Feature of the Month:

• NFL Fans Buy Concession Items With PowerPay

In this issue:

• China’s Jiangsu Longton Jail Upgrades Security With TI-RFid
• ExpressPay Merchant Sign-ups Continue In Phoenix
• Vanguard ID Keyfob Recognized for ICMA Technical Achievement
• CCL Label Joins Team Tag-it™

Partner Profile:

• Accu-Sort Systems, Inc.

China’s Jiangsu Longton Jail Upgrades Security with TI-RFid

China’s Jiangsu Longton Jail in the Nanjing Jiangsu Province has upgraded security with a new prisoner identification system using TI-RFid 13.56 MHz ISO 15693 tags and readers. More than 6,000 prisoners are outfitted with Smart Band™ wristbands developed by Precision Dynamics of San Fernando, Calif., each of which contain a TI smart label with encrypted data including the inmate’s name, identification number and security level.

As inmates are moved throughout the facility, they present their wristband to a reader, which automatically identifies them and captures the date and time they entered or exited that area of the facility. The facility is equipped with both fixed and handheld readers used by guards for real-time spot checks and roll calls. Inmates are required to check-into the system for roll call at various times throughout the day. If an inmate is not recorded by the system at the required time, an alarm indicates which prisoner has not been identified. Guards are immediately alerted to the situation, and can view the person’s last check-in point and locate the missing inmate quickly. The TI-RFid-based system provides more accurate records-keeping and better overall prisoner management.

The jail expects to incorporate additional applications into the RFID system such as the ability to automatically make purchases, and record the receipt of mail and other personal items.

For more information on the security upgrade at the Jiangsu Longton Jail, please contact Smart ID Systems Ltd., Shenzhen, Guandgdong province, China, the systems integrator on the project via its Web site at www.sid.com.cn. Visit www.pdcorp.com or contact Dan Hobin at 800-847-0670, extension 1340, or dhobin@pdcorp.com for more information on Precision Dynamics’ RFID Smart Bands.

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ExpressPay Merchant Sign-ups Continue In Phoenix

Six months into implementation of its TI-RFid-based ExpressPay payment program in Phoenix, Arizona, American Express continues to sign up both merchants and consumers, creating more opportunities for users to pay with a wave rather than digging in their wallets for cash or swiping a card. What began with 175 merchant locations has now grown to more than 350 locations in the Phoenix area. 200 merchants are participating including well-known brands such as Carl’s Jr., CVS Pharmacy, Dairy Queen, Kwik Kopy Printing, Quiznos Subs and Schlotzsky’s Deli. Thousands of consumers have signed up to take advantage of the program for faster check-outs and shorter lines, with transactions averaging 8.9 seconds – that’s 28% faster than cash and 42% faster than card transactions.

At the recent Cartes show in Paris, American Express also discussed its pilot in Singapore, targeting 2,000 current American Express card members. ExpressPay users in Singapore will be able to pay for purchases with their keyfobs at more than 170 merchant locations. Further details about the pilot are expected in Q1 2004.

Launched in July 2003, ExpressPay is an easy-to-use alternative for making purchases at merchants where speed and convenience are important – such as quick-serve restaurants, supermarkets, drug stores, gas stations, and corporate cafeterias. For more information about the ExpressPay program, including a complete list of U.S. merchant locations that accept the payment device, please visit www.americanexpress.com/expresspay.

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Vanguard ID Keyfob Recognized for ICMA Technical Achievement

The keyfob developed for the Seattle Seahawks PowerPay application, incorporating RF technology from TI, has earned Vanguard ID Systems of West Chester, Penn. a finalist nod in the International Card Manufacturers Association’s (ICMA) Seventh Annual Élan Awards for Card Manufacturing Excellence. Presented at the ICMA EXPO on November 11, 2003, Vanguard’s entry was one of two finalists out of more than 80 global applicants in the Technical Achievement category. This award recognizes the most advanced technical achievement in card functionality (multi-application smart card, combi-card, biometric, optical card, access card, phone card, alternative material card, etc.) that demonstrates novel, unique or expanded functionality in response to customer requirements.

