RFID Textile: RFID Used In Textiles For Extreme Sports

Soon RFID technology will be used not only to label jeans and everyday wear but also textile products designed to meet high demands. Northland is the newest company to join the EU project BRIDGE – "Building Radio Frequency IDentification for the Global Environment". Together with the Graz, Austria-based software and technology consultant RF-iT Solutions, Northland is entering a trial period to investigate how the use of radio tags on clothing is able to improve the efficiency of the entire logistics chain and shop process as well as to optimize handling. RF-iT Solutions currently supplies RFID software and extensive technology consulting services to all of the fashion companies participating in the BRIDGE project, including, besides Northland, Galeria Kaufhof (a retail brand belonging to the METRO group) and gardeur AG. By means of expert knowledge and a specially developed software platform, the Graz-based firm ensures that project partners are quickly able to implement global RFID solutions with the required technical expertise, thus allowing clients to focus on optimizing their value-adding processes. Telekom Austria, one of RF-iT's strategic partners in solutions for the fashion industry, is also involved in the Northland project by providing the infrastructure.

RFID renders electronic product codes even more secure
The current BRIDGE project, initiated in 2006, represents a step in continued development of global applications for EPC, the electronic product code used in uniquely label objects. The initiative, which is supported by the European Commission, is being spearheaded by the international standardization organization GS1. BRIDGE is an empirical study with the aim of developing a model open standard, to be used in practice, for tracking products or logistic units throughout the supply chain. This standard, based on EPC (electronic product codes) and EPC information services (EPCIS), defines the uniform use of EPC RFID labels by all of the companies involved in the supply chain. Specifically, investigation is aimed at rendering RFID even more reliable, secure and user-friendly when used by companies active in textile production, logistics or retailing. For an integration platform, all of the practical trials rely on the scalable You-R OPEN OPerating ENvironment by RF-iT Solutions. This application offers various communications modules for data exchange with lower-level systems such as SAP Navision, PC databases and files, in addition to EPCIS. This makes RF-iT Solutions the pioneer in EPCIS-enabled solutions for the fashion industry.

Northland comes to rely on RFID
Northland, Austrian outdoor experts specializing in selected textiles for the mountaineering segment, is the newest firm to join the research project. This Austrian company offers shop-in-shop concepts as well as franchise chains in 36 countries. In China and South America, Northland ranks amongst the best-selling outdoor brands. The company continues to be privately owned by the Pichler family. Gerwalt Pichler, the company founder, was an extreme athlete, frequently dissatisfied with the quality of his sports clothing. In response, he started designing his own clothing for extreme sports beginning in 1973.

"RFID contributes toward improved efficiency at individual identification points as well as in the logistics process overall. Consequently, the textile and clothing industry has come to be recognized as a very attractive market for the implementation of RFID technologies. When you consider the materials to be identified, the volume of goods and the global logistics chain involved in this case, this sector provides excellent reference customers for successful implementation of projects," Dominik Berger, managing director of RF-iT Solutions GmbH, observed. The Graz-based technology craftsmen rank among the international market leaders in RFID solutions for the fashion industry. In addition to other projects, RF-iT have developed the software which serves as an integral component of every process implemented by Germany's gardeur AG to control the flow of goods. "The You-R OPEN OPerating-ENvironment and our Fashion Solutions equip system integrators and software manufacturers with the expertise required to make a swift, competent entry into the RFID market," Berger added. "We are pleased about the support from recognized experts in the RFID fashion solutions sector in carrying out this challenging project. You-R OPEN is suitable for integration as well as open for many different types of hardware; these features additionally convinced us," Otto Url, responsible for RFID projects at Northland GmbH, stated.

You-R OPEN allows existing enterprise software to be used for optimally processing data provided by RFID processes – regardless of the readers and tags used in the specific case. In this way, the operating environment serves to bridge the gap between RFID hardware and the existing IT infrastructure. The empirical research being done as part of BRIDGE represents an important basis for continued development at RF-iT Solutions: "We are gathering a wealth of experience about how You-R OPEN responds in the EPCIS environment," Berger added.

About RF-iT Solutions GmbH
RF-iT Solutions GmbH, Graz, Austria, a firm active in the area of RFID software and services, was founded in 2005 through a management buy-out of the "RFID Software and Solutions" business division of Infineon AG. RF-iT Solutions is the market leader in the strategic segments of the fashion and the automotive industries. The company provides RFID middleware and technology consulting, devising comprehensive communications solutions to link together business processes, RFID technology and IT. With a staff of 25, the company is focused on the marketing and continued development of You-R OPEN, a scalable Auto-ID software product and the world's leading RFID operating environment, which serves as a platform for system integrators, software manufacturers and operators. RF-iT Solutions also provides system integrators with comprehensive technology consulting, serving them as a technical backbone, so that business processes that have been optimized in theory will also work when implemented in practice. In combination with the knowledge of industry experts, You-R OPEN enables partners to provide global RFID solutions quickly, with the necessary expertise, thus allowing them to focus on added value for their customers. The company operates the "RFID Solutions Excellence Center", for RFID testing tailored to customer needs, at the business site in Graz Austria. On the basis of the convincing features of You-R OPEN, including its functionalities and capacity for integration, the company was awarded the valued European Auto-ID Award in the category of RFID in 2006 as well as the IT Constantinus Award and the German Innovation Award in 2007.

SOURCE: RF-iT Solutions