Loftware, Everywhere

RFID to Boost Network Security

2007-09-24T09:49:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-18T09:16:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-10T10:48:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-05T09:05:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-28T10:11:00.000-04:00

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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Aiding the blind with RFID

2007-08-22T13:07:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-17T13:46:00.000-04:00

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.

Working Together

2007-08-10T10:57:00.000-04:00

Here's a short piece from electronicsweekly.com which briefly touches on the notion that RFID and barcodes are better suited to work together, not in competition.

“RFID is not going to kill the bar code,” said Mark Gillott, CEO of industry-driven standards body, EPCglobal. “It will function at the same time and in 20 years' time we will still have bar codes and RFID.”

RFID adoption has been held up by cost, technology and standards but Gillott said this is being overcome. “A combination of many things slowed it down. In the last 18 months many of these have been knocked down,” said Gillott. “From a standards point of view, it’s no longer a barrier for doing RFID.”

Surgical Precision with RFID

2007-08-06T10:01:00.000-04:00

Here's an item from RFID Update detailing how an orthopedic manufacturing company is using RFID to streamline their packaging process in order to better serve the surgeons that use their products.

Zimmer, a leading designer and producer of orthopedic surgical products, now uses RFID to track its returns with surgical precision. Zimmer also uses the system to verify that the correct components are packed for each shipment.

Currently, the system has been installed in several countries including Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and Thailand. All of the tags are applied to the packaging and are never embedded into patients. Over 1.5 million tags have already been used.

Tracking Promotional Displays

2007-08-01T14:11:00.000-04:00

SPAR, a supplier of merchandizing an marketing services headquartered in Tarrytown, N.Y., currently has personnel who visit stores in 11 countries to provide support in setting up promotional displays, identify low-stock or out-of-stock items on shelves, apply shelf labels and prepare planograms.

The Company is testing RFID in an attempt to provide retailers and suppliers easy access to information about the displays' locations and when they arrived there.

"Information is good," says Kori Belzer, Chief Operating Officer, "but taking action on information is key here. We're giving everybody real-time visibility, as well as alerting."

RFID-Enabled Greenhouses

2007-07-24T09:21:00.000-04:00

One of Holland’s leading systems providers for greenhouse botanical growers, has successfully implemented RFID technology into its Plant Order System for commercial greenhouses. Walking Plant Systems can now optimize the months-long greenhouse growing process y tracking and tracing plants with RFID tags.

With a combination of RFID and photography, Zetes’ software ensures individual plants receive specialized care; the tag identifies the plant itself and Zetes’ imaging software infers plant health from its relative shape. More specifically, if a plant appears to need more nutrients, the system can send that plant to the corresponding section of the greenhouse. RFID thus enables full automation and optimization of the growing process, thereby saving growers unprecedented resources in the production of this high-value asset.

RFID Smart Floor

2007-07-16T14:34:00.000-04:00

We’d all love for our everyday housekeeping duties to be simplified. Now, thanks to a new initiative by a German carpeting company, we are one step closer to simplifying those responsibilities. After 3 years of research, the new smart floor – which uses RFID sensors that can direct robots for cleaning, assist hospitals and act as security monitors – is beginning to be field tested.

The underlay enables robots to orient themselves in a room and move toward precise targets on the floor, using information stored in the embedded RFID tags, according to Weber. Systems administrators can manage the robots from a central point, sending data to them from a control PC via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth...

French Boutique Adopts RFID

2007-07-11T12:45:00.000-04:00

According to an article posted today from RFID Journal, French retailer Gedenim is currently issuing RFID-enabled loyalty cards for their customers in all of their Paris stores. The system, in effect since May of this year, is scheduled to run a full calendar year in an attempt to attract younger customers.

"They needed a loyalty program adapted to their target: 15- to 25-year-old customers. We proposed to implement an interactive point-of-sales relationship program based on the contactless technology." That program involved the loyalty card, which allows cashiers to determine a customer's identity at the time of checkout, and to provide more personalized service, such as promotional and sales offers specific to that customer's spending history.

Loftware Professional Services Overview

2007-07-03T11:02:00.000-04:00

Loftware's team of industry professionals are highly experienced and are dedicated to delivering outstanding support and on-site services to its customers. System consulting, analysis and configuration assistance is always available both during the evaluation period and at any time after your barcode or RFID technology purchase.

Loftware Professional Services Division offers expanded services to help you optimize your RFID or barcode label printing operation from the start. These services are fee-based and can be customized to meet your individual requirements.

* Planning & Consultation
* On-Site Training Services
* LPS Installation Services
* Connector Installation Services
* Writing custom Filters for the Connector
* Integrating the Connector and LPS to Oracle Applications including WMS and MSCA
* Barcode Label Design Services

Contact your Loftware Sales Representative for more information on these services.

RFID Implementation

2007-06-29T09:44:00.000-04:00

Here's a short slide show explaining how Dave Pattern, Library Systems Manager at the University of Huddersfield used RFID to help streamline the schools traditional checkin/checkout processes:

Australian Prison Using RFID

2007-06-26T09:34:00.000-04:00

The Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC), which is slated to open in August 2008, will employ real-time prisoner tracking via an RFID chip worn around the wrist or ankle.

"We're looking at integrating the RFID system with the CCTV system so that when an alarm goes off, the cameras will point to that position...when an alarm is raised, about half a dozen of the closest custodial officers to the incident will be notified. If just one life is saved then I would think the system was a worthwhile investment."

The system will have a refresh rate of around two seconds, with a range that covers the entire prison. The chips will be worn by wardens as well as prisoners.

