Bob Trebilcock

An RFID tag for every user
May 20, 2008

One of the fascinating aspects of covering the RFID market is watching the evolution of the market.

Not too long ago, there was a one-size fits all approach to EPC Gen II passive tags for the supply chain. That appears to be changing. A couple of weeks ago, I talked to Bill Brown, tag product manager for Alien Technology, one of the leading manufacturers of passive RFID tags, about Alien’s new integrated circuit, or IC. As Brown explained, the IC is a tiny computer that acts as “the brain for an RFID tag.”

Alien has dubbed this new IC the H3, which is the third generation of Alien’s Higgs integrated circuit design. The new circuit has 512 bits of user memory and enhanced security features like a 64-bit Unique Tag ID that is programmed at the factory and cannot be altered to discourage counterfeiting. Rather than list them all the improvements in this blog, you can read about the unique features of the new IC here.

Alien is targeting applications that require unique brand and product integrity identification like airline baggage, pharmaceutical drugs, and the tracking of high-value assets such as electronics or wines and spirits. These are products that can be knocked off by cheap imitators, reducing the value of the brand; tampered with, rendering them unsafe; or lost at great cost to a company. As Brown pointed out, lost baggage costs the airlines millions each year.

What I found most interesting about the tag wasn’t the unique features, although I can see the value for say pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors trying to meet the new e-pedigree requirements. Rather, it’s how technology is developing to provide users with more tools.

In the asset tracking space, we’re now seeing a wide variety of solutions using active tags, passive tags, WiFi-enabled networks and ultra-wideband tags. Now, we’re seeing more options in the Gen II passive space. Ultimately, that’s good news for the adoption of RFID technology.

That certainly was the point Brown wanted to get across. “What I think you’re seeing is the start of the next wave of RFID technology,” he told me. “The first wave was the development of the Gen II standard. The next wave focused on developing tags that performed in the supply chain. Wave three is going to be the development of extended capabilities for the tags.” 

Posted by Bob Trebilcock on May 20, 2008 | Comments (0)