Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (DNP) and Phoenix Solution Co., Ltd. (Phoenix Solution) are pleased to announce the joint development of an IC tag that facilitates stable reading even if attached to metal products. The newly developed product is protected by a casing based on materials that are both waterproof and resilient in the face of ultraviolet rays. Orders will be accepted from February 1, 2016.

[Background]

IC tags are being progressively introduced into such areas as distribution and the management of construction materials and rental goods. There are numerous instances of such IC tags being attached to metallic products, including transportation equipment, gas cylinders, metal sheeting and office equipment. However, the IC tag reading performance is impacted by metal, and even those products that use 'metal-compatible IC tag' as their sales point face challenges, such as being unable to read if attached to metal products, or of a significant deterioration in the reading performance.

To overcome these challenges, DNP and Phoenix Solution have jointly developed an IC tag that facilitates stable reading even if attached to metallic products, via the use of a game-changing new technology that takes the metal that has been the problem in non-contact communication to date, and utilizing it to help form an antenna.

[New Product Summary]

Many IC tags marketed as 'metal-compatible IC tags' have been capable of reading from the front of the surface to which it has been attached, but problems have existed, such as being unable to perform reading when the tag has been attached to the rear of a metal product, or where numerous tags overlap. The IC tag jointly developed by the two partners uses the metal to which the IC tag is attached, to help form an antenna, facilitating non-contact communication via the electromagnetic waves generated by the metal, itself. And, as the newly developed product maintains broad directivity characteristics, even if the IC tag is attached to the rear of a metal product, or is inserted between numerous metal parts, it is still possible to maintain communication. For example, in instances where the newly developed product has been attached to the underside of manhole covers, it has been possible to read the IC tag from the road and confirm maintenance data without having to open the manhole. As a result, it is now possible to look forward to applications with a variety of metal products where IC tag usage has been a problem to date. At the same time, the newly developed product conforms to EPCglobal Class1 Gen2 the broadly applied IC tag communications standard, making it possible to use existing reader-writers. The casing for the newly developed product also employs materials that are water-proof and resilient to ultraviolet rays, and can therefore be used out of doors. And as the casing is flexible it can also be attached to curved surfaces, such as cylinders.

Specification

Model number

PMT-01W

PMT-06W

External dimensions

Approx. 31x53x5mm

Approx. 23x56x5mm

Weight

Approx. 2.6g

Approx. 2.4g

Operating frequency

860 - 950MHz

Communications protocol

EPCglobal Class1 Gen2 (ISO/IEC 18000-63)

Communication distance

Up to 10m

Operational temperature

-25 to +85C

Storage temperature

-30 to +85C

[Sales Target]

DNP and Phoenix Solution aim for total sales of 3.0 billion yen by FY 2017.

Dai Nippon Printing Co. Ltd. issued this content on 2016-01-05 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 2016-01-05 01:00:16 UTC

Original Document: http://www.dnp.co.jp/eng/news/10118161_2501.html