Trolley Scan(Pty) Ltd
Trolley Scan(Pty) Ltd
Trolleyponder®/EcoTag®
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PRESS RELEASE - RFID success will be choked by lack of radio spectrum
Trolley Scan (South Africa) produces a study of radio spectrum usage for different RFID protocols. RFID success will be choked by lack of radio spectrum
JOHANNESBURG,SOUTH AFRICA 2 JANUARY 2007 Radio Frequency Identification uses part of the radio spectrum for its operation. This is a precious resource as the available spectrum is limited, in some countries more so than in others. As more and more users will want to use this technology as it increases in popularity, so the demands on the spectrum will escalate. By careful selection of the optimal air protocols between the reader and the transponders in the RFID system, many users can share the available spectrum. Said Mike Marsh, Managing Director of Trolley Scan -"The study shows measured results of the different spectra in the UHF band of the different protocols using advanced spectrum analysers and signal generators. These results allow an understanding of the issues involved and indicate why a change from certain protocols that are currently promoted needs to be made as the industry matures." A technical report on the tests has been written such that novices with little understanding of radio issues can follow the arguments as well as those well versed about these matters. The report is available from the Trolley Scan website at www.trolleyscan.com * * * * * * * * * *
About Trolley Scan (Pty) Ltd The staff of Trolley Scan, which was founded in 1995, have a pedigree that goes back to 1990 when the first low cost RFID protocol was developed by the founder while working for a South African government research organisation, culminating in 1994 in the demonstration of a supermarket trolley containing 38 items being scanned automatically in a supermarket in Pretoria. In 1998, the founders of Trolley Scan developed an entirely new set of protocols for UHF RFID which they have been actively promoting. They also have addressed the situation of the 3 dimensional scanning of goods, and have developed a very low power RFID version which they commercialise under the EcoTag trademark. In August 2005 Trolley Scan invented RFID-radar. Trolley Scan are based in Johannesburg South Africa. Trolley Scan licence their patents and technology to companies around the world who wish to produce this technology. Trolley Scan have sold RFID systems to users in 45 countries. Complete systems can be ordered via their website.
About UHF RFID Potential use of these systems is extensive, from herd animal tracking, library books, pallets, warehousing, bank and postal bags, asset tracking, airline luggage, vehicle monitoring (access and parking), to intelligent buildings (tracking files, documents and assets moving around an office to minimise finding time).
The ultimate goal is to use these transponders
with their inbuilt anti-shoplifting features to
replace the barcodes labelling goods in a retail
store allowing filled supermarket trolleys to be
scanned in seconds in unmanned self-service
checkout aisles.
Press support We have therefore staged the transfer with the general release above which should be innocuous enough for most general interest publications.
If you want to see the full report then click on this link to get full document
in PDF format for preview Following this stage, for those who want to publish the full article, we can send you the text and images in seperate files mailto:info@trolleyscan.com?subject=Press_send_press_pack
TROLLEY SCAN (SOUTH AFRICA) DELIVERS FIRST COMMERCIALISED RFID-RADAR SYSTEM
JOHANNESBURG,SOUTH AFRICA 15 MARCH 2006 Said Mike Marsh, Managing Director of Trolley Scan -"The delivery of the first RFID-radar system to our client in Europe, marks the end of a hectic six months of development. Just six months ago we stumbled by chance on a method of measuring the distance, with great accuracy and over long distances, that a signal travelled from a transponder back to a reader. We have had to build concept proving equipment, conduct extensive field tests and design the first version of the commercial equipment. The testing included 14000 range measurements to verify consistency and accuracy. The system contains four parallel computers to perform the massive numerical calculations for which we had to write and debug thousands of lines of code. In addition we had to write handbooks for the operators. This delivery marks a milestone in the development of this exciting technology. "The breakthrough with RFID-radar is the ability to measure the distance travelled by a signal from a transponder to a reader accurately, using minimal radio spectrum to reduce effects on other users, and with very low cost transponders and readers. This invention allows us to develop a new generation of RFID reader, a reader that can identify and locate exactly many transponders in a very large reading zone." Said Marsh- "The new technology will result in the development of an entire new set of applications for computer based equipment. Applications could include the location of goods in a warehouse; tracking of individual animals in a herd; the monitoring of the movement of assets in a building; the location of parcels and airline luggage in a warehouse; the monitoring of children in a creche; or the monitoring of security zones to ensure sensitive areas are avoided. As all measurements are performed from one set of antennas, the equipment can even be mounted on a forklift truck to locate goods in a warehouse relative to the current position of the vehicle." The commercialisation will promote the development of longer range RFID systems, using lower power passive transponder technology. The delivered system operates in the EU RFID band at 869.5MHz with very low power. Due to the wideband nature of the transponders, and the flexibility of the reader, the system can be set to operate at any of the UHF frequencies in the 860-960 MHz bands, making it suitable for use in all countries. Currently operating ranges of 40 meters are practical, but it is expected to extend this to 100 meters in the near future. In the future there will be RFID readers that just give identity information, and there will be RFID-radar type readers that give identity, location and tracking information. Details of the RFID-radar and the test installation can be seen at http://www.rfid-radar.com/
RFID-radar The addition of position information encourages the development of much further scanning range from single readers and lower power transponders, as now the identity and exact location can be determined.
