http://www.datacollection.eu en Copyright Editrice TeMi Srl Tue, 30 Dec 2008 17:27:00 +0100 Tue, 30 Dec 2008 17:27:00 +0100 Ernesto.Salvioli@datacollection.eu webmaster@datacollection.eu http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7443 Two Technologies, Inc. has recently introduced the Safari rugged hand held computer. IP65 rated for protection against dust and water, Safari is ideal for outdoor use in harsh environments. The case is molded from Cycoloy , an ABS/Polycarbonate blend plastic offering extreme resilience to environmental stresses, as well as to a wide variety of chemical substances. The housing features superior drop and shock protection. For added brand recognition, the case can be molded in a variety of custom colors. Safari also offers a 240 X 320 QVGA transflective display with integral touch screen, providing excellent readability, both outdoors and indoors. A tethered stylus with integrated storage pocket is provided on the device. Safari can be equipped with either a 26 key or a 41 key alpha numeric keypad providing seamless integration into a wide variety of applications. Keypads can be tailored to a specific application allowing for an intuitive user experience. An integrated speaker provides audio feedback specific to an application via the use of .WAV files. To extend Safari’s time in the field, an optional 4000mAh high capacity battery is available. A powerful computer featuring 128MB SRAM, 128MB internal FLASH, as well as a user accessible SD card slot for additional mass storage, Safari uses Microsoft Windows CE .NET 5.0 operating system and a Marvell PXA270 processor operating at 520 MHz. All of this in a package that fits comfortably in the hand and weighs in at a trim 14 oz. Safari offers wireless computer communications and networking capabilities via Bluetooth, WLAN 802.11b/g, and GPRS. RS-232, USB, and IR ports are available for connection to peripherals and accessories that extend the product’s utility. Safari is also equipped with an expansion port allowing the addition of RFID, GPS, as well as other industry or application specific modules. An integrated 1D barcode scan engine provides the ability to read a wide variety of symbologies. With its rugged design and wide array of available features, Safari is well suited for a broad range of outdoor and indoor applications where durability and flexible operations are mandatory including: law enforcement (meter reading/traffic), agriculture, environmental (water testing), security (crowd control), medical/hospital, and even the hospitality sectors. Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:24:00 +0100 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7443 Products http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7442 The new Intermec Device Deployment Kit now supports Microsoft BizTalk RFID Mobile, making mobile RFID solutions easier for customers and partners to develop, deploy and manage. The deployment kit for BizTalk RFID Mobile extends the management and event processing experience to mobile devices and allows for communication between a server and mobile platforms. Additionally, it gives Microsoft software integration partners the tools that developers need to quickly and easily build plug-and-play vertical market applications. "We want to enable our partners to develop cost effective RFID-based solutions that span organizational and geographic boundaries," said Paul Sanford, senior product manager at Microsoft. "By investing in BizTalk RFID Mobile, Intermec has enabled customers to more efficiently support the entire lifecycle of an RFID system or application." Intermec offers partners seamless integration with BizTalk RFID for the CN3 and CK61 mobile computers with the IP30 snap-on RFID reader, as well as the CV30 fixed vehicle computer with the IV7 vehicle mount RFID reader. The Intermec Device Deployment Kit for BizTalk RFID Mobile is available as a free download. Microsoft BizTalk RFID Mobile, a platform for Windows Mobile and Windows CE, consists of a runtime engine and tools and components to develop, deploy and manage RFID solutions on mobile devices. Customers can now integrate both fixed and mobile RFID readers into common business processes through the same interface, providing a comprehensive end-to-end platform for real-time decision making by mobile workers. The platform supports the following features: Bar code scanning Pull-trigger events Storing and forwarding tag events, improving reliability in the case of intermittent network connections Remote configuration and administration of handheld devices via the Microsoft LLRP provider "Intermec's excellence and leadership in RFID has led our company to confidently depend on the quality of their device solutions while deploying software applications for our customers on the BizTalk RFID based RTVS TM (Real Time Visibility Systems) solutions platform," said Ram Venkatesh, CEO of S3 Edge Inc. Intermec, a Microsoft Direct OEM and Gold Certified Partner, has worked closely with Microsoft to tightly integrate offerings with BizTalk RFID Mobile. "We continue to support Microsoft's platforms for RFID-based applications across various businesses year after year," said Ray Cronin, Intermec Vice President & GM of RFID. "From the warehouse to a postal delivery route our offerings make our channel partner's RFID implementations more scalable and efficient." Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:22:00 +0100 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7442 Products http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7440 Mr. Christian Lefort has just been appointed President of the Datamax∙O'Neil Business Group reporting to Mr. Omar Kerbage, President & CEO, Dover Product Identification Group. In this position, Mr. Lefort will have responsibility for Datamax∙O'Neil worldwide sales, marketing and all related commercial and distribution support functions. As a member of the Dover Product Identification Group (PIDG) Executive Committee, he will also act as the executive interface with the PIDG support functions such as supply chain, research & engineering, and other staff functions. Mr. Lefort joins Datamax∙O'Neil from his position as Vice President Global Distribution Sales for Markem-Imaje, another PIDG Business Group, where he successfully managed revenues of $700 million, 1600 employees, 32 direct sales operations and 80 distributors worldwide. Mr. Lefort has over 20 years of direct and indirect sales distribution