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Steve Halliday |
From the editor's desk!
Welcome to the latest issue of the High Tech AIDCourier.
This month has been a really hectic one, with lots of travel. We are
late with the newsletter and so this will be a shortened version of the
newsletter this month. We will try to catch up next month.
This month has been very busy on the standards front. we have had a
meeting of SC31/WG4 which is the parent committee for RFID. See the RFID
Standards section below for details.
As always, providing this newsletter is just a part of what we have to offer here
at High Tech Aid. When your problem needs have you overwhelmed, then you
need to get help and that is why we are here. We specialize in education,
but the spectrum of services is much greater than that. Call or email us
for more information. Visit the web site www.hightechaid.com
for more information on basic technology details as well as many other
things.
E-mail me at news@hightechaid.com
and tell us what you think. Don’t forget to send this issue to your
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at www.hightechaid.com.
If you have news to share or info you need, let me know
at news@hightechaid.com.
Technology News Briefs
Radio Frequency Identification
Singapore invests in RFID
Singapore announces a S$10 million investment in RFID over
the next three years.
http://asia.cnet.com/newstech/industry/
0,39001143,39178064,00.htm
Greaves goes to Deloitte
Deloitte touché have announced that John Greaves, co-founder
of ePC Group has joined their RFID group.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=SVBIZINK4.story&STORY=/www/story/05-17-2004/0002175542&EDATE=MON+May+17+2004,+09:04+AM
Wal*Mart tags HP products
Wal*Mart has started using RFID in the back room as the
first phase of its mandate but Caspian says that live tags are being put on
goods that are available for purchase.
http://www.out-law.com/php/page.php?page_id=walmartaccusedof1084456792&area=news
Beach goers get chipped
Looking for that place to put your wallet? Forget it, and
get chipped as a means to pay without extra plastic.
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20040512/6194271s.htm
Forget the five cent chip
Infineon thinks they will have a one cent chip by 2009.
http://neasia.nikkeibp.com/wcs/leaf/CID/
onair/asabt/news/307014
Standards problem?
Are lack of standards really the problem? Here's one view on
the subject.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/story/
0,3605,1214961,00.html
RFID growth
A study released at retail Systems 2004 showed that the big
companies will be spending big bucks on RFID.
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=20301344
RFID Standards
We are still waiting to hear that ISO 18000 parts 1, 2 and 3 have at
last gone to FDIS, meanwhile parts 4, 6 and 7 are nearing the end of
their ballot. Several other documents have made moves this month with
15961 and 15962 being sent to ISO for FDIS ballot. We are also waiting
for 18046 to start FDIS and for 18047-3 to be published.
On the EPCglobal™ front we are seeing some very positive things with the
next meeting of the Hardware Action Group only 6 days away. Two of the
submissions have already announced that they are merging (see press releases
opposite) and we have every hope that others will join the merge before the
Monday deadline. If there is enough support behind one of the proposals,
then we can hope for a swift process to get the specification approved.
If you want more information on ISO standardization or on
any issue of RFID standardization, then email steve@hightechaid.com.
Biometrics
U.K. Co-op uses biometrics
Using a finger scanning technology the Co-op has become the
first U.K. retailer to use biometrics at the point of sale.
http://www.computerweekly.com/articles/article.asp?
liArticleID=130627&liArticleTypeID=1&liCategoryID=
1&liChannelID=13&liFlavourID=1&sSearch=&nPage=1
Danes to use biometrics
The Danish police have announced that they will use
Motorola's biometric technology to store, search and
match fingerprints and palmprints.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?
ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-17-2004/
0002175191&EDATE=
The U.S. is to make the switch ...
Going to biometric enabled passports is the next logical
step in the U.S. battle against terrorism.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.com
mission15may15,0,6997812.story?coll=bal-nationworld-
headlines
... While the U.K. gets delayed
Implementation problems have delayed the U.K. test of
biometric passports.
http://www.vnunet.com/News/1155151
Bar Code
NJ hospitals do bar codes
In an effort to improve efficiency and reduce errors, 113
New Jersey hospitals have announced that they will be implementing bar code
tracking.
http://www.nj.com/printer/printer.ssf?
