NXP, Siemens collaborate on pharmaceutical RFID innovation

EINDHOVEN, THE NETHERLANDS: NXP has announced a collaboration with Siemens on an RFID-based supply chain pharmaceutical project designed to improve efficiency from manufacture to retail.

Using NXP’s Application and System Center (ASC, formerly known as RFID Reference Design Center), a facility that provides real-life conditions for evaluating and optimizing RFID applications, the Siemens IT Solutions & Services team created a customized RFID system to ensure a high read accuracy throughout the supply chain.

The project focuses on creating a system based on NXP’s ICODE high frequency (HF) RFID technology incorporated into the labels of pharmaceutical products. The whole system is configured to already comply with the latest edition of the HF Gen2 standard, which is currently under final review by EPCglobal.

The aim of the installation is to accurately bulk read several hundreds of labeled packages quickly, allowing the manufacturer to keep a thorough stock inventory at all points along the supply chain. The ASC enabled the Siemens IT Solutions and Services team to achieve industry benchmark HF read accuracy results. This was accomplished through the use of an advanced high speed anti-collision concept and the optimization of the entire system.

"We selected NXP as the chip supplier for our innovative RFID pharmaceutical project. During project planning, NXP offered us the services of its highly sophisticated ASC,” said Matthias Bruckschen, Principal Consultant SCM / RFID, Siemens IT Solutions and Services.

“The facility supported our engineers, enabling them to evaluate and tune the design of the HF RFID labels. By simulating the interactions between the readers and samples, we were able to obtain first qualitative results and calibrate the solution accordingly. The support provided by NXP's ASC saved us a lot of development time and we look forward to a renewed cooperation between NXP and Siemens IT Solutions and Services in future."

Based near Graz, Austria, the ASC was created with the aim of driving the adoption of RFID technology. NXP’s team of engineers based at the ASC can help systems engineers tackle common problems and support the development of RFID projects.

In addition, the facility can be used to build and test full scale supply-chain scenarios to evaluate the robustness of an RFID-based system –- enabling the development of a business-ready solution and reducing development time.

“NXP’s aim in founding the ASC was to create an environment which would spur the advancement of RFID and industry-wide research through methodological analysis, test and validation of all elements of an RFID system,” said Dirk Morgenroth, Director Marketing, RFID, NXP Semiconductors.

“We are pleased to support Siemens IT Solutions and Services in the optimization of their implementation for pharmaceutical supply chain management, by delivering a future proof RFID system set-up prepared for HF Gen2-specified solutions.”

End customers integrating RFID solutions in their businesses are demanding a fully integrated, turnkey solution which provides them with a high-level of business intelligence. NXP’s systems level approach and leadership in RFID technology enables systems integrators to design and build business ready solutions and reduce the complexities of the technology.

III, ITRI and Newport Digital to finalize development of next-gen industrial grade RFID devices

NEWPORT BEACH, USA: The Institute for Information Industry Taiwan and the Industrial Technology Research Institute, both of which are Taiwan quasi-government Research & Development organizations under the Ministry of Economic Affairs office, announced an agreement with Newport Digital Technologies Inc. to distribute a range of advanced industrial grade RFID devices incorporating Hitachi u-Chip secure protocol technologies and AT&T required 3G wireless and battery certifications.

"NDT in collaboration with III and ITRI are ready to start exclusively distributing a range of advanced RFID technologies including an IP67 Industrial grade Handfree Reader, an Industrial Monitor with an embedded reader, the world's smallest EPC Global reader module, Fixed and Handheld Readers are but a few of the products that will be released for distribution this year that contain the Hitachi u-Chip UHF protocol, a first for North America," said Richard Damion, CEO of NDT.

"The devices will all contain this unique security protocol, which can read under the EPC Global Gen 2 layer on the RFID chip, allowing for a manufacturer, distributor, importer, distribution center and retailer to each have their own secure password protected 256K bit layer to place their confidential data within this single chip."

"The chip has a 2K memory, the largest memory in the industry with deactivation, range adjustment and read/write features as well as five password protected secure layers. We anticipate that by increasing the yield on the wafer, we can eventually see a two cent chip, the technical challenges have been great and required multi-national support. These chips and readers will be targeted at the Wal-Mart vendor supply chain, offering them the lowest cost solution in the industry, and assuring a quick ROI," said Elsie Kao RFID Project Manager at III.

This is an International Project and we are collaborating with teams of Hardware, Software, Middleware, Testing and SI Engineers in Taiwan, Japan, Europe along with a major USA Retailer.

"ITRI has significant experience in industrial RFID technologies from asset tracking to global container tracking systems," said Paul Chang, ITRI's Identification and Security Technology Center, (ISTC) Manager. "ITRI has managed the first EPC Global Certified Performance and Conformance Laboratories in Asia and has developed a whole range of RFID tags, devices and solutions. Millions of dollars have been invested in the development, testing and certifying of these range of products and anticipate major sales and distribution announcements to come out from NDT within the next few weeks."