May/June 2005

As Generation 2, or "Gen 2", RFID (radio frequency identification) standards move towards general adoption, makers of printers, scanning devices and handheld terminals are launching products that can take advantage of it.

Among them is Symbol Technologies, which has announced a new version of its rugged Symbol MC9000-G with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) mobile computer. This features an integrated multi-protocol Electronic Product Code (EPC) reader/writer, which is already able to read all EPC Generation 1 tags (Class 0 and Class 1). The company says it will be offering a firmware upgrade path to EPC Generation 2 protocols as soon as these are available.

Meanwhile, Printronix and Impinj Inc have jointly demonstrated EPCglobal Generation 2 (Gen 2) interoperability with their own products. Printronix says it successfully encoded, read and printed labels containing Monza Gen 2 RFID tag silicon inlays, using the Printronix SL5000r MP printer.

And Intermec has announced a Linux-based fixed RFID reader, the IF5, that is software-configurable to read/write EPC Gen2 and ISO tags, and factory-configurable to operate in 869MHz, 915MHz or 950MHz RFID bands.

Intermec was recently involved in a demonstration by the METRO retail group of interoperable EPC RFID Gen 2 smart labels using Gen 2 chips from Impinj and Royal Philips Electronics. These were read by an Intermec Intellitag IF5 scanner - which is said to have been the first known demonstration of a true Gen 2 interoperable system. An RFID-tagged pallet of RFID-tagged cases was pushed through a portal, simulating a typical supply chain application.

It might seem surprising that Gen 2 tags are already looming when even "first generation" RFID implementations are still in their early days, but the second wave of equipment is predicted to be more capable and flexible than the first, and therefore likely to smooth the adoption process over the coming years.