IDTechEx

Editor’s note: RFID is running hot and cold in the North American packaging market. It’s a technology solution still in its early development, with many issues, risks, and potential rewards. In this column, Peter Harrop, CEO of IDTechEx, provides a glimpse of some of the behind-the-scenes factors that will impact future implementation of RFID. IDTechEx is a knowledge-based consultancy company that provides research and analysis on RFID, printed and organic electronics, and smart packaging. It will host the RFID Smart Labels USA 2008 conference in Boston February 20-21 (www.idtechex.com/USA). It’s like Yogi Berra once said, “It’s Déjà Vu all over again.” Today,

BOSTON, Mass.—The seventh annual RFID Smart Labels USA Conference and exhibition will be held in Boston, February 20-21, 2008. This industry-leading event will offer many learning opportunities at the two day conference, tutorial-style Masterclasses and tours of local companies. Based in the RFID-stronghold of Boston, this event will introduce first-class speakers, explore the key RFID issues and provide exclusive access to some of Boston’s leading RFID companies. This analyst-driven event provides: • Analysis of what is selling, what isn’t, what the technology needs are and experience from the biggest users • The big success stories: Hear from the companies who have secured

More than 500 delegates from 18 countries were present at the IDTechEx Printed Electronics USA event in San Francisco—reported to be the industry’s largest conference and exposition on the topic. The show featured the IDTechEx Printed Electronics Awards in recognition of outstanding achievement. The awards were presented by Dr Peter Harrop CEO of IDTechEx at a gala dinner held at The Bank of America Building in downtown San Francisco on November 13. Categories and winners: 1. Technical Development Materials Award Winner: Kovio 2. Technical Development Manufacturing Award Winner: Optomec 3. Technical Development Device Award Winner: Add-vision 4. Best New Product Development Award

The world’s only major conference on Active RFID and RTLS takes place in Dallas in December. The organizers, the analysts IDTechEx, have announced a new addition to the lineup of leading suppliers and users of RTLS that will be presenting at the conference and exhibition. It is the new supplier Q Track, with its unusual low frequency system that is very tolerant of water and metal. Douglas Hogg, CEO of RFTRAQ, says, “This is the first conference RFTRAQ has chosen to attend—ever—and we look forward to revealing some exciting developments along with our co-exhibitors.” This addition completes the set, with all the other types

Dr. Peter Harrop, Chairman, IDTechEx Real-Time Locating Systems (RTLS) involve small tags that can signal their location at all times. There is no need for an RFID reader to be nearby. They variously work at 10 meters to several kilometers and they are already widely used from Club Car golf kart production line to military helicopters monitoring assets. However, the applications and the technology are now moving forward at a blistering pace. The tags may be the size of your hand or the size of a wristwatch and accuracy of location varies from a few centimeters to merely many meters. Basically, you get what

AUSTIN, Texas—NovaCentrix, a leader in emerging printed electronics technologies, announced that one of its printed electronics curing systems will for the first time be on display and operating at the IDTechEx conference in San Francisco, Nov. 13-14. Branded as Photonic Curing systems, this patented technology instantly cures and sinters metal based inks at room temperature by exposing the printed patterns to a millisecond-long intense pulse of light from high-energy flash lamps. The system rapidly and selectively heats and fuses metallic ink particles forming highly conductive traces without heating the base substrate material. With Photonic Curing technology, printed conductive patterns and traces can be cured

By Dr. Peter Harrop IDTechEx The ultimate supply chain and the ideal control of parts, materials, work in progress and finished goods in manufacturing will be provided by Real Time Locating Systems (RTLS), ultimately with sensing as well. These are a form of active RFID and there are various types available from Ultra Wide Band (UWB) which uses a broad range of frequencies in the microwave region, to systems in the megahertz region, though 2.45 GHz is now very popular for RTLS. One form radio fingerprints existing WiFi emissions and another measures Time Delay of Arrival (TDOA) of several emitted beams. The WiFi approach

SAN FRANCISCO—IDTechEx announced that the Printed Electronics USA conference and exhibition in San Francisco, Nov. 14-15, is now the world’s largest event on the topic by many parameters. With three weeks until the show, there were more than 45 confirmed exhibitors and more than 400 registered delegates. The conference’s target number of delegates is 500 delegates on opening day. These numbers were achieved by featuring world-first presentations and focusing on the application of printed electronics. Presentations from such companies as Hasbro and Cubic Transportation Systems have not been presented on such activities before. Delegates include potential users such as Procter & Gamble, Lockheed Martin,

By Dr. Peter Harrop IDTechEx Printed electronics is a term that covers printed and potentially printed electronics and electrics. It is the basis of an emerging $300 billion business embracing transistors, memory, displays, solar cells, batteries, sensors, lasers, and much more. This new electronics will appear as adhesive tape, wallpaper, billboards, labels, skin patches, smart packaging, and books because it will be foldable, conformal, wide area, ultra low cost, edible, rollable, transparent and biodegradable as needed. Yes, there are transparent transistors, batteries, solar cells and more on the way and Kodak has recently patented edible RFID on medicine. And it will be pivotal to

IDTechEx A new range of transistors using thin films of organic or inorganic compounds as the semiconductors and gate dielectrics are being pursued by organizations in more than 30 countries. The new IDTechEx report “Printed and Thin Film Transistors and Memory” studies the technologies, applications and progress of more than 150 companies in this sector. Here Dr. Peter Harrop, chairman, summarizes some of the findings ( www.IDTechEx.com/tftc). • 339 pages with 10 year forecasts and 2027 outlook • Save 25 percent until Oct 31 2007 by using the promotional code PEWA at www.IDTechEx.com/tftc • 135 tables & figures • More than 150 company profiles