RFID systems are being designed for a wide range of supply chain projects. Most of these are in ideal settings, where climate is constant and speed is controlled.

However, it almost seems like Sirit Inc. prefers to work in chaotic, harsh environments, where variables are challenging, to say the least.

Recently, Sirit, a Toronto, Canada-based specialist of complete RFID solutions from tags to readers, announced progress in developing RFID solutions in two unique settings: automotive vehicle identification (AVI) in Mexico and livestock tagging in the U.S. These two environments offer all of the challenges associated with reading RFID outdoors, and Sirit’s years of experience is a key to its early success on these pilot programs.

“We manufacture and design tags for unique challenging environments,” said Anastasia Chodarcewicz, Sirit’s CFO. “When you are dealing with vehicles, you have to deal with high and low temperatures inside and outside the vehicle, the metal composition of the car and glass on the windows interfering with signals, as well as reading the tag at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour and be accurate. In comparing supply chain applications, it is generally indoors where temperatures are controlled and done at slower speeds.”

“There are so many factors when you work outdoors,” added Wolf Bielas, president, Latin America for Sirit. “Vehicle tags need to last years, not days, in all temperatures, and be read at high speeds and have security features.”

Sirit and the RFID Industry

Sirit has been in the RFID business for 15 years, starting as a value-added reseller (VAR) in Canada and the U.S. for Texas Instruments. When TI pulled out of that business, Sirit acquired the business (Texas Instruments Registration and Identification Systems, also known as TIRIS) and turned around the anagram for its own name.

The company has built up an extensive portfolio through a combination of its own product development and a series of acquisitions of technology-rich companies. In particular, the addition of SAMSys’ assets in 2006 brought reader technology to Sirit; the INfinity 510 is now Sirit’s flagship reader.

In April 2008, Sirit added another important piece with the acquisition of RSI ID Technologies, Inc. (RSI), an industry leading, vertically integrated manufacturer of antennas, inlays and tags for specialized, passive RFID applications.

Through these acquisitions, Sirit can provide complete end-to-end solutions to its customers.

“Through these acquisitions, we have put together an excellent product portfolio of tags and readers, and we can offer our customers a complete solution,” said Chodarcewicz.

“Throughout our history, our primary focus has been on tolling and vehicle identification,” Chodarcewicz added. “The AVI business in Mexico is the perfect example of how our company’s acquisitions have led to opportunities worldwide.”

Tracking Traffic in Mexico

In June, along with its partner, Axiompass, a leading integrator and supplier of tolling equipment and RFID systems across Mexico, Sirit announced the successful implementation of the first electronic vehicle registration (EVR) monitoring system in Mexico.

Sirit’s ID5100 RFIDreader.

Utilizing Sirit’s stationary AVI monitoring technology, vehicles are tracked as they pass through the Alpuyeca toll plaza and mobile AVI monitoring technology in Cuernavaca, both in the State of Morelos. Sirit’s reader and lane controller technology read the REPUVE (National Public Vehicle Registry) tag while cameras also capture an image of the license plate.

The data is then transmitted to a central database, enabling the various regional enforcement agencies to recognize identified vehicles on a watch list and take appropriate action as the vehicle travels along the highway. One key is that Sirit’s readers can also read installed tags that use different technologies.

“Our readers also read older technologies as well,” said Bielas, who was co-founder and CEO of RSI ID Technologies when it was acquired by Sirit.

“One of the things that make us unique is that we promote an open standard system, which obligates you to be more competitive and develop state-of-the-art solutions. It is ideal for tolls and also for tracking stolen vehicles.”

Chodarcewicz said that ease of installation is one of Sirit’s advantages. “We can upgrade systems to read all tags, and our technology is less expensive and can do so much more,” she added.

Initial plans suggest this monitoring system will be implemented throughout the State of Morelos, with the potential for additional states to be implemented before year-end through various RFP processes.

“Right now, this is a small scale pilot program in Mexico which has been hugely successful,” Chodarcewicz said. “This program has the potential to be installed throughout Mexico.”

 

Livestock Tracking

Also in June, Sirit announced its partnership with eriginate Corporation, a subsidiary of HerdStar, LLC and a global integrator of track, trace and monitoring solutions to the livestock food industry.

eriginate will utilize Sirit’s UHF RFID tag and reader technology to support its eTattoo system, one of the first commercially available UHF cattle solutions, incorporating a customized Sirit UHF inlay embedded into a livestock ear tag and Sirit’s IDentity 5100 reader.

The system, which eriginate developed is in close association with livestock owners, was designed specifically to meet the rugged demands associated with the beef and dairy industries. The eTattoo read ranges can be focused or adjusted between 2 and 50 feet. In addition, multiple tags can be read simultaneously without system lockups and many of the delays associated with low frequency systems.

Field testing has been ongoing for the past 18 months, and implementation is now occurring in the U.S., Brazil and Taiwan.

“We have been working with eriginate for three years,” Bielas said. “There is a lot of new regulation due to outbreaks of mad cow and hoof and mouth disease. Low frequency technology has been used in the past, but readers have to be very close to the animals, and livestock owners are looking for read ranges of much longer distances. We are past the development stage and are working on pilot programs.”

“It is a very interesting market, as it is outdoors,” Bielas added. “All kinds of information can be stored, such as date of birth and type of food eaten.It really matches closely to what we are doing.”

Challenging projects such as these are ideal for Sirit, and bode well for the company’s success.

“AVI and livestock are two areas that have huge potential for us, and in addition, electronic vehicle registration (EVR) is another large opportunity,” Chodarcewicz said. “It fits in with our technological abilities. What we understand is that up to 30 to 35 percent of car owners in developing nations don’t register their cars, and police have to physically stop the cars to determine registration. They are also finding it easy to counterfeit tags using today’s simpler color stickers for registration. RFID tags allow police to read the car from a distance. We can also put unique technology to protect against counterfeiting.

“We have been doing this for 15 years and have lots of real world experience,” Chodarcewicz concluded. “We have a very strong development team and the ability to take our concepts from the lab environment and successfully bring it to the real world and make RFID work. Overall, our opportunities and potential are huge.”