RFID to Boost Network Security

Here’s an article from PC World which talks to how average wireless devices may soon be used as RFID readers.

Presenters at RFID World in Boston last week focused on using second-generation active and passive radio frequency identification tags to provide advanced security and authentication, as well as ways to broaden the reach of the technology. Among the buzz from attendees was how the average wireless device could soon become an RFID reader, or perhaps a related radio-capable device for Near Field Communication, a short-distance radio technology to give a mobile user easy access to all kinds of data.

It still remains to be seen exactly how these devices will be used, but it's important to keep an eye on how this new approach to RFID unfolds.

LPS Found Superior in Performance

Loftware Print Server® Clear Winner in Performance Shoot-Out at Berkshire Hathaway Subsidiary Shaw Industries

Scalable Enterprise-grade software is three times faster than closest rival

Portsmouth, NH – September 18, 2007 - Loftware, Inc., a 20 year leader in flexible and scalable label output management solutions, announced it has successfully completed a data-intensive, competitive benchmark test at Shaw Industries, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway and the world’s largest supplier of carpet and carpet fiber, to meet Shaw’s global needs in label output management.

Shaw Industries prints more than 20,000 labels per day and the printed labels are drawn from 60+ label templates. Shaw selected their most elaborate and complex label template – a single label 220KB in size – for the performance testing. The products evaluated in the test put Loftware’s Loftware Print Server® head-to-head against leading competitors. Shaw evaluated the printing output performance benchmark and established Loftware as best in meeting the production performance required to output 10,000 labels in less than 5 hours. The results also demonstrated the Loftware Print Server performed three times faster than the next closest competitive product.

“Our enterprise-grade software has demonstrated the highest throughput of any label output software package available and now we have proven it even with ultra-large label images,” said CEO Eric Anderson. “Our focus on providing the most responsive and agile labeling output management software available on the planet continues, day in and day out. We are delighted to have earned Shaw Industries’ business!”

Deister Announces New RFID Mouse

Deister Electronics, a developer and manufacturer of RFID products, has introduced the RFID-Mouse, a miniaturized tabletop RFID interrogator integrated into a computer mouse. The device's small profile is designed to make it easy to transport, and to use it for establishing mobile RFID reading or encoding stations with a laptop computer. The RFID-Mouse connects to a computer through a standard USB port, which also powers the device.

Deister says the RFID-Mouse can be used for a wide range of RFID applications in logistics, retail, supply-chain and other industrial uses. The mouse is available in UHF and HF versions. The HF version can read 13.56 MHz tags complying with the ISO 15693 and 14443 A and B air-interface protocols. The UHF version follows the EPC Gen 2 air-interface protocol and can be set to operate in compliance with the UHF frequency range sanctioned in North America, Europe or Japan. Both devices have a read range of 1 to 2 inches and will be available beginning in October. The UHF version will cost $499; pricing for the HF device has not yet been established but is expected to be less.

Using RFID in Aviation

We've written here about how RFID tagging can significantly help the aviation industry with regard to baggage tagging and lost luggage. Here's a piece which notes how Motorola believes that the possibilities of RFID use in this sector are so much more...

Cargo tagging enables the visibility of goods and freight that are shipped by air. Apart from better supply chain efficiency, cargo tagging also offers security benefits, allowing the industry to readily identify shipments whose integrity may have been compromised.

Tagging tarmac assets, like trailers that cart luggage from the airport to the plane, expands the visibility of tagged luggage beyond the airport. The bags can be tracked in the airport, on the tarmac, and in the plane. Trolleys — the heavy metal carts that flight attendants use to distribute food, duty free goods, etc — can be tagged to improve asset visibility and inventory management.

Loftware Connector for Oracle 3.0 Released

Loftware Offers Industry First Full Integration Connectivity Software Suite for Managing Merged, Acquired or Grown Supply Chain Capacity

Latest Loftware Connector® provides additional command and control features for integration of new or existing facilities

Portsmouth, NH – August 28, 2007 - In the first of two major releases expected this quarter, Loftware, Inc., a 20 year leader in flexible and scalable enterprise label output management solutions, today released its Loftware Connector for Oracle 3.0 as part of its broadening suite of software for controlling, deploying and maintaining label production. The newest release adds to the Loftware offerings an improved toolset for managing label issues that arise from mergers, acquisitions or supply-chain expansion. Within the next 90 days, the Company said it will release additional Connector technology advances making the product compatible with any enterprise label output management system.

“This newest release adds to the control set toolbox for headquarters-based command and control over shipping, receiving and related issues subject to any sort of corporate labeling process or standard,” said CEO Eric Anderson. “Our products make it unnecessary to throw anything out in making an acquisition compliant or consistent with the acquiring company’s corporate standards. This eliminates potential points of failure or difficulty in integration.”

The Loftware Connector® for Oracle® version 3.0 builds on the process automation capabilities of the Connector family to allow for staging command and control structure for all label production for any new or acquired operations ranging from manufacturing plants and warehouses to distribution centers and retail outlets.

About Loftware
Loftware provides premier identification software to label products and goods manufactured and distributed throughout a company’s global supply chain. Loftware’s scalable applications operate in conjunction with corporate business Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Warehouse Management (WMS) business systems without expensive and disruptive coding changes. Loftware’s software solves the ‘last mile connectivity’ problem encountered by companies when they address automation, control and command over label production at their locations. Learn more about Loftware by visiting www.loftware.com.

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Loftware, Loftware Print Server and Loftware Connector are registered trademarks of Loftware, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Aiding the blind with RFID

S.J. Chin, Founder of GaiShan Technology has a firm belief that RFID can play a huge role in improving the quality of everyday life for those with visual impairments.

TellMate is a system which employs passive RFID tags to help the blind identify objects they use in their daily lives but have difficulty recognizing.

The TellMate has three main RFID function buttons: one for recording a description of an object to which a tag is attached, one to play that recording and one to stop the playback. To identity an object—a credit card, for instance—a user would attach an RFID label to it, hold the handheld reader within 2 centimeters of the label, press the record button and speak a description of the object into the handheld.

RFID Benefits

There are few companies in any industry that couldn’t benefit from applying RFID in some way. Here’s a piece from RFID Journal which touches on a few companies that are using RFID and seeing very real benefits.

I'm sorry, but the idea that you should deploy or not deploy based on whether you're facing a mandate—or whether RFID is going to transform your entire supply chain—is a mistake. RFID may or may not eventually be used on every shipment in some industries, but it is a technology that can be used for specific applications to achieve real business benefits today—in almost any industry.