nokia warns of rising cyberattacks on internet-connected devices

Cyberattacks on internet-connected devices continue to rise at an alarming rate due to poor security protections and cybercriminals use of automated tools to exploit these vulnerabilities, according to the latest Nokia Threat Intelligence Report.

The report found that Internet-connected, or IoT, devices now make up roughly 33% of infected devices, up from about 16% in 2019. The report’s findings are based on data aggregated from monitoring network traffic on more than 150 million devices globally where Nokia's NetGuard Endpoint Security product is deployed.

Adoption of IoT devices, from smart home security monitoring systems to drones and medical devices, is expected to continue growing as consumers and enterprises move to take advantage of the high bandwidth, ultra-low latency, and fundamentally new networking capabilities that 5G mobile networks enable, according to the report.

The rate of success in infecting IoT devices depends on the visibility of the devices to the internet, according to the report. In networks where devices are routinely assigned public facing internet IP addresses, a high infection rate is seen. In networks where carrier-grade Network Address Translation is used, the infection rate is considerably reduced because the vulnerable devices are not visible to network scanning.

RFID Technology Innovations Sues For Infringement Of RFID Scanning Patent

On Tuesday in the Middle District of Florida, plaintiff RFID Technology Innovations, LLC filed a complaint against RMS Omega Technologies Group, Inc., a company that specializes in RFID, barcoding, and data collection technology services.

The suit alleges that the company purportedly infringed RFID Technology Innovations’ patents through alleged use of the patented technology for RFID and barcode scanning to collect and display object data and information.

Sandoz incorporates RFID technology on injectables

Sandoz, a division of Novartis specializing in production of generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars, has partnered with Kit Check (a company offering artificial intelligence and radio-frequency identification medication management technology).

Starting this month, two RFID-tagged injectable Sandoz products will be available in US hospitals.

RFID allows detailed and interoperable item-level data that can be scanned and updated without line of sight means.

Biometric tech sensors can be printed directly onto human skin

Researchers have developed a way to print sensors directly on human skin without using heat.

Wearable sensors are evolving from watches and electrodes to bendable devices that provide far more precise biometric measurements and comfort for users.

The researchers previously developed flexible printed circuit boards for use in wearable sensors, but the bonding process for the metallic components in the sensor has hindered printing directly on skin. Called sintering, this process typically requires temperatures of around 572 degrees Fahrenheit (300 degrees Celsius) to bond the sensor’s silver nanoparticles together.

iWallet QR Menu Helps Restaurants, Spas, and Wineries Reopen Safely

iWallet startup has launched QR Menu in effort to help businesses reopen safely. QR Menu converts paper menus into an online form that is viewed on a mobile device.

COVID-19 has turned the world upside down creating challenges to bring people back. Contactless menus can help provide peace of mind to employees and customers when it's not business as usual.

Businesses can eliminate sources of potential germs by implementing QR contactless menus which replaces the need for physical menus. It's a simple one step process to generate a QR menu at menu.iwallet.com. For consumers it's easier, they just point a camera at the QR code and tap the link that pops up to view the menu.

Ripl Networks Introduces MLMesh, a Wireless Messaging System Enabling Battery-Powered Sensors to Talk IP

Ripl Networks announced Ripl MLMesh, a Wireless Messaging System that makes any IoT sensor a wireless IP emitter. Comprised of a radio adapter (Ripl-Edge), border router (Ripl-X) and software stack (Ripl-Lib), the system resolves long-standing problems in enterprise IoT.

The foundation of Ripl MLMesh is an ML powered software stack that coordinates guaranteed message delivery and symmetrical communications over an array of battery-powered radio options, including the Ripl-Edge. Ripl-based sensors enable data handling technology the enterprise demands such as TLS (transport layer security), blockchain and SD-WAN (software-defined networking) that’s absent in devices that do not use the ubiquitous IP protocol.

Battery powered devices looking to live many years can’t take advantage of IP connectivity from WiFi and 4G/5G due to their high power consumption. Ripl creates for battery-powered sensors what WiFi does for laptops – making them a simple extension of the IP WAN.

Ripl MLMesh uses AI to learn about its radio frequency (RF) environment in order to coordinate and optimize radio messages across all nodes in the network. MLMesh resolves recurring issues such as loss-prone RF channels and collisions that occur in spray-and-pray type wireless architectures.