and related commercial experience in the packaging and product identification industries. He has progressively advanced in various sales and marketing management positions in Coprima, a distributor of packaged goods specializing in foods, as well as Armor, a manufacturer of printing consumables. He joined Imaje in 2000 and has held senior level management roles leading product marketing, marketing communications, and sales, as well as sales support functions. Mr. Lefort's qualifications include a wide variety of skills gained through wide ranging and extensive commercial experience in serving the consumer packaged goods industries. He has significant international business expertise, well supported by language skills in French, German, English, Spanish and Italian. Also, he has the demonstrated capability to translate business and industry knowledge into strategy and goals deployment, and his experience with the Dover Product Identification Group should serve him well in directing Datamax∙O'Neil to achieve Dover's "Performance Counts" agenda. Mr. Lefort and his wife and three children will relocate to the USA from France. Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:16:00 +0100 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7440 Market http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7441 Finnish apparel company NP Collection has opened one of the most advanced intelligent clothes stores in Hollola, Finland. In this new store, customers can try on clothes in intelligent changing rooms supported by RFID technology. When trying on clothes, customers can use wall-mounted touch screens to browse additional product information, view suggestions for matching clothes and accessories and have alternative products or sizes brought straight to the changing room. NP Collection also uses a check-out system with RFID reading abilities to speed up customer service. RFID tags are attached to all NP Collection's products during manufacture, and data from the tags is read at several points all the way to the central warehouse. The capacity to follow the stream of goods in real time provides substantial cost-reductions in logistics and manufacture. On the store level, this data can be exploited to plan shelf-use in advance, for example. Finally, the RFID tags can also function as antitheft devices. The RFID implementations continue a development project initiated by NP Collection in 2007 which covers the entire supply chain. The project aims to rationalize and intensify logistic processes and provide added value to customers by improving service levels. The intelligent store concept will expand to St. Petersburg, Russia where NP Collection is opening a new clothes store equipped with smart Senso modules similar to those currently used in Hollola. During the next six months, the company will also implement a new, RFID-assisted Shop in Shop concept designed for use in NP Collection's retailers ’ premises. The solutions are supplied through cooperation between several parties including UPM Raflatac, RDN, SML, Impinj, Microsoft, IBM and Digia. Thu, 11 Dec 2008 10:17:00 +0100 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7441 Market http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7439 LXE has announced a new agreement with MCL Technologies that gives partners greater access to MCL software tools on LXE equipment. Specifically, the companies unveiled today the release of MCL-Collection and MCL-Voice for LXE’s handheld and wearable rugged mobile computers. “Today’s agreement with MCL supports LXE’s expansion in the channel, strengthening the options available to LXE partners to develop and deploy new applications using LXE equipment,” says Bill Roeder, LXE vice president and general manager. “In particular, MCL software tools give our partners a powerful and effective way to develop robust applications for use in a variety of environments. MCL-Voice enables current MCL developers to quickly add voice capabilities to their applications.” Jean-Francois Jacques, managing director, MCL Technologies, adds, “MCL Technologies is pleased to partner with LXE to make MCL-Collection and MCL-Voice easily accessible to LXE’s growing partner base. This is a strategic partnership for us given the breadth and quality of LXE’s voice product capabilities -- LXE’s voice-ready ToughTalk technology is a high-quality hardware platform for delivering voice-enabled applications in noisy environments such as warehouses.” Waterloo, Belgium-based MCL is a recognized leader in delivering enterprise-ready, high-productivity software development tools for multimodal, mobile workforce application development. The company’s MCL-Voice products allow users to talk and listen to their mobile computing applications using language-based speech recognition technology and text-to-speech synthesis. Using MCL-Voice, customers can create voice-dedicated applications or combine voice with other data capture technologies, such as bar code scanning. They can also run voice and non-voice applications on the same device, and even share a pool of devices amongst users. MCL-Voice also offers management and analysis tools to objectively evaluate voice performance. MCL-Voice certification supports LXE’s commitment to being a leader in providing equipment for voice-based applications by providing robust, quality voice recognition for mobile workers in harsh, noisy environments. MCL software now works with LXE’s HX2, HX3, MX7 and MX8 products. MCL Technologies is a competence center of Zetes Industries. Thu, 11 Dec 2008 10:15:00 +0100 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7439 Products http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7388 Seagull Scientific has released two new software development kits (SDKs) that allow C# and VB.NET developers to rapidly add BarTender label printing functionality to other programs. The new ".NET" SDKs began shipping on November 13th, 2008 as part of BarTender version 9.01 (build 2524). Versions 9.0 and 9.01 of the BarTender Label Management Suite were initially released with English-only support for all newly-added features. With Service Release 3 of BarTender version 9.01 (build 2524), the new features and applications have been updated to display in all 23 languages supported by BarTender. Owners of version 9.0 and earlier builds of versions can update by downloading the latest Trial edition or SR3 Services Release and installing it over the existing copy of BarTender 9.0 or 9.01 