March 27, 2018
The addition of reduced-size FROG 3D RAIN RFD inlays and tags to Smartrac’s portfolio will allow tagging of smaller and more challenging items all the way through the supply chain – at any angle to the RFID reader.
Smartrac Frog 3D inlays and tags are high-performance RAIN RFID (UHF) products designed for item- case- and pallet-level tagging applications in industrial and supply chain logistics use cases, no matter what the angle between the tag and the RFID reader is.
The existing product range of 68x68mm and 50x50mm form factors has already been very successful, with tens of millions of units sold. The product family has now been enhanced with a smaller version, at 40x40mm. All Frog 3D tags feature the Impinj Monza® 4 ICs family, which has already been successfully deployed in many automotive and other industrial applications.
Like the two larger sized versions, the new Frog 3D product has a small, cost-effective True3D form factor. These transponders using the Monza 4i IC are completely insensitive to orientation, which means they provide consistent performance no matter what their position, orientation or angle in relation to the RFID readers in the specific space. This translates to read ranges of up to 10 meters, depending on the support material.
Frog 3D inlays and tags are therefore the products of choice in challenging RFID environments because of this orientation insensitivity, since their performance is not compromised by edge-on excitation from RFID readers. This means that they still work flawlessly, for example, in situations where tags are positioned vertically such as hang tags, but the reader is positioned overhead. Similarly, packages that have been tagged horizontally can be read by vertically positioned readers. They are also ideally suited to applications such as component tagging in the automotive industry, or item-level tagging within any vertical supply chain.
Frog 3D inlays and tags are produced using leading-edge inlay assembly technologies. Product quality is guaranteed by monitoring every step in the production process, from the antenna to the final assembly of the inlay. The 40x40mm FROG 3D product can also be ordered with other ICs from the Monza 4 family, on request.
Smartrac’s inlays and tags are compliant with ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management and ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management, which ensure a reliable and state-of-the-art product that meets a variety of application needs, enhancing RFID usage for difficult-to-tag materials.
Selling online has its slight downside: dealing with the return of shipped goods. Smartrac’s global market partner, Pinnpoint, recently introduced a new solution using Lexmark’s intelligent RFID devices (printer/MFP) that can revolutionize reverse logistics for online e-commerce distribution.
There are endless possibilities for new item-level retail and logistics applications, for brand protection, inventory accuracy, loss prevention and enhanced customer experiences - provided that items can be tagged effectively. Offering the world’s smallest inlay, extended read range and better usability, Smartrac’s new Ucode® 8-based Miniweb, Dogbone and Belt RAIN RFID inlays are IoT-ready, and now make even more products taggable.
Dual-frequency inlays and tags don’t just offer manufacturers and retailers increased insight into the supply chain. They also offer a low-cost opportunity to extend their activities into enhanced interaction with end-users.