Jan/Feb 2009

Two different asset tracking technologies – GPS and active RFID – are combined in a hybrid electronic device called the ST-694 GlobalTag, which also includes satellite communications for use when tracked assets are out of range of RFID beacons.

The product has been developed jointly by Savi, an RFID specialist, and Numerex, a secure machine-to-machine (M2M) network specialist. The companies say it is the first device of its kind on the market.

RFID has become the established technology for tracking the movements of containers through the world's ports, but it works only when the asset is within a relatively short distance of a land-based RFID network. Satcoms and GPS tracking allow the asset's location to be tracked anywhere in the world.

As Savi explains it, the ST-694 'will provide both spot-level and ongoing in-transit visibility.' David Shannon, senior vice president of product management, marketing and strategy, says Savi chose Numerex as its partner in the project 'because of the company's success in deploying reliable satellite technologies in the emergency management industry'.

Savi has been a world leader in both commercial and defence implementations of RFID-based tracking, and has provided active RFID products for the US Department of Defense's In-Transit Visibility network. This is said to be the world's largest RFID network, tracking 35,000 conveyances daily across more than 4,000 locations and 40 countries.