Tue, 9 Dec 2008 07:01:00 +0100 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7388 Products http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7381 Venture Development Corporation’s most recent retail automation publication, Volume 7: Handheld POS Bar Code Scanners, is now available. The report provides detailed global forecasts for handheld scanners used across a retail location (with emphasis on the point of sale) and provides meaningful insights regarding the suppliers, resellers, and users of these devices. According to VDC research, in 2007 the global market for handheld POS scanners reached $245 million, with unit shipments approaching 1.3 million. VDC anticipates that revenue shipments for handheld POS scanners will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5% approaching $319 million by 2012. An essential peripheral to any enterprise’s POS infrastructure, handheld POS scanners are continuing to leverage their core value propositions to address applications not only at the point-of-sale (POS), but at the point-of-decision (POD) as well. Historically confined to a tethered/wired deployment, handheld scanners are increasingly configured with integrated wireless connectivity options that allow enterprises to empower all stakeholder groups (i.e., employees, customers, and partners) that they interact with throughout their retail location. As stakeholders become more comfortable and confident using these technologies, scanner suppliers are reporting increasing investment in their ‘new’ mobile solutions, especially ‘personal shopping systems.’ “Although pilots and beta tests date back to the mid 1990s, ‘personal shopping systems’ are starting to experience noteworthy adoption and deployment across the globe,” stated Rory Gardner, Research Analyst for VDC Research. “Handheld POS scanner suppliers continue to highlight Europe as the fastest-growing region for this new breed of POS technology due to customer comfort with self-service technologies, and an ability to leapfrog legacy POS solutions in emerging country markets (i.e., Eastern Europe). By interacting with the consumer in-aisle, enterprises are given the opportunity to improve visibility, enhance the customer experience, reduce operating expenses and capture incremental revenue.” From an operations perspective, self-service solutions like ‘personal shopping systems’ make sense for those retailers interested in obtaining greater visibility to the customer-purchase process. This is accomplished by providing mobile scanning and computing technologies that push relevant information to shoppers to improve their experience while capturing relevant information for the retailer. The process typically includes the following steps: In order for a consumer to obtain the personal shopping device he or she must first interact with the enterprise via a customer loyalty card this provides relevant information to the retailer regarding the customer and his/her demographic Once the personal shopping device is released to the customer and they begin their shopping experience, enterprises have the ability to collect real-time information regarding consumers’ preferences and requirements; o Consumers have the ability to sync to past shopping lists, compare items, search product discounts, etc. o At this stage, these devices can quickly morph into a platform for enterprises to introduce new marketing and promotional campaigns and activities. Finally, these solutions have the ability to expedite the completion of a transaction. By allowing consumers to bag and scan their products in-aisle, the only thing left is for them is to upload their shopping list and provide the appropriate payment. “Self-service technologies (i.e., ‘personal shopping solutions’) are capable of enhancing the customer experience by providing up-to-date information regarding pricing, availability and alternative considerations,” added Gardner. “This real-time information exchange empowers the customer and allows them to make educated purchase decisions. These interactions and experiences provide a source of differentiation, for the retailer, while building customer loyalty and improve operations. These benefits can translate to competitive advantage for those retailers whose customers are tech savvy, especially in a tough economic climate where discretionary spending is under increased scrutiny.” Fri, 5 Dec 2008 21:34:00 +0100 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7381 Market http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7380 Zebra Technologies Corporation has a new line of blood bag labels that support the ISBT 128 standard and are designed to enhance patient safety in the blood transfusion process. Zebra’s 8000T Primary Blood Bag labels are fully compliant with ISBT 128, the international standard for identification, labeling and information processing of human blood, tissue and organ products. Manufactured with a polypropylene face sheet, the 8000T Primary Blood Bag labels feature a durable, acrylic-based adhesive that meets FDA 175.105 requirements for indirect food contact. The strong adhesion and pliability of the labels enables them to easily and securely conform to the shape of the blood bag, helping to ensure ease of scanning and higher bar code read rates. “Blood bag labels are a key component in improving patient safety throughout the blood transfusion process,” says Cristina De Martini, global practice leader, healthcare, at Zebra Technologies. “By utilizing blood bag labels that comply with ISBT 128 blood bag labeling standards, blood banks are able to minimize the chance for mislabeling of blood products while ensuring that the labels remain readable throughout the blood supply chain. The release of our new blood bag labels demonstrates Zebra’s ongoing commitment to delivering products that allow healthcare organizations to improve safety and enhance care delivery.” According to the FDA, approximately 414 blood transfusion errors occur in the United States each year. Damaged or illegible blood bag labels can hinder positive patient identification, leading to possible mismatches between the patient and blood product and significantly compromising patient safety. A study published in the International Journal of Transfusion Medicine, “Sources of Preventable Errors Related to Transfusion,” reports that nearly 80 percent of blood transfusion errors are related to bedside or labeling errors. Designed for use with Zebra’s thermal transfer