/base/news-6/1084176951198900.xml
Wireless
Wi-Fi or 3G?
This is the question, and maybe the answer is both, at least
in the short term.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103_2-5214211.html
Wi-Fi in the air
At last a real service operating Wi-Fi on board a plane has
taken off. The first connections were made this week.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99995001
FCC offers bandwidth
In a move to increase the capabilities of wireless service,
the FCC is suggesting that the space between TV channels should be used for
wireless broadband transmissions (with caveats of course).
http://www.computerworld.com/mobiletopics/mobile/
story/0,10801,93166,00.html?f=x68
Homeland Security
Unique biometrics?
The problem with using biometrics to match people with
criminal records is that it requires a good system behind it to do the
matching. The DHS and U.K. ID card vendor is being accused of falsely
identifying people in its databases.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/11/identix_false_id_suit/
More database woes?
Another instance where the database is the weak link in the
system.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/26/
airport_security_failures/
Eight airports in test
Using RFID to help the access control into areas of the
airport, the Transportation security administration (TSA) announced a new
test.
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=132-05032004
Smart Card
Gemplus delivers next generation
Gemplus have announced that they are delivering the world's
first EMV smart cards compliant with the MasterCard M/Chip™ 4 standard to
one of the leading retail banks in Russia.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?
ACCT=SVBIZINK3.story&STORY=/www/story/05-17-
2004/0002175179&EDATE=MON+May+17+2004,+02:01+AM
Ultra Wide Band
UWB is big
With numerous startup companies looking at UltraWideBand and
many other companies also taking a look, this technology may be bigger than
WiFi.
http://www.unstrung.com/document.asp?
doc_id=52488&site=unstrung
Privacy
RFID zombie tags?
Is this a possible solution to the privacy debate over
killing tags or not?
http://hardware.silicon.com/storage/
0,39024649,39120757,00.htm
Home of the future?
This Korean project to create a home of the future has got
the privacy groups looking at RFID even more closely.
http://news.com.com/2010-1040_3-5211422.html
Library privacy
After a long debate on the use of RFID tags in library books
and the possible incursion into our privacy, the San Francisco libraries
have decided to adopt RFID.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?
f=/c/a/2004/05/07/BAGOA6HC5H1.DTL
"California Connected" with RFID?
California Connected, a weekly news program for the Public
Broadcasting System featured a discussion on RFID and the privacy issues.
Scroll down on the linked page for several items.
http://californiaconnected.org/archives/05062004.html
General Technology
Patent Law
Have you followed the case against Jerome Lemelson? Then you
may be interested in this paper about submarine patents.
http://www.wlf.org/upload/graffLB043004.pdf
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Press Releases
A regular feature of HighTechAIDCourier will be
a review of interesting press releases from around the world. Please send
your press releases to news@hightechaid.com,
but do not forget to include a URL to the full release on your web site.
Here are this month’s selections:
Group Reaffirms Support for Rapid Adoption of EPCglobal Inc. Standard
DALLAS, April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading manufacturers and
technology providers of data collection and radio frequency identification
(RFID) have submitted an RFID protocol definition that would pave the way
for rapid adoption of a new worldwide RFID standard known as Electronic
Product Code (EPC), Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) Generation 2. Companies
supporting the protocol include Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), Intermec
Technologies Corporation, Philips Semiconductors, SAMsys Technologies, Zebra
Technologies Corp., Impinj, Inc. and Rafsec, and others.
http://www.prnewswire.com/
cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104
&STORY=/www/story/04-20-
2004/0002155065&EDATE=
Industry Leaders Propose EPC UHF Gen 2 RFID Standard
Proposal highlights high performance and IP free
specifications
Rockville, Maryland - May 13, 2004 - Leading technology innovators and
global RFID manufacturers, jointly represented as the "Performance Team",
have submitted a candidate RFID UHF Generation 2 air interface protocol to
EPCglobal for ratification and adoption. The submission proposal meets all
the stated requirements of the EPC user community. The Performance Team
includes Atmel® Corporation's (Nasdaq: ATML) German subsidiary Atmel Germany
GmbH, BTG plc, EM Microelectronic-Marin, Matrics, Inc. and RFIP Solutions
Ltd. This submission marks the merger of the original submissions by the
Performance and the Flexworks team members.
