RFID Asia :: RFID Community in Asia

Five Reasons for RFID in Your Library

2010-01-15T12:53:00.002+09:00

by Adi Tedjasaputra

You may have heard some reasons not to have RFID in your library. The most popular reasons not to have RFID usually evolve around the issues of financial investment and return, risk and privacy. If there are more, you may want to tweet me :-)
Here are five reasons why you should consider RFID in your library.

1. Easy Tagging
One of the most daunting experience in introducing RFID system in a library is tagging. The possibility of tagging millions of collections manually by hand is unimaginable. Fortunately, there have been several working solutions for this issue, from the one that tackles the issue of migration from barcode system to full-fledge RFID implementation to the one with automatic tagging and decoding. The Yarra Plenty Regional Library in Australia, for example, was able to tag the whole collections within six months. In the past, there was also an issue of tagging multimedia collections, such as optical discs, as experienced by the National Library Board Singapore. However, it is no longer a problem with the newest RFID technology. You Just have to make sure that you do not buy an old RFID technology, which has a severe readability problem with special type of collections, such as DVDs and CDs.

2. Automated Sorting
Once a library collection is dropped at a specific place, the collection will be automatically scanned by one or more RFID readers. The system will then send a unique identification data read from the returned collection to the backend system in miliseconds and subsequently produce an acknowledgement of returned collection. Either using conveyor belt or any other means, the collection can later be transported to another spot for a sorting process. Using RFID technology, unsupervised automatic sorting is also possible. Watch the following video illustrating the sorting process at Seattle Public Library.

3. Managing Collections and Storage
Most libraries organise their collections using Dewey Decimal Classification system. When librarians put collections away, they need to put them in a specific place according to Dewey Decimal Classification system. The idea of having the classification system is to have a unique location where they can locate each collection easily. While the classification system is very helpful to locate the collections when they are in the right spot everytime, in daily practice, the collections may not be in the place where they are supposed to be. Patrons who are not familiar with the classification system may take a collection away from a shelf and return it in an unknown spot somewhere else, for example. Librarians need to gather the collections which are scattered in different places and put them back in their right location. Thanks to RFID, it is now possible for librarians and patrons to locate and return the collections in the right place where they belong effectively and efficiently.

4. Secure and Automated Reservation and Borrowing
In library patron's use cases, reservation and borrowing are the most useful features of Integrated RFID Library Management System. The vision of 24/7 library is already possible with the use of RFID technology. No more dispute on whether a patron returns a collection in time or late. No more hassle of returning during library opening hours. Beyond a single library, RFID can provide real time information when interlibrary loan collections arrive or leave a specific library.

5. Interactive Information, Help and Guide
A number of museums in Europe, America and Northern Asia have started to implement trials on RFID technology to enhance the experience of their visitors. The Museum of Natural History in Aarhus, Denmark has used RFID to enable real time information delivery for an exhibition. In The Osaka Science Museum, Japan, researchers have tried to use the information obtained from RFID bracelets worn by museum visitors for directing some robots to guide them around several exhibits. The Tech Museum of Innovation in California, USA, has offered students visiting the museum to personalize their visiting experience with RFID wristbands. Can a similar system be implemented for a library? The answer is: Yes, it can. Libraries around the world can enhance and empower their visitors and patrons with RFID technology.

So what if you could deploy the Integrated RFID Library Management System in less than a year? Will the benefits of having more efficient library system with RFID in place outweigh the investment? Then, you will still ask even more difficult questions, such as: How much does it cost?

You can read all about them in the Cost Benefit Analysis of Integrated RFID Library Management System that will be published at the end of this year.

The writer is the Founder of RFID Asia - The Prominent RFID Community in Asia.

So You Want RFID in Your Library?

2009-11-01T20:02:00.000+09:00

by Adi Tedjasaputra

With the profound impact on modern libraries around the world, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has changed the way libraries increase productivity and improve their patrons' experience. Thanks to Barcode and EAS systems, which have introduced the benefits of electronic security and automatic identification, RFID has now become the latest technology trend in libraries.

The possibility to integrate security with automatic identification is the most attractive benefit of RFID in libraries. With the latest RFID technology, there are several other benefits that come into play. What are they? Why do we need RFID in libraries? How can RFID improve the business process in a library?

Integration of RFID technology in the business process of library has been tried by many libraries around the world. Some have learnt the hard way and failed, some have succeeded by learning from failures, others learned from the failures and successes of the early adopters and implement the best RFID solutions. RFID technology implementation in Harrogate College Library, for example, achieves smoother transaction and lower security risks. Some drawbacks in RFID implementation in Silkeborg Public Library, as another example, show that RFID technology in library was still maturing about five years ago.

The best RFID solution for library is actually the one that seamlessly integrates RFID technology with the existing library management system. We usually call this Integrated RFID Library Management System. The objective of an Integrated RFID Library Management System is to empower both library staff and patrons to conduct their activities with maximum productivity and highest level of positive experience. RFID technology is available and ready to support this vision. Here is one reason why you should consider Integrated RFID Library Management System: Security

Enforcing Library Security

As explained in the previous RFID Asia Journal, the EAS systems that are currently deployed in modern libraries are still vulnerable to RF shielding. While the RFID technology still faces challenges similar to the EAS systems, an addition of metal detector gate in the exit area will add another security layer for any materials that may be used for RF shielding. A more complex solution is to use of surveillance cameras and face recognition software, in addition to RFID gate and metal detector, which can identify repeat thieves.

Even with these security measures in place, social engineering or any other counter security techniques may still succeed to penetrate the library's security system. The difference is in the demanding resources required to penetrate the system, which will deter casual thieves. Compared to the current EAS systems, which can provide a guarantee of 80% loss reduction, the Integrated RFID Library Management System can offer at least 90% loss reduction.

In the next RFID Asia Journal, you will learn the other five reasons why you should consider Integrated RFID Library Management System in your library.

The writer is the Founder of RFID Asia - The Prominent RFID Community in Asia.

RFID Library Security System

2009-09-25T18:25:00.003+09:00

by Adi Tedjasaputra

The security measures in libraries around the world have evolved along the changing role of libraries in modern society. A lot of things have been tried to tackle the security challenges in libraries. Will RFID technology be able to provide a solution to the security problems faced by modern libraries?

I have been blessed with the opportunity to visit hundreds of libraries in three continents. Some of the interesting ones include a traditional library in Salatiga, Indonesia, the disabled-friendly State Library of Western Australia and the largest library in the Nordic countries, Det Kongelige Bibliotek – The Danish Royal Library in Denmark. Interestingly, all the libraries are all facing similar challenges, i.e. theft (security) and inefficient library management system.

Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) Systems in Libraries

A lot of things have been tried to tackle the security challenges in libraries, including the use of EAS systems, which are nowadays quite common in modern libraries. There are several types of EAS systems, i.e. Radio Frequency (RF), Electromagnetic (EM) and Acousto-magnetic (AM) systems. There is another kind system called Microwave systems. However, since there is only a small number of such systems deployed compared to the other systems, we will not discuss the Microwave systems further.

All EAS systems rely on tags, labels, transmitters and receivers. The RF tags and labels will trigger an alarm if an unauthorized person taking some items tagged or embedded with the tags and labels passes through a pair of transmitter and receiver (gates) tuned to the operating frequency of the tags and labels. High intensity RF pulse will disarm the RF labels. RF tags, on the other hand, are usually reusable and easily detachable by a detacher without any need of disarmament.

Different from the RF EAS systems, the EM EAS systems use high permeable material for the tags and labels, which will generate a signal within an applied electromagnetic field. When someone brings some tagged items near the exit gates, the receiver will sense the signal generated by the tags and labels and activate an alarm. Deactivating the tags is as simple as magnetizing the tags and de-magnetizing for (re)activation.

AM EAS systems work similar to RF EAS system, in which the transmitter sends RF signal to excite the labels and tags. However, at a frequency of 58 kHz in pulses, the transmitter energizes the labels and tags to emit RF signal to be detected by a receiver. Different from EM tags, magnetizing the AM labels and tags will (re)activate them and demagnetizing for deactivation.

Integrated RFID Library System

While all of the EAS systems described have been relatively adequate to deter casual thefts, simple tricks such as the use of magnet, metal or jammer can easily fool the EAS systems. In addition, a study published a couple of years ago reports that EM and AM EAS systems may adversely affect the performance of pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

When RFID Library system first introduced more than a decade ago, its main use was only as a better replacement for barcode system in inventory management of library materials. Nevertheless, RFID technology nowadays has matured to a state where it can be used in a fool-proof RFID Library Security System.

The challenges of RFID Library Security System as an anti-theft are similar to the EAS systems, which rely on the physics of electromagnetic field. Despite the intelligence of data transmission and storage, RFID tags and labels are still susceptible from threats such as RF shielding and jamming.

With the advance of RFID technology, the latest RFID Library system is usually equipped with anti-jamming and collision detection features. RF shielding, on the other hand, requires a different strategy that involves integration with RFID Library Management System, physical security and other security technologies.

In the next RFID Asia Journal, you can read about the Integrated RFID Library Management System that provides a solution to the RF shielding threat and improve the efficiency of Library Management System.

The writer is the Founder of RFID Asia - Asia's Leading Independent RFID Knowledge Centre Helping RFID Vendors & End-Users Making Best Investment, Leverage Competitiveness & Market Share.

Windows 7: Promising Sensor and Location Platfom?

2009-07-28T14:00:00.003+09:00

by Adi Tedjasaputra

While Europeans are anticipating the freedom of choosing a browser in Windows 7 and many preparing for an upgrade to Windows 7, RFID manufacturers and application developers are also getting ready for Windows 7. With the new Windows Sensor and Location Platform for Windows 7, RFID vendors may expect to better integrate RFID devices and applications into Windows.