SmartSponge System uses RFID

2007-06-19T11:44:00.000-04:00

ClearCount Medical Solutions, a company that addresses novel ways of preventing retained foreign bodies and to improve surgical safety, has announced that its patented SmartSponge System, which uses on radio frequency identification tags attached to surgical sponges, has received US Food and Drug Administration clearance.

"With an estimated 3,000–5,000 incidents a year, retained surgical sponges are a considerable problem. The SmartSponge System can improve patient safety and efficiency by alerting staff when there is a missing sponge."

ClearCount expects to make available a commercial solution that fully integrates into the current workflow of the operating room by the end of this year.

Reuasable RFID

2007-06-11T14:57:00.000-04:00

It is almost universally believed that item-level RFID tagging only makes economic sense for more expensive items. However, that belief is based on the assumption that the tags will be used only once. Staples is currently testing the concept of reusable tags at one of their Montreal locations.

"You can reuse these over and over again," said Joe Soares, director of process engineering for Staples and Business Depot., adding that he expects at least a five-year life for each tag, which would be removed at the POS. "If over a five-year term, you get 200 uses out of it, it comes down to 3 cents a use.”

Flying More Friendly Skies

2007-06-07T11:06:00.000-04:00

Silverjet, a British airline focused exclusively on business class ‘luxury’ long-haul air travel, has announced that they will begin to use RFID in an attempt to provide better service and lure customers away from their competitors.

While many airlines have recently begun to use RFID to track baggage and aircraft parts, Silverjet is looking to add a bit more of a personal touch.

The tags could also save information such as the customer’s favorite drink so we can offer it to them on arrival…the software is integrated into our reservation systems so that staff can greet people by name, call up details on previous conversations and provide a more personal service.

RFID - Out of this World

2007-06-05T09:09:00.000-04:00

Without gravity, straightforward tasks can easily become prolonged activities. With various items floating about, even brushing your teeth can become quite the chore. At the International Space Station, inventory tracking is one of those time-consuming tasks that NASA would like to cut down on using RFID.

This fall, NASA staff will attach RF SAW tags to uniforms and toiletry items placed into each duffel bag assigned to each crewmember of a six-month mission. They will read each tag's ID and correlate that ID with the item in a database. Periodically during the mission, crewmembers will be asked to scan the contents of his or her bag by waving the reader/PDA device over their bags. The reader will collect the IDs of all the tags it reads and then this data will be downloaded to NASA's information system when the PDA is placed on a cradle for recharging.

RFID Comes Standard in New Industrial Trucks

2007-05-31T09:18:00.000-04:00

Jungheinrich Lift Truck Corp., the world's third largest supplier of industrial trucks, warehousing and materials flow technology has introduced a new line of turret trucks that will come standard with RFID technology.

The new turret truck features an advanced, RFID-based system for intelligent truck management. An RF transmitter and receiver are placed underneath the truck with capsule-sized transponders placed at key points in the warehouse floor. Operators can then program the capsule to issue a range of commands whenever the truck passes over, such as slow down, limit lift height, sound the horn, etc., in effect, tailoring the truck to the application and allowing for constant, real-time visibility.

The truck is designed to be more energy-efficient and versatile for work in narrow aisles of dense warehouses and distribution centers.

RFID and Alzheimer's

2007-05-29T12:59:00.000-04:00

Two-hundred volunteers are to be included in the two-year study at Alzheimer's Community Care where each of the volunteers will be implanted with a passive 134-kilohertz tag in their upper right arm.

The tags contain a 16-digit code able to provide access to a database containing their medical history and existing conditions, and it is hoped this information will enable health workers to administer the correct treatment should the patient be unable to speak for themselves or fall ill while unaccompanied.

Underwater Aquarium Tags Fish

2007-05-24T09:05:00.000-04:00

Customers who visit the Underwater World in

Singapore

now have a much more advanced way to learn about the fish they are visiting.

Engadget reports, the name and species (among other information) about the chipped marine animals are displayed on touchscreen displays whenever they swim by, which eliminates the old fashioned "match the picture with the fish" signs that still exist in other facilities.

The project took three months and almost $20,000 to complete.

RFID in Bermuda

2007-05-21T11:12:00.000-04:00

June 1st will mark the start of en effort in Bermuda to automatically check over 25,000 cars on the island nation RFID interrogators. It was estimated that the nation loses almost $11 million dollars every five years due to the inability to properly monitor and ultimately enforce licensing requirements.

If all goes to plan, the system is expected to be fully functional by July, 2008.

Bermuda requires annual vehicle inspections. The transport department estimates it will take about one year to tag all of the island's vehicles. Drivers who show up for their annual inspection will receive an RFID tag, while drivers with new cars will be required to come in just to obtain the tag. The department expects to utilize only about 25,000 tags, since 22,000 of the island's 47,000 vehicles are motorcycles, which will not be tagged during this phase of the project. The transport department is not sure if it will later tag motorcycles; it first wants to get the application up and running before making such a decision.

RFID works for Toshiba

2007-05-18T12:34:00.000-04:00

After six months of implementation, Toshiba reports that the technology has led to a huge ROI and exceeded all expectations.

"Implementing this solution is showing that RFID can provide tangible benefits for manufacturers in their processes without the need for customer mandates to drive RFID adoption," said Andreas Unterbusch, RFID project manager at TOSHIBA TEC. "Because all the notebooks are individually tagged, future expected requirements from retailers are already in place."

Two million RFID tags were used in the first seven months of the system - and Toshiba reports that daily throughput increased 81 percent to more than 17,000 notebooks per day.