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Radar Response Tag Technology

 

Thursday, October 04, 2007
Adi Tedjasaputra.
by John Peeters

Radar Response Tag technology is a unique active tag technology that has a long read range, very low power requirements and ability to allow precise geolocation, even inside buildings. There appears to be a significant interest in the technology within the North American and European markets for locating people and cars.

Radar Response Tag technology was developed for the US Military at Sandia National Laboratories by Dr. Mike Lovejoy and his team. The work started in 1990 and Sandia was specifically asked to come up with a technology to complement GPS for those times when soldiers went under the cover of thick foliage, etc. Therefore the original mandate was wide area non-GPS and the technology had to work in buildings.

Radar Responsive Tag.Dr. Mike Lovejoy showed in the mid 1990s that the original technology could potentially achieve up to 3 ft. accuracy over a distance of 12 miles and also could geolocate inside buildings. The technology has now evolved into allowing "friendly fire" avoidance by the US Military using powerful readers.

What has been released to Gentag, Inc. by the US Government is the non-military or civilian version of the technology. This version allows sensor input, is non-covert and has the 12 mile range and indoor capabilities.

The technology operates at 430 MHz and is an active technology with a small battery. It wakes up upon interrogation and sends out a signal that is then geolocated. The range and precision is due to unique and proprietary hardware and software.

Radar Responsive Tag Technology for Missing Person.A unique aspect of the technology is to piggyback on GPS for the reader components (external). Using the technology, a single reader, for example, can be placed inside an aircraft and create triangulation coordinates using a stationary GPS satellite as a reference point. This reference point could then be used to track missing children, hikers, stolen cars or boats. Otherwise the technology can be fixed, stationary or hybrid.

Gentag Inc. anticipates that the non-military version of the technology will be developed in three phases:

* Small board level
* ASIC (single chip)
* Integration into cell phones

The wide use of the technology for consumers will occur in phase II (ASIC). At that stage the technology will be credit card size and low cost. It will probably take about 18 months to reach that stage, depending on the funding. Gentag Inc. is currently looking for partners to manufacture and/or license the technology.

The writer is the President and CEO of Gentag Inc.


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