Anticipating the release of Windows 7, it's time to ask questions. Let's start with one now: Does Windows 7 provide standardized application programming interface for RFID hardware manufacturers and application developers?

About four years ago, Microsoft decided to forge a partnership with Alien Technology, a company that provides UHF RFID products and services. The partnership aims to provide compatibility between Windows and Alien's RFID products.

Little that we know how the cooperation has improved the compatibility between Windows and Alien's RFID products over the years, but last year we knew that Alien released a software for its RFID readers that can provide some information on the velocity and position of RFID tags. Alien claims that the proprietary software designed for Alien's RFID readers is useful to improve luggage sorting.

Beyond luggage sorting, Microsoft recently introduced Windows Sensor and Location Platform for Windows 7, which may provide a better way to integrate sensors and location devices, including RFID devices. RFID hardware manufacturers can write standard device drivers for their location and sensor products to communicate with different applications. RFID application developers can access the data supplied by location and sensor devices, and in some cases, control the devices as well in a standardized way.

Is everyone really happy? Until we get our hands dirty experimenting with the final build and receive feedback from RFID community, we can't say anything. At least we now know that Windows 7 has a built-in support for sensors and location devices, which is already a good news for many.

The writer is the Founder of RFID Asia - The Prominent RFID Community in Asia.

RFID Tag cum Reader for Apple iPhone 4G?

2009-07-08T09:14:00.014+09:00

by Adi Tedjasaputra

Apple Inc. recently filed a patent application that may change how the future iPhones let its users interact with the Internet of things. Apple's invention claims the ability to integrate RFID circuitry, in particular RFID antenna within a touch sensor panel. In other words, you can use any device embedded with this kind of touch screen either as RFID reader or tag interchangeably.

Near Field Communication (NFC) technology has been around for several years. When Bluetooth SIG approved Bluetooth version 2.1 + EDR specification last year, it was of no surprise that the specification includes an improvement for inter-device pairing process and a support for NFC technology. Despite the fact that Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is still missing from the latest release of Bluetooth version 3 specification this year, there is no doubt that short-range RFID technology has increasingly been more important than ever.

With its latest RFID patent application, Apple seems to understand the importance of having short-range RFID technology embedded into its future products, which will probably include iPhone 4G. The main benefit of having short-range RFID technology embedded into a mobile device is mainly a better user experience.

Beyond user experience, by emulating the functions of both RFID tag and reader, any device embedded with this kind of touch screen can better facilitate a web of interrelated communication between its users and any object embedded with RFID technology.

The writer is the Founder of RFID Asia - The Prominent RFID Community in Asia.

Convergence Systems Limited to provide RFID equipment for Hong Kong International Airport

2009-06-09T17:04:00.001+09:00

Hong Kong – Convergence Systems Limited (CSL) has been awarded by ETI Consulting Ltd (ETIC), Jardine Engineering Corporation (JEC) and Shun Hing Systems Integration Corporation (SHSI) contracts to provide the latest RFID UHF Gen 2 RFID equipment to support ETIC’s Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) Software for implementation of RFID in Hong Kong International Airport’s (HKIA) Terminal 1. HKIA continues to be the industry leader in using RFID technologies to improve efficiencies and security in airport operations.

"We are extremely pleased to see Hong Kong companies have the technical depth and performance to meet the rigorous selection criteria of HKIA. RFID is also one of the key enabling technologies supported by the Government’s R&D Centre on Logistics and Supply Chain Management," said Duncan Pescod, Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (Communications and Technology) for Hong Kong’s Government.

"HKIA prides itself on being devoted and innovative in meeting customer expectation through technology upgrade and process revamp. The use of RFID-enabled technology, which has greatly enhanced the reliability and efficiency of the baggage handling system, is another example of such commitments," said Ricky Leung, General Manager, Technical Services, Airport Authority Hong Kong, believing the team made up of JEC, SHSI, CSL and ETIC has the right expertise to provide the airport with all the necessary hardware and software support.

"The CSL team is extremely honored that HKIA recognized that our CS461 4-port reader and matched antennas could handle the dense mode operating environment and reliability demands of the Hong Kong airport," said Jerry Garrett, Managing Director of Convergence Systems Limited.

"CSL has done an outstanding job of developing high performance CS461 UHF RFID reader and associated antennas. We find their equipment easy to install and very robust for the demanding operation environment of the airport," said Edward Wong, President of ETI Consulting Ltd.

"JEC’s aim is to utilize engineering, sourcing and project management best practices to deliver our products, services & projects which enable our customers, like HKIA, to operate their facilities to a world class standard. Working with ETIC on the RFID solution in HKIA’s baggage handling system is a good example to demonstrate our full commitment and support to our customers," said Mr. C. K. Tam, General Manager, E&M Contracting, Jardine Engineering Corporation.

"ETIC’s project management skills and commitment to rigorous sub systems testing makes seamless integration of the RFID system possible," said Mr. K.C. Ho, Manager, Project Department, Shun Hing Systems Integration Co. Ltd..

About Convergence Systems Limited

Founded in 2000, Convergence Systems Limited (CSL) is a leading engineering company and manufacturer of RFID (radio frequency identification) readers, antennas, RFID modules, and RFID tags. CSL's readers have built-in middleware and edge server application software supporting iPx and EPC Gen2 specifications. CSL was established to deliver a broad portfolio of RFID products to distributors and system integrators in logistic management, supply chain, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, access control, asset and security management, transportation, and retail industries around the world. CSL is a member of EPCglobal. www.convergence.com.hk

CSL is affiliated with Chung Nam Electronics (CNE) and is a member of the Chung Nam Group. The group was founded in 1935 and has over 12,000 employees with global operations. CNE is a value-added Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) Company with OEM and ODM capabilities. CNE provides total outsourcing solutions to international clients through value engineering and interactive design. Specializing in RF & wireless technologies, CNE's products include: RFID tags and readers, 802.11 a/b/g/n Network Interface Modules/Cards, Wi-Fi Internet Radio Products, RF Point-Of-Sales System and GPS/GSM tracking systems. www.cne.com.hk

About ETI Consulting Limited

Established in 2003, ETI Consulting Ltd (ETIC) facilitates the transfer of e-business technologies developed by the University of Hong Kong’s E-Business Technology Institute (ETI) to the market and has made significant progress in achieving a leading position in the information technology field.

ETIC offers high-impact, customized and value-added consulting services to help organizations to develop and implement e-business strategies, improve their operations, and capitalize on e-business technology.

ETIC expertise covers a wide range of technologies such as Wireless Applications and Systems, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), Supply Chain Management, IT Security, BI (Business Intelligence) and Business Process Integrations.

About Jardine Engineering Corporation

Established in Shanghai in 1923, Jardine Engineering Corporation (JEC) is now one of the region’s leading engineering companies. JEC employs more than 3,000 staff in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Macau, Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore. It has extensive expertise in multiple engineering disciplines including Building Services, Air-Conditioning, Building Automation, Material Handling, Environmental and Industrial Engineering. Services offered include Contracting, Material & Building Product Sourcing, Operation & Maintenance, Renovation. It has joint-ventures with Trane in the region and an agricultural and construction chemical distribution business in the Philippines.

In Hong Kong Airport, JEC established a strong project management team and delegated maintenance workforce providing specialized engineering services for HKIA. JEC is currently the biggest E&M contractor participating in HKIA’s Baggage Handling System Capacity Enhancement Project. Meanwhile JEC is also one of the key maintenance contractor offering breakdown and preventive maintenance services to ensure the sophisticated baggage handling system is always operating in a very high reliability and availability level.

About Shun Hing Systems Integration Co., Ltd

Established in 2002, Shun Hing Systems Integration Co., Ltd. (SHSI) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Shun Hing Group that was founded in 1953 and is one of the largest and most famous private companies based in Hong Kong.

The primary goal of SHSI is to provide the best "Total Engineering Solution" to clients and SHSI is fully committed to offering the most professional systems integration and project implementation services including:
• System design;
• Project management;
• System installation & integration;
• Testing & Commissioning;
• Maintenance support services;
• Health & Safety management;
• Quality & Environmental management;
• Integrated Management; and
• Equipment procurement, supply and logistics services.

Professional teams in System Integration Division can deliver full turnkey solutions in E & M and ELV systems with related services including but not limited to baggage & material handling systems, traffic control system, LED & LCD display systems and train-born media broadcasting system.

Dedicated team in Telecommunication Division is specialized in providing state-of-the-art digital/analogue communication related systems covering optical transmission, broadband network, microwave & tetra radio systems for applications in high quality streaming audio and video with high speed data communication.

As an active and experienced system integrator, SHSI was the first one to be awarded for a series projects in the BHS Capacity Enhancement in HKIA.

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London Underground use Confidex Ironside Tag on Escalators

2009-03-23T00:52:00.003+09:00

Tampere, Finland – Confidex today announced that it has shipped more than 10,000 of its Confidex Ironside UHF Gen2 Hard Tag to London Underground in the UK. The tags shipped via Confidex partner CoreRFID Ltd are to be used to improve escalator maintenance.

Although Confidex has shipped Ironside tags to several customers in substantially larger volumes, the London Underground application is of great relevance to other escalator operators around the world. Maintenance and safety of escalators is important for Metro operators such as London Underground and for shopping malls and other public places.

The escalators of the London Underground carry more than three million passengers every day from the street to the platforms and back again. Most commuters and tourists don't give the travelling metal staircases a second thought; a fact that is a testament to the reliability of the system and the care taken over the maintenance of escalators. The steps that make up these escalators are subject to constant wear from the feet of passengers and from the mechanical movement on the escalator track. A failure in an escalator step could cause serious injury. If an escalator step were to fail during rush hours, lives could be put at risk and serious disruption to travelers would result.