A.N. Solutions Strengthens Its IoT Product Offering with Expanded Engineering Support Services

A.N. Solutions GmbH, an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) design house, announced the availability of new engineering support options for RF developers that build prototypes and create new wireless products and solutions for smart buildings, industry automation, and other IoT applications.
 

Depending on the complexity of a project, the developers can choose one of the two support levels, expert or professional.

A wide range of support services is available for developers building innovative IoT products and solutions using the cutting edge A.N. Solutions, Microchip, and other platforms. A.N. Solutions’ dedicated team of engineers will answer questions, troubleshoot issues, and offer professional consulting, freeing up the customer’s resources and accelerating time-to-market for their products.

New RFID Reader Detects Direction to Enable Logistics

A new RFID reader from U.K.-based technology company PervasID is offering bidirectional detection of moving tagged items with what the company claims is more than 99 percent accuracy.

The Flow Ranger, RFID Journal reports, is designed not only to read tags in highly dense environments, such as one containing a pallet loaded with tagged goods, but also to identify the flow of those tagged items as they move through portals or past the reader.

Scientists have designed more reliable UHF-RFID tag

Scientists from the University of Barcelona and Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya have designed and 3D printed an enhanced, more reliable UHF-RFID tag.

The device features a biconical antenna design with embedded wire strips to improve its overall bandwidth, and a dielectric coating to prevent its signal from being interfered with.

The potential of additive manufacturing in the development of more compact antenna systems has already been realized within a broad range of end-use applications.

AI Innovators Announce FCC Certification For Contactless Social Distancing Monitoring Deployments At Scale

Ainstein AI, Inc., a radar technologies company headquartered in Lawrence, KS has obtained FCC certification for its 60GHz IoT radar sensor.  

WAYV Air is a short-range mmWave IoT Sensor designed specifically to collect and provide data about moving objects within a targeted area.

Founded in 2015, Ainstein enables safer living, working, driving, and flying through radar-based sensing technologies. With a combination of mmWave radar, sensor fusion, and artificial intelligence (AI) designed into all of their products, Ainstein serves over 300+ customers in the IoT, Automotive and Specialty Vehicle, Robotics, Aerospace, Industrial, and Sports industries. Ainstein makes radar-based sensing more affordable and easier to deploy, offering complete customized solutions for IoT sensing applications, autonomous drones, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), self-driving vehicles, and robotics applications.

Tech Prints Sensors Right onto Human Skin

Researchers have developed a way to print sensors directly on human skin without using heat. They report a simple yet universally applicable fabrication technique with the use of a novel sintering aid layer to enable direct printing for on-body sensors.

The researchers previously developed flexible printed circuit boards for use in wearable sensors, but the bonding process for the metallic components in the sensor has hindered printing directly on skin. Called sintering, this process typically requires temperatures of around 572 degrees Fahrenheit (300 degrees Celsius) to bond the sensor’s silver nanoparticles together.

Google Pay adds NFC contactless support in India

Google Pay has added NFC-based tap-to-pay for users in India.

With this tool, users can add their credit or debit card as a payment method and use it for tokenized card payments at NFC-enabled terminals, according to a report by Android Central.

Currently this feature is only available to users with SBI or Axis Bank cards.

Datalogic 2128P RFID Sled delivers unmatched UHF RFID reading, writing and locating capabilities

Datalogic introduces the new 2128P RFID hand held reader to its RFID family of products.
This new device expands the capabilities of the Memor 10 PDA, adding UHF RFID reading, writing and locating capabilities and delivering even more value from this innovative device.

The reader boasts 34 dBm of maximum RF output power extending the nominal read range to 9 meters; this provides a 33% longer read range than other similar units on the market. When connected with the Memor 10 PDA, the combination makes it easier than ever to increase the accuracy of inventory in Retail, Transportation & Logistics, Manufacturing and Healthcare applications.

The device also offers sophisticated user feedback, embedded processes and accelerometers. These features make the RFID reader highly configurable and compliment its "search and find" capability, the most in-depth currently available on the market. Enhanced visual and audio indicators help locating hard to find RFID tagged assets. In addition, the system incorporates tag de-duplication software that automatically removes any duplicated tag reads instantly, improving reading performance and facilitating data flow.

3D Printed Antennas Improve RFID Tag Technology

Recent research shows a further convergence of 3D printing and antenna technology, as scientists from Barcelona explore a better way to improve radio frequency identification.

With their findings released in the recently published 3D-Printed UHF-RFID Tag for Embedded Applications, the authors created prototypes for more compact antenna systems that could be easily integrated, with conductivity preserved.

