Nov/Dec 2005

If you're developing tracking and asset management applications that use active RFID (radio frequency identification) tagging, you'll be very interested in a new tag reader system developed jointly by wireless network specialist Intermec and RFID specialist Savi.

It takes the form of an enhanced Intermec 700 Series Color rugged handheld terminal, augmented by an add-on Savi SMR-650 Mobile Reader using the company's proprietary EchoPoint technology.

Active RFID tags are the kind that can operate over relatively long range (several hundred feet or more), and have inbuilt power to transmit their own signals. They are used in the container tracking systems that have been developed by Savi (m.logistics, last issue), and are also widely used by the US military, which is the first customer for this new system.

The special version of the Intermec terminal, which is available only in this package, has been enhanced by the addition of a full alphanumeric keypad for transmitting messages to the tags. It supports batch 802.11 wireless LAN and GSM/GPRS wide-area wireless communication, and offers integrated barcode scanning options.

 

The Savi reader coupled to the back of the Intermec unit uses both 123MHz radio frequency for short-range transmissions and 433.92 MHz radio frequency for long-range radio transmissions (up to 200 ft).

In the package you also get Savi's SmartChain Mobile Manager software, which is installed on the Intermec terminal, and enables users to read, write and edit active RFID tag data through the SMR. SmartChain Mobile Manager also provides export features that allow data files to be transferred between the Savi Site Manager software and the handheld device.

New features available to the Department of Defense for the first time include more than 300MB of memory (there was only 32MB the system used previously), and omnidirectional RFID reading at up to 200 feet.