To prevent such an event, London Underground, has implemented an inspection / maintenance regime that ensures the structural integrity of every step is checked at least once during the course of every year. With almost 30,000 escalator steps, in almost 200 escalators, needing to be checked this requires significant effort by London Underground’s engineering staff.

To address the need for faster, more accurate and more cost-efficient maintenance, London Underground decided to use RFID technology. They selected CoreRFID Ltd, based in Warrington, UK as their solutions provider and Confidex for their tag expertise company. A decision was made early on to use UHF Gen2 (ISO-18000-6C) technology as the only viable technology able to read tags attached on metal from a distance.

CoreRFID developed the "Step Tracking System" as the maintenance management solution. This uses PDA with RFID Reader (Nordic ID's PL3000 ruggedized hand held reader) mounted on a cradle beside the escalator and application software to read and write information on the tag. The choice of the ruggedized and extremely durable Confidex tag was seen as a key to the success of the pilot project.

"It was obvious to us that Confidex had the best solution here. The tags to be used had to last in the very challenging environment of an operating escalator with vibration, temperature variation, grease and dirt as well as magnetic fields all being a factor. In consultation with Confidex we selected the Ironside Tag. We have more than 18 months experience with most of Confidex Hard Tags and Speciality Labels and we were confident about the choice." says Richard Harrison, Technical Sales Director of CoreRFID.

"The tags are installed under the steps, attached with acrylic adhesive provided by Confidex and in spite of the very tough environment and constant movement, not a single Ironside Tag detached from its escalator step over the two months long trial period" continues Richard. "However, in the future all new steps will come from manufacture with tags riveted on them."

Operational deployment has now started across the Bakerloo, Central, and Victoria lines and other underground stations where London Underground is responsible for escalator maintenance.

"This has been a very good collaboration between our three organizations. We are very pleased to see a well managed project from idea to trial and pilot moving to a full scale roll out," said Torbjörn Andersson, Confidex Vice President of Sales & Business Development. "There are clear advantages for London Underground in using RFID. Having an automated system that provides essential data without interrupting escalator use is something many other users and operators of escalators can take advantage of. Operators and maintainers looking for improved Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul for their escalators and travelators can look to Confidex and CoreRFID who will publish a case study of the application in the near future."

Confidex Ironside is a "Hard Tag" in Impact resistant material. It is among the most durable, on-metal, high temperature resistant Gen2 tags available to date. The tag, which use NXP's G2XM chip featuring 240bit EPC, UID and 512bits of user memory, was an early recipient of SAE’s AS5678 certification.

"The flagship Confidex Ironside Hard Tag is already used in a variety of applications, on metal containers, airline food carts, postal roll cages, power transformers, stillages in automotive manufacturing and on road maintenance equipment to mention a few said Torbjörn Andersson."

A complete Technical Product Specification including installation guide is downloadable from Confidex website: http://www.confidex.fi/ironside0.html

About Confidex
Confidex, headquartered in Tampere, Finland, is a fast growing company with unique expertise in RFID design, manufacturing and system engineering. With offices in Europe, North America and China, Confidex provides high-performing, industry-standard RFID tags for demanding applications. The company’s highly experienced team has enabled Confidex to quickly become the trusted partner for major vendors and end-users in the RFID industry. Confidex's core competencies and experience span HF (high frequency) and UHF (ultra high frequency) antenna design, tag manufacturing, and advanced tag conversion and encapsulation.

For more information, contact:
Torbjörn Andersson
Vice President
Worldwide Sales & Business Development
Tel: +46 768 530130
E-Mail: torbjorn.andersson@confidex.net

About CoreRFID
CoreRFID, based in Warrington, UK is a specialist solution integrator and distributor for RFID applications and technology. CoreRFID develops and implements RFID solutions across healthcare, transport, facilities management, government and high-value manufacturing. The company has delivered applications for asset management, health and safety monitoring, pick and pack manufacturing and plant maintenance. CoreRFID’s principal capabilities are in RFID technology selection, mobile computing platforms and solution design, development and deployment, working in conjunction with major clients and integrating where necessary with existing back office systems. CoreRFID also operates a web shop outlet and distribution facility. For more information, visit www.corerfid.com or www.rfidshop.com

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Confidex Introduces On-Metal RFID Tag for IT Asset Tracking

2009-02-03T20:01:00.005+09:00

Tampere, Finland – Confidex today announced the introduction of the company's new Confidex Steelwave Micro™ passive UHF RFID tag. The new RFID tag is a compliment to the industry-leading Confidex Steelwave™ passive UHF RFID tag and enables companies to improve their investment in and inventory management of valuable IT assets.

Several industry analysts have noted that implementing passive UHF RFID technology for asset management delivers exceptional benefits such as reduced property loss, increased security, improved audit controls, more accurate information on the movement and condition of assets, and as a result, significant cost savings.

"RFID tagging of IT equipment can deliver quicker, more detailed and more accurate day-to-day management of some of the most important operational assets within an organization," notes Michael Liard, Research Director, RFID & Contactless at ABI Research (Oyster Bay, NY). "ABI Research has found that there is significant potential for a ramp up of RFID tagging within organizations looking to more effectively manage and track their IT assets – especially where statutory and industry regulations such as Sarbanes Oxley require detailed, accurate and regular auditing of IT assets."

Tracking IT assets such as servers, routers, storage devices, and desktop computers, as well as any portable devices such as removable hard drives and laptops, is becoming increasingly crucial for most companies. Keeping track of multiple high value devices in multiple locations is a complex task that until now has resulted in inaccurate inventory data that invites theft and increased replacement costs. With Confidex Steelwave Micro, companies now have a tested and proven on-metal RFID tag that enables the accurate tracking of all valuable IT assets throughout their lifecycles regardless of where the devices are located.

With a small footprint (1.5" x 0.5"/38mm x 13mm), outstanding read range (8.2´ - 9.8´/2.5m - 3.0m), and unique characteristics that enable attachment to metal and non-metal devices, Confidex Steelwave Micro is ideal for tracking all valuable IT assets as well as assets in a variety of other applications.

"We have already been sampling the new Steelwave Micro with selected System Integrators and IT Hardware manufacturers to ensure it meets the performance requirement of most IT asset tagging projects," said Torbjörn Andersson, Vice President of Sales& Marketing at Confidex. "Feedback has been very positive; not only regarding the read performance, but also the superior quality and form factor."

Confidex Steelwave Micro joins the growing family of unique Confidex RFID tags that have been successfully used in a variety of demanding applications such as identification of IT assets, vehicles, rail cars, and reusable transit items, in motion, from arctic to subtropical regions.

About Confidex
Confidex, headquartered in Tampere, Finland, is a fast growing company with unique expertise in RFID design, manufacturing and system engineering. With offices in Europe, North America and China, Confidex provides high-performing, industry-standard RFID tags for demanding applications. The company’s highly experienced team has enabled Confidex to quickly become the trusted partner for major vendors and end-users in the RFID industry. Confidex's core competencies and experience span HF (high frequency) and UHF (ultra high frequency) antenna design, tag manufacturing, and advanced tag conversion and encapsulation.

For more information, contact:
Torbjörn Andersson
Confidex Vice President of Sales & Marketing
Tel: +46 768 530130
E-Mail: torbjorn.andersson@confidex.net

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New Ez-Link Contactless Smart Cards Converge Transit and Payment Applications

2008-12-27T09:48:00.011+09:00

by Adi Tedjasaputra

EZ-Link Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA), will make new Ez-Link contactless smart cards available for purchase in Singapore from Monday. The new contactless smart cards are compliant with Contactless e-Purse Smart Card Application Specification (CEPAS) and expected to replace the existing EZ-Link cards currently used to pay for public bus and train rides in Singapore.

The new Multi-Purpose Stored Value (MPSV) card is also expected to provide more features than the existing EZ-link cards. When purchasing the new card, commuters no longer need to pay travel deposit. The maximum stored value of S$500 and its 5-year life span would provide convenience for purposes other than paying for transit fares, such as Electronic Road Pricing (ERP), Electronic Parking System (EPS) and retail payments.

In the first quarter of 2009, cardholders would be able to use it for paying purchases in schools, printing services, F&B outlets and private buses. Later in 2009, 7-Eleven stores, libraries, taxis, vending machines, Singapore Pools and hospitals would be able to accept the new card as a means of payment for transactions less than S$100.

The convergence of mass transit and micropayment applications on the new contactles smart cards will likely pose a challenge to the market dominance of NETS (Network for Electronic Transfers Singapore) in retail sector. NETS itself has identified the estimated $1.5 bilion transit market in Singapore as an expansion area, according to NETS' CEO Poh Mui Hoon as quoted by The Straits Times.

In recent years, Asia Pacific consumers have seen a growing Near Field Communication (NFC) trials, Mobile Wallet and Digital Money applications, which use short-range RFID technology. While most contactless smart card applications still use cards due to various reasons, mobile phones and USB sticks have started to emerge as alternative devices.

The writer is the Founder of RFID Asia - The Prominent RFID Community in Asia.

* Comments (2) *

Japan has taken a route of Felica and NFC. Singapore is going in CEPAS direction. Both are contactless technologies. I am not sure what are the pros and cons of these? Any idea?
- William -

Comparing FeliCa, NFC and CEPAS is like comparing apples and oranges. FeliCa is a contactless IC card technology developed by a Japanese company - Sony. NFC is a short-range wireless technology applicable to a wide range of devices. CEPAS is a national (Singapore) specification for contactless electronic payment, which can provide a level playing field for NETS and EZ-Link to "compete", with regards to the vision of an interoperable national electronic payment platform. As a matter of fact, the previous version of EZ-Link cards used FeliCa. However, there would not be a level playing field if the new platform was built on FeliCa.
- Adi Tedjasaputra -

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RF Code Announces On-Command Beaconing Solution for Active RFID Tags

2008-12-17T11:58:00.018+09:00

RF Code, Inc.