The researchers designed and 3D printed four prototypes, with such considerations in mind as space distribution with regions, packaging for stability, and effective methods of embedding. 

Veriff launches barcode reading feature

Veriff launches new technology that can read barcode information from an identity document. Automatic barcode scanner helps to fight fraud and speed up the verification process.

The company currently supports barcode scans on US and Canadian documents but plans to expand to other countries and document types using barcodes.

According to Janer Gorohhov, the co-founder and COO of Veriff, it is an excellent accomplishment as its focus is increasingly on the US market. "Our usability research revealed that people are not used to scanning barcodes. This is why the process needed a series of UI improvements so that people could verify themselves with no friction," Gorohhov said.

The new barcode scanner enables Veriff to extract the document data automatically, making the process efficient and accurate. It is also a secure way to catch instances of document tampering. The removal of the barcode from regular document back pictures is a challenge, especially from images captured on a desktop or laptop computers during the verification process.

Network connectivity paves way for IoT adoption

This year, Internet of Things (IoT) projects continued apace, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two-fifths of respondents (41%) expect their IoT budgets to increase by the end of 2020; 51% expect them to expand in Q1 2021.

Further, 51% of respondents to the 2020 IoT Adoption Survey said that COVID-19 has spurred digital transformation projects, including IoT.

New Balluff Sensor Detects Magnetic Field Interference, Stops False Triggering

With up to three independent measuring systems operating concurrently in a single housing, Balluff’s new fail-safe magnetostrictive linear position sensors with digital interfaces ensure uninterrupted processing for uptime critical applications.

Available in four form factors to meet specific application needs, each of these new rod-style transducers has either two or three separate sets of electronics and sensing elements operating concurrently in in a single housing.

These new digital versions are less noise susceptible while offering greater resolution. They deliver up to 1000 Hz sampling frequency for fast data acquisition. They are pressure rated to 600 bar and provide an IP67 rating, so they are insensitive to contamination and can stand up to harsh environments.

Digital wallet user base to increase to 4 billion

The number of digital wallet users globally will increase from 2.3bn in 2019 to 4bn in 2024 and global non-cash transactions will grow to nearly 1.1tn in 2023 from 708.5bn in 2019, according to the World Payments Report 2020.

Global non-cash transactions grew by nearly 14% between 2018-19, an increase led by a 31.1% growth in China, India and SE Asia, and driven by “increasing smartphone usage, booming e-commerce, digital wallet adoption and mobile/QR-code payments innovations,” according to the report.

Procedural Barcode Synth

James Bruton has long been fascinated with barcode scanners as an input source for music and now has a procedural barcode-powered synth to add to his growing collection of handmade instruments. We’ve previously covered his barcode guitar, which converts a string of numbers from the PS/2 output to pitches. This meant having a large number of barcodes printed as each pitch required a separate barcode. As you can imagine, this makes for a rather unwieldy and large instrument.

Chick-fil-A adds NFC check-ins

Students using Chick-fil-A’s mobile ordering service at the fast-food chain’s on-campus outlets at 15 universities in the USA can now check-in to pick up their order by tapping an NFC tag installed on posters inside the restaurant.

The system has been introduced to improve pick-up efficiency and ensure that orders are put through to the kitchen display screen (KDS) at the most appropriate time as part of the company’s adoption of the Grubhub Ultimate mobile food ordering solution.

In-vehicle Payment Services Market Size Worth $11.03 Billion By 2027

The global in-vehicle payment services market size is expected to reach USD 11.03 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 19.9% from 2020 to 2027, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc.

The increasing spending on convenience related to vehicles, rising disposable incomes, and the adoption of contactless payments are the key factors driving growth. Growing technological advancements and the adoption of mobile contactless payments are anticipated to further fuel the growth.

In-vehicle payment services are gaining adoption owing to the ease and convenience offered by various modes of payment services to the drivers and passengers. Automakers such as BMW, Mercedes, Ford, Honda, General Motors, and Jaguar Land Rover, have established services and solutions integrated into their vehicle models. With the increasing penetration of connected cars and advanced infotainment, the in-vehicle payment services are expected to flourish in the coming years.

Currently, vehicle users are continually looking for a hassle-free experience in their busy schedules and an upgraded lifestyle. Thus, the ability to shop, order, and pay on the go without actually using card and cash transactions helps in reducing the time consumed and allows the commuters to travel safely. Hence, payment service providers such as MasterCard, Visa, PayPal are actively engaged in partnerships and collaborations with the OEMs to deliver efficiently in-vehicle payment services platforms.

