All blog posts

RAIN RFID Is Evolving – An Industry Pioneer Looks Years Ahead

May 02, 2025

The global use of RAIN RFID is skyrocketing. Application areas are diversifying, and quality requirements are becoming more stringent. At the same time, tags are increasingly integrated directly into products rather than applied as separate labels. Industry pioneer Voyantic believes the next major step in the RFID sector is a shift toward networked, intelligent, and transparent quality management. The company’s latest product release, version 4.0 of Tagsurance® 3, is designed to support this direction.

Key Updates Propel RFID Technology Forward

The new version combines two major advancements: network connectivity and encoding functionality. According to Voyantic General Manager Jukka Voutilainen, these features make it possible to examine the entire RFID production process from a new perspective.

“The combination allows testing and encoding to take place at different stages of production, and the collected data can be integrated into a comprehensive quality management dataset”, Voutilainen explains.

Voyantic’s systems now enable precise measurement of the electrical performance of tags. The encoding feature adds a completely new dimension: verification and management of the data content. At the same time, the system has been designed to scale and connect securely to the internet, enhancing usability in large, cross-company production chains.

Three Trends Shaping the Industry

Voyantic’s development work is guided by a clear long-term vision: RAIN RFID technology has to be reliable and care-free for the end users. Voutilainen identifies three major trends that are steering the industry in the coming years.

The first trend is the integration of tags directly into products. When an RFID tag is embedded directly into the product, such as a tire or a medical syringe, it can no longer be easily replaced or tested outside the product. This means testing must occur not only before integration but possibly afterward as well. In such cases, the cost of failure can be high: a faulty tag may compromise the entire product. Quality assurance must therefore adapt more precisely to different production workflows. The modularity of Tagsurance 3 supports flexible implementation across various processes.

The second trend involves the expansion of quality expectations throughout the supply chain. Traditionally, tag quality has been enforced at chip bonding, the process step where the tag IC is attached to the antenna. It still remains the single most critical production phase. However, the end users see the quality of the tag after it has passed through various process steps, where the tag’s performance may be impacted. In addition, the supply chain often consists of multiple different parties, such as converters and service bureaus. Tagsurance 3 is designed with this in mind: it can collect and combine quality data from multiple production phases, enabling a broad and transparent view of the process.

The third trend is combining multiple data sources to ensure tag quality. Electrical performance alone is no longer sufficient— a tag may seem to work seemingly well but ends up failing prematurely in the end application. Failures like this can be identified and corrected by combining other process data with electrical performance in quality verification. Secondly, the tag also needs to contain correct and reliable information. When encoding is integrated with product data in backend systems, it becomes possible to verify tag authenticity or link it precisely to a specific item or batch. This opens new opportunities in sectors where traceability and data security are essential.

“Tagsurance 3 is built to support these industry shifts. It’s not just a testing device—it is a system that integrates quality, data, and production management in a new way”,  Voutilainen says.

The Need for Testing Will Not Decrease—Quite the Opposite

While RAIN RFID tags are already widely used in retail, emerging applications such as logistics, pharmaceuticals, and food products are imposing new requirements on the technology. In these areas, the tolerance for quality issues is minimal, and the importance of quality assurance continues to grow.

“The need for testing will certainly not decrease in the future”, Voutilainen affirms.

According to him, technological development will increasingly be shaped by customer needs and the specific requirements of different industries. The company continues to develop its products in close collaboration with customers and actively contributes to the creation of new industry standards.

“Testing systems must evolve in step with applications and demands. Our role is to be at the forefront of that progress”, Voutilainen concludes.

All blog posts
All blog posts

Voyantic introduces reliable high-speed encoding into RAIN RFID converting and other machines with the Tagsurance® 3 system

Apr 11, 2025

Voyantic, a global leader in RFID testing solutions, is proud to announce the launch of the new encoding feature for Tagsurance 3 quality testing system. The latest software release enables encoding and quality control of RAIN RFID labels in high-speed production machines with a single system. 

As the demand for RAIN RFID labels is expected to grow exponentially, with billions produced annually, manufacturers need integrated, high-speed systems. The Tagsurance 3 system with encoding feature meets this demand, allowing seamless integration into production lines and eliminating the need for external encoding solutions. The Tagsurance 3 system is modular and scalable and can easily fit into various machine types. The user-friendly, browser-based operating UI helps with adoption at sites.

