PRESS RELEASES
Department of Defense Completes Successful RFID Trial Using Alien Technology Tags and Readers
April 13, 2004, Morgan Hill, CA — Alien Technology Corporation announced today it has successfully completed a trial using its EPC Class 1 tags and readers at the Navy Fleet Industrial Supply Center (FISC) Norfolk Military Ocean Terminal for the Department of Defense. The focus of the trial was to increase outbound shipment accuracy through the use of RFID, as well as measure RFID technology capabilities.
The trial was conducted over a six-week period at the Norfolk Military Ocean Terminal. Alien Technology partnered with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to install readers at receiving workstations to apply RFID tags to all shipments. The shipping dock was equipped with Alien® readers and antennas in a mobile tunnel configuration to enable all outbound shipments to be read. In total, RFID equipment used in the operation included 13 readers and 16 antennas. To date, 15,000 tags have been applied to the diverse spectrum of material moving through the operation. Alien Technology sees the use of Class 1 EPC tags as a key success factor in meeting the Department of Defense RFID Policy mandate.
"When we received the Alien Technology equipment and began testing it, we quickly realized that it was far more capable than we had anticipated. This allowed us to rethink our proposed business process, and led to the use of the EPC tag read as the transaction of record ... which is an easier and more efficient process than our legacy documentation processes." stated Dave Cass, Transportation Systems Analyst, U.S. Navy, Fleet and Industrial Supply Center, Norfolk, Virginia in his address to the DoD RFID Summit, April 8, 2004.
Trial results showed using Alien EPC Class 1 tags to track material will
increase the overall operational efficiency of the Norfolk Military Ocean
Terminal, enhance the receiving and shipping activities and increase the
loading accuracy while reducing the time and effort necessary to locate
material within the warehouse.
"The Norfolk trial demonstrates the power of Alien's EPC Class 1 products.
We were able to show in a very short period of time how our robust EPC Class
1 RFID system can improve supply chain operations," commented Stav
Prodromou, CEO of Alien Technology.
About Alien Technology
Alien Technology Corporation provides Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
products for global customers in government, retail, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals,
transportation, and other industries. Using its proprietary manufacturing
process, Fluidic Self Assembly (FSA®), Alien manufactures EPC tags in high-volumes
and at low cost. The company provides a family of RFID readers for a variety
of applications including supply chain management, logistics, and anti-counterfeiting,
to improve inventory management and reduce operating costs. Alien is an
active member of EPCglobal. More information about Alien Technology Corporation
can be found on the Company's website at www.alientechnology.com.
Alien, Alien Technology, the Alien logo and FSA, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Alien Technology Corporation in the United States and other countries.