The OEMs are designing and developing an ecosystem for payments in such a way that the driver and passenger may not need to get out of the vehicle and receives the desired services such as gasoline, parking spaces, and its payments, charging, toll collection booth, ordering food and coffee and others. However, the majority of parking systems, gas stations, toll collection booths have been incorporated with the mobile payment technology. E-wallet is gaining major attraction across the globe owing to convenience and ease of payment.

Leading players such as Google-Google Pay, Amazon-Amazon Pay, and Apple Pay are gaining widespread adoption and are expected to be heavily adopted until 2027. The COVID-19 pandemic has already flourished the demand for contactless payments. 

Collectable coin grading service combats counterfeiting with NFC

Collectors, investors and dealers in rare coins, banknotes, medals and tokens can now verify the authenticity of items certified by the US-based Professional Coin Grading Service by tapping an NFC chip embedded in PCGS holders with their smartphone.

PCGS has begun inserting NFC chips developed by HID Global in its coin and banknote holders to combat counterfeiting, to provide information about the items they contain, and to confirm that they are genuine and have PCGS Cert Verification.

Square introduced a QR code ordering feature for restaurants

Square introduced a QR code ordering feature, hoping to appeal to restaurants amid the pandemic. The functionality is available for Square Online merchants and will enable self-serve mobile ordering for customers within restaurants. 

Customers will be able to scan the QR code at their table or at point-of-sale (POS) terminals using their smartphone, which will take them to a mobile ordering page where they can place their food order. Orders are then sent to the restaurant's POS system, where they'll be relayed to the kitchen to be prepared.

InComm Japan Expands QR and Barcode Payment Capabilities

InComm, a leading payments technology company, announced that it has partnered with five overseas QR and barcode payments processors to facilitate acceptance of their technology at retailers across Japan.

These processors include AlipayHK and UnionPay QR code, which are popular in China, EZ-Link Wallet and Kakao Pay from Korea, and Touch'n Go eWallet from Malaysia.

InComm Japan provides QR/barcode payments at the point of sale through connections at over 50,000 retail stores in Japan, including major convenience stores, drug stores, electronics retail stores, department stores, and supermarkets.

InComm has an established range of overseas partners such as Alipay and domestic brands such as au PAY, d payment and PayPay.
With the addition of these brands, InComm will now offer a total of 22 payments partners, including 12 Japan-based brands and 10 overseas brands. InComm Japan not only brings connectivity, but also provides one-stop operational support, such as integration, sales and marketing campaigns, and customer support for merchants.

Venmo launches its first credit card with scannable QR code

Venmo is expanding its card offerings beyond the Venmo Debit Card to now include the Venmo Credit Card. This marks Venmo’s first credit card, which is issued by Synchrony and backed by the Visa network.

The card gives customers the same Venmo experience they already know , in an intuitive, easy-to-use card and rewards program.

Beyond rewards, cardholders can benefit from a clever card design that is printed with a unique QR code on the front. You can scan the QR code to activate the card and friends can also scan it to send you payments from the Venmo app.

South Dakota Stock Growers Association Opposes Mandate Of RFID Tags

The USDA has been taking public comments on their proposal to require radio frequency identification tags for cattle traceability. 

The South Dakota Stock Grower’s Association opposes the RFID tags as the sole means of identification. The groups I-D Chairman Kenny Fox says they have several reasons for being against the USDA mandate. He says one of the big unknowns is the effectiveness of the RFID tags.

Livestock groups comment on RFID transition

Several different livestock groups offered mixed reviews regarding the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) proposal to transition to Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) as the official eartag for use in interstate movement of cattle that are required to be identified by the traceability regulations.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Assn. (NCBA) said in its comments that it “has long been supportive of traceability for animal health purposes and believes that the goal of any identification program should be to enable the cattle industry, state, and federal animal health officials to respond rapidly and effectively to animal health emergencies.”

New Balluff Sensor Detects Magnetic Field Interference, Stops False Triggering

Balluff’s latest magnetic field sensor was designed specifically to withstand the magnetic fields of weld applications.

The BMF 415 weld-immune magnetic field sensor can detect interference of magnetic fields caused by high weld currents and stop the sensor from false triggering by using a higher level of circuitry and filtration. It’s IP67 rating and protective shielding to protect against weld spatter, additionally make it ideally suited for automotive welding conditions.

