Penang Library uses UPM

Penang Public Library is Malaysia’s first library to use an RFID system compliant to the EPC Global Gen2 standard. EPC (Electronic Product Code) is a set of identification coding or numbering standards. The system, implemented by Smartag Solutions Bhd., uses RFID tags supplied by UPM Raflatac.

There are roughly 500,00 copies of reading materials in six different libraries in Penang, and over 800,000 library users. A successful RFID project now provides Penang Public Library Corporation with optimal performance through a unique combination of technologies.

The Library Tagging system from Smartag Solutions uses UPM Raflatac’s DogBone tags, which ensure that accurate readings taken in a split second can be documented using RFID Inventory Management. The RFID technology provides Penang Public Library Corporation with a fast, accurate means of gathering inventory information on large quantities of library materials.

Nissan hub using RFID in Singapore

A new Nissan hub is tapping radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to help cut time for identification and retrieval of new cars, from an average of 24 hours to two hours.

Located in the Western part of Singapore, the new TC Nissan Hub operated by Tan Chong International is believed to be the first RFID-enabled automotive facility in the country. Tan Chong International is the exclusive local distributor of Nissan vehicles.

Tan Chong's project was awarded a grant of S$120,000 (US$82,632) from Singapore's National RFID Centre (NRC) earlier this year, under the NRC's S$4.5 million (US$3.1 million) RFID Innovation Platform initiative. To date, the Centre has funded 11 projects to the tune of S$1.25 million (US$860,750), an NRC spokesperson told ZDNet Asia.

Bartronics wins deal with Avitar

Bartronics India Limited (Bartronics), one of India's largest bar code and RFID technology companies today announced that its subsidiary, Bartronics Asia, has been selected for a RFID project from Avitar Group, in which Bartronics Asia will aid and manage the Avitar initiative to automate the distribution process using RFID technology.

Avitar, a Singapore-based group with operations around the world, is focused at its core in the wholesale and distribution of mobile phones, including software products, with a focus to expand into related businesses in the international arena.

Bartronics will develop an application specifically aimed at mobile phone distribution warehousing, where each mobile phone box is tagged with an RFID label and each label in turn associated to an International Mobile Equipment Identity (Unique IMEI) number of each phone via a handheld RFID reader. The Bartronics application involves automatic scanning and reading of mobile phone boxes stacked up on a trolley for outbound dispatch.

The RFID application detects and reads mobile phone boxes en masse when a trolley is pushed through a Gantry RFID reader at exit doorway to ensure physical outbound quantity matches actual quantities dispatched.

Helveta RFID tiimber tracking

Amajor pilot of Helveta’s timber tracking software and radio frequency identification system has been completed in Malaysia. And the

Oxford-based company now predicts take-up

of its technology growing worldwide as pressure

mounts on supplier countries and individual supplier companies to verify wood legality and sustainability. The Malaysian project was carried out in a 129,143ha concession in the state of Terengganu in conjunction with the Forestry Department of PeninsularMalaysia (FDPM) and Terengganu State Forestry Department. All trees tracked through the chain of custody were tagged using one of two passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) tags compliant with the EPC Gen 2 and ISO 18000-6C standards. The tags were selected based on availability and form-factor criteria. One tag operated at a frequency of 860 to 960 MHz, the other at 865 to 869 MHz.

RFID tags were either stapled to a tree or log, or nailed in with a hammer, to determine the best method of attachment. None of the tags were damaged during the process, despite the fact that they lacked special protective coverings. Four RFID-enabled Teklogix Workabout handheld computers, running Helveta's CI Mobile data-capture software, were used in the field to read a unique ID reference number encoded to each tag. From there, RFID-enabled Workabout devices were utilized to confirm the ID number at the various checkpoints along the supply chain as trees were felled, and as logs were processed.