More vendors, more foot traffic and more dynamic solutions. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to visit them all on Day 1, but what I did get to see was exciting. Here are a few highlights …
Murata: The company is a large player in the electronics space, but has been flying under the radar in the RFID industry. Not any more … Murata demonstrated some of the smallest reader modules and tags available today. For example, they showed me the smallest NFC antenna and NFC reader modules I’ve seen to date. To give you an idea of the size, the NFC reader module they showed me was only slightly bigger and thicker than the actual chip and the antenna was about half the size of the typical one used. And there was no real sacrifice on performance. Keep an eye on this company … you’ll probably see their products being integrated into a diversity of devices over the next 12-18 months.
Intermec: We’ve been saying for a while that there is significant opportunity for tool tracking on vehicle fleets … there are millions of dollars worth of tools that are left behind or lost by employees. Intermec has developed a unique and high performing solution that enables highly accurate reads in dense tag environments within the back of the vehicle by placing their latest antennas on the interior roof of the vehicle. The system will most likely be connected to a mobile device or in-vehicle computer used by the driver. This is not a solution for tracking the vehicle, but the tools and products within it.
Aeroscout: Up until about a year ago, Aeroscout was perceived primarily as a health care company, offering RTLS solutions to hospitals and other health related facilities. But this is rapidly changing as the company continues to penetrate non-health care markets, such as industrial/manufacturing. It seems as if there are many synergies between their solutions used in healthcare and those that need to be used in manufacturing (i.e.: tracking assets, ensuring compliance or calibration, etc.). The company is very focused on Wi-Fi, so most of the increased activity is expected to be within the 4 walls of an enterprise.
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