“At Voyantic, we are committed to delivering cutting-edge solutions that help our customers excel in RFID,” said Jukka Voutilainen, Voyantic’s General Manager. “This upgrade significantly enhances the Tagsurance 3 system’s capabilities, making it a powerful all-in-one solution for RAIN RFID inlay and label production.”

Uncompromised speed and reliability

The Tagsurance 3 system maintains high throughput without compromising the speed and efficiency of the production process. It supports encoding in high-speed machines and can even reach lane speeds for converting machines.

Additionally, the system’s reliability is paramount. Non-encoded, incorrectly encoded, or double-coded labels can create significant challenges for RAIN RFID users. To address this, the Tagsurance 3 system is designed for continuous, error-free operation during extended production runs, ensuring the highest reliability standard in large-volume manufacturing. 

Main specifications:

  • One encoding station per lane is supported
  • “BlockWrite” data to any writeable tag memory and lock the tag memories (Reserved, EPC, User)
  • Supported ISO 18000-63 (EPC Gen2v3) commands
    • BlockWrite
    • Lock
    • Read
  • 1-12 lanes
  • Lock the selected memories permanently
  • Verify the data is correctly encoded (Read test with verification)

The full specification is available in Tagsurance 3 product catalog.

The commercial release of the Tagsurance 3 encoding feature, available starting 10th of April, will be offered as a separate license on top of the existing Tagsurance 3 system. A hardware version 4.x is required to utilize this feature.

Tagsurance 3 hardware.

Save the date! We’re organizing a Tagsurance 3 encoding live demo on Wednesday, May 21, at 5 pm CEST / 10 am EDT. Register for the live webinar from here!

All blog posts
All blog posts

Tagsurance® 3 Online Connectivity Improves Usability and Maintenance

Mar 20, 2025

Voyantic recently launched a new version of the Tagsurance 3 system, an inline quality testing system for RFID tag production. With this update, we recommend that customers using the latest version (4.x) keep their systems always connected online. On the other hand, older versions (3.x) should still stay offline. But why the switch? And what benefits come with this new online connectivity?

Let’s dive in!

A screenshot of Tagsurance 3 Version 4.0 user interface.
A screenshot of Tagsurance 3 Version 4.x software user interface.

Cloud-based architecture enables future-proof quality management

With the new version, the Tagsurance 3 system’s architecture has been completely revamped under the hood. The Voyantic team has carefully designed this upgrade with the future and information security in mind. This release marks an important milestone, enabling safe network connectivity for the test system. Voyantic designs its systems using secure development best practices, and regular third-party audits ensure any identified issues are promptly addressed. 

The Tagsurance 3 Version 4.x with online connectivity paves the way for future possibilities, including encoding operations through the same setup. Enabling encoding will only require purchasing a software license, with no need for additional hardware upgrades.

Simpler, faster, and more efficient—whether it’s for daily use or maintenance tasks

Connecting the system to the internet is safe and recommended for unlocking a range of new features. Today, the concrete updates are most noticeable in the new browser-based user interface, which administrators and operators can access from any computer. Let’s examine the latest features designed to ease the system’s use.

1. Update software directly in the user interface

Gone are the days of downloading software update packages separately from voyantic.com and manually performing updates. With this new feature, admins can download and install the latest software versions directly from the user interface via the admin panel—as long as the system is connected to the internet. This ensures your system stays effortlessly updated with the latest features and improvements.

A screenshot from Tagsurance 3 4.x software showing what the releases page looks like.
Updating your Tagsurance 3 Version 4.x software has been made easy.

2. Simplified licensing

When your Tagsurance 3 version 4.x system is connected to the internet, it automatically connects to Voyantic’s license server and fetches the license information. Admin users can see all the essential details in the browser-based admin panel, including how long the license is valid, the number of lanes, and Tagsurance stations. It’s all there in one place, making it easy to manage your licensing.

3. Enhanced support

While we hope you don’t need to use this feature, we’ve significantly improved support for the new version. Suppose the system is connected to the internet, and you run into an issue. In that case, it’s now possible to download and send diagnostic files directly to the Voyantic support team through the admin panel. This helps speed up troubleshooting and resolution by providing our team with more accurate data with which to work. Ultimately, this reduces system downtime and takes the headache out of maintenance.

In summary

In the future, online connectivity of the new Tagsurance 3 version will open new business opportunities with the comprehensive management of quality data. Today, online connectivity improves usability and maintenance. It simplifies tasks, adds more features to the user interface, and provides a more efficient way to share information directly with Voyantic.

