Kerry Pianoforte06.07.12
Blue Spark Technologies announced it has formed a strategic technology partnership with Swiss RFID chip producer IDS Microchip, to jointly promote new battery-assisted passive BAP RFID sensor solutions for use in a host of industries and applications. One high value application Blue Spark and IDS Microchip have developed is a BAP RFID tag reference design enabling real-time time-and-temperature monitoring and data logging of consumables and other temperature-sensitive products as they move through the supply chain.
The BAP RFID sensor tags can be used on cases, pallets, containers and even individual packages of perishable foods such as meat, fish, frozen and dairy products. They can also be used with beverages such as fruit juices and wine, as well as temperature-sensitive chemicals and pharmaceuticals, such as vaccines and biologicals.
And, because the embedded tags are EPC Gen2 compliant, the BAP RFID sensor solutions can allow real-time status monitoring and communication with the host system through the existing RFID infrastructure.
“IDS’s SL900A reduces the cost and technological complexity of these second generation tags, enabling many key and central applications where these factors have always been an impediment,” said Kurosh Hayat Davoudi, marketing and sales director at IDS Microchip, “I am sure that these BAP RFID sensory tag samples will play an essential role in paving the way for an easier adoption of sensory tags.”
“The merging of IDS Microchip’s RFID-enabled integrated circuit with a sensor and a printed battery within a single tag can offer food, beverage, pharmaceutical and chemical processors, and their logistics providers, a revolutionary breakthrough in cold chain monitoring,m” added Matt Ream, Blue Spark’s vice president of marketing and product development. “Design engineers can now integrate printed electronic elements into systems that make consumables and other products safer and better, while minimizing waste and costs for their producers.”
As a first step in their partnership, Blue Spark and IDS have jointly funded the creation of a thin, flexible, RFID temperature data logger tag reference design that will be available to RFID and sensor designers for their own product development. The fully functional sensor tags will be available in both inlay and label form factors, and will be included in IDS’s SL900A developer’s kits.
IDS Microchip’s sensory RFID chips are second generation tags that incorporate sensory functionality, in addition to providing a unique ID. The company’s SL900A tag adds a new dimension to RFID in that it is EPC Gen2 compliant. These single-chip sensory tags/data loggers incorporate an integrated temperature sensor, interface for various external sensors, data logging control logic and integrated real-time clock (RTC) to time stamp events.
The BAP RFID sensor tags can be used on cases, pallets, containers and even individual packages of perishable foods such as meat, fish, frozen and dairy products. They can also be used with beverages such as fruit juices and wine, as well as temperature-sensitive chemicals and pharmaceuticals, such as vaccines and biologicals.
And, because the embedded tags are EPC Gen2 compliant, the BAP RFID sensor solutions can allow real-time status monitoring and communication with the host system through the existing RFID infrastructure.
“IDS’s SL900A reduces the cost and technological complexity of these second generation tags, enabling many key and central applications where these factors have always been an impediment,” said Kurosh Hayat Davoudi, marketing and sales director at IDS Microchip, “I am sure that these BAP RFID sensory tag samples will play an essential role in paving the way for an easier adoption of sensory tags.”
“The merging of IDS Microchip’s RFID-enabled integrated circuit with a sensor and a printed battery within a single tag can offer food, beverage, pharmaceutical and chemical processors, and their logistics providers, a revolutionary breakthrough in cold chain monitoring,m” added Matt Ream, Blue Spark’s vice president of marketing and product development. “Design engineers can now integrate printed electronic elements into systems that make consumables and other products safer and better, while minimizing waste and costs for their producers.”
As a first step in their partnership, Blue Spark and IDS have jointly funded the creation of a thin, flexible, RFID temperature data logger tag reference design that will be available to RFID and sensor designers for their own product development. The fully functional sensor tags will be available in both inlay and label form factors, and will be included in IDS’s SL900A developer’s kits.
IDS Microchip’s sensory RFID chips are second generation tags that incorporate sensory functionality, in addition to providing a unique ID. The company’s SL900A tag adds a new dimension to RFID in that it is EPC Gen2 compliant. These single-chip sensory tags/data loggers incorporate an integrated temperature sensor, interface for various external sensors, data logging control logic and integrated real-time clock (RTC) to time stamp events.