AUSTIN, Texas (December 17, 2008) -- RF Code, Inc. today announced the release of an on-command beaconing solution that enables customers to control an active RFID tag’s beaconing by simply wanding over it. This is especially important for a variety of RF Code users, including big box retailers and just-in-time pharmaceutical suppliers that typically have rapid inventory turns and want to reuse tags.

With the new solution, such customers now can quickly turn off a removed inventory tracking tag from a just- purchased good, and restart the same tag on a new item when appropriate, without affecting battery life. Manufacturers too will benefit because they can control beaconing on tagged items moving through an assembly line. Once such an item or part moves through a line’s tracking checkpoint, the tag can be put into a sleep state or turned off completely, again maximizing battery life without sacrificing inventory accuracy.

The new solution is also ideal for customers wanting to buy tags in bulk to secure optimal pricing. Such companies can now order large tag quantities and store them for later use by simply turning off the tag. Once a tagged item is ready to be used, users can immediately wake up the tag and put the item in active inventory.

According to Chris Gaskins, RF Code vice president, Product Development, this technology responds to a clear customer need. "Even in smoother economic times, our customers rely on us for cost-effective solutions to their problems. This technology extends our value even further by responding to the specific business factors certain customers face. So while our typical tag sports a battery life of some five to seven years, the best in the business, these customers have unique requirements that call for more control over tag beaconing. We're providing that control." Like all RF Code solutions, there is a fast ROI.

About the Solution

Based on RF Code's award-winning active RFID hardware and software technology, the new tag solution is used to control any of the RF Code M-Series or R-Series tags engineered to:

Wake up, which causes the tag to begin regular beacon interval
Beacon now, which triggers the tag to immediately beacon
Sleep, which puts the tag into a sleep state to prevent the tag from beaconing

The A600 Tag Controller, powered through a USB connector, and the Tag Controller Utility, which communicate to an RF Code reader, together control the tags' beaconing states. An audible beep indicates that the Tag Controller has caused the tag to wake, beacon or go to sleep. The Tag Controller can be used in a Stand-alone scenario where the utility has no communication with a fixed or mobile reader and all input data is entered manually into the application. It can also be used in a Reader-assisted scenario where the utility communications with a fixed or mobile reader to make the flow much more automatic.

About RF Code, Inc.

RF Code automates the ability to discover, track and monitor high-value physical assets across the enterprise. Using the company's award-winning platform for active RFID, customers know instantly and on demand the precise location of each individual asset. This spares them the high cost, time intensity, and compliance risk of a manual inventory. RF Code and its world-class roster of global partners develop solutions used in demanding industry environments including IT, healthcare, defense, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, transportation and homeland security. RF Code and the RF Code logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of RF Code Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact

Joan Osleeb, 512-439-2245(o) or 512-789-6168 (m); josleeb@rfcode.com

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NXP's MIFARE Security Risk Due to Defective Chip

2008-07-28T01:32:00.006+09:00

by Adi Tedjasaputra

RFID security experts have revealed that MIFARE Classic from NXP Semiconductors, poses security risk. The ICs, which are used in over than 1 billion contactless smart cards worldwide, according to NXP on its website, primarily rely on more than a decade old 48-bit MIFARE Crypto-1 algorithm to protect contactless smart card applications from cloning attempts and unauthorized access. After failing to stop publication of its cracked algorithm, NXP urges customers using any systems embedded with the ICs to upgrade or switch to a completely different chip with a higher security level.

When the researchers of the Digital Security group at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands exposed the security flaw in MIFARE Classic, NXP reacted by taking the researchers to court in an effort to stop the publication of a research paper detailing the security flaw to be presented in ESORICS 2008, Malaga, Spain this October.

A couple of weeks ago, a district court in Arnhem decided to overturn NXP's injunction to stop the publication. The court viewed that the paper publication detailing MIFARE Classic's security flaw does not result in damage to NXP. The production and marketing of the defective chip is NXP's own responsibility, according to the court ruling. The original court decision (in Dutch) is available for download.

The court decision has forced NXP to advise customers using MIFARE Classic chips to either upgrade their systems or switch to a completely different chip with a higher security level. All the systems using the chips, such as Oyster cards of London's s transport network and SmartRider of Perth's transport network in Western Australia, are affected by the security risk.

The revelation, however, does not seem to deter the confidence of London transport network authority with its 17 million Oyster Cards. Quoted by BBC News, a spokesman for Transport for London said: "Transport for London remains confident in the security of the Oyster card system. We take fraud and the security of personal data extremely seriously and constantly review our security procedures."

He added: "Any fraudulent card would be identified within 24 hours of being used and blocked. Using a fraudulent card for free travel is subject to prosecution and we would seek to enforce this wherever possible."

The statement came one week after thousands of London commuters were unable to use their Oyster cards due to a computer system crash. Unfortunately, the system crashed again a few days ago.

Beside transport networks, many organisations have also deployed systems based on the chip to secure entry into buildings, including military installations. Recognizing the security risk posed by the chips, one European country has brought in soldiers to guard some government facilities using the MIFARE Classic chip in their smart door key cards last March.

The writer is the Founder of RFID Asia - The Prominent RFID Community in Asia.

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Closed-loop RFID Applications (Part 2)

2008-07-01T12:19:00.006+09:00

by Adi Tedjasaputra

Closed-loop RFID applications are increasingly adopted by many organisations. Better risk management, higher ROI and less technical challenges are some of the reasons for their popularity. Health care is one of the vertical industries where closed-loop RFID applications can benefit most. The critical requirement of safety always comes first in this industry. It turns out that this may not always be the case, some researchers warn.

Many have learnt the hard way about the complexity of open-loop RFID applications. The latest was the Indonesian government finding out that contactless smart card application for fuel rationing programme in Indonesia is not as simple as implementing micropayment using similar technology in Singapore or Malaysia. Beside technology challenges, the social and political cost associated with the application was not well-anticipated and calculated by the Indonesian Government. Others may not have the privilege such as the Indonesian Government to mull over almost one year before finding out about the infeasibility of such application.

Compared to open-loop RFID applications, closed-loop RFID applications may have more benefits. One of the important benefits is the possibility to execute RFID technology adoption plans according to a time frame decided solely by an organisation.

Nevertheless, closed-loop RFID applications have their own challenges. The latest study on the a closed-loop RFID application in health care, for example, has shown that Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) from RFID may induce potentially hazardous incidents in critical care medical equipment.

The study tested two RFID systems, i.e. active and passive. The passive system consisted of (1) OBID UHF Reader from Feig Electronic working in 868 MHz frequency with maximum power output of 4 W and (2) EPC Gen 2 tags in the format of adhesive labels using Texas Instruments' inlays incorporating Impinj's Monza chips. The active RFID system consisted of (1) Avonwood's Eureka-iD Wakeup Unit and Antenna working in 125 kHz frequency with magnetic flux density of 68 x 10E-3 microtesla at 1 meter and (2) Eureka-iD Asset Tag working in 868 MHz frequency at 2 microwatt.

From all the medical devices submitted to EMI tests, the study found out that the passive UHF EPC Gen 2 compliant system working at 868 MHz seemed to cause more EMI compared with the active RFID system.

The study has attracted various reactions. One of the latest is a denial asserting that EMI in the study was caused solely by RFID readers or interrogators, but not RFID tags. The author has carelessly ignored the facts and basic working principles of RFID systems, in which operational RFID tags can emit electromagnetic radiation that may cause interference, in addition to the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the readers.

The study serves as a timely reminder that safety should come first, especially when the organisation planning to adopt RFID technology is in the health care business, such as hospital.

The writer is the Founder of RFID Asia - The Prominent RFID Community in Asia.

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Indonesia to Play Fuel Smart Card

2008-05-12T02:51:00.004+09:00

by Adi Tedjasaputra

After recently announcing the plan to raise the price of fuel, the Indonesian government spearheaded by Downstream Oil and Gas Regulator (BPH Migas) has confirmed the roll out plan of a Fuel Smart Card programme in September. After securing Rp 300 billion ($32.6 million) from the state budget approved by the Finance Ministry and endorsement from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, BPH Migas has announced a tender for the procurement process.

The tender for the procurement process, which is expected to last for 45 days, has started last Wednesday, as reported by Media Indonesia when quoting the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Purnomo Yusgiantoro. The winner of the tender will have 80 days to implement the programme, so the Fuel Smart Card programme can run from September 2008.

The Fuel Smart Card programme that aims to limit the consumption of subsidized fuel has been mulled over since last year and delayed, but it was only recently when the oil price shot up, threatened the economic growth and state budget spending, the Indonesian government decided to move forward with the programme.

In the programme, a smart card in a size of credit card and printed with a bar code will be attached to a location on a vehicle, depending whether it is a public bus, motorcycle or private car. Before filling up the tank, a fuel station officer should scan the smart card with a reader. A successful reading of the smart card will result in the vehicle registration number and its fuel quota data to be displayed on a monitor installed at the station. Based on the reading, the vehicle's owner can only buy fuel according to the remaining quota.

Similar to the parking pilot project programme executed by the Jakarta City Administration in 2003 and the Fuel Smart Card programme in Tehran, Iran, the Indonesian Fuel Smart Card programme, which is currently on trial, still relies heavily on the readiness of stakeholders involved. The Jakarta City Administration abandoned the parking pilot project after the project was swamped by operational problems in 2003, while the introduction of Fuel Smart Card programme in Tehran sparked violence last year. In both cases, the stakeholders were not ready to accept the introduced systems.

Fortunately, the Indonesian government still has a chance to learn from the past and make a better decision in the Fuel Smart Card programme. There is still a room for improvement on the programme that can ease the transition from the current system and prepare all stakeholders involved to achieve the best results.