It is available in 2 versions: standard and IO-Link. The standard version comes preset with an interference suppression time of 600 ms, while the IO-Link version is configurable from 50 to an impressive 1,000 ms. Both versions are available in M8 and M12 connections and with both black and orange TPE and full silicone cables.

Simply RFID lowers price of its Inventory and Asset Tracking

SimplyRFID is lowering the price of its RFID technology from $5,000 to $10,000 for just $99 a month.

The laborious, error-prone task of manually scanning thousands of barcodes can take hours. RFID tags are easily read and scannable up to 10 feet.

Coupled with the SimplyRFID Wave handheld and Wave app, users can achieve the same task with a much higher degree of accuracy in just minutes. For daily use, a single $99 handheld can easily manage inventories of up to 50,000 items.

SimplyRFID includes the necessary hardware and software for a low monthly cost, without the need of an IT expert to help get started.

Company Provides Temperature Screening and Location System

Wireless power technology provider Powercast is selling a solution it developed and deployed at its own facility to wirelessly capture the temperatures of employees as they enter the premises, and to identify their locations in some parts of the building.

The RFID Temperature Scanning System employs passive sensors and RF-based power harvesting to enable the company's workers to scan their own temperature upon arriving at the office, then automatically share that data to ensure they can safely enter.

Global Printed Sensor Market to Reach US$12. 5 Billion by the Year 2027

The Printed Sensor market in the U.S. is estimated at US$2.4 Billion in the year 2020. The country currently accounts for a 28.91% share in the global market.

China, the world second largest economy, is forecast to reach an estimated market size of US$2.3 Billion in the year 2027 trailing a CAGR of 9% through 2027. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 3.2% and 5.3% respectively over the 2020-2027 period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 3.7% CAGR while Rest of European market (as defined in the study) will reach US$2.3 Billion by the year 2027.

In the global Printed Gas Sensors segment, USA, Canada, Japan, China and Europe will drive the 5% CAGR estimated for this segment.
These regional markets accounting for a combined market size of US$1.1 Billion in the year 2020 will reach a projected size of US$1.5 Billion by the close of the analysis period.

China will remain among the fastest growing in this cluster of regional markets.
Led by countries such as Australia, India, and South Korea, the market in Asia-Pacific is forecast to reach US$1.7 Billion by the year 2027, while Latin America will expand at a 6.5% CAGR through the analysis period.

Sandoz launches its first RFID-tagged critical injectable medicines with Kit Check to optimize supply chain and automate restocking in US hospitals

Sandoz Inc announced  that its first two injectable medicines with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags will be available this month to US hospitals through its collaboration with Kit Check, Inc., a leader in automated medication management solutions for hospitals.

The first two medicines include Anectine 200 mg/10mL and Rocuronium 50mg/5mL and 10mg/5mL (paralytics to relax muscles during surgery or other medical procedures). Several more Sandoz medicines are expected to be made available to Kit Check's hospital partners through early 2021.

Through its collaboration with Kit Check, Sandoz will help hospital pharmacies improve efficiency, reduce risk and better support patient treatment in hospitals by providing real-time inventory reports and timely tracking of expiration of products and recalls. This will aid in automatic replenishment of supplies long-term.
Especially during a pandemic, ensuring medicines are readily available, in addition to keeping prices stable, is paramount to patient care when healthcare systems are already being challenged and overwhelmed. Both Sandoz and Kit Check are members of the newly formed industry consortium DoseID, launched in August 2020 to ensure standardization and interoperability of RFID in the pharmaceutical supply chain.

Kit Check is a leader in RFID-based medication inventory tracking and automated tray processing in use at more than 500 hospitals in the US and Canada. RFID tags are applied to vials, syringes, bags, and other medication packages and supplies in trays and kits and used to track each medication that passes through the hospital pharmacies. Scanners will automatically identify the products in terms of NDC, lot number, and expiration date, saving time for hospital staff and reducing the risk of medical error. As a result, the pharmacy can see the product's journey from the plant to the point of administration in real time.

New network of satellites is intended to provide low-bandwidth, low-power connectivity

A new network of satellites is intended to provide low-bandwidth, low-power connectivity to Internet of Things devices all over the world.

A Swarm board is about the size of a pack of gum, and provides a constant connection at the kind of data rate and power requirement that IoT devices need.

Right now the company has 12 of a planned 150 satellite constellation in orbit, so it’s still proving out its network with early access and pilot projects. That affects covered areas and traffic limits, but the company expects the full set to be in orbit by mid-2021.

