Chip shortage

You have undoubtedly heard about the chip shortage in the car industry as a result of the Corona crisis. Now you are probably wondering: “What does that have to do with my keyfob or RFID equipment”?

To summarize, car manufacturers thought that Corona would cause them sell fewer cars and they have greatly reduced their orders for automotive electronics and chips. But at the same time, the demand for chips for PCs, laptops, smartphones, playstations, servers for data centers and the like increased, partly due to people working from all over the world. The chip manufacturers shifted their production capacity from microcontrollers and chips used in cars to other chips.

The car industry has been using it for a long time. The use of RFID (radio frequency identification) to identify parts and subassemblies. The “Build-to-Order” process, where each product that comes of the line has its own unique combination of options and colours would be almost impossible or too expensive without automatic identification of parts.

But RFID is not just applicable for products with extensive configuration (like computersystems, bicycles or airplanes). RFID is useful when keeping large amounts of stock is too expensive. “Just-in-Time” environments. Or in those cases where fixing mistakes later on in the assembly process simply is too expensive.

EasyLogic’s Track and Trace middleware (ETT Server) is our enabler of RFID or Internet-of-Things (IoT) solutions. Basically RFID and IoT allow a customer to keep track of physical items in the real world, and ensure that they are accurately represented in their IT landscape. Additionally the RFID or IoT tag can contain sensors (temperature, humidity, location through GPS, accelerometer, vibration, stress) with which additional data can be collected.

EasyLogic has realised a number of solutions using our ETT middleware. But this does not limit the possibilities of our solutions. The factsheets below might serve as an inspiration for your business. Download our factsheets below by clicking on the image. And then contact us through sales@easylogic.nl or by phone tel:+31-182-389530 to get a free consult on what would be possible in your environment.

EasyLogic’s Track and Trace middleware (ETT Server) is our enabler of RFID or Internet-of-Things (IoT) solutions. Basically RFID and IoT allow a customer to keep track of physical items in the real world, and ensure that they are accurately represented in their IT landscape. Additionally the RFID or IoT tag can contain sensors (temperature, humidity, location through GPS, accelerometer, vibration, stress) with which additional data can be collected.

Technologies

The RFID or IoT tag can operate using a variety of techniques, often involving radio technology, an area in which EasyLogic is specialised. For example:

The pharmaceutical sector is under pressure. Corona has caused the demand for vaccins and other medication to rise sharply. At the same time, there is recognition for the increase of vulnerability that is caused by production of medicines in Asia and consequently the complex supply chain. RFID and NFC have many applications in the pharmaceutical sector, such as:

• Traceability of medication
• Stockcontrol
• Patient safety
• Anti-counterfeiting

Download the Brochure (in Dutch) or read more below.

Over the last few years EasyLogic has supplied an events registration and access control system which has been used extensively by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs for large-scale, highly secure events like:

• the Nuclear Security Summit in the Hague 2014,
• the Europees Presidency in Amsterdam 2016,
• the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, together with the US Government in the Hague in 2019

This system (hardware, software and application) has been extensively tested by commercial and government instances on safety, privacy, agains hackers, and for security. We can share details about this on request.

Currently there is a lot of discussion about using an app on your mobile phone, which uses Bluetooth to track who you have been in the vicinity of. When later it is found that you are infected with Covid-19 the data in the app can be used to warn those people that you have had contact with. In the Dutch press [Corona App might fail] ( https://fd.nl/ondernemen/1341169/corona-app-dreigt-te-mislukken-door-haast-kabinet ) in the FD, of Be critical of a Corona App on NU.nl. Internationally this is also being discussed.

Real-time locating systems (RTLS) are used to follow and track people or objects through time. RTLS are frequently employed within a pre-defined area or indoors. As opposed to GPS (which is available world-wide but not indoors) RTLS requires receivers at fixed, reference locations to be able to determine the exact location of a person or object.

A wireless RTLS transponder is attached to the person or object. In most RTLS systems the fixed receivers in known locations are used to determine the exact location of the object. Depending on the size of the area to be covered and the required precision of localisation a number of different technical approaches are possible. These also vary in the number of receivers required.

You own assets that you’d like to keep track of. Your products in your factory. Valuable stock. Tools in the vans of your technicians. Articles in your warehouse, distribution centers or stores.

Life-saving equipment in a fire engine. Or the right equipment and tools in the operation room in a hospital. Samples in a laboratory.

Or your people. Personnel on an offshore oil-rig. Passengers on a ship. Firefighters in a burning building. Soldiers on a mission.

Have you got difficulty reading your UHF RFID tags over a long distance? With the use of Yagi antennas and a high quality RFID reader such as the Impinj Speedway Revolution, the Zebra FX9500 or the TSS Gold Reader EasyLogic has demonstrated read ranges of over 20 meters, even when using on-metal tags.

The optimal use for the antenna is in a long, pencil shaped range. So these antennas can be used for instance across a loading bay or cross docking facility, able to detect tags on containers before they are loaded into a truck.