Trimble announced a firmware upgrade to its ThingMagic® Mercury6 (M6) RFID reader for the integration of high-performance RFID into enterprise, commercial and industrial environments. The upgrade features support for the EPCglobal Low-Level Reader Protocol (LLRP) v 1.0.1, custom LLRP extensions and reader-hosted applications, providing partners and users with application programming flexibility and "plug-and-play" access to the rich capabilities and performance of the ThingMagic M6 reader.
Support for the EPCglobal Low-level Reader Protocol
LLRP provides a flexible and extensible industry-standard interface for operating network-connected RFID readers. With support for LLRP v 1.0.1, the ThingMagic M6 can interface with a wide range of popular enterprise infrastructures and business systems, offer increased scalability, and lower the cost and technical barriers associated with RFID adoption.
"A growing number of organizations are deploying RFID technology and integrating the data with existing enterprise systems for critical aspects of their business," said Tom Grant, general manager of Trimble's ThingMagic Division. "The features added in this upgrade allow our customers to recognize the business benefits of RFID faster, and make it easier for our channel partners to sell and support ThingMagic products."
The upgrade also offers custom extensions to the standard implementation of LLRP. These include support for Gen2 Tag extension commands from several leading RFID chip and tag vendors, and "policy-centric" read plans that allow users to define how to interact with tags and then apply the same policy to any antenna deployed with the reader, rather than forcing users to follow the LLRP "antenna-centric" model.
Offering additional flexibility to its developer and user communities, ThingMagic customers now have the option of operating M6 readers with the ThingMagic MercuryAPI or LLRP depending on their project requirements. Existing M6 customers can take advantage of LLRP by upgrading to the new interface without changing how their current host programs interact with the API - making the transition seamless and transparent.
"Ease of integration, scalability, accuracy and simplified management are the keys to success when deploying RFID at an enterprise scale," said Patrick J. Sweeney II, CEO of ODIN, an RFID software & solutions company with more than 500 projects to their credit. "ThingMagic's implementation of LLRP and value-add extensions map nicely to customer needs and meet ODIN's rigorous design and engineering standards, which is why the M6 is fully integrated with ODIN's software - off the shelf."
Reader-Hosted Applications
Also included in the upgrade is a Linux-based operating system capable of hosting on-reader applications. This feature allows the M6 reader to perform application-specific actions independently, providing solution developers the opportunity to differentiate their offerings to the enterprise market.
Mercury6 Adoption
Driven by ThingMagic's powerful Mercury6e (M6e) UHF RFID reader module, the M6 is a low profile, high-performance 4-port RFID reader designed for both indoor and outdoor applications. Since its introduction in early 2011, M6 readers have been deployed by customers in a variety of industries such as construction, retail, healthcare, manufacturing and transportation.
"As a provider of high performance identification, traceability and control solutions, RFID Systems is committed to promoting open technology platforms and simplifying integration with existing systems," said Marcos Honda, sales director of RFID Systems, a division of ACURA Technologies. "The ThingMagic M6 delivers the performance and versatility that is required in our varied client environments. The new enterprise-grade capabilities of the M6 will make it easier for our customers to manage and scale their RFID-enabled processes as their needs evolve."
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