With more than 500 delegates from 31 countries, "RFID Smart Labels USA" produced a wealth of information. IDTechEx, the sponsor, summarized some of the lessons learned from the 65 speakers.
Universal Interrogators Wanted
General Electric and the U.S. Department of Defense both stated their need for a single interrogator that can work at the different frequencies. They have found that they need to use different frequency systems depending on the products tagged and the desired range, obstructions encountered etc, and so far they have implemented LF, HF, UHF and active RFID. However, the interrogator manufacturers are still a long way from this.
P&G/Gillette Tags New Razor System
Fusion, Gillette's new five-blade razor system is the first product where RFID is applied to all the product cases and pallets. The razors are shipped to 400 locations which have RFID systems. As the cases are being made, each one is tagged. The tags are read as they arrive at retailer stores and at the retailers' box crushing machines, at which point Gillette knows the entire product is now on the shelf.
What About Chipless RFID?
There was strong interest in chipless technologies, including users who seek a cheaper alternative to silicon chip tags but also recognizing other potential advantages such as thinness, flexibility, damage tolerance and eventually printing directly onto products and packaging.
Inksure unveiled their fully printed transistorless 96-bit tag, while Motorola and PolyIC updated attendees on their developments with thin film transistor circuits (TFTCs) -- or the "plastic chip". PolyIC displayed the first polymer-based 8-bit read only RFID tag which functions at 13.56 MHz.
For further information about the conference, or to listen to the speakers visit www.smartlabelsusa.com
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