ThingMagic, Inc., a developer of RFID technology, today announced the ThingMagic Vega RFID reader and Development Kit. Designed around ThingMagic’s UHF RFID Mercury5e embedded reader module, Vega’s superior RFID performance, rugged enclosure, and low power consumption make it ideal for a wide variety of in-transit visibility solutions and diverse and flexible PC-driven RFID applications that require a durable RFID reader.
Extending RFID to In-Vehicle Applications
The ThingMagic Vega IVR (In Vehicle Reader) model offers vehicle manufacturers, automotive technology vendors and integrators the tools needed to advance in-vehicle RFID application development. Vega IVR meets the operating and business requirements of many everyday in-transit use cases where extending asset, product, or personnel visibility into the vehicle can be beneficial. A serial interface connects the Vega IVR reader to an in-dash PC, on-board laptop, GPRS modem, or telematics platform for RFID tag information processing, system command, and integration with customized PC applications.
Ideally suited for use in commercial fleets, long-haul trucks, service vehicles and trucks and vans that carry mobile inventory and other valuable cargo, Vega IVR provides visibility beyond the warehouse and yard to help reduce inventory shrinkage, maximize vehicle usage, and improve delivery and service call rates. Further, combining in-vehicle RFID applications with facilities-based RFID solutions provides users with the ability to locate and manage inventory and assets in real time, associate inventory with technicians and tie into ERP/inventory management systems.
Other example in-vehicle solutions capable of being supported by Vega IVR include school bus tracking and student security, construction site asset tracking, and shipping container tracking applications.
"Our existing and prospective customers continuously bring us unique and demanding design challenges, as was the case with the ToolLink by Ford and DeWalt in-vehicle tool tracking solution - the first design win for the Vega reader,” said Ravi Pappu, vice president of ThingMagic’s Advanced Development Group. “We leveraged this first-to-market success to further develop a product to not only withstand the harsh transit environments of work vehicles, but to meet a broad range of use cases and customer needs where a durable indoor/outdoor reader may be required."
Indoor/Outdoor PC-Driven RFID Applications
In addition to in-vehicle applications, Vega’s support of harsh environmental operating conditions makes it ideal for use in a wide variety of markets including manufacturing, healthcare, forestry, mining, communications, utilities and others. Designed to utilize an external personal computer to provide command and control via its serial interface, the Vega RS (Rugged Service) reader can be integrated with virtually any commercial RFID application driven by a PC. The Vega RS reader delivers the high level of performance expected from all ThingMagic products, including error-free read performance in vehicles with hundreds of tagged assets like tools, electronic and IT equipment, and appliance spare parts.
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