Intermec releases Generation 2 UHF RFID technology

Intermec Technologies Corp . has introduced Intellitag Generation 2 UHF radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, which reportedly increases system performance, and provides levels of reliability and functionality not found in older UHF RFID technologies.

“Generation 2 technology has been demonstrated and will be implemented in 2005,” says Tom Miller, Intermec’s president. “Adoption of a common air interface protocol by organizations, such as EPCglobal, now allows technology providers to introduce products that unleash the power of RFID. Intermec’s Intellitag RFID technology offers patented, robust, and feature-rich capabilities found nowhere else. Technology providers that incorporate Intellitag Generation 2 technology into their products will build RFID systems that truly will set them apart in the marketplace.”

Intellitag Generation 2 patented RFID technology provides:

Reliable read/write RFID tags with unlimited read-write capabilities for maximum system flexibility and utility;

Frequency hopping to maximize read ranges needed in typical supply chain operations;

Operation at multiple communications frequencies, required for global implementations;

Global interoperability and the ability to migrate to relevant emerging global RFID standards;

FCC Part 15 operation to avoid the need for a separate FCC site license for each U.S.-deployed reader;

Operation under new, higher-power European frequency requirements;

Tag “persistence” to improve tag read reliability in the field;

High tag detection reliability for high read rates;

Reliable and verifiable write operations; and

Operation of many readers in close proximity using the “dense reader mode.”

“These are the technical capabilities that allow companies to gain the true business benefits of RFID,” adds Miller. “Technology providers who recognize the need to offer their customers this level of functionality will find a willing partner in Intermec. We are steadfast in our commitment to provide Intellitag’s level of reliable and high-powered Generation 2 capabilities to our partners and customers.”

In recent years, Intermec has made available on a royalty-free basis critical intellectual property to aid adoption of EPC and international RFID standards. Five key Intermec RFID inventions provide the backbone of EPCglobal’s Generation 2 air interface protocol and the EPC data numbering scheme.

Today, Intermec holds more than 140 additional RFID foundational and application patents covering many uses of RFID in supply chain applications. For example, Intermec IP covers handheld barcode scanners with UHF RFID readers; barcode printers with RFID readers; and combination, fixed, and handheld RFID readers with wireless communication capabilities.

—Jim Montague, news editor, Control Engineering, jmontague@reedbusiness.com

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