printers, Zebra’s blood bag label line includes both primary labels – designed for placement directly on the blood bag – and secondary labels, which are intended for placement on top of another blood bag label. Available in single quadrant, double quadrant and full face configurations, the labels withstand water, blood, soap, chemicals and other liquids for the duration of blood product storage. The long-lasting adhesive ensures that the labels will remain firmly affixed to the blood bag throughout its lifespan. Fri, 5 Dec 2008 21:32:00 +0100 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7380 Market http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7383 ASK, a leader in contactless technology, and WS Packaging, one of the largest printing and label converting operations in North America, have entered into an agreement to create a joint venture in the United States. ASK contactless cards and tickets are already implemented in the transportation networks of several large cities like San Francisco , Los Angeles , San Diego , Houston , Atlanta , Minneapolis and Philadelphia. The joint venture will focus on the Secure ID, Mass Transit, and Financial Bank Cards markets in the U.S. and Canada . “As a leading manufacturer of labels, WS Packaging Group was the perfect partner to boost our activity of RFID tags,” said Bruno Moreau , ASK’s CEO. “ASK has already strong references in the U.S. with clients involved in mass transit, banking and identity markets, but a Joint Venture with a U.S. industrial leader will enhance our market presence and contactless technology on the Northern American continent. Furthermore, our clients who requested a local manufacturing site will be pleased to benefit from ASK technology and WS Packaging’s strong market presence,” he adds. ASK’s turnover abroad accounts for nearly 70% of its total turnover which confirms the global presence of the company in contactless technology implementations. ASK’s 54 patents to date strengthen a unique and environmentally-friendly technology based on a silver antenna on paper substrate and die chip attach process. So far, 130 persons in France have served more than 120 million users on all 5 continents in transportation, banking, RFID and identity sectors. “We are very excited to join with a prominent expert in RFID technology”, said Terry Fulwiler, WS Packaging’s CEO. “ASK has been dedicated to contactless technology since its creation, and WS Packaging brings in a long experience and expertise in printing and packaging. This is a perfect marriage to meet the increasing demand for contactless products on the U.S. market,” he adds. Wed, 3 Dec 2008 21:39:00 +0100 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7383 Market http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7378 UPM Raflatac has opened a new RFID manufacturing site in Guangzhou, China. With the launch of this state-of-the-art production facility, the company reinforces its service level particularly in the Asian market. It also further strengthens UPM Raflatac's global presence in the RFID market, as the company now manufactures tags and inlays on three continents: Asia, North America and Europe. In Guangzhou, the initial annual production capacity will be 100 million pieces including high-frequency and ultra-high frequency passive RFID tags and inlays. The factory ’s capacity is scalable to hundreds of millions of pieces annually, according to market demand. Manufacture in Southern China ’s Guangdong province provides definitive advantages, such as being close to existing and potential customers and direct access to the Chinese market. It also eliminates the need to import products from other factories. “The opportunity to operate locally gives us a solid base for growth in the Asian market and at the same time validates our position as the globally leading manufacturer of RFID tags and inlays, ” says Christer Härkönen, Senior Vice President of UPM Raflatac ’s RFID business. In the Asian market, UPM Raflatac serves several RFID end-use areas including apparel, ticketing, supply chain management, pharmaceutical, media management, transportation and industrial. In addition to better serving the domestic market, UPM Raflatac will manufacture tags and inlays in Guangzhou for export. "The opening of the Guangzhou facility is a great achievement for UPM Raflatac, establishing the company as a truly global inlay manufacturer," says Michael Liard, Research Director for RFID & Contactless from leading market research company ABI Research. "The application mix in Asia continues to diversify as more customers across multiple vertical markets evaluate and adopt RFID. UPM Raflatac's local presence and increased manufacturing capacity positions the company to meet growing demand in China as well as abroad." Tue, 2 Dec 2008 21:24:00 +0100 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7378 Market http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7379 Seagull Scientific has launched version 9.0 of their BarTender label and RFID software, which they say is their biggest software release in ten years. Front and center is the companion “Printer Maestro” application for enterprise print management. It provides users of any Windows program (not just BarTender) with a single viewing area for the status of all printers and print jobs for all computers on a network. (In contrast, Windows on its own has to “pop-up” a separate window for each printer.) The Enterprise Print Server edition of Printer Maestro also adds printer media usage tracking, which provides users with an on-screen “meter” showing the quantity of labels and ribbon remaining for each printer. “The media usage and inventory tracking features in Printer Maestro were designed with printer and printer supply VARs in mind,” said Jeremy Seigel , CEO of Seagull Scientific. “They can easily be copied on the automated e-mail and text message warnings about low media conditions, so they know which users are low on printer supplies and may be ready for new stock.” Version 9.0 of BarTender also introduces detailed logging of print job information and application messages to a database. To support high-security audits, logged information includes who printed each job, any warnings or errors that may have been generated, what label data was printed, and an optional software-generated image of each label. Users can easily inspect and “drill down” into the log using Seagull’s new History Explorer application. They can even reprint