Trolleyponder and EcoTag are registered
trademarks of Trolley Scan (Pty) Ltd
TROLLEY SCAN (SOUTH AFRICA) INVENTS RFID-RADAR
JOHANNESBURG,SOUTH AFRICA 24 OCTOBER 2005 Said Mike Marsh, Managing Director of Trolley Scan -"The breakthrough with RFID-radar is the ability to measure the distance travelled by a signal from a transponder to a reader accurately, over long distances, using minimal radio spectrum to minimise effects on other users, and with very low cost transponders and readers. This measurement allows us to identify, locate accurately and track the movement of tens of transponders in front of a reader at the same time. In older generation RFID systems, operating ranges were a few centimeters, so location information was not important as the transponder was always close to the reader. In modern systems we have increased the operating range to tens of meters and will soon reach the one hundred meter range mark with passive tags. Here location information together with the identity information becomes essential as so many transponders can be located in such a large area." Said Marsh- "In the past it was not possible to measure the range of a transponder from a reader. The practicalities of UHF RFID mean that traditional approaches such as signal strength variation cannot be applied for range measurements. Our newly invented technique allows us to measure the range of a transponder to an accuracy of 0,5 meters and a pointing direction of just 1 degree, for transponders as far away as 100 meters, with up to 100 transponders in the zone at a time. This development is revolutionary, in that instead of needing expensive transponders and readers, our development allows this technique to be applied to the "US$five cent" transponder and the "US$100" reader. We make the measurements from a single reader site, making the equipment suitable for use in mobile applications such as when the reader is fitted to a forklift truck." The new technology will result in the development of an entire new set of applications for computer based equipment. Applicatiions could include the location of goods in a warehouse; tracking of individual animals in a herd; the monitoring of the movement of assets in a building; the location of parcels and airline luggage in a warehouse; the monitoring of children in a creche; or the monitoring of security zones to ensure secure areas are avoided. The impact of RFID-radar technology on the future generations of RFID systems is going to be significant. Already more than 100 companies from all over the globe have contacted Trolley Scan about getting prototypes, commercial versions or OEM modules for incorporating into their own products. In the future there will be RFID readers that just give identity information, and there will be RFID-radar type readers that give identity, location and tracking information.
TROLLEY SCAN RECORD THE BIGGEST AND FASTEST ITEM TO BE SCANNED WITH LOW COST RFID JOHANNESBURG,SOUTH AFRICA Fri 17 Jun 2005 Trolley Scan of South Africa, the developers of the Trolleyponder and EcoTag© UHF RFID technology, report that one of their users have scanned at speed the largest item ever to pass through an RFID scanner system, at the highest speed, that is ever likely from a technology that was ultimately developed to scan items in a supermarket. Fastening the transponder to the undercarriage, the antenna system with tie downs to the runway, and linking a triggered camera to record the actual moment the reader correctly identified the transponder, this company managed to identify using RFID a Lear jet at the moment of takeoff, at speeds in excess of 300 kph. 
