HID instrumental in three-year process to develop new Active RFID standard
April 24, 2012 – Vancouver, BC
IEEE has announced the publication of the 802.15.4f-2012 standard for active RFID and RTLS applications, as an amendment to the existing 802.15.4-2011 standard. Conformance to the standard will now allow interoperability between systems and give end-users a wide selection of vendors, whereas currently the choice has been limited to a single source that supplies a proprietary technology platform. This is expected to significantly spur adoption as it gives the consumer of the technology security of supply and potentially a wide selection of manufacturers to choose from.
HID was instrumental in developing the narrowband communication protocol for the 433MHz frequency band, which is part of the PHY layer of the standard. This frequency band allows operation of Active RFID devices globally, and is also optimal as it permits longer communication range and lower path loss when compared to higher frequencies. It is also preferred in many application of the technology as it exhibits zero interference with Wi-Fi and ZigBee infrastructures operating in the 2.4 GHz frequency band. This powerful yet highly-efficient protocol is also bi-directional, supports design using low-cost silicon circuitry, and can achieve location accuracy of 2-3 meters. Utilization of this frequency band enables development of efficient, low-power active RFID devices and systems that provide reliable performance, superior ability to work in the presence of metal and fluids, and precise location for a very high population of tags.
Zahir Abji, President and CEO states, “We are very excited about the positive impact that the standard will have on the global 433MHz active RFID industry and I am extremely proud of the HID engineering team’s role in its creation. We are in a strong leadership position with a large, proven family of active RFID products that will comply with the standard using a simple software upgrade, which should provide comfort to our existing and new customers.”
Dalibor Pokrajac, HID’s Executive Vice-President of R&D, was one of the primary members of the 802.15.4f-2012 standard group since its inception in 2008. He introduced the 433 MHz PHY, and contributed in the development of the MAC protocol for the standard. HID has been developing its active RFID technology platform to ensure compatibility with the new standard. All of HID’s existing industrial and healthcare customers globally enjoy deployments that are already standards-ready and are uniquely positioned to take advantage of industry standardization and interoperability.
About HID Solutions, Inc.
HID Solutions, Inc. develops Active Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies and real-time location systems for Healthcare, Industrial, and Enterprise applications. HID Solutions, Inc.’s products can accurately track and locate equipment, materials, and people for enhanced automation, workflow, monitoring, and security solutions—all on one flexible platform. HID Solutions, Inc. is federally incorporated in Canada, with its head office in British Columbia and its sales office in Chicago, IL.