any lost or damaged labels using either History Explorer or the separate, dedicated Reprint Console. Mon, 1 Dec 2008 21:29:00 +0100 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7379 Products http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7377 Vail Resorts, the leading mountain resort operator in the U.S. has selected Zebra Technologies’ new P330 i UHF RFID card printer/encoders and custom-designed UHF cards to create RFID-enabled identification cards for use with Vail Resorts’ “easy scan” system. The new system is designed to provide instant authentication of lift pass holders at the company’s ski resorts of Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado and Heavenly in California and Nevada. “We’re always looking for new ways to enhance the experience for our guests, and the ‘easy scan’ system is designed to do just that,” said Robert Urwiler, Vail Resorts CIO. “We’ve been very happy with the Zebra printers we already use in our operations, and we are confident that the new P330 i UHF RFID card printer/encoders will provide the performance we need to fulfill our goals.” Vail Resorts will use handheld RF scanners to detect lift passes through skiers’ coats, providing an easier, more convenient experience without the need for the swiping or barcode scanning of passes. The new RFID-enabled system consists of a Zebra Gen 2 RFID card and Zebra P330 i passive UHF RFID card printer, which was selected based on ease of use, speed and reliability. The RFID-enabled card system was created by the Vail Resorts technology team and will be implemented for the 2008-2009 ski and snowboard season at all five ski resorts. “The P330i passive UHF RFID card printer/encoders, along with the UHF Gen 2 RFID cards we designed, are ideally suited for the lift pass auto-ID application,” said Steve Park, vice president and general manager of RFID at Zebra. “Providing longer read ranges and unique identification capabilities that facilitate higher levels of security and authentication, the Zebra solution will help Vail Resorts continue to deliver on its promise of exceptional customer experience.” Zebra P330i passive UHF RFID card printer/encoders feature 4 MB image memory standard and a 16-character LCD display. The printer/encoders are designed for use with Zebra-designed cards and are also compatible with cards provided by other manufacturers. Product options include a magnetic encoder, and built-in Ethernet capability. The printers deliver clear, vibrant color printing and print resolution of 300 dpi. The EPC Gen 2 cards used by Vail Resorts include a chip featuring strong sensitivity and a Unique ID (UID) serial number that cannot be changed or duplicated, thus protecting against forging or cloning of ski lift passes. The card’s inlay antenna (patent pending) was designed by Zebra specifically to maximize performance and read range and to enhance security in access control applications. Mon, 1 Dec 2008 21:22:00 +0100 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7377 Market http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7376 Since the Free University of Bolzano was founded ten years ago, everything from the network to the server and PCs on to the software to support the internal departments has been designed in-house and implemented by the university’s own Information and Computer Technology department. A unique and comprehensive project has also been the introduction of a multi-functional smart card. Based on two application solutions – access control and time & attendance by Interflex as well as electronic payment system by Automaten Seitz – the Free University of Bolzano has developed an additional range of solutions which have been seamlessly integrated with its own university information system. Previously separated systems have been brought together to guarantee an innovative all-round service for students and staff. As soon as they enter the university or register, every employee and student receives a personalised smart card with their photo, name and library number. At the press of a button, the account is registered in the science network, library permissions created, access authorisation granted and the card printed and coded – all in less than five minutes thanks to automated processes. The card holder is able to get all the available services immediately using its card for example in the library, for electronic payment, as a copy card or for university elections. To ensure the service remains as transparent as possible, users can view all data via the web. Furthermore, the campus card can be blocked round the clock using an online application. The LEGIC smart card itself visibly displays the period of validity which is printed on an overwriteable field. If the card is extended, the period of validity is updated using a special printer which at the same time updates the coding. Thanks to the flexible expandability of LEGIC smart card platform, the innovative Campus Card is also well-prepared for the future. Additional applications can be simply added at any time – an important advantage, beside cost savings and increased administration efficiency and service level. Two additional institutions, the ‘‘European Academy’’, a research institution in Bolzano and the ‘‘Philosophy and Theology’’ college in Bressanone are also adopting this innovative solution. Mon, 1 Dec 2008 21:15:00 +0100 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7376 Market http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7374 Datamax O’Neil, a subsidiary of Dover Corporation has announced the appointment of Christian Bischoff to the position of vice president of the Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) region. Mr. Bischoff brings more than 12 years of experience working in sales and marketing management for a number of international high-technology companies. He will be responsible for leading the company’s market growth throughout the region. “I am pleased to welcome Christian to our team and am confident that his broad experience will help us grow our business in the EMEA marketplace, expand our partnerships and forge new alliances,” said Mark Bjerkestrand, chief operating officer of Datamax O’Neil. “Further, Christian will be a tremendous asset to our senior management team and I look forward to his significant contributions to our global success.” Mr. Bischoff joins Datamax O’Neil from Opex International, where he served as business development manager, responsible for