September 13, 2018
There are endless possibilities for new item-level retail and logistics applications, for brand protection, inventory accuracy, loss prevention and enhanced customer experiences - provided that items can be tagged effectively. Offering the world’s smallest inlay, extended read range and better usability, Smartrac’s new Ucode® 8-based Miniweb, Dogbone and Belt RAIN RFID inlays are IoT-ready, and now make even more products taggable.
Ucode 8 is the latest generation of NXP’s Ucode family of RAIN RFID products and enables superior read distances and faster inventory counts for high volumes of items. The IC features a ‘SELF ADJUST’ function that optimizes its sensitivity to achieve maximum performance in different environments. This optimization is performed at startup and is enabled in the default IC configuration as delivered by NXP. Furthermore, Ucode 8 has an integrated Brand Identifier function to prove product authenticity, and a memory safeguard system to protect business data.
“NXP’s Ucode 8 RAIN RFID IC offers best-in-class RF performance and enables exceptionally fast and accurate inventory of dense RFID tag populations - features that our customers have come to expect from the leading provider of contactless solutions.” — Markus Staeblein, Vice President and General Manager for Secure Mobility and Retail at NXP
Smartrac’s Miniweb, Dogbone and Belt inlays fully leverage the features that make the Ucode platform stand out, offering optimum performance for their size and exceptional suitability for a wide range of applications. The new inlays and tags in the ETSI bandwidth offer optimum performance particularly in areas such as brand protection, inventory accuracy, loss prevention or enhanced customer experiences.
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“NXP’s Ucode 8 RAIN RFID IC offers best-in-class RF performance and enables exceptionally fast and accurate inventory of dense RFID tag populations - features that our customers have come to expect from the leading provider of contactless solutions,” said Markus Staeblein, Vice President and General Manager for Secure Mobility and Retail at NXP. “Our legacy of developing high performance RFID solutions combined with Smartrac’s expertise in designing high-quality inlays and tags, has created an advanced inlay solution that underscores our common goal of providing industrial customers with the absolute best in RAIN RFID solutions today.”
“It’s another major step forward that we can now incorporate one of the most advanced ICs in the market, Ucode 8, into three of our most successful RAIN RFID products and, with that, leverage its superior capabilities. With our new Belt, Dogbone and Miniweb inlays, we are further strengthening our long-term partnership with NXP, and also expanding our comprehensive RAIN RFID portfolio. In today’s connected world we can now offer greatly enhanced inlay design and performance to keep pace with the constantly evolving demand for increased data integrity and accuracy. This will benefit all of our customers in areas such as retail, logistics, industry and more,” said Hal Hikita, Senior Vice President, Product Management of Smartrac.
Smartrac Miniweb with NXP Ucode 8 is the smallest inlay currently available on the market (die-cut size of 45 x 18 mm (1.7 x 0.7 in)) that has passed ARC categories I and K requirements for ETSI retail performance, as defined by the RFID Research Center of the University of Auburn. Category I indicates the product is suitable for applications such as home goods and merchandising areas with a greater demand of RF performance than typical retail apparel applications. BELT complies with ARC categories A, B, C, D, F, G, I, K, M, N and Q and meets GS1 Tagged-Item Performance Protocol (TIPP) Tagged-Item Gradings M10B S15B, M15B S15B and M20D S15D for the retail supply chain, retailers and suppliers. Belt, with a die-cut size of 73 x 17 mm (2.9 x 0.7 in), will be offered in paper tag, dry or wet inlay format and is available as of now. Dogbone, with a die-cut size of 97 x 27 mm (3.8 x 1.1 in) will be available in high-volume quantities by Q4/2018, just like Miniweb.
Selling online has its slight downside: dealing with the return of shipped goods. Smartrac’s global market partner, Pinnpoint, recently introduced a new solution using Lexmark’s intelligent RFID devices (printer/MFP) that can revolutionize reverse logistics for online e-commerce distribution.
Dual-frequency inlays and tags don’t just offer manufacturers and retailers increased insight into the supply chain. They also offer a low-cost opportunity to extend their activities into enhanced interaction with end-users.
As our Digital Age gathers pace and new game changing disruptors each, in their turn, emerge upon the stage, we explore the likely role that the Internet of Things (IoT) will play in global supply chain operations and consumer experiences.