Trolleyponder/Ecochip technology is used for very fast applications as it is based around a TTF (tag talks first) protocol where the transponder initiates the communication when entering the energy field, and the reader manages the multi transponder communications. Despite using only 10 kilohertz of operating bandwidth, and being very environmentally friendly with regard to interference generating that might impact other users close by, the system in theory can operate at speeds as high as Mach 2. Said Mike Marsh, Managing Director of Trolley Scan -"This high speed application demonstrates why Trolleyponder/Ecotag is used in many applications wher transponders have to move fast, such as toll roads, vehicle control, sports timing and the like." With this test, the record for the largest item ever tagged and read at full operational speed is claimed. WAVERIDER RFID-BASED AUTOMATIC SCANNING SYSTEM FOR BASKETS DEBUTS IN THE PHILIPPINES JOHANNESBURG,SOUTH AFRICA 27 OCTOBER 2004 It happened for the first time in the Philippines!!!
Trolley Scan, the leading developer of RFID systems for the
automatic scanning of goods in retails stores, announced
in Johannesburg today that the "Waverider" system for scanning
baskets in a retail outlet, had been developed and shown for
the first time in the Philippines. Said Mike Marsh, Managing Director of Trolley Scan - "Lots has been written and demonstrated about the scanning of supermarket trolleys (carts) using RFID in major retail stores. Initially there was the Supertag demonstration in Pretoria, South Africa in 1994. More recently there has been the Branders Automatic checkout system for trolleys. What happens for the smaller stores, for those like the "mom and pop" stores which are too small to allow trolleys to move in the aisles, or whose turnover is too small for a major technology installation? Well the answer is the new exciting Waverider system shown for the first time in a smaller store in the Philippines." Saira, an Industrial Design Student at De La Salle University of the Philippines, using Trolleyponder technology, has designed, built and installed for tests an innovative automatic self service scanning system for baskets. The system can be integrated with an anti-shoplifting system, like that integrated in the Trolleyponder protocols, and includes features for bagging the goods after scanning. Said Saira - Designer of the Waverider system - "There are several factors that I considered in designing the counter - height of Filipino consumers, dimensions of baskets/carts, usual means of transaction - whether cash or credit card etc. I also made a market study regarding the bagging area because in our local groceries, we are not use to the "do it yourself" kind of service. But since the whole idea of the design is for "express service" I made a different counter for the bagging area." Know as "Waverider", it forms part of the studies and development of technology needed for the eventual automatic scanning of purchases by retail store users, technology that can only be implemented once the massive shortfall in the transponder production can be addressed. Photos of the design and the test installation can be seen at http://www.trolleyscan.com/waverider.html TROLLEYSCAN DELIVER NEW COMPACT FIXED READER FOR UHF RFID TRANSPONDERS
JOHANNESBURG,SOUTH AFRICA 25 May 2004 Trolley Scan have repackaged their technologically advanced super sensitive reader in a new lightweight case that is ergonomically pleasing, suitable for mass manufacture, and yet maintains its high standard of performance and electromagnetic compatibility with other users in the RF spectrum. The new reader is housed in a moulded ABS plastic case, weighs just 3.5kg, operates on mains power, operates on the UHF frequencies of 860MHz to 930MHz using only 10kHz bandwidth, uses a bistatic antenna system and can read up to 500 transponders in a field at a time. Said Mike Marsh, MD of Trolley Scan - "The new reader compliments our existing range of fixed and portable readers, working with the popular 200 microwatt Ecochiptag(tm) credit card sized transponders produced by Trolley Scan and offering very impressive range performance for passive UHF technology. With this new reader we continue to lead the way in UHF RFID systems." Mike added "What is going to start being important in the future with the widespread acceptance of RFID is the ability of many readers to work in close proximity. As our system operate on only 10kHz bandwidth with a "tag-talks-first" protocol, we are able to have systems operating in very close proximity - something that is not possible with the currently proposed EPC and ISO18000-6 systems - once RFID gets more widespread acceptance this compatibility will become an important issue." The new reader is compatible with the EcoTag, Ecochiptag, Ecowoodtag and the laundry tag produced by Trolley Scan and their licensees. Trolley Scan provide RFID systems to users in 32 countries. Complete systems can be ordered via their website.
About EcoTag technology The credit card sized version is a technology breakthrough allowing both very efficient transponder operation while allowing small transponder antenna sizes. A typical efficient UHF antenna will be 160mm long. However the market wants shorter antennas that are closer to the sizing of goods being labelled. Shortening a 160 millimeter antenna to 80 millimeters results in only 3% of the efficiency being left. The impact of shortening antennas is of great concern to the UHF RFID producers as the challenge is to increase efficiency in order to get greater coverage and range. Trolley Scan have developed an 80mm by 37mm flat antenna that recovers this lost efficiency as well as increasing the performance of the chip, allowing a transponder that now needs only 200 uWatts of RF energy to operate, making it one of the most energy efficient transponders available in the world. Despite its excellent performance, the credit card sized version is produced in a single plane and is ideal for production using conductive inks applied with a printing press. This is an important development as eventually for volume application of RFID, the antennae are going to be made directly on the packaging. The new Ecotag credit sized version now can operate at ranges as far as 11 meters, even when attahed to metal. EcoTag technology is protected by a series of patents granted in the US, Europe and other countries.
