PRESS RELEASES
Alien Technology®, Bechtel Jacobs and GlobeRanger Develop Mobile RFID Solution for Use in Rugged Environment
April 28, 2009, MORGAN HILL, Calif. – Alien Technology, an industry leader for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) products, and Bechtel Jacobs Company LLC, an engineering construction company responsible for safe environmental disposal services for the Department of Energy, have created a ruggedized mobile RFID tracking system, designed to ensure safe removal of contaminated waste material from clean-up sites.
Bechtel Jacobs provides environmental remediation services in which waste material is transferred to designated landfills. Each disposal vehicle must be recorded in detail prior to departure, and then verified, weighed and/or time stamped at various checkpoints along the route. Strict record keeping is essential to the process and has traditionally been a laborious process. Together, Bechtel Jacobs, Alien®, and one of Alien’s solution partners, GlobeRanger Corporation, developed a highly ruggedized, robust RFID solution.
Within three months of initial discussions, a deployable RFID solution was installed in the field. Vehicles were equipped with tags containing Alien’s feature-rich Higgs™3 IC, and rugged deployable passive RFID towers were developed using Alien’s enterprise-class ALR-9900 readers. Utilizing software developed by GlobeRanger, the system was designed to automatically identify vehicles at designated checkpoints, thus giving Bechtel Jacobs visibility into real-time material tracking as well as the ability to remotely manage the RFID systems, even in locations where infrastructures may be non-existent.
The GlobeRanger software collected data from a variety of devices, including handhelds, fixed RFID readers, and weigh scales. Data from these inputs was then programmed in the extended memory section of the Alien Higgs-3 tags using encryption algorithms to enhance security. The system was designed to flag and provide alerts and notifications if processes or time schedule variances deviated from pre-defined expectations.
The ruggedized RFID towers were designed to be NEMA-4 compliant and to meet military shock and vibration standards to withstand harsh environmental conditions. The 6-1/2 foot towers are fully redundant with two Alien ALR-9900 readers, eight antennas, vehicle detection sensors, dual light stacks, and Fiber Optic, LAN, or cellular data communications options. The towers operate on AC or DC power and included a redundant 24-hour battery reserve.
About Bechtel Jacobs
Bechtel Jacobs Company LLC is the environmental management contractor for the U. S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Office, located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The company is responsible for environmental cleanup and waste management on DOE's Oak Ridge Reservation.
About GlobeRanger
GlobeRanger is a leading global provider of end-to-end enterprise edge solutions and professional services to support RFID, mobility, and sensor-based solutions. Its innovative Edgeware™ platform, iMotion™, provides the critical infrastructure layer for managing devices, networks, data and processes at the edge of the enterprise, enabling real-time visibility and response. iMotion serves as the foundation for GlobeRanger and its partners to rapidly develop, deploy and manage edge solutions. Founded in 1999, GlobeRanger is headquartered in Richardson, Texas. For more information, visit www.globeranger.com.
About Alien Technology
Alien Technology is a leading provider of UHF Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) products and services, including RFID Integrated Circuits (IC’s), inlays, readers, and a comprehensive RFID educational curriculum. Alien was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Morgan Hill, CA., with its subsidiary, Alien Technology Asia (ATA), in South Korea. The RFID Solutions Center is located in Dayton, OH., Alien maintains sales offices in the US, Europe, and Asia that support a global channel of committed solution partners.
Alien’s Gen2 products, along with partner solution offerings, help reduce costs and improve performance for industries such as retail, apparel, consumer packaged goods, heavy industry, pharmaceuticals, transportation, cargo logistics, government and defense. Learn more about Alien’s award-winning Higgs-3 RFID IC, our performance-leading Squiggle® inlay product line, and the renowned RFID Academy by visiting us at: www.AlienTechnology.com.
Alien, Alien Technology, the Alien logo, Higgs, and Squiggle, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Alien Technology Corporation in the United States and other countries. Copyright 2009 Alien Technology Corporation. All rights reserved.