Based in Princeton Junction, NJ, the ICMA is a non-profit association of plastic card manufacturers, personalizers and related industry participants, with more than 200 members globally. Its annual Élan Awards for Card Manufacturing Excellence are judged by an independent panel of ICMA associate members, industry notables and international journalists.

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CCL Label Joins Team Tag-it™

CCL Label, the largest label printing company in North America, has joined the Team Tag-it™ Program, a partnership of industry-leading companies dedicated to the development and adoption of RFID high-frequency (HF) and ultra-high frequency (UHF) smart label solutions.

CCL Label designs and packages award-winning label solutions at its 26 manufacturing facilities for a variety of industries including consumer packaged goods and pharmaceutical. The company holds 100 patents on special construction labels. CCL Label converts RFID inlays to pressure sensitive labels, PVC cards, disposable paper tickets and disposable wristbands.

The company will leverage its TI Team Tag-it partnership to expand RFID sales for key applications including product authentication, inventory management, anti-counterfeiting, diversion control and security. An important RFID growth area for CCL Label is pharmaceutical, already the firm’s largest market. One of CCL Label’s largest RFID implementations was for the 75th Annual Academy awards in March 2003. The company manufactured 11,000 RFID badges and also embedded them with additional security credentialing technology. CCL Label will open a second manufacturing facility for RFID products in January 2004, in Hightstown, New Jersey.

For more information, view the company’s Web site at www.ccllabel.com or contact Robert Ryckman, director of marketing and product development for CCL Label’s Healthcare Solutions Group at (609) 443-3700 or rryckman@ccllabel.com (rfid@ccllabel.com).

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Partner Profile: Accu-Sort Systems, Inc.

1) What primary opportunities do you see for RFID today?

We see significant opportunities for RFID solutions in retail distribution, supply chain management, work in process, and security applications.

2) Please provide examples of real-world applications that you have worked with customers to implement.

Lights-Out Process Tracking in a Metallic Environment

We are working with a nationally recognized photographic equipment and supplies company to help keep track of small conveyor trays as they move photo-sensitive materials through the company’s large production facility in Colorado. RFID was ideal for the 100% lights-out conditions, since no line of sight is required to read and write information to the tags. However, the aluminum trays presented significant challenges. We worked with the customer to overcome the environmental interference created by the aluminum by drilling a three-inch diameter hole through the center of the tray. We then fabricated a non-metallic PVC tag spacer to fit in the hole, and attached the RFID tag to it. Readers located between the rollers on the conveyor system could then read the tags, updating information as the photo-sensitive materials are moved through various processes in the plant.

Ingredient Verification Ensures the Right Mix

Another example of a real-world application includes a solution we developed for a major player in the baking product industry. This customer needed to guarantee that the dry ingredients for various recipes were placed into the correct containers before being added to each of its mixes, to reduce costly mixing errors and to allow automatic monitoring of the process.

We labeled each container with an adhesive 13.56 MHz RFID tag, which was then covered with one of the four ingredient labels (salt, sugar, etc.) using a super aggressive approved adhesive. Each of these RFID-tagged containers is then placed in a vibratory dry-ingredient delivery tray, which is outfitted with our RFA-02 reader antenna and then connected to a separate RFA-02 reader. Each of the four types of ingredients has 50 trays that are designated only for that particular ingredient. The reader system sends information about the containers to a PC, which then ensures that they match the trays based on saved recipes and ingredient lists. The ingredients are not added to the container until the RFID system indicates that the correct one is placed in the tray, eliminating errors that occur in the dry ingredients phase of the baking process. When problems do arise, operators have access to information in real-time, allowing them to manage the situations more quickly and without having to constantly manually check that the trays are carrying the correct containers.

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