That said, online connectivity is still optional. Version 4.x systems can also operate offline like the 3.x systems. If you prefer to stay offline, you can still upload software releases and license files from a local computer through the admin panel.

Watch the recording below, where our Senior Product Manager Anirudh Wali demonstrates how the updated user interface and new features work in practice.

All blog posts
All blog posts

Presenting the New Snoop Pro 2.0

Mar 05, 2025

We continuously seek to improve our products to answer your needs, like making your job easier with user-friendly test systems or improving testing quality. This time, we made some nice improvements to Snoop Pro, one of the components used in the Tagsurance 3 system. The Snoop Pro 2.0 has:

  • Improved unit-to-unit RF performance variance
  • Integrated strobe feature
  • Smaller size and better usability

The improvements were made with backward compatibility in mind to make Snoop Pro 2.0 almost a drop-in replacement for Snoop Pro 1.x, which means:

  • RF backward compatibility: when testing tags/inlays, the test results with Snoop Pro 2.0 are within the test results variance of Snoop Pro 1.x
  • Mechanical backward compatibility: Snoop Pro 2.0 has the machine integration attachment holes at the same positions as Snoop Pro 1.x, and also the same shielding plates can be used

Let’s check it out.

Improved RF performance variation with RF backward compatibility

I’m starting with the RF performance because I just love RF. A nice new feature for the Snoop Pro 2.0 is the improved variance, making the produced units more uniform in RF performance. This means that if you test one tag with multiple different Snoop Pro 2.0, the results are very similar.

A line graph with green and black text

Description automatically generated
Illustrated example of the RF backwards performance.

Why is this so nice? I’m so glad I asked. It’s nice because if you want to use identical recipes for different production lines or even factories, the Snoop variance does not prevent doing that. So, better testing quality for your products. However, keep in mind that Snoop is only one of the components in the system; other things, such as the environment near the Snoop or cabling, might still have too much effect.

One of the most important requirements was the RF backwards compatibility so one can replace a Snoop Pro 1.x with the Snoop Pro 2.0 and be done with it. Our definition of RF backwards compatibility is as follows:

  • With the Snoop Pro 2.0, measured results are within the variance of Snoop Pro 1.x results OR within ±1.0 dB from the center of the Snoop Pro 1.x result envelope average

The difficult part is that the Snoop is always used with a tag/inlay on top of it and together they form a complex structure where every part plays a role. Since all tags/inlays are different and are affecting the Snoop differently, an excessive amount of measurements was performed to make sure we have covered most of the imaginable situations. Especially large tag models couple with the Snoop strongly and have an effect on the performance. Bah, physics and its precious laws.

Voyantic offers different kind of extensions for Snoops and those are compatible with the Snoop Pro 2.0. However, for the extensions there is no backwards compatibility in RF performance even though the results are close.

Integrated strobe feature

The Snoop Pro 2.0 has a built-in strobe functionality that can be turned on/off with a switch. White LEDs illuminate the trigger position (the moment when the testing/encoding starts), and red LEDs show tags/inlays that are failing the tests.

With the strobe light coming from below the material under test, the strobe is more effective than when the light comes from above. In a Tagsurance 3 system, the Snoop strobe shares a station connector with a TSU, so there’s no need to configure a new station to get it working. The Snoop Pro 2.0 can also be used without connecting the strobe cable; it does not affect the RF performance. The new RJ45 connector was added for the strobe functionality (don’t be fooled by the connector; no ethernet traffic there).

New size, looks, and usability

The Snoop Pro 2.0 no longer wears green; it now has a black-and-white appearance and a slightly reduced size. The new color was picked because of the integrated strobe functionality; white reflects the most light, which is essential for the strobe.

Snoop Pro 2.0 appearance.

With a careful redesign, we could replace the large external RF splitter and the two blue RF cables, making the size of the Snoop more compact. This helps a bit when trying to fit many Snoops in a multilane system where the space is limited.

The magnets were also renewed so less force is needed to change the shielding plate and you don’t not accidentally rip off the copper gaskets during the changing. Less hassle is always nice.

Conclusion

With the backwards compatibility, you can easily integrate the new Snoop Pro 2.0 to your testing systems. With the strobe integrated into the Snoop it is easy to use and doesn’t require additional configuration in the Tagsurance 3 recipe. The improved unit-to-unit variance allows you to more easily use identical recipes between lanes. All with the new Snoop Pro 2.0.