http://www.prnewswire.com/
cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&
STORY=/www/story/05-13-2004
/0002174127&EDATE=
AMI Semiconductor Selected by Magellan Technology as
Foundry Provider for RFID Chips
NASTEE Technology Wins Business by Helping Company
Continue Trend in Providing Solutions to Real-World Problems
Pocatello, ID - April 19, 2004 - AMI Semiconductor (NASDAQ: AMIS), a
designer and manufacturer of state-of-the-art integrated mixed-signal and
structured digital products for the automotive, medical and industrial
sectors, announced that the company has been selected by Magellan
Technology, Pty Ltd., a developer of advanced RFID products, to manufacture
two of its RFID silicon solutions, including ST3 for StackTag version 3 and
BT3 for ItemTag version 3.
http://www.amis.com/news/
releases/040419_magellan.html
Matrics Named Top 100 Technology Company By Red Herring
Palo Alto, CA and Columbia, MD - May 11, 2004
-Matrics Inc., a global leader in the design and manufacture of
EPC-compliant Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems, has been named
to Red Herring's prestigious list of top 100 technology companies. Red
Herring, the international media company covering innovation, technology,
financing and entrepreneurial activity, compiles the list each year to
showcase the "best and brightest."
http://www.matrics.com/news/
releases/20040511.shtml
SIRIT Inc. Announces Q1 2004 Results
Company reports quarterly operating profit, 63%
increase in Supply Chain Management revenue
Toronto, ON - May 5, 2004 - SIRIT Inc. (TSX: SI), a leading developer
and manufacturer of radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies,
today reported its financial results for the three months ended March 31,
2004.
http://www.sirit.com/downloads/
Q1-04.pdf
Intermec Provides RFID Migration Strategy to Customers
Worldwide
Coordinated RFID migration strategy addresses
technology, business costs and risk associated with RFID migration
EVERETT, Wash., May 3, 2004 - Intermec Technologies Corp. today
announced an RFID migration strategy to help customers meet evolving RFID
requirements.
In 2004, while tags and labels conforming to final mandate requirements
outlined by the world's leading retailers and the U.S. Department of Defense
are in short supply, Intermec customers are able to begin pilots with
current Intermec tag and readers that support EPC numbering of read/write
technology, with the assurance they can make the switch to meet final
requirements simply through field upgrades and software downloads. These
will meet final standard requirements for both reader and tag technology and
will allow companies to avoid short-lived equipment purchases. Companies run
the risk that pilot equipment being evaluated today may perform quite
differently from those that meet final requirements. Intermec offers
customers a solution to reduce that risk.
http://www.intermec.com/eprise
/main/Intermec/Content/About
/NewsPages/pressRelease?
pressID=553
Matrics Announces Appointments To Senior Management Team
Rockville, MD - April 28, 2004 - Matrics Inc., a
global leader in the design and manufacture of EPC-compliant Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) systems, today announced the appointments of Robert
McFarland as Senior Vice President of Sales for Supply Chain, Girish Rishi
as Senior Vice President of Marketing, and Larry Blue as Senior Vice
President of Engineering to their senior management team.
http://www.matrics.com/news/
releases/20040428.shtml
Philips chip technology selected by ERG Group to power
Seattle Area Land and Ferry Transit Fare Collection System
San Jose, Calif., April 28, 2004 - Royal Philips
Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) today announced that the world leading
MIFARE® contactless interface technology has been selected by ERG Group to
establish a regional smart card-based mass transit fare collection and
settlement system in Seattle, Washington. The fare system based on MIFARE
chip technology will enhance the reliability, security, efficiency and
convenience of public transportation covering seven of the greater Seattle,
Washington transit systems in the Central Puget Sound region. The project is
known as the Central Puget Sound Regional Fare Coordination (RFC) Project.
http://www.semiconductors.phil
ips.com/news/content/
file_1057.html
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