Deep And Wide, Near And Far

By Impinj, Inc.

In December 2004, EPCglobal ratified the UHF Gen 2 Protocol, creating the first world-wide standard for RFID. Since then, myriad products built to UHF Gen 2 have proliferated, proving their applicability in applications ranging from items to cases to pallets, for use with objects in the near field and far field, and on liquids, metals, tightly stacked and packed items, and more. And the performance levels and innovative applications of these products continue to advance.

UHF Gen 2 tags will always be less expensive than HF tags. In fact, two to three times less expensive. Why? Because UHF tags are so much easier to manufacture. Unlike HF tags, UHF Gen 2 tags lend themselves to simple, high-speed manufacturing techniques that scale exceptionally well. By virtue of UHF Gen 2's uncomplicated, single layer antenna geometries that can be manufactured using inexpensive conductive ink processes, UHF is a far more practical and economical band on which to base a standard.

The key to this development is Impinj's patented (and patents pending) technologies for harnessing UHF's near field—that aspect of the radio wave that is particularly well-suited to close range, item-level RFID operations. The result is a growing suite of application-optimized, nearfield UHF Gen 2 solutions that comprise Impinj's Speedway reader, Monza tag chips, and a host of specialized tag and reader antenna products. A brief survey of UHF near-field RFID deployments in retail, textiles, and pharmaceuticals illustrates the many solutions that are already producing tremendous results from the manufacturing floor to the point of sale.