TROLLEYSCAN DELIVER PASSIVE UHF RFID TRANSPONDERS THAT OPERATE ON JUST 200 MICROWATTS OF RF POWER JOHANNESBURG,SOUTH AFRICA 8 April 2004 Trolley Scan announced in Johannesburg that they have crossed another major technical hurdle in the development of long range, efficent, low cost, passive RFID systems. As part of leading the way in the development of passive UHF RFID, Trolley Scan have developed new materials that allow for the production of transponders in volume that need just 200uW of RF energy to operate. This represents a 42% improvement in the sensitivity of transponders supplied by Trolley Scan in the past. All credit card sized Ecochiptag(TM) transponders supplied by Trolley Scan will now need only 200uW of power to operate. Said Mike Marsh, MD of Trolley Scan-"Improving transponder sensitivity is like improving fuel consumption for a car - you can never have enough!!!. Every time the sensitivity improves, it means that the transmitted power of the reader can be further reduced needing smaller transmitters to do the same job with longer battery life, -, or the operating range of the transponder system increases. The new production transponders can be read 8 meters from a reader radiating just 300 milliwatts of power, similar to the power radiated from a cell phone. In addition, due to the miniscual amount of power needed to operate the transponder, polarisation becomes less important and transponders can be read on almost any orientation even with linear polarised antennas. The 8 meter range is achievable even if the transponder is attached to metal." In 1994 a state of the art transponder used in the original Supertag version developed by a team led by Mike Marsh, and shown to the world with a trolley(cart) of 38 items being scanned at the Pick n Pay hypermarket in Pretoria South Africa, needed 6000uW of RF power to operate. In 2001 Trolley Scan started delivering 1000uW versions with its evaluation systems. In December 2003, Trolley Scan delivered 350uW credit card sized versions, a major technical achievement as the previous systems all needed 160mm dipoles while the credit card sized version was only 80mm long - a size that is inherently inefficient at this operating frequency. Now the norm with the latest developments is 200uW in a credit card sized version. Comparing the performance to the original Supertag tests, the transmitter power needed now is only 3% of that needed for the original system, meaning smaller transmitters, longer battery life and portable readers. The operating range at the original power used for Supertag is 550% of the ranges then achieved. Despite the benefits of long operating range and low transmitter power, the Trolley Scan has maintained all its important benefits such as wide operating bandwidth (50MHz for EU/GSM/US compatibility), up to 500 multiple transponders in the reading field, 3D scanning small antenna size and easy to produce. Trolley Scan provide RFID systems to users in 32 countries. Complete systems can be ordered via their website.
About new generation RFID Transponder The reader has to be able to detect the data from the transponder while in the presence of the energising signal which is powering up the transponder. The two signals differ is strength by up to 1 billion times (90dB). As the energy from the reader travels through the space between the reader and the transponder, it dissipates such that every time the distance doubles, the available energy to power up the transponder quarters. Therefore producing transponders that need lower power mean they can still operate at increased ranges. TROLLEYSCAN deliver passive transponder system can be read at 11 meters range even when attached to metal
JOHANNESBURG,SOUTH AFRICA 22 FEBRUARY 2004 Trolley Scan have developed and put into production the most sensitive passive single chip UHF RFID system ever developed. With this system, it is possible to read the credit card sized Ecochiptag(TM) tag at an amazing 11 meter range when the transponders are attached to metal objects. Said Mike Marsh, MD of Trolley Scan-"The holy grail of RFID is to produce simple, small, efficient transponders that are easy to mass produce and offer good operating range. The most frequent asked question is how well RFID systems work in the presence of metal - Well the current answer now is 11 meters!" The major advancement achieved in the past month have been the development of a new generation of super sensitive reader to match the requirements of the extremely low power Ecochiptag transponders that are now available. Mike Marsh said "Trolley Scan have had to develop a new generation of reader that differs significantly from the standard backscatter receiver used for passive RFID in the past. With Ecochiptag RF power requirements dropping to less than 200uW, the reflected backscatter signal from the transponder was becoming so weak that it was not detectable 10 meters away in the presence of the energising signal at the same frequency using conventional backscatter receivers. Our new receiver will serve future generations of Ecochiptags for sensitivities between 200uW and 50uW which are under development. The new receiver is able to detect transponders from as close as 2 centimeters out to 11 meters with no adjustment. This dynamic range and sensitivity allow us now to develop portable readers that will need simpler antenna systems suitable for mobile use." Trolley Scan provide RFID systems to users in 27 countries. Complete systems can be ordered via their website.
