Tag Archives: systems integration

Swiftsure Group Announces the Swift-ID SID400 RFID Reader and IOT180 Android Controller

SEATTLE– May 05, 2017 – The Swiftsure Group announced today the launch of the Swift-ID SID400 RFID reader and Swift-ID IOT180 embedded Android computer. Middleware from SDG Systems is designed to control the SID400. The powerful, compact combination lets solution providers create intelligent, integrated RFID systems for inventory management, access control, kiosk solutions, asset tracking and industrial automation.

The Swift-ID SID400 is a UHF EPCglobal Gen 2, USB-connected reader/writer powered by a RAIN-compliant Impinj Indy RS2000 module. It provides a 16-pin terminal block with four GPIO ports, and 5V and 12V outputs. Its USB 2.0-to-serial bridge with configurable vendor ID allows for white label solutions. The SID400 accommodates four antennas. System functions can be monitored through status LEDs.

Swift-ID IOT180

The Swift-ID IOT180 embedded Android computer

The Swift-ID IOT180 is a full-featured embedded Android computer. Running Android 6.0 Marshmallow, it has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of ROM, with enough memory and storage for sophisticated applications. The included Google Mobile Services (GMS) allows the IOT180 to provide integrated Android for Work (AfW) management capabilities and Google-specific services. The IOT180 connects to the cloud or private networks using Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth and optional 3.75G HSPA+ cellular.

SDG System’s middleware provides a full-featured SDK to control RFID reading and writing, settings and GPIOs. With additional software the IOT180 can be configured into kiosk mode and managed remotely.

“The Swift-ID system is a high-performance RFID automatic data collection solution for inventory, resource and process management,” said Swiftsure Group CEO Bruno Riegl. “It meets customers’ needs for affordable solutions that excel in challenging environments, from pharma cold chain to steel manufacturing. It gives customers a competitive edge and healthy ROI.”

New RFID solution captures reliable, accurate data – even amid flying sparks and metal

The SID400 and IOT180’s flexibility gives RFID cloud and fog computing options to solution providers. It lets developers build applications that process data at high speeds, providing shorter response times and better analytics.

The SID400, IOT180 and SDG Systems software will be demonstrated May 8-11 at RFID Journal Live 2017 in booth #938. The solutions, expected to be available in June 2017, can be purchased from either The Swiftsure Group or SDG Systems.

About The Swiftsure Group

The Swiftsure Group is a systems developer and integrator specializing in RFID- and sensor-based technologies for inventory, asset and workflow management. Since 1998 it has provided consulting services, turnkey solutions and project management for automatic data capture, resource optimization and business process improvement.

 

Just How Small Is a Smaller RFID Chip? Behold the tiny fruit fly egg.

swiftsureMay 26, 2016 –

North Carolina State University (NCSU) announced this month that its engineers had designed an RFID chip that is 25% smaller.

The question is, smaller than what? And why does it matter? The answers take some imagination and a look at a paper with a big title: Design of a Rectifier-Free UHF Gen-2 Compatible RFID Tag Using RF-Only Logic.

RFID chip is smaller than a 1 mm cube

This is a 1 mm cube. New RFID chip is .6mm x .3 mm.

It’s not uncommon to see press releases touting the newest “smallest” chip, and size has definitely shrunk over the last few years, making RFID a less cumbersome, more affordable asset management solution.

The NCSU chip, though, promises to take design a step further with technology that eliminates the hardware an RFID tag needs to convert alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC).

The new chip is .6 mm x .3 mm.

That’s smaller than a slice of a grain of sand. A sliver of half a honeybee brain. Tinier than a fruit fly egg.

New chips are tinier than a fruit fly egg

New RFID chips are smaller than a fruit fly egg

Perhaps easier to picture, it’s the size of a lower case “o” printed in Times New Roman 5.

Passive RFID tags use rectifiers to convert AC power to DC. NCSU’s innovation enables the tag’s logic to run directly from a radio signal, with circuits operating from AC power. The redesign makes a rectifier unnecessary.

“By eliminating the hardware that is used to convert the AC signal to DC for powering the circuit, we are able to make the RFID tag much smaller and less expensive,” said Paul Franzon, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at NCSU and the paper’s senior author.

The chips, with technology dubbed RF-only logic, have less range than a conventional EPC Class 1 Gen-2 passive RFID tag.

RF-only logic structure

Minute tags could improve high-speed automation processes and enable affordable sensor applications.

Reduced tag size often comes at the expense of read range. That works for some situations, such as near field communication (NFC) for access control and pay-by-phone. But tracking and managing assets in many environments – such as retail, data centers, manufacturing and supply chains – require read ranges of up to 20 feet.

The NCSU engineering team expects to develop RFID tags with similar range. If its technology evolves to allow minute tags with sufficient read range, it could dramatically improve high-speed automation processes and enable sensor applications with relatively small investments.

NCSU presented its paper on the miniaturized RFID chip May 5 at the IEEE RFID 2016 conference in Orlando, Florida.