Tracking and tracing with UHF

26 January 2011

ifm electronic's new UHF RFID product tracking system is marked out by the use of the 865-870 MHz band (there is also a 902-928 MHz variant for the North American market). For the European range there are five different antennae. The more compact ultra-low and low range will read tags in close proximity without seeing adjacent tags, making them the most selective. A mid-range antenna will pick up data from a tag up to 2m away, while the long range options can even read a tag at 7m.

Bulk reading of the standard tags is also well within the capability of the new system, which is ISO 18000-6C, EPC, Global Class 1 Gen 2 compliant. The information read from the tag is presented to the outside world through a simple Ethernet TCP/IP standard interface. The software for configuring a system comprising reader with up to four antennas, comes supplied with ifm’s robust DTE800 reader unit.

Further integration into an automated system is made possible with coordinating input and output signals on the reader. So a read sequence can be triggered by an external event, and sorting carried out directly via the DTE read unit. All units, reader and antennas, come IP65 protected housings as standard.