The writer is the Founder of RFID Asia - The Prominent RFID Community in Asia.

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Jakarta Streets to Pave Way for Smart Card Déjà Vu

2008-05-05T13:14:00.007+09:00

by Adi Tedjasaputra

Self-serve Parking Payment is the latest buzz on the streets of Jakarta, Indonesia. Promoted by the Jakarta City Administration and the Jakarta City Parking Agency, a new electronic payment system is still currently under review. The new system is expected to enable motorists pay for parking fees with the use of Smart Cards.

"The new system will require Smart Cards. People will just swipe their card through a machine on the street to pay parking fees," said the agency's Deputy Head, Udar Pristono as quoted by The Jakarta Post last week.

Smart Card was first introduced as a technology that requires a contact area to transfer electrical power and communicate with Smart Card Reader. In the evolution of Smart Card, Contactless Smart Card was introduced. Using inductive coupling technology, Contactless Smart Card can transfer energy from a Smart Card Reader and activate the chip in a Smart Card without the need of physical contact.

déjà vu
/day&ulzh;aa voo/
· noun a feeling of having already experienced the present situation.
— ORIGIN French, ‘already seen’.
Compact Oxford English Dictionary

For the patrons of some streets in Jakarta, Smart Cards are not new. In 2003, the Jakarta City Administration appointed PT Adiwira Sembada as the sole contractor to run a parking pilot programme in several streets in Jakarta, while a Singapore-based company, Epecom Technology & Distribution Pte Ltd, formerly known as Gimexore Private Limited, provided full system integration for the pilot programme. In addition, INSIDE Contactless, which is headquartered in France, supplied Smart Card chip PicoTag and contactless springboard modules Hand'IT for handheld readers.

Swamped by operational problems, the pilot programme using Smart Cards known as "Kartu Kontan" was eventually declared as a total failure. The Jakarta City Administration officially terminated the operational collaboration between the Jakarta City Parking Agency and PT Adiwira Sembada in November 2003 after about six months of pilot programme launching. The equipments that cost about $2,000 per unit were rendered useless.

This year, with a new concept of "two parking operators, one parking system", the Jakarta City Administration will likely to appoint two private parking operators. The two operators, one of them is PT Adiwira Sembada, were recommended by the Jakarta City Council to manage parking in Jakarta streets, as reported by The Jakarta Post in January.

The new self-serve parking payment system operated by the two parking operators is expected to increase revenue of the Jakarta City Administration from parking fees. For the operation of the new parking management units, the Jakarta City Administration has initially allocated Rp 40 billion ($4.3 million) budget.

The writer is the Founder of RFID Asia - The Prominent RFID Community in Asia.

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Indonesia Ponders over RFID, Contactless Smart Card, NFC and Mobile Technology

2008-03-31T22:05:00.009+09:00

by Eunice Sari

The RFID Asia Summit 2008 (http://summit.rfid-Asia.info) held on 12-13 March 2008 in Jakarta, Indonesia, organized by RFID Asia (www.rfidAsia.org), the Prominent RFID Community in Asia, is the prestigious international event to address the potentials and challenges of RFID technology and harness the economic opportunities in various vertical industries in Indonesia and Asia Pacific region.

As the only event in Asia Pacific dedicated for RFID experts and leaders in charge for the development of businesses in the emerging markets, RFID Asia Summit 2008 has presented a line-up of international renowned speakers from Asia Pacific and USA. The event has successfully impressed the international delegates from Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East with intellectually thought-provoking and inspiring conference tracks, exhibitions, demonstrations, business networking and meeting sessions.

The RFID Asia Summit 2008 was officially inaugurated by the Founder of RFID Asia, Adi Tedjasaputra. In his opening remarks, he pointed out how the tremendous advancement in RFID technology and market growth in Asia Pacific has started to add values in different emerging markets. Furthermore, he also detailed the unique role of RFID Asia in contributing to the advancement of RFID technology and market growth in Asia Pacific, while producing a shared practice and collective intelligence as RFID Asia community members engage in a collective process of learning and sharing. Regarding the event itself, he explained how RFID Asia Summit 2008 was crafted to provide delegates with a unique experience and results.

After the opening remarks, Stephen Dolan, the Director of Sybase Australia & New Zealand unveiled how to integrate business logic and processes with RFID and sensor technologies, including mobile devices. One of the most interesting parts in his presentation is his view on the death of RFID Middleware – the software connecting RFID readers with enterprise applications. Enriched with real-life examples and industrial case studies, he concluded his presentation with several key recommendations to integrate sensor data into Enterprise Applications.

The next speaker, Dr. Toni Anwar, the Coordinator Software Systems Engineering of TGGS Thailand introduced the basics of RFID technology and applications with examples in building automation system and smart parking. He closed his presentation with some future RFID trends and the requirements for further development in RFID.

Opening the theme of Near Field Communication (NFC) in RFID Asia Summit 2008, Goh Say Yeow, EVP Sales and Managing Director Asia Pacific of INSIDE presented the market trends and development of contactless payment. From the current contactless payment, he explained the role of NFC technology as an enabler for contactless card and card reader emulation using NFC-enabled mobile phones. Furthermore, he also detailed three NFC use cases that will have impact for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), i.e. pairing/connectivity, proximity service and transactions. Most importantly, he also highlighted that convenience will be the real value proposition of NFC that will drive consumer adoption.

Going further with NFC technology, Jonathon Gould, VP Asia Pacific of ViVOtech reviewed different generations of electronic payment system with contactless payment becoming the latest trend. He further mentioned several cases and trials involving NFC technology for mobile payment and marketing.

After a sumptuous and active networking luncheon, Chua Thian Yee, CEO of CASSIS, focused on the NFC technology used for mobile payment, reviewing the consumer landscape, the fundamentals of NFC technology and several mobile payment cases.

Heru Wahyudi, Sales and Marketing Manager, representing PT. Solusi Periferal and Intermec presented different kind of industrial RFID applications, with some remarks that are open for further discussions, such as: the possibility of having real benefits from RFID implementation without complete process re-engineering, internal benefit with self-implemented RFID and collaboration with suppliers and customers to produce more value.

In late afternoon, Dr. Urachada Ketprom of NECTEC Thailand has captured the attention of RFID Asia Summit 2008 delegates with her well-prepared presentation on animal and food traceability. Her presentation was further enriched with the latest updates on RFID projects, such as chicken farm management, animal transport checkpoint, swine farm management, microchip-implanted pets and shrimp traceability.

Exhibition is one of the highlights in the RFID Asia Summit 2008. International delegates have visited and engaged actively with the exhibitors to explore business opportunities and get the latest information on RFID products and services available in the market . The expressions of contentment were received from both the exhibitors and delegates.

Opening the RFID Demonstration Rally (tm), the RFID Group Research at School of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) shared the latest information on RFID technology research and development, as well as the university-industry collaboration that has taken place. The presentation was immediately followed by product demonstration from Intermec/PT Solusi Periferal and Sicurezza, including a short video clip presentation by ViVOtech.

Closing the International Conference on Auto-ID, RFID, Smart Card and Mobile Technology, Adi Tedjasaputra summarized the full day activities and announced the networking events and One-to-One Business Meeting in the next morning following the conference.

The writer is an ICT Consultant and Researcher with various affiliations to academic and industry organizations. Her current research interest includes ICT4D, m-Learning, e-Learning, Web 2.0, healthcare, wireless and mobile technology.

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Revealing RFID Beyond Tracking at RFID Asia Summit 2008 in Indonesia

2008-02-11T01:53:00.007+09:00

A few years ago, Wal-Mart issued a mandate for suppliers to attach products with RFID tags. Today, only a few suppliers have complied, or in other words, the mandate does not work effectively in retail supply chain. Learning from the failures of early adopters and revealing successful RFID technology and applications beyond tracking, the prestigious RFID Asia Summit 2008 on March 12, 2008 in Jakarta, Indonesia hosted by RFID Asia, recognized as the first and largest global RFID Community in Asia Pacific region, will address the potentials and challenges of RFID technology and harness the economic opportunities in various vertical industries.

5-cent RFID tag is the most demanded RFID product in the world. Unfortunately, the product does not exist. The underlying assumption of large volume purchase to reach the price level of 5-cent has never become reality.

"We quickly determined that if RFID tags were ever going to have a shot at being widely used, a 5-cent price target was important for both psychological and commercial reasons. In return, though, the volumes would have to be very high—for example, more than 5 billion bar codes are scanned daily today. The problem with RFID tags at the time was that the industry was "stuck" in a higher-margin, lower-volume mind-set." wrote Sanjay Sarma, the co-founder of MIT's Auto-ID Center (now Auto-ID Lab), and also the CTO and Director of Oat Systems, in his article “Integrating RFID” several years ago.

Eventhough Wal-Mart has recently started to issue an ultimatum to its suppliers shipping to its Sam's Club warehouse outlet distribution center in Texas, USA with a premium price of $2 per pallet, it is estimated that over 15,000 Wal-Mart suppliers have yet to comply with Wal-Mart's RFID mandate, according to a recent article at Computer Business Review.

While the retail supply chain industry is still waiting for the coming of 5-cent RFID tag, various RFID applications that do not rely on 5-cent price level have mushroomed for the past few years in diverse vertical industries.

RFID and Sensor Technologies
The use of RFID and sensor technologies have become more common nowadays. Active RFID tags with built-in sensors are readily available in the market. Applications such as electronic container seals, intelligent buildings, vital sign measurement of monitored hospital patients are only a few of applications that require cost-effective infrastructure. With the increasing number of nodes and types of sensors in wireless sensor network (WSN), the role of infrastructure has become more critical to manage sensors and intelligent networks.

Stephen Dolan, the Director of Sybase Australia and New Zealand, one of the international speakers in RFID Asia Summit 2008, will unveil how to integrate business logic and processes with RFID and sensor technologies, including mobile devices.

