Impinj, Inc. announced its support for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan’s intention to electronically connect items in drugstores nationwide. The METI initiative is intended to achieve individual-item monitoring for every product in drugstores in order to increase efficiencies across the industry. A similar declaration announced in April 2017 introduced 100 billion electronic tags for products in convenience stores.
 
“We applaud METI and the visionary Japanese companies that have come together to enable digital life for items, first in the convenience-store industry and today in the healthcare industry,” said Chris Diorio, Impinj founder and CEO. “We envision a future where people and businesses engage connected items as part of their everyday lives, and we are committed to delivering a technology platform that enables that connectivity as the core of the Internet of Things.”
 
Impinj delivers this item-to-cloud connectivity using RAIN RFID, a battery-free radio technology ideally suited to identifying, locating, and authenticating everyday items.
 
“In our engagements across many industries, we see first-hand the incredible impact RAIN RFID has on a business when that business has access to accurate, real-time data about items they manufacture, transport, and sell,” said Diorio. “In Japan, METI is enabling a vision of business and people using RAIN to connect-with and engage items. We wholeheartedly support that vision.”