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JULIE ENGLAND: Custom designs make LF tags attractive and cost-effective Pt. 2
Part 1 discussed how LF tags are often used in harsh environments such as underwater or in animals. Part 2 shows how LF tags are integrated into a variety of applications.
Julie England, Vice President of Texas Instruments discusses several case histories and explains how partners can get involved with TI.
We already talked about how low-frequency tags are used in livestock and other high-water content applications, but are there some comparative advantages inherent in LF tags compared to let's say a UHF or HF?
ENGLAND: Well, the antennas are especially easy to design and build with wire loops that can be easily embedded in all sorts of casing. You have seen them embedded in rubber hoses, and street material, in floor surfaces, for example, to track vehicles or other moving objects like trolleys. You have seen them in sports timing, where the antenna is in the racetrack as marathon runners cross the finish line, for example.
And so this flexibility in design and the tailoring of the read zone, is really, really attractive to many integrators.
The reader antenna combinations can be easily designed to achieve a read range anywhere between zero and about one hundred and fifty centimeters.
The advantage here is that the read zone can be very clearly defined.
Can you give an example?
ENGLAND: Sure, it works very good measuring fish crossing a certain area of a river or cattle moving through a cattle shoot.
In the case of waste management, it makes it very convenient for the waste hauler to tailor it to the dimensions on the truck and the container attachment when they are emptying the waste.
You mentioned some very creative examples, can you tell me about low-frequency applications in asset tracking?
ENGLAND: Waste and recycling applications immediately come to mind. The asset being tracked is actually the recycling bin.
We’ve partnered with a company called Recycle Bank, which is an incentive-based recycling program. Residents receive a bin fitted with a low frequency passive RFID tag that identifies each household. The recycling trucks are outfitted with a scale in the RFID reader. The RFID bank system tracks how many pounds of recycling each household produces every month and then gives them reward dollars that they can redeem at more than 300 retailers including Kohl’s Foods, Starbucks and Home Depot.
That’s happening in Philadelphia, right?
ENGLAND: It is, but it’s going to spread around the U.S. we believe.
Does LF have applications in a four-wall environment, like a warehouse?
ENGLAND: Yes, this example comes to us from Spain.
It’s the second largest meat company in Spain. In 1998, they added RFID to trace their food products. They designed a stabilization chamber for finished meat products, such as their very expensive products. They wanted to identify the trays that the meat was contained in because those trays need regular cleaning and barcodes, of course, couldn’t really withstand the cleaning pressure.
So they upgraded to RFID based on the cost of replacing barcodes.
Would the fact that the meat had a lot of water content be part of the LF scenario as well?
ENGLAND: Well, that and the material in the trays. And it had to withstand a harsh environment, a lot of vibration, variable temperatures, so, our local system integrator enclosed the RFID tags in glass house transponders, in a silicone sleeve, and then molded it into the plastic box.
You mentioned how you are working with the local solution provider in that particular project. Does Texas Instruments actually work with them in creating the solution itself?
ENGLAND: Yes, and it depends, of course, on the application and the solution. If it’s a well understood solution that we have done in one part of the world, then we can help leverage some of those lessons learned in another country. Recycling waste is a classic example. We have been in that market for almost 10 years now in Germany and yet, here we are in Philadelphia with a very similar application.
We even hope we can help broker some more channel partnerships between installers and system integrators from Germany that want to expand their business into the U.S. and be a partner to Recycle Bank.
So, I think we can help the channel to grow through relationships like that.
If a channel partner is reading this and has not worked with TI or RFID in the past but wants to get involved, what is the best way that they would approach a large company like yours?
ENGLAND: There are multiple paths to reach out and make contact. One is through our website, TI.com. The other one is our product information call centers, which the numbers are on the website, TI.com. We are frequently at trade shows.
Are there particular applications TI would consider?
ENGLAND: Any application around flesh or high water content or in water or harsh environment, we would like to work with the VAR or the channel partner on approaching the problem in a manner with the right technology.
We have got to consider the life of the product. Is it expected to be tagged for, seven to 10 years in a harsh environment? Then low frequency is typically a good solution.
And last is the global standard. The fact that it is a proven system, and it has been around for almost two decades now, reduces the risk of adoption.
You have to balance the cost risk and reward ratio carefully as well as find a partner that can help you sort through which technology is the best for your problem to solve.
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