"My expectation is that this summit could create people's awareness of what RFID technology can support to the existing environment, from biology to medical, from telecommunication to material engineering," said Dr. Toni Anwar of TGGS Thailand who will present how to design and implement integrated and intelligent building automation and security with RFID technology. "This event could also be a real summit of people, who then will continue in a good RFID project with another."

Animal and Food Traceability
Predicted as the largest RFID market of all, the use of RFID technology for animals, food and farming will benefit the food supply chain in a huge number of ways, including livestock disease control and merchandising prepared food, according to the latest report "RFID for Animals, Food and Farming 2007-2011" published by IDTechEx.

During the RFID Asia Summit 2008, Dr. Urachada Ketprom of NECTEC, Thailand's National Electronics and Computer Technology Center, will present how Thailand, the world's largest producer of farm-raised shrimp and the fourth biggest poultry exporter, uses RFID technology for animal and food traceability.

"RFID Asia Summit 2008 presents an opportunity to update current RFID trends and connects people in RFID business or academic together to exchange information and new conceptual idea for new application development," said Dr. Urachada Ketprom.

Contactless Smart Card and Near Field Communication (NFC)
From mass transportation to ID cards, contactless smart card has been the choice for micropayment in cashless society. Now that NFC is ready to turn mobile phones into credit cards and personal payment terminals, mobile commerce has also been redefined. Jupiter Research estimates the total of US$22 billion mobile phone payment transaction by 2011.

Jonathon Gould, Vice President of ViVOtech will share his experience and knowledge about the ecosystem for NFC-enabled mobile payment and mobile commerce, including mobile wallet and digital money. Moreover, the transition from EMV to NFC payment, the latest contactless payment technology, applications, projects and market trends presented by international renowned speakers such as Goh Say Yeow, VP & Director Asia of INSIDE Contactless and Chua Thian Yee, CEO of CASSIS International will also become the inspiring and thought-provoking discussion during the RFID Asia Summit 2008.

"I hope this summit will share with the participants the implementation experience and to do the project right the first time," said Chua Thian Yee of CASSIS International, a leading end-to-end security solution and service provider of smart card innovation, technology and services headquartered in Singapore.

Different from other RFID events, the RFID Asia Summit 2008 to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia, will integrate conference presentations by a line up of international renowned speakers, RFID Demonstration Rally™, exhibition and networking sessions, making the RFID Asia Summit 2008 a unique one-stop event to learn from RFID experts and business leaders, experience the latest RFID products and meet prospective partners and clients.

ABOUT RFID ASIA SUMMIT 2008
RFID Asia Summit 2008 aims to address the potentials and challenges of RFID technology and harness the economic opportunities in various vertical industries in Indonesia and Asia Pacific region. As the only event in Asia Pacific dedicated for leaders and RFID experts in charge for the development of businesses in the emerging markets, RFID Asia Summit 2008 is also endeavored to boost business interests in RFID technology within the region.

Catering the demand for invaluable insights on the latest Auto-ID, RFID, Smart Card and Mobile technology, trends and markets, RFID Asia Summit 2008 will present a line-up of international renowned speakers who will lead intellectually thought-provoking and inspiring conference tracks, RFID demonstrations and business networking sessions.

For more information about the RFID Asia Summit 2008, please visit The Official Website of RFID Asia Summit 2008.

ABOUT INDONESIA
Indonesia accounts as one of the fastest and vibrantly growing economy in the South East Asia with more than 6% annual economic growth. As one of the next major emerging economies with strong economic growth and commodity trade, Indonesia - the world´s largest archipelagos boasts a growing demand for RFID technology solutions in telecommunication, banking & finance, transportation, logistics, healthcare, oil & gas, mining, building automation, manufacturing, agriculture and security industries. In conjunction with the official Indonesian Government's programme of Visit Indonesia 2008, RFID Asia Summit 2008 will attract both international and local business leaders and RFID experts in the Asia Pacific region.

As the first country in Southeast Asia that has implemented National Single Window (NSW), which provides one-stop electronic services for customs and excise, shipping, bank transfers, insurance and licensing, including electronic processing of trade documents, Indonesia is expected to modernize its national infrastructure in the upcoming years. Various sectors in Indonesia are expected to grow faster than its annual economic growth. Such sectors include transport and communications sector that is expected to achieve annual growth of 6.8% with total value of US$33.23bn by 2011, according to the latest research on Indonesia's Freight Transport report published by Business Monitor International.

ABOUT RFID ASIA
RFID Asia is the Independent Knowledge Centre that helps RFID vendors and end-users making the best investment, leverage competitiveness and market share through Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. As the prominent RFID community in Asia, RFID Asia is the bridge connecting different stakeholders with interest in RFID technology. As an independent venture, RFID Asia helps RFID vendors and end-users alike to achieve their goals. For more information about RFID Asia, please visit www.rfidAsia.org.

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RFID Asia to Host Prestigious RFID Asia Summit 2008 in Indonesia

2008-01-14T00:22:00.000+09:00

RFID Asia, recognized as the first and largest global RFID Community in Asia Pacific region, will host the prestigious RFID Asia Summit 2008 on March 12, 2008 at InterContinental Midplaza Jakarta, Indonesia. RFID Asia Summit 2008 aims to address the potentials and challenges of RFID technology and harness the economic opportunities in various vertical industries in Indonesia and Asia Pacific region. As the only event in Asia Pacific dedicated for leaders and RFID experts in charge for the development of businesses in the emerging markets, RFID Asia Summit 2008 is also endeavored to boost business interests in RFID technology within the region.

The latest research from International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group shows that more than 80 million of 230 million Indonesians have mobile phone subscriptions. With the estimated spending of more than US$ 2.9 billion in 2007 for telecommunication networks and more for the next few years, Indonesia is expected to become the third largest mobile market in Asia by 2010.

Accompanying the growth of mobile market in Indonesia, services such as Mobile Wallet and Digital Money have demanded the RFID industry in Indonesia to grow beyond the traditional markets of access control and security. In addition, the spending priority of the Indonesian Government on infrastructure projects in telecommunication, power, utilities and transportation sectors during 2008 and the next few years has also driven the increasing demand of RFID technology in diverse vertical industries.

For catering the demand for invaluable insights on the latest Auto-ID, RFID, Smart Card and Mobile technology, trends and markets in Indonesia and other emerging Asia Pacific markets, RFID Asia Summit 2008 will present a line-up of international renowned speakers who will lead intellectually thought-provoking and inspiring conference tracks, RFID demonstrations and business networking sessions.

“I hope this summit will share with the participants the implementation experience and to do the project right the first time,” said one of the international conference speakers, Chua Thian Yee – CEO of CASSIS International, a leading end-to-end security solution and service provider of smart card innovation, technology and services headquartered in Singapore.

The line-up of esteemed speakers include Goh Say Yeow – the Executive Vice President Sales and Managing Director Asia of INSIDE Contactless, Chua Thian Yee - the CEO of CASSIS International, Dr. Toni Anwar – the Coordinator for Software Systems Engineering Programme of Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering and other international renowned speakers, leaders and RFID experts from Asia Pacific region.

Adi Tedjasaputra - the Founder of RFID Asia said, “RFID Asia Summit 2008 is a must-attend event for leaders and RFID experts in Asia Pacific region.”

For more information about the RFID Asia Summit 2008, please visit The Official Website of RFID Asia Summit 2008.

About Indonesia

Indonesia accounts as one of the fastest and vibrantly growing economy in the South East Asia with more than 6% annual economic growth. As one of the next major emerging economies with strong economic growth and commodity trade, Indonesia - the world´s largest archipelagos boasts a growing demand for RFID technology solutions in telecommunication, banking & finance, transportation, logistics, healthcare, oil & gas, mining, building automation, manufacturing, agriculture and security industries. In conjunction with the official Indonesian Government's programme of Visit Indonesia 2008, RFID Asia Summit 2008 will attract both international and local business leaders and RFID experts in the Asia Pacific region.

About RFID Asia

RFID Asia is the Independent Knowledge Centre that helps RFID vendors and end-users making the best investment, leverage competitiveness and market share through Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. As the prominent RFID community in Asia, RFID Asia is the bridge connecting different stakeholders with interest in RFID technology. As an independent venture, RFID Asia helps RFID vendors and end-users alike to achieve their goals. For more information about RFID Asia, please visit www.rfidAsia.org

Send your comments.

Press Release: World's First 64KByte High-Capacity FRAM RFID Tag

2008-01-09T18:56:00.000+09:00

Tokyo, Japan, Jan 9, 2008 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu Limited today announced the development of the world's first 64 kilobyte (KB) ultra-high frequency (UHF)-band radio frequency identification (RFID) tag with high-capacity FRAM[1], featuring memory capacity sufficient to store large volumes of aircraft part and maintenance history data, while supporting a number of different radio frequencies to enable traceability worldwide. Fujitsu anticipates that this 64KB UHF-RFID tag will transform global aircraft maintenance operations.

Equipped with 64KB FRAM memory, the world's highest capacity to date, Fujitsu's new RFID tag will enable highly efficient global aircraft maintenance operations by ensuring precise and rapid management of each aircraft part. The tag complies with the EPCglobal[2] Class 1 Generation 2 standard supporting a variety of radio frequencies, which vary by region, and thus provides for global traceability.

Fujitsu's new UHF-RFID tags will deliver high-speed data writing capability and high durability, while also offering state-of-the-art security functions, such as password management for each part of the memory area.

In recent years, the aviation industry has striven to raise the quality and efficiency of aircraft maintenance by improving traceability of parts. In line with this trend, a need has arisen for high-capacity RFID tags which can store not only part identification codes but also product and part maintenance history data.