Ordr Arms Partners With Sensor To Uncover ‘Shadow’ IoT Devices

Ordr wants to help channel partners “fast-track” IoT security deals with customers using a new plug-and-play sensor that can quickly uncover shadow devices hiding on the network that can potentially leave organizations vulnerable to cyber attacks and data breaches.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based IoT security startup, whose top executives came from Aruba Networks, recently launched the IoT Discovery Program with the goal of making it easier for partners to start conversations with customers about IoT security issues and move into paid proof-of-concepts, which can open the possibility for additional services revenue.

Wearable Sensor Industry Worth $2.5 bn in 2020

The wearable sensor industry will be worth $2.5 billion in 2020, having tripled in size since 2014. This comes despite the significant economic challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused a reduction in the total revenue this year. However, the industry is expected to progress back to significant growth from 2021, reaching annual revenue of over $8bn per year by 2031.

These are the headline findings from the latest IDTechEx report "Wearable Sensors 2021-2031", which characterizes the entire industry landscape for wearable sensors.

The report looks at the sensor's place within the wearable devices, describing the technology and value chain behind each sensor, as well as the emerging landscape for each. For example, on the wrist, we have seen optical heart rate metrics be introduced and then expanded to include additional features such as heart rate variability (HRV) and blood oxygen (spO2) metrics (as seen in the Apple Watch 6 and other competitive products). However, there is additional potential for these functions to expand, adding more wavelengths on the optical chips and opening up new potential applications into the future.

New Balluff Sensor Detects Magnetic Field Interference, Stops False Triggering

Balluff’s latest magnetic field sensor was designed specifically to withstand the magnetic fields of weld applications.

The BMF 415 weld-immune magnetic field sensor can detect interference of magnetic fields caused by high weld currents and stop the sensor from false triggering by using a higher level of circuitry and filtration. It’s IP67 rating and protective shielding to protect against weld spatter, additionally make it ideally suited for automotive welding conditions.

It is available in 2 versions: standard and IO-Link. The standard version comes preset with an interference suppression time of 600 ms, while the IO-Link version is configurable from 50 to an impressive 1,000 ms. Both versions are available in M8 and M12 connections and with both black and orange TPE and full silicone cables.

Angelpaw Launches World’s Only RFID Pet Tracking Platform

Angelpaw, a company that sells SaaS software that empowers pet crematoriums, veterinarians and pet parents, announced the world’s only Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) real-time pet tracking platform.

The Angelpaw RFID platform fully digitizes the entire pet cremation lifecycle for crematoriums, veterinarians, and pet parents to increase operational efficiencies and accuracy, reduce errors and processing times, and provide full transparency to all within the ecosystem.

Veterinarians no longer are required to print or write on paper tags. Veterinaries simply scan an Angelpaw UHF RFID plastic tag, the pet and pet parent data is instantly digitally stored onto the tag, drastically reducing errors and processing time.

Crematoriums automate data collection drastically reducing human effort and errors. Fixed overhead antennas, proximity and mobile handheld scanners detect and read tags not in line-of-sight, over 150 feet away, and within groups of tags simultaneously. Loading dock antennas automatically pre-check groups of pets within vans as they enter facilities. RFID tags within range are automatically updated with change order requests. Pre-established station handhelds and proximity scanners, scan pets into stations and out once services are performed with time and user stamps, offering huge operational efficiencies.

QR code lets you trace where your banana came from

Happy Banana, the fruit brand of Desai Fruit Ventures, has started to deploy Farm Trace, a QR Code solution that helps consumers trace the journey of the farm product back to the farmer.

By simply scanning the QR Code on the banana, a consumer can now get to know where it was grown, what was the name of the farmer, the ripening techniques deployed before it reached the retail shelves.

Transact Wins Best-in-Market NFC Implementation Award from NFC Forum

Transact Campus Inc. has won the 2020 NFC Forum Innovation Award for the Best-In-Market NFC Implementation.

The NFC Forum is the global standards-body for Near Field Communication (NFC) technology and its Innovation Awards recognize the development, deployment and use of state-of-the-art NFC products, services and applications worldwide.

One of 15 finalists selected from 90 entries in five categories, judges awarded Transact for its market-leading innovation Transact Mobile Credential, which supports NFC-based student IDs natively for Apple Wallet and Google Pay. The company was recognized during an online awards ceremony on September 30, 2020.