 | Thursday, August 24, 2006
Issue 429 | | Will Smith, Editor |  |
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Editor's Note: Today's top story is TekVet's selection of IBM to host and manage the data centers for its RFID-based cattle tracking and temperature monitoring system.
We received quite a bit of feedback to yesterday's article, Chinese RFID Standard Increasingly Unlikely. Scott Medford of Genesta pointed out that the incorporation of Gen2 into ISO has important implications for China as a member of the WTO: "It should be noted, in positive light for the industry at large, that the inclusion of China into the World Trade Organization is a ... very important milestone. There are certain conditions which much be met in order to maintain WTO status, and it is my opinion that China does not need to combine a late, ineffective entry to the [RFID] market with a violation of the WTO agreement and risk any censure... The completion of the ISO/IEC 18000 - 6C standard establishes the basis for RFID usage, and any deviation or encouragement to use alternative specifications would be contraindicated."
Active RFID provider Savi Technology has announced a program to license its intellectual property for active RFID products. The company is offering a "Quick Start" program through the end of the year which includes lower up-front fees than the "Regular" program that does not have a limited period of availability. Bob Kramer, Savi Technology's senior vice president of marketing and strategic development, said, "Both our Quick Start and Regular licensing plans will help to ensure that standards-based active RFID solutions will continue to be deployed properly throughout defense, civilian government and commercial markets to improve supply chain visibility, management and security." Recall that Savi was purchased in May by defense contractor Lockheed Martin for around $400 million (see Lockheed Martin to Buy Active RFID Leader Savi).
Lastly, RFID child tracking is getting some attention from the mainstream US media in light of the developments in the JonBenet Ramsey case. SmartWear Technologies is one of the companies that offers anti-kidnapping RFID solutions for parents. (As an aside, this particular piece from MSNBC made me cringe, likening as it does RFID to some sort of global tracking device: "Consider RFID technology for anyone in your family who hikes, mountain climbs, or camps, as well. It makes rescue operations so much easier and faster, as the authorities will know exactly where you are.") |
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| | - Get your free sample Intermec Rigid RFID Tag now! (site) | | - Lowry Smart Trac Labels: Depend on 100% Good Labels (site) | | - CCL Label - Your Global Partner for Labeling & Packaging (site) | | | | - RFID: Evaluate, Justify & Deploy, Nov. 13-15, Las Vegas (site) | | - Organic RFID 2006: October 11-13, 2006 (site) | | - RFID Journal Industry Summits, September 26 - 28, Chicago (site) | | - RFID Journal LIVE! Europe 2006, October 25 - 27, Amsterdam (site) | | - RFID Journal LIVE! Canada, November 8 - 9, Toronto (site) | | - LogiPharma 2006, Sept. 18-21, The Four Seasons, Austin, TX (site) | | - EPCglobal US Conference 2006, October 17-19, Los Angeles (site) | | | Training & Certification | | - RFID Applied2U - Test your product at our training site (site) | | | Products & Services | | - RFIDSupplyChain.com: Save on RFID Tags, RFID Readers & More (site) | | - Peel-Stick-Ship: DOD RFID Compliance from SimplyRFID.com (site) | | | RFID Readers | | - Ensyc Technologies: $395 UHF Desktop Reader (site) | | - MTI Wireless Edge: high-quality low-cost panel antennas (site) | | | Employment | | - RFID Recruiters - 100% Focused on RFID Recruiting (site) | | | Research & White Papers | | - Optimize Your Network in Ten Minutes Flat (site) | | - 2006 RFID Marketing Strategies Report from RFID Update (site) | |
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IBM to Host RFID Cattle Tracking Solution
TekVet LLC, a Utah-based developer of agricultural technology, has selected IBM to host and manage the data centers for its RFID-based cattle tracking and temperature monitoring system.
TekVet (formerly known as COLT Technologies) developed its TekSensor devices in 2003. The livestock tracking system allows cattle producers and investors to remotely monitor animal location via the Internet in real time. Unlike traditional cattle tracking systems, however, the TekVet solution also tracks core body temperature. Using temperature data, owners can monitor the health of the herd, and medicate or quarantine sick animals much earlier than would otherwise be possible. This can lower the cost of care and increase the profit-per-animal for feedlot operators.
IBM will provide worldwide hardware support and maintenance, storage, helpdesk services, security management and network support.
TekVet has already chosen a hosting site for its initial U.S. launch, and has made contact with IBM's Argentina branch for its planned expansion into Latin America.
The TekSensor is based on 413 MHz active RFID technology, and includes a flexible thermometer. Attached to the ear of a cow, it can transmit data from between 300 and 500 feet to wireless receiving stations on the producer's lot. The data is then transported via a private satellite network to TekVet's data center, where IBM System x servers will process information for millions of cattle at a time. The system also includes the TekVet network infrastructure and application software.
Although most existing cattle tracking systems utilize passive RFID, TekVet is one of a number of companies promoting active RFID for these applications. Active tags typically cost more but don't require livestock to come in close proximity to a reader.
"Active RFID has a much greater range than current passive technology," says Tali Haleua, president of TekVet. "We're dealing with a very unique product here; a cow has a mind of its own, and it wanders. With our mesh networking technology, we can cover a large area (which would be typical of a feedlot scenario) and provide constant monitoring.
"If you are monitoring the health of the animal on top of the historical tracking, then you are only capturing the animal's temperature when they come into a high-traffic area like a feed trough, where readers are typically located in a passive RFID system," he adds. "The problem with that is that sick animals do not eat or drink, and they usually stay away from those congested areas."
The $20 tags have been redesigned with a more rugged casing and longer lasting battery. According to the company, they can be used in as many as six different animals over a two-year period. As TekVet expands into other regions of the world, Haleua says they will migrate to 433 MHz RFID technology, which is more widely accepted for RFID applications in Europe and Asia.
TekVet is also developing sensors that can monitor blood pH, heart rate and other vital signs. "We're still in the research and development phase on those capabilities," Haleua says. "We focused on core body temperature first, because that's the one key feature that normally represents the first signs of sickness."
The company will also test the product for use with swine, goats and other types of livestock.
In May, TekVet announced that it had signed deals with major feedlot operations in Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah, as well as several foreign producers, to implement the system. According to Haleua, the company expects to deliver between three and five million tags in the next four to eight weeks. The company has contracted Nationwide Electronics Inc. in Florida as its manufacturing partner.
"Right now, demand for the product is our biggest challenge," Haleua says.
The company has also established a TekVet System Research and Development Grant Program to provide education and non-profit research institutions free TekVet Systems for research efforts with beef, dairy and other large livestock animals. Utah State University's College of Agriculture was the first announced recipient.
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RFID Update is the RFID industry daily. Launched in early 2004 to provide timely analysis of RFID industry news, RFID Update publishes editorial briefings every weekday for the growing ranks of top level executives involved in the deployment of RFID. Each issue delivers the breaking news and analysis most pertinent to successful RFID implementations, allowing readers to understand global RFID developments as they happen.
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