To satisfy these needs, Fujitsu developed a 64 KB high-capacity RFID tag memory for the aviation industry. Fujitsu's new RFID tag will increase the quality and the efficiency of aircraft maintenance operations by enabling the traceability of various products and maintenance information for parts exchanged between companies and across nations around the world. Overall, customers will realize improved supply chain management through shorter cycle times and lower costs.

Sales of the RFID tag are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of fiscal year 2008 (April - June 2008).

Key Features

1. World's highest-capacity RFID tags
- Featuring 64KB high-capacity FRAM, Fujitsu's RFID tags deliver high-speed data writing capability and high durability. The tags also offer state-of-the-art security functions, such as password management for each part of the memory area.
Compatible with different frequencies used around the world

2. The new RFID tag can be implemented globally as a result of compliance with the -- EPCglobal Class 1 Generation 2 standard, supporting a variety of frequencies used in different countries. Furthermore, the tag can be mounted on metal surfaces and meets fire retardancy standards by satisfying the testing requirements for SAE AS5678[3] specifications, which are required to be met for high-quality aviation parts.

3. Highly efficient aircraft maintenance
- The high memory and overall capability of Fujitsu's 64KB RFID tag will enable numerous automated data exchange and data management processes by providing a robust, point-of-use information source, resulting in significant cycle-time and cost reduction opportunities for airline maintenance operations and supply chain management.

Key Specifications:

1. Standards:
EPCglobal Class 1 Generation 2* / ISO/IEC 18000-6 Type C*
*Class 1 Generation 2:
A transmission standard instituted by EPCglobal, for data transmission between readers/writers and UHF-RFID tags. This is a second-generation standard specification that improves performance of the EPC Class 1 specification.
*ISO/IEC 18000-6 Type C:
An international standard for UHF-RFID tags, defined by ISO and based on EPCglobal's "EPCglobal Class 1 Generation 2" standard.

2. Memory size:
65,536Byte (System Memory: 1,280Byte, User Memory*: 64,256Byte)
*User Memory:
Refers to the memory area of the RFID tag in which the user can freely read/write, which some low-cost RFID tags do not feature. The user memory size of conventional RFID tags is usually a few hundred bits.

3. Tag dimensions*:
2 x 1 inch (Width: 50.8mm, Depth: 25.4mm, Height: 6.22mm)
*Fujitsu plans to develop smaller and lighter RFID tags.

4. Weight:
13.6 g

5. Frequency:
860-960 MHz

Notes:
[1] FRAM: Ferroelectric Random Access Memory (also referred to as FeRAM). Memory that uses ferroelectric film as a capacitor for storing data. Featuring advantages of both ROM and RAM devices, FRAM features high-speed access, low power consumption, and high endurance for numerous rewrites.
[2] EPCglobal: EPCglobal is a non-profit organization established by GS1 (formerly known as EAN International), which promotes the international standardization of barcodes, and GS1 US(TM) (formerly the Uniform Code Council, Inc.).
[3] SAE AS5678: Issued by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in December 2006, SAE AS5678 is a standard defining environmental specifications and test methods for passive RFID tags used in aviation applications. SAE has categorized and defined environmental specifications for RFID tag use, for the three environmental categories of "Standard," "Robust" and "Harsh."

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Mobile Wallet and Digital Money Introduced in Indonesia

2007-12-21T20:26:00.000+09:00

by Eunice Sari and Adi Tedjasaputra

Since the introduction of T-Cash or Telkomsel Cash last month, RFID technology has received a high-profile acceptance in Indonesia. With the use of RFID technology in T-Cash, the demand of RFID Cards and Smart Labels in Indonesia is expected to increase sharply in the upcoming years. The RFID adoption path in Indonesia has become clearer in recent years, but the question of how the RFID adoption will influence the way Indonesians live and affect the other industries in Indonesia still remains unanswered.

T-Cash or Telkomsel Cash is a mobile commerce service provided by Telkomsel, one of the mobile telecommunication service operators in Indonesia. The mobile commerce service enables a user to conduct commercial transactions using either mobile phone or RFID card.

During the launch of T-Cash, which was attended by the Minister of State Owned Enterprises - Sofyan A. Djalil, the President Director of Telkomsel – Kiskenda Suriahardja said "The service is launched as an effort to support the mission of Bank Indonesia and provide a non-cash means of payment which is efficient, fast, effective and secure."

Transaction with T-Cash system relies on Mobile Subscriber Integrated Services Digital Network Number (MSISDN) – a unique number identifying mobile subscriber, which still requires subscriber to verbally tell merchant at the point of sale (POS) to process any transaction. The use of Smart Labels and RFID cards in any transaction is expected to provide automatic identification of MSISDN by merchant terminals in the near future.

At this stage, the established mobile commerce ecosystem includes Telkomsel as Integrator and also Service Provider; Bank Indonesia as regulator; Indomaret and Modern Foto as Merchants; Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) and Bank Mandiri as the Financial Service Providers; Department of National Education as academic content provider; and Finnet as switching provider.

Eunice Sari is an ICT Consultant and Researcher with various affiliations to academic and industry organizations. Her current research interest includes ICT4D, m-Learning, e-Learning, Web 2.0, healthcare, wireless and mobile technology. Adi Tedjasaputra is the Founder of RFID Asia - The Prominent RFID Community in Asia.

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Closed-loop RFID Applications (Part 1)

2007-12-10T23:54:00.001+09:00

by Adi Tedjasaputra

Open-loop RFID applications are still the most challenging RFID applications in different areas of retail supply chain. With the ultimate goal of achieving complete supply chain visibility, open-loop RFID applications are still facing the challenge of 100 percent read rate requirement beyond pilot projects and trials. In addition, the time to achieve full Return on Investment (ROI) in open-loop RFID applications is typically longer than closed-loop applications. The understanding of closed-loop RFID applications can better prepare end-users and vendors to plan RFID adoption strategy while preparing for successful open-loop RFID applications.

Several months ago, a consortium of GS1 Australia and RMIT claimed the achievement of 100 percent read rate during a two-month RFID pilot in Australia. During the pilot of National EPC Network Demonstrator Project (NDP) Extension, the team tagged each pallet to produce electronic proof of deliveries (ePODs).

Last month, the world's fourth largest retailer - Metro Group announced the completion of operational rollout of RFID technology in its 180 stores and warehouses in Germany. The rollout is the largest RFID project in the European retail sector after claiming 98.5 percent read rate in trials across its distribution centers early this year.

While we hear more good news about the successful pilots and rollouts of open-loop RFID applications, some RFID vendors have already shifted their efforts to cater the demand for RFID technology in closed-loop applications, rather than open-loop RFID applications in retail supply chain sector. The change very much reflects the fact that the current demand for RFID technology in supply chain sector is still very much less than expected. On the other hand, the demand for RFID technology in diverse close-loop applications has grown significantly during the past few years.

What is Closed-loop RFID Applications?

Closed-loop RFID applications is the use of RFID technology by an organisation to achieve specific goals or solve specific problems, usually through process re-engineering. Different from open-loop RFID applications that require tight and also often complex cooperation with different stakeholders in different organisations, closed-loop RFID applications benefit from the possibility to execute RFID technology adoption plans according to a time frame decided solely by an organisation - usually the end-user itself.

On the RFID system level, the infrastructure required by closed-loop RFID applications is often simpler than open-loop RFID applications. There is no issue or less issue of data sharing and ownership among different organisations compared to open-loop RFID applications. The RFID system security requirement is usually less complex than open-loop RFID applications.

The second part will provide some examples of closed-loop RFID applications that can deliver values for different end-users.

The writer is the Founder of RFID Asia - The Prominent RFID Community in Asia.

Closed-loop RFID Applications (Part 2)

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RFID in Supply Chain Environment (Part 2)

2007-11-28T20:54:00.000+09:00

by Jack Tay

There is little question that RFID is fast becoming a critical component in the new world of supply chain management, especially in fast growing Asian economies. This is especially so for Asian companies that do import and export business with large Western nations such as the United States and greater Europe. However, even as RFID is necessary, it is important to determine carefully just what needs to be done, and who can help make RFID a success within the company.

When the crucial steps of an RFID implementation project have been carefully integrated, the reliability of system performance can be guaranteed. A dynamic "feedback loop" approach is essential to any ability to provide such guarantees. RFID-services vendors with the requisite experience and expertise to take this approach will have no difficulty offering a performance guarantee with the systems they implement.

Automotive manufacturing and RFID

Increasingly, Asia Pacific is fast becoming the new automotive region, given that manufacturing and labor costs are far lower than the United States and Europe. For example, region-specific models of Chevrolet are manufactured in South Korea (such as the Optra), while Volkswagen and Skoda now has shared manufacturing in China, catering specifically to the mainland Chinese market with the popular VW Passat and Skoda Octavia (and now Superb) models. Even mainstream Japanese car manufacturers are relocating some of their manufacturing of region-specific models (such as Altis and Corolla) to lower-cost locations such as Thailand.

Some manufacturers have used RFID to keep track of the most critical (and sometimes most expensive) item of a car, the engine block. RFID tagging can help reduce misplaced engines (which must be scrapped due to the sensitivity of such products). It is possible that RFID tagging can become important in keeping track of major parts within a car, including the drivetrain assembly, in the near future.

Recommended approach to implementing RFID

Before implementing RFID, it is important to conduct a feasibility analysis of the supply chain environment. Setting out to do a conceptual model, with the right definitions, you should then analyze the process within your entire supply chain (all the way to your ultimate customer and include all stakeholders).

After creating a budget with an invitation to your vendor for demonstrations and any small scale tests, you need to conduct an analysis of your sites, and then have some of your personnels to gauge the usability of the RFID system.

