IDTechEx

RFID in Packaging

As we enter 2007, many RFID suppliers are licking their wounds, while for others, RFID business is booming. As IDTechEx interviews solution providers and users across the RFID industry for the new report “RFID Forecasts, Players & Opportunities 2007-2017” to be released in January, Raghu Das, CEO, summarizes some of the findings. The volumes that never came At the beginning of 2006, there was much optimism in the retail mandate sector. RFID tag production capacities had been put in place and Gen 2 was delivering superior performance than previous versions. However, arguably the pallet/case market for RFID tags became the nearest thing to a

By Raghu Das IDTechEx As we enter 2007, many RFID suppliers are licking their wounds, while for others, RFID business is booming. As IDTechEx interviews solution providers and users across the RFID industry for the new report “RFID Forecasts, Players & Opportunities 2007-2017” to be released in January (http://www.idtechex.com), Raghu Das, CEO, summarizes some of the findings. The volumes that never came At the beginning of 2006, there was much optimism in the retail mandate sector. RFID tag production capacities had been put in place and Gen 2 was delivering superior performance than previous versions. However, arguably the pallet/case market for RFID tags

The premier event in printed electronics is pleased to announce an exciting roster of thought provoking speakers and topics. Covering all aspects of printed electronics, from technical to financial, Printed Electronics USA 2006, is being held in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona December 5-6. Delegates will hear from companies looking to the promise of this nascent technology to solve real world problems and open entirely new markets. For example, given that situational information is mission critical for military applications, delegates will hear from Dr. Darrel Hopper of the US Air Force Research Laboratory and the diverse opportunities the USAF sees for the technology in sensors,

By Dr Peter Harrop IDTechEx At IDTechEx, when we teach Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), we talk of it being a ubiquitous enabling technology like the wheel or paper. Some people consider that to be rather far fetched. After all, wheels extend from prayer wheels, steering wheels, and wheels of fortune to aircraft wheels and microscopic wheels in Micro Electro Mechanical Systems MEMS. They are everywhere, as is paper because that appears as anything from art to toilet paper, packaging, books, and origami. The IDTechEx RFID Knowledgebase has captured more than 2,400 cases of RFID in action involving more than 2,500 organizations in 85 countries.

By Dr Peter Harrop, Chairman, IDTechEx Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) have more market potential than any other form of potentially printed electronics. This is because they are proving useful for both electronic displays and lighting. Indeed they also have great potential for signage, a major requirement intermediate between these two. Anyone looking at the enormous and expensive plasma displays in airports that display simple logos and signage will realise that there has to be a better way with signage. Potentially, “wallpaper” electronic signage would use far less power and have both lower capital cost and installation cost. Roadmap The roadmap for progress in improving

By Dr Peter Harrop IDTechEx In an analysis of 75 Active RFID case studies from 18 countries by IDTechEx, the largest number of projects was in logistics which had around twice the number of each of the nearest contenders - air industry, automotive/transportation and healthcare. In the case studies, the main items that were tagged were containers, followed by vehicles, conveyances and people, and this probably reflects the market as a whole. Car remote locking devices are products in their own right of course and do not tag anything. Tagging people is nonetheless a significant and growing sector. The choice of frequencies narrows towards the higher frequencies

RFID is everywhere! Or so it seems. packagePRINTING has covered the topic several times this year. In addition, a second RFID Guide was just published by packagePRINTING for TLMI. It covers a range of applicable topics from standards and market entry approaches to converter experiences. The reason why RFID is such a hot topic is that RFID is not really everywhere—yet. But it will be. Everyone knows about the famous “requests” by Wal-Mart and the Department of Defense for pallet- and case-level RFID tagging that kicked off this craze. Much of the discussion today focuses on the next level of implementation—item-level RFID tagging. IDTechEx, an

By Dr Peter Harrop IDTechEx Second generation printed electronics has arrived and its impact on society will be immense. A major new industry is born. Transparent solar cells will be on watches by year end and vast areas of printed flexible photovoltaics will be available within the next few years. Heliovolt promises a high efficiency silicon-free photovoltaic film in 2007. Polymer alternatives will have lower efficiency but often be lower in cost. Announcements have yet to be made but IDTechEx has identified several companies that will be commercialising polymer solar film in 2007. Light emitting moving colour displays, vehicle and room lighting on

Sensor systems used to be an esoteric subject concerned with such things as life support systems in hospitals. However, the prospect of ubiquitous sensors is becoming a reality, saving lives, improving the quality of life of the disoriented elderly, coping with natural disasters, and much else besides. Now there is even a merging of RFID and sensing, with location of items using RFID triangulation and more sophisticated techniques, and some RFID technologies where sensing is a property of the chip rather than an add-on. For instance, Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) tags can inherently sense temperature and strain but are used for RFID as well.