All blog posts
All blog posts

Voyantic Launches a New Version of Tagsurance® 3 System With Cloud-Based Features

Feb 28, 2025

Voyantic announces the launch of a new version of Tagsurance 3 system, an inline quality testing system for RFID tag production. The launch of Tagsurance 3 Version 4.x marks a significant upgrade to the previous version 3.x systems with exciting new capabilities and enhanced usability. This release introduces cloud-based features and lays the groundwork for future functionalities, including encoding operations using the same setup. 

The new Tagsurance 3 Version 4.x architecture is designed with the future in mind, unlocking powerful cloud-enabled features. The online connectivity streamlines maintenance work by enabling effortless software updates, simplified license renewals, and enhanced support: diagnostic data can be shared directly with the Voyantic support team for faster troubleshooting and minimized downtime. With this version, Voyantic recommends keeping Tagsurance 3 systems always online to fully leverage the benefits and ensure maximum system efficiency. 

Tagsurance 3 Version 4.x also introduces a new browser-based user interface, allowing operators to access the system conveniently from any computer. This eliminates the need for certain peripherals and allows users to connect to the system via a web browser for an intuitive and modernized user experience.

The update also provides a more compact hardware setup, reducing the footprint of controller racks. The new version uses the upgraded Lane Controller 2.0 and the new Server Panel.

Tagsurance 3 Version 4.0 offers backward-compatible APIs that ensure seamless integration with existing systems, safeguarding previous investments and reducing implementation time. Recipes created in previous Tagsurance 3 Version 3.x systems will also continue to work seamlessly, enabling a smooth transition without disrupting existing workflows.

Contact sales@voyantic.com for more information about upgrading your existing Tagsurance 3 system or starting your journey with Voyantic towards improved tag quality.

All blog posts
All blog posts

RAIN RFID: A Decade of Growth and the Path Forward

Jan 20, 2025

It has been almost four years since I wrote about the possibilities for the RFID industry in this decade. I figured that now would be a good time to review whether that jabbering was making sense and see how the industry has evolved during these past years. This text focuses on RAIN RFID.

The five megatrends I previously estimated that would be important drivers for the RFID industry were:

  • The development of science and technology
  • Overconsumption of resources
  • The amount of waste increases
  • Population growth and the aging of the population
  • The development of healthcare

The tag manufacturing volumes are a clear indicator of the industry moving forward. If the >20 percent annual growth for the RAIN tag manufacturing is correct, then over 50 billion were manufactured in the year 2024 and ~150 billion RAIN tags will be manufactured when we get to 2030. Not too shabby. At some point, the growth will inevitably get slower, but the market is still young and full of potential, so we can still expect quite impressive growth numbers for the industry.

An exited fellow with wristwatches on both hands pointing happily at skyrocketing sales numbers.
An excited fellow with wristwatches on both hands pointing happily at skyrocketing sales numbers.

As for market penetration, retail is still the leader when it comes to volume, but pretty much every relevant sector is expected to have >20 % CAGR in the coming years. The pharmaceutical/healthcare is also steadily growing and that is one of the sectors I listed as a possible driver for the RFID industry. Although the sector is growing, I did most likely overestimate the effect that the population aging, and counterfeit medicine have on the RFID industry.

Sustainability has much more impact on the volumes than the population aging. The overconsumption of resources is one of my favourite topics. I hate wasting pretty much anything: food, clothes, time, you name it. In this aspect, most companies are no different and that can be interpreted from the answers for how the customers see the value they get for buying RFID systems. Sustainability continues to be one of the biggest drivers for the RFID industry. Waste is not wanted.

Latest developments in the RFID industry

Okay, so they’re selling a lot of tags and estimate that to continue to the foreseeable future. That is no excuse to rest on your laurels; the industry needs to evolve and look for new opportunities. In that aspect, some interesting things are now on the table.

The EU is well known for its obsession with regulating every tiny little thing, and the RFID industry should take advantage of that. The upcoming Digital Product Passport (DPP) is an opportunity for the RFID industry, but it must be done right. For DPP, the value lies in sustainability. One of the things I was talking about in the previous blog was that RFID is not yet present in every step of a product life cycle, and DPP can add to it.