sales, alliances, marketing and technical service. He has also served in management positions at Checkpoint Systems, Toyota Tsusho and Meto GmbH. “I’m excited about the opportunities for Datamax O’Neil in EMEA and am eager to help the company expand its footprint in this dynamic region,” Christian said. “I look forward to applying my sales, business development and relationship-building experience to help drive the growth of this company.” Sun, 30 Nov 2008 21:11:00 +0100 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7374 Market http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7372 A new type of bar code called GS1 DataBar will be mandatory starting in 2010 for marking trade items in the retail supply chain and Datalogic Mobile is one of the first in the industry to support the new decoding symbology . January 1, 2010 is the global “sunrise” for all trade item bar code scanning systems to read GS1 DataBar bar codes. Manufacturers world-wide start will start labeling retail goods with GS1 DataBar bar codes and retailers must be ready for this change. GS1 DataBar (formerly RSS) symbols are used to identify small items and carry more information than current EAN/UPC bar codes. GS1 DataBar encodes the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) which enables unique identification of hard-to-mark products like fresh foods and produce. These symbols also carry GS1 Application Identifiers such as lot numbers and expiration dates, creating solutions to support product authentication and traceability for variable measure products such as meat, deli, and produce. Datalogic Mobile has introduced the new decoding symbology in its mobile computers Kyman, Falcon 4400, Datalogic Memor, Datalogic Skorpio, Datalogic JET, and Pegaso. These products provide the features required to fully support the GS1 DataBar 2010 Sunrise and to support all of the coming applications for GS1 DataBar. Datalogic mobile computers can read the seven variants of GS1 DataBar that will be used in the retail supply chain. Sun, 30 Nov 2008 21:06:00 +0100 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7372 Market http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7373 The world's first national ID system based on contactless smart card technology has reached significant milestone. Just seven months after the production of the first document, the Kingdom of Morocco's national security service (DGSN - Direction Générale de la Sécurité Nationale) has already issued its millionth biometric contactless ID cards. The revolutionary national ID project implemented by Thales, a leading international electronics and systems group, addressing security, aerospace and defence markets worldwide, will see DGSN issue 20 million smartcards over the next 4 years. The biometric ID documents are based on contactless smart card technology to ensure maximum document security and respect of the citizen’s rights and liberty. The complete solution, provided by Thales, comprises ID document production equipment and software, high-security consumables and connectivity with the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), which acquires digital fingerprints. Thales designed security into the system from the start, including the development of the software, in order to guarantee the highest level of security in all aspects of the ID document production process. The biometric ID cards will be produced in two production centers and the documents have a guaranteed lifespan of 10 years. In addition to serving as secure authentication credential, Moroccan citizens will be able to conveniently present the ID cards in place of their birth certificate, certificate of residence, certificate of life and certificate of nationality in all procedures for which these documents must be provided. This advanced ID system includes both personal details and biometric data and meets new security requirements concerning travel documents and control of migration flows. Thales has drawn on its long-standing experience in mission critical systems integration to develop a range of ID document production and control systems which are in operation in over 25 countries. More than 200 million documents have been generated and more than 150 million digital fingerprints have been captured to date. The Group’s most recent contract win in this sector, is the United Kingdom’s National Identity Scheme (the ‘Critical Workers Identity Cards’ section). Sat, 29 Nov 2008 21:07:00 +0100 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7373 Market http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7375 The Enterprise Mobility business of Motorola, Inc. announced that several schools and universities around the world have deployed Motorola’s innovative wireless technologies to provide connectivity on campus or on the road, enhancing learning experiences for students and helping staff stay productive and secure. As a global communications leader, Motorola works on advancing the way the world connects. The company’s wireless LAN (WLAN) portfolio is optimized for the education market offering different levels of access security for students, faculty, staff and guests on the same network; self-healing technology that can automatically fix RF coverage problems anywhere on campus; and a comprehensive management suite to help design, deploy, manage and secure a large indoor/outdoor campus-wide network. By moving to an all-wireless network infrastructure, the Goliad Independent School District in Goliad, Texas and Manipal University in Manipal, India are providing un-tethered Internet access to students and faculty as well as enabling high-speed wireless bridging between multiple campus buildings in a single site or direct connectivity amongst multiple schools in the same school district. The benefits of deploying 802.11n, mesh or an all-wireless enterprise solution for educational environments, ranging from pre-kindergarten through college, are increasing rapidly and creating a global trend for Wi-Fi-enabled schools. “The all-wireless enterprise solution leverages the full benefits of wireless LAN, enabling full mobility and access to information any time, virtually any place on the school campus,” said Sujai Hajela, vice president and general manager of Enterprise WLAN, Motorola Enterprise Mobility business. “At one-fifth to one-tenth the cost of a wired network, the all-wireless network can instantly save educational institutions millions of dollars per year in leased line