About new generation Reader design The reader has to be able to detect the data from the transponder while in the presence of the energising signal which is powering up the transponder. The two signals differ is strength by up to 1 billion times (90dB). In the past, the transponders needed higher powers to operate and would send back stronger signals that could be detected with a receiver comprising a quadrature mixer, amplifiers, vector adder and threshold detector. As the operating power of the transponder has decreased with technology developments, longer operating ranges are achievable and less power is available for the transponder to use for sending back its identity data. This leads to much weaker signals being received at the reader.
ECOTAG delivers production credit card-sized UHF transponder needing less than 250 microwatts RF power JOHANNESBURG,SOUTH AFRICA 11 DECEMBER 2003 Said Mike Marsh, MD of Trolley Scan-"The holy grail of RFID is to produce simple, small, efficient transponders that are easy to mass produce and offer good operating range. The technology for low power operation of transponders is one of the most important developments in passive UHF RFID. In the same way that recent developments allow smaller cell phones with longer operating life:- the efficient use of RF power by transponders allow low power passive transponders to operate over long range despite low energising fields." "Trolley Scan have produced for commercial consumption their latest transponder which is smaller than the common credit card in size, needs just 250 microwatts of radio energy to operate, and where its antennas can be produced using simple manufacturing processes such as printing directly onto the packaging with a printing machine using conductive ink." "Our developments go a long way to achieving the holy grail of RFID."
US GRANTS IMPORTANT ENERGY EFFICIENCY RFID PATENT JOHANNESBURG,SOUTH AFRICA 23 OCTOBER 2003 Trolley Scan announced in Johannesburg that they have been granted by the United States Patent Office a patent detailing their important energy efficient technology which they market under the trademark EcoTag(R). The legal process grants protection to this technology for the twenty one year period from 1999 to 2020. Said Mike Marsh, MD of Trolley Scan-"The technology for low power operation of transponders is one of the most important developments in passive UHF RFID. In the same way that recent developments allow smaller cell phones with longer operating life:- the efficient use of RF power by transponders allow low power passive transponders to impact the operating distances that were previously only available to more expensive active transponders - and yet can be produced very cheaply." "EcoTag technology is not just about low power consumption of the integrated circuit on the transponder, but is about the efficient conversion of the very weak radio energy waves to energy that can be used by the transponder." "This technology also allows transponders to be produced that are energy efficient and yet use antenna systems that are much smaller than would be available for conventional transponders." This patent advances the technical development of passive RFID technology significantly. Trolley Scan licence their patents and technology to companies around the world who wish to produce this technology. Trolley Scan have already provided systems using this technology to users in 27 countries.
US GRANTS TROLLEYPONDER PROTOCOL PATENT JOHANNESBURG,SOUTH AFRICA 1 FEBRUARY 2003 Trolley Scan announced in Johannesburg that they have been granted their a patent detailing its unique protocol for reading many transponders with a reader. Due to the legal process, protection is backdated to May 1998 when the initial patent was filed in South Africa. Said Mike Marsh, MD of Trolley Scan-"The protocol is a very important step in the technology development for low cost RFID, as it allows many very simple transponders to communicate their identity to a reader on a single operating frequency; and even in situations where all the transponders have identical data - such as would happen when RFID becomes a replacement for the barcodes on goods in a retail environment using a numbering system such as implimented currently by the EAN/(UCC)." The protocol also allows EAS features to be incorporated in the transponders and controlled via the reader - setting up the situation where unmanned checkouts with full EAS checking can be implimented in supermarkets. This patent has now been granted by many countries where applications were filed. Trolley Scan licence their patents and technology to companies around the world who wish to produce this technology. |Home | Trolleyponder developers section (password)| | |