You should attempt to launch your RFID installation in phases, with a test or pilot site, running for perhaps a reasonable length of time, to iron out any kinks in the system. Once you are assured that it will work enterprise-wide, then roll out the system to the entire site. It is also important to re-visit every step of this process of implementation, to ensure that you can improve or tweak the system as necessary.

Outsourcing to a partner

In an ideal scenario, or at least a very small implementation, it may be possible to roll out your RFID system entirely by your in-house team. However, there may be a wisdom to outsource the implementation to a professional services partner, to reduce possible problems during implementation, and also to create accountability and reduce your own exposure to risk. Why is it so?

Researchers have advised that unless you happen to be a data integration specialist, it is entirely possible that your information architecture will break, or affect the corporate ROI.

RF is also an esoteric science whereby specialized skills may be needed to diagnose the RF environment for a site, and to install readers and testing tag performance.

And since RFID expertise is usually not in-house, it may require an outside professional to ensure a solid hardware configuration that will provide better reliability and performance. Nothing beats real world deployment experience, and so for good professional services partners, they would bring to the table real experience that can solve deployment problems, even for pilot runs. Of course, it is important to ensure that your potential partner does indeed have such real world experience, and not simply a portfolio of clients who were "sold" the RFID hardware and other third-party software.

The writer is the Regional Marketing Manager of Intermec Asia Pacific.

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RFID in Supply Chain Environment (Part 1)

2007-11-11T22:38:00.001+09:00

by Jack Tay

While RFID (radio frequency identification) technology is no longer a new or emerging technology, its adoption in Asia Pacific is sporadic, with pockets of accelerated adoption in certain economies, and certain industries. Against the backdrop of regulatory requirements and internal audit controls which put more stringent demands on operating enterprises, whereby more accountability and traceability must be accomplished, the RFID technology adoption situation would theoretically imply that RFID systems would become commonplace everywhere in Asia.

Some countries, such as China, South Korea and Japan, have successful and more widespread adoption of RFID than other countries in Asia Pacific. Many RFID adoptions come from established sites which have other forms of supply chain implementations, and therefore, are considered retrofitted RFID adoptions. While RFID implementations from scratch would be considered the easiest from a technological point of view, we must not discount that many sites would require a phased-in approach of RFID, starting perhaps with test sites to ensure compatibility with enterprise and back-end software.

What makes RFID great for the modern supply chain environment?

Unlike traditional barcode systems, RFID readers do not require a visual line of sight. This can be useful for proximity scanning of RFID tags on tagged items, rather than demanding personnel to be positioned visually within the logistics items to check their availability. Therefore, RFID systems can be extremely useful for supply chain environments that use optimized storage planning, where items can be stacked back to back. And because of proximity scanning rather than line of sight requirements, more data collection along the entire supply chain can be set up easily, without dramatic process changes.

With RFID tags, whether passive or especially active tags, more information can be stored on the tags, compared to traditional barcodes. For active RFID tags, data can be updated enroute (read/write capability), which provide even more flexibility for supply chain backend systems and their interaction.

Increasing adoption of RFID

RFID is also more practical than ever before, with clear business cases being demonstrated for asset management and supply chain operations alike. For example, TNT Logistics reduced its truck load verification time 24 percent by using RFID to automatically record goods loaded onto its trailers. Hundreds of other companies around the world are also implementing RFID-based shipping, receiving and inventory visibility applications.

A sub-trend behind RFID adoption for inventory, warehouse and distribution operations is the use of vehicle-mounted and other mobile RFID readers to enhance or replace stationary models. With a mobile infrastructure, companies don’t need to purchase, install and maintain a separate RFID reader for each dock door. Forklift-mounted and handheld readers can cover multiple docks, and be used in warehouse aisles and elsewhere throughout the facility, further reducing the required RFID investment. Plus, they put information directly in the user’s hands, so they can prevent errors, rather than just record them after they occur.

Container tracking and RFID

With the global struggle against terror or theft, it is imperative that any component of the entire supply chain must be secured, and authenticated, so that there is no breakdown in the process.

With RFID tagging, containers, and pallets, can all be adequately tracked and authenticated, along every step of the process from manufacturing to the ultimate client’s location, however remote the location may be. This is not merely a customer requirement (often to comply with internal controls and procedures), but also increasingly a governmental requirement in many locations (especially in the United States and Europe). With adequate tracking through RFID tags, shippers and manufacturers can account to governments and customers, but also build in a "shield" to protect their brands, given that brands these days can break easily due to some lapses in accountability.

The second part of this article will discuss the RFID adoption in automotive manufacturing and a recommended approach to implement RFID.

The writer is the Regional Marketing Manager of Intermec Asia Pacific.

RFID in Supply Chain Environment (Part 2)

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HDB Introduces RFID Season Parking Ticket

2007-11-01T11:50:00.000+09:00

by Lay Peng TAY

Housing & Development Board (HDB) Singapore is continually finding ways to leverage on technology to improve its services for customers. Recently, we have introduced Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to replace the current paper Season Parking Ticket (SPT).

Following a successful pilot, HDB called 2 tenders in 2006 to implement RFID to replace the paper SPT at all our car parks. The successful tenderers have distributed RFID tags to SPT holders since March 2007. They will complete the distribution by February 2008.

The HDB RFID tag has a Unique Identification (UID) number tied to the vehicle’s registration number. Like the existing paper SPT, the tag is displayed on the windscreen for cars or near the road tax disc for motor-cycles.

Once the season parking charges are paid by the motorists, the updated information is downloaded to our Electronic Handheld Terminal (EHT). This information will be encrypted in the EHT and not stored in the RFID tag. Our parking enforcement staff will then use the EHT to scan the tag and retrieve the UID which is matched against the information of the vehicle such as its registration number and validity of season parking.

There is no middleware used for this system. The RFID tag brings more convenience for SPT holders as they would no longer need to replace the paper SPT each time they renew their season parking. For those who renew electronically such as GIRO, internet and AXS or SAM self-service kiosks, they do not need to wait for the SPT to be sent to them. The feedback from the motorists on RFID is positive.

Our parking enforcement staffs are also happy with the system as it increases their productivity when carrying out enforcement action especially at night. There is no change to the mode of renewal with the implementation of the RFID, i.e. motorists can continue to renew their season parking through Giro, internet, self service kiosks or at our Branch Offices.

The writer is the Estates Officer of Housing Administration Department, Housing & Development Board (HDB) Singapore.

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Recalling RFID

2007-10-27T23:08:00.000+09:00

by Adi Tedjasaputra

Recalling RFID is a two-day public program on RFID and things to come. The seminar, workshops and smart opera were held in Amsterdam, Netherlands on 19-20 October 2007. As the fruit of collaboration between De Balie, the Institute for Network Cultures, Rob van Kranenburg and support from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Mondriaan Foundation, this event brought together distinctive conceptions of RFID and its uses, reconfiguring discourses as dialogue.

Reading the programme of the event, I could imagine how the organizer of the event creatively combined a balanced socio-technical event with an art show. Seminar, workshops and opera were put together as a package beyond any traditional event I have ever known.

After reading two reports on the event: Recalling RFID: Full Report and Reporting from Recalling RFID, I am quite sure that I have just missed a milestone in the RFID history.

The followings are several interesting highlights from the reports.

A research conducted by Rathenau Institute on the public perception of RFID revealed that many in the focus groups studied in the research said that it was only natural for personal information to be collected in a central database used by the government.

When asked if travel data should be linked to a specific person, 72% said this was okay for finding suspects of a crime, 61% went a step further and agreed that witnesses of a crime should be found, and a startling 60% said that public transport should be fully personalized - meaning that the transport companies and the government would always know who was where doing what.

When asked about using biometric data from passports, 55% said the photos could be used for investigations, 65% said the fingerprints could be used for investigation, 52% said it could be used for international data exchange, and 62% said it could be used to identify a person via security camera.

In another session, Timo Arnall further explained that the current discourse about RFID is clouded by metaphors because it does not have a single shape. Every medium has its own voice, and with the right design, different RFID hardware would become different expressions, and such visual language is formed culturally.

The writer is the Founder of RFID Asia - The Prominent RFID Community in Asia.

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Frontline-Ngee Ann Enterprise Visibility Centre

2007-10-22T22:02:00.000+09:00

by Eunice Sari

About a month ago, a new RFID Enterprise Visibility Centre was opened in Singapore. This joint initiative between Frontline Technologies Corporation Ltd and Ngee Ann Polytechnic aims to introduce active RFID technology in Singapore.

Different from other RFID centres in Singapore, this privately-funded centre only focuses on research and development projects that can add values and leverage the active RFID solutions provided by Frontline using Real-Time Location System (RTLS) platform from Aeroscout, an American-based company providing enterprise visibility solutions.

Ng Chee Keong, the Sales Manager of Frontline, further said that this initiative intends to provide a mini environment for industries to try out and prove their RFID vision and concept before spending million of dollars on RFID deployment in a real environment. He also mentioned that with a significantly lower cost compared to a normal R&D organisation, an enterprise can build a prototype or demo, try it out in its actual environment and see whether the solution is suitable and workable for their organisation.

Built with an investment of more than US$200,000, the centre was still largely a work-in-progress when RFID Asia recently visited the centre. Two workstations, a couple of active RFID tags, an access point, a location receiver and an exciter were the equipments available in the centre. In addition, there were several posters of RFID projects that were previously carried out by the students of Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

The collaboration between Frontline and Ngee Ann Polytechnic has actually started a year back, including several Singapore Government projects in human tagging using active RFID technology. Within a framework of three to six month RFID projects, Ngee Ann Polytechnic's students and lecturers can gain some experience in several realistic industrial projects, while Frontline can readily tap the expertise of the academics.

The writer is an ICT Consultant and Researcher with various affiliations to academic and industry organizations. Her current research interest includes ICT4D, m-Learning, e-Learning, Web 2.0, healthcare, wireless and mobile technology.

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