costs.” The students of Goliad Independent School District in Goliad, Texas, are now able to access the Internet from the classroom to the parking lot. Victoria Communication Services, a Motorola value-added reseller and a member of Motorola’s five-star PartnerSelect partner program, customized the WLAN deployment to provide full coverage in all of the district’s schools. “Goliad school district’s IT staff has been very progressive providing laptops to students to help them with their studies and by providing widespread Wi-Fi access,” said Jennifer Hartman, owner of Victoria Communication Services. “Motorola’s end-to-end WLAN solutions deliver the reliable, scalable, high performance connectivity that provides peace of mind to any IT director of a budget-strapped school district.” Across the globe, Manipal University in Manipal, India, has deployed Motorola’s WLAN technology for indoor access and mesh for outdoors to connect more than 20 of its colleges. D-VoiS, a leading Indian Internet service provider, recommended the end-to-end, fully managed wireless network from Motorola, which also integrated Motorola’s complementary point-to-point and point-to-multipoint wireless bridging technologies. “Reliability, performance and improved manageability that comes with deploying a single-vendor system was a factor in assessing the indoor and outdoor needs of the network,” said Ramesh Sathya of D-VoiS. “Motorola has the most comprehensive and proven wireless portfolio in the market, which made it the clear choice for the Manipal deployment.” In addition to providing schools and universities with comprehensive wireless networking solutions, Motorola also offers proven mobile communications tools like Good Mobile Messaging to enable teachers and staff to stay connected with their key stakeholders when off campus. The Houston County Board of Education in Georgia selected Good Mobile Messaging to provide email, calendaring, and contacts to its employees. When comparing different mobile messaging solutions, security and management were important factors. Since employees take their smartphones wherever they travel, devices can be lost or misplaced, putting confidential data at risk. “In our search for the best mobile messaging solution, we considered our requirements for security, manageability, and the needs of our end users,” said Doug McDowell, webmaster and Good administrator, Houston County Board of Education. “Good was the only solution that didn’t require any trade-offs. Our IT managers are confident in the level of security and our users can stay productive wherever their jobs take them. We’ve had Good running for more than a year and are confident we made the right choice for our organization.” Good provides end-to-end security for data in transit as well as data stored on employee devices. Good's server is deployed behind the enterprise firewall so security is not compromised with having to open new ports. IT can even remotely lock down hardware components, including cameras, Bluetooth®, and IR ports as well as smartphone applications like browser and games. New temporary passwords can be pushed to the handheld and lost or stolen devices can be remotely erased. “Motorola’s Good Technology Group is making great strides in the education market,” said Neil Hooper, vice president of global sales of Motorola Good Technology Group. “Good understands that every minute counts for staff members, and real time accuracy drives excellence. The ability to stay on top of emails, contacts and meetings is critical to success, since employees have so many stakeholders.” Other school districts that have recently selected Good Mobile Messaging from Motorola include Catawba County Schools, Liberty Public School District, Cleveland Metropolitan School District and San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools. Recently announced wireless-enabled schools featuring Motorola WLAN technology include Carnegie Mellon University, San Marino Unified School District and Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications. Fri, 28 Nov 2008 21:13:00 +0100 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7375 Market http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7354 Identec Solutions technology is safeguarding lives in the extreme and challenging environmental conditions of mines in the Arctic Circle. The Swedish government owned corporation Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB) is considered one of the world’s largest producers of upgraded iron-based products for the steel industry. Located in a remote area near the Arctic Circle, LKAB’s Malmberget and Kiruna mines produce roughly 25 million tons of raw ore annually. “We have very specific sets of requirements for our underground operations,” states Egon Sundling, operations manager at LKAB. “Providing our personnel and visitors with the safest work environment possible is an utmost priority to Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB). Streamlining workflow processes for enhanced efficiency is another. The system also needed to be highly reliable in harsh environments. Identec Solutions WATCHER MINE technology met our stringent criteria.” The WATCHER MINE system at the LKAB mines consists of active RFID tags worn by more than 1,000 LKAB miners, readers that gather the information provided by the tags, and monitoring software for data processing. “All system components have been specifically developed to withstand harsh environments and meet the strict European guidelines for intrinsically safe equipment”, Gerhard Schedler, CEO of Identec Solutions states. “The WATCHER SERIES technology was developed specifically to meet the needs of the oil, gas and mining industries.” Identec Solutions safety systems enable a dynamic localization and visualization of people, vehicles and equipment. Furthermore they enable complete control over the widespread zones of the Malmberget mine. In the event of an emergency situation critical time can be saved, when accounting for visitors and personnel. “With the support of WATCHER MINE personnel in danger can be located within seconds,” Schedler states. “These seconds are vital, and can often translate into the difference between life and death.” Tests have proven that Identec Solutions WATER SERIES safety systems are unsurpassed in reliability and functionality. They are deployed at some of the most significant tunnel and mining construction sites of Europe such as the SVEA coal mine in Spitzbergen or at the Brenner Base Tunnel between Austria and Italy. Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:47:00 +0100 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7354 Products http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7353 Orfite, a French industrial group with various holdings, has bought out Armor with the Armor management team, consisting of Hubert de Boisredon and six senior executives. Orfite becomes the majority shareholder in Armor and, in collaboration with the management, is buying all the shares, taking over from the Rufenacht family. The new team will take over all the projects and developments. Despite the present difficult economic times, the strategy of growth is guaranteed by the €40 million of investments made since 2005 and the decision to turn Armor into a sustainable-development company. Armor is building a long-term industrial group worldwide, based on the trust of its clients and partners, and of the staff and their in-house representatives. Hubert de Boisredon comments “Our staff, our clients, our partners and our suppliers will see a continuation of this industrial policy which has already given proof of its consistency and dynamism. This commitment to growth and the ability to carry projects through have radically have convinced Orfite to invest.” The management team will benefit from the industrial and financial experience of Orfite that boasts sixteen years’ experience in the acquisition of successful companies. Orfite knows Armor well, and is confident in the management team and all the workers, emphasising "the quality of the management and of the industrial plant, and the privileged position of Armor in both its specialities." Armor has seen healthy growth over the last four years, based on its lead position in two fields, the AICP (Thermal Transfer) market and the AOP (laser and ink-jet consumables) market on the European level. The company is currently experiencing a balanced financial situation which will enable it to continue investing in the years to come. Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:46:00 +0100 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7353 Market http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7350 The Indian government has implemented a new healthcare access scheme for 60 million Indians living below the poverty line. This scheme provides members of a family living below the poverty line to benefit from health insurance to the extent of 800 US dollars per year, based on a health card distributed to each household. The Evolis Pebble printer was first integrated with the card production & personalization software. Then it was provided to Insurance companies and Third Party Agents to fulfill the technical requirements of producing and delivery cards in a decentralized way. The project has already seen the deployment of 300 Pebble color printers in India with personalization of approximately 800,000 cards within a few months. This scheme will gather speed in the next few months with the deployment of close to 700 additional Evolis printers before the end of 2009 to personalize health cards . Under the project, beneficiaries will get directly in their villages and towns, a card with their biometric (fingerprints) and personal status information. This smart card, on which the medical records as well as the treatment benefits obtained will be listed, allows the hospitals, the government and the insurance companies in the program to have precise visibility on medical care provided. On the field, government agents and technicians will move from village to village to identify the recipients. After the end of the identification phase, a smart card, personalized graphically and electronically, is given instantaneously to the beneficiary thanks to Evolis printers. This mobile application was made possible thanks to the close collaboration of the Indian government, insurance companies, local system integrators and strong contribution from the Evolis country partner in India, Rajpurohit Cardtec Pvt Ltd. Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:30:00 +0100 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/news.do?lng=en&id=7350 Market http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/article.do?lng=en&id=717 In 2004 the city of Madrid and Consorcio Regional de Transportes de Madrid (CRTM) launched a project to build six urban transport hubs in various points throughout the city (Principe Pío, Conde de Casal, Plaza Elíptica, Plaza Castilla, Chamartín e Moncloa), with an ... Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:00:00 +0100 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/article.do?lng=en&id=717 in field http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/article.do?lng=en&id=650 Itworks, a software developer and system integration company, based in Ancona Italy, has announced the release of its new voice picking solution vo-CE 2.0®, an upgrade from their already existing vo-CE 1.3 but with added innovative and complete platform solutions for users working in the logistics and in supply chain management. Fri, 16 May 2008 11:28:00 +0200 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/article.do?lng=en&id=650 in field http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/article.do?lng=en&id=630 ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 31/ WG2 & WG4 meetings, Automatic identification & data collection, Jan. 2008, Clearwater (FL) Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:20:00 +0200 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/article.do?lng=en&id=630 standard & quality http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/article.do?lng=en&id=629 To expand its customer service in a customer-oriented manner, Brau Union Österreich AG has equipped over 300 delivery vehicles at 34 sales storage sites throughout the country with an innovative MDE solution. Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:25:00 +0200 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/article.do?lng=en&id=629 in field http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/article.do?lng=en&id=628 Securitas, the specialist for security solutions, optimizes the quality of service in the protection of industrial, trade and logistics buildings with multifunctional hand-held terminals from Casio. Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:21:00 +0200 http://www.datacollection.eu/datacollection/article.do?lng=en&id=628 in field