| Abstract: | With version 2.0 of its Tag Acquisition Processor middleware, RFID supplier Reva Systems offers broadened support for EPCglobal standards and tighter enterprise integration. |
| Keywords: | RFID, radio frequency ID, Reva Systems, Tag Acquisition Processer, EPCglobal, low-frequency tags, high-frequency rags, RFID readers, Microsoft BizTalk, RFID deployments |
RFID infrastructure provider Reva Systems Corp. today announced the first major upgrade to its flagship Tag Acquisition Processor, which includes support for new RFID readers and printers, compliance with the latest EPCglobal standards, and tight integration with IBM, Microsoft, and SAP applications.
Reva's Tag Acquisition Processor (TAP), originally launched 18 months ago, is a network appliance designed to help users manage RFID deployments by making the RFID infrastructure an extension of the enterprise. To that end, the Management Console in TAP version 2.0 now includes an improved graphical user interface for configuring device placement and monitoring, and for activating firmware upgrades.
Reva officials said TAP version 2.0 — based on EPCglobal standards that outline an architectural framework of hardware, software, and data interfaces — will help propel the technology outside of traditional retail and consumer-product goods deployments and into food processing, aerospace, postal services, and transportation markets.
To that end, industry observers say that broad adoption of RFID hinges largely on the evolution of the EPCglobal standards. On top of the existing high frequency tag protocol and now the ultra high frequency Gen 2 tag protocols, EPCglobal has enhanced data capture and data exchange with two new standards. Recently, the industry group ratified the low level reader protocol (LLRP), an interface between RFID readers and clients that supports multiple air protocols by outlining formats and procedures of communication. It also defined version 1.0 of the EPC Information Services (EPCIS) standard, data capture interfaces that enable disparate applications to leverage electronic product code and ultimately link it with relevant business context. TAP 2.0 supports all of the new standards, Reva officials said.
"The [new TAP] system is a result of new standards ratified in the year since the last release," said Reva chairman and co-founder, Ashley Stephenson in an interview with Managing Automation. "The new release...is really a year's worth of progress in the RFID space from a technology and standards point of view."
In addition to existing support for about a dozen RFID device brands, TAP 2.0 adds out-of-the-box integration with Intermec IF5, IF30, and IF61 readers; Impinj Speedway; NEC Tokin; Elektrobit URP1000-ETSI; and Motorola XR400 series readers; as well as Motorola MC9090-G and RD5000 mobile devices and Sirit Infinity 510 readers. TAP 2.0 also features support for RFID printers from Intermec, Printronix, and Zebra.
And, in response to customer demand, Stephenson said, TAP is now tightly tied to IBM WebSphere and Microsoft BizTalk through EPCIS, Web services, and Java message service interfaces.
The new integration features, Stephenson noted, stem from an industry-wide recognition that RFID can provide a competitive advantage only if it is integrated into the larger enterprise.
"Global software vendors like IBM, SAP, and Microsoft are ... moving forward to improve the capabilities on their side of the fence to connect to the RFID world," Stephenson said.
While he declined to reveal how many customers the company currently has, Stephenson said that over the past year its customer base has grown threefold. The Massachusetts-based start-up, which was featured in Managing Automation's 2006 Companies to Watch, has deployments in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, China, Taiwan, and Japan. Today, for example, Reva announced that Lemmi Fashion, a German-based supplier of children's apparel, is converting to Reva's TAP for use with ultra high frequency passive RFID in its supply chain.
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