Thinking back on the product lifecycle and how RFID does not cover it fully, the part missing is the end user part of the life cycle. With only a couple hundred thousand handheld RAIN RFID readers sold yearly, it would be crazy to expect everyone to soon walk around with a reader in their pocket, right? Maybe not. Everyone (well, almost everyone) already carries a smartphone, and if that thing could be used as a RAIN RFID reader, there could be some nice opportunities to find ways to add value to that.

An empowered end user realizes she now possesses the capability to read RAIN RFID tags with her smartphone.
An empowered end user realizes she now possesses the capability to read RAIN RFID tags with her smartphone.

These development steps are drivers for circular economy and tags being embedded into items, not just separate labels that can be cut off. In some product categories, like car tires, some items are already tagged, so a Proof of Concept has already been done. Tagging items will bring some demands for the tag designs and testing/encoding:

  • Durability: If the tags should be functional throughout the tagged item life cycle, durability can be a challenge.
  • Sustainability: When a tag is part of an item, how can it be recycled? Some development steps have been taken; for example, plastic-free tags are already available.
  • Chip design: Data retention is one important thing if tags are supposed to be working for years, first throughout the supply chain and then in the hands of end users. Some applications might require more memory, of course depending on what information is needed to be stored in the tag memory.
  • Testing/Encoding Tagged items: It might be hard to use the same manufacturing lines for inlays and tagged items; investments for new systems are needed.

Summoning dark clouds

Last time, I didn’t talk much about possible threats to the RFID industry; it was all about the possibilities and good stuff. Let’s try something different this time. What kind of threats is the industry facing? I like investing in stocks, and sometimes, I try to come up with business-breaking scenarios when assessing the risk profile. Which kind of black swans could surprise and really hurt the RFID industry? I thought of three different scenarios:

  • Other technologies replacing RFID: Some other technology or combination of technologies could solve the same problems as RFID. How do we battle that? It all lies in the value provided by the RFID technology, that value must be higher than that of the technologies competing with it. The industry must evolve to answer future needs; standing still is hardly the winning strategy.
  • Radio spectrum reallocation: It’s not enough to compete against technologies trying to solve the same problems as RFID; there is a limited space in the radio spectrum, and there are other users who would love to get it. Allocating the current RFID frequencies for some totally different use would hurt a lot. Why would this ever happen? The same thing applies here as in the previous one: providing more value than the competitors is the key.
  • Security and privacy: The more the markets are flooded with RFID tags and data (this is wanted), the more opportunities there are for mischief (this is unwanted). Moving forward and evolving must not happen without taking this seriously. Fortunately, many other technologies have faced similar issues, and there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Then why is this important? Because if this goes wrong even once, coming back from that and gaining customer trust won’t be easy.
Black swan destroying RFID technology, represented by a warehouse.
Black swan destroying RFID technology, represented by a warehouse.

Grim, that’s for sure. This is not to say that these scenarios are likely to happen, but work must be done to prevent them from happening. Maybe they’re more like grey swans, not really black ones?

All in all, I think the future is looking bright for the RFID industry, and based on the growth estimates by the RFID industry players, others do, too. The growth drivers are there; now, the industry just needs to deliver. At the same time, taking an active part in the latest technological developments and different kinds of regulatory matters should ensure that RFID stays proactively on top of things.

All blog posts
All blog posts

The “Secret” to Ensuring Accuracy and Repeatability in RFID Testing – Properties of an RFID Test Chamber

May 17, 2022

When our customers think of where measurement accuracy and repeatability in a tag testing setup originate from, they usually mention things like output power resolution, power setting accuracy, measurement distance measured down to a millimeter, angular alignment, and high quality matched antennas, test grade RF cables, etc…  My claim is, and it’s not even a bold claim, but more like a friendly reminder, that the most significant factor in achieving result repeatability and comparability is actually the environment.

So, what is the best route to a great environment? Well, clearly, the best solution is to use a closed and controlled environment like an anechoic cabinet specifically designed for RFID measurements. At Voyantic, the most iterated and refined cabinet is the C50. It is also the smallest of the offered cabinets, supporting the TIPP/ARC compatible four antenna measurement layout.

  

ARC / TIPP antenna arrangement and the C50 cabinet

Test Distance

The C50 name comes from the 50cm nominal measurement distance and the circular arrangement of the antennas. The choice of the distance is a sweet spot to be as close as possible for best accuracy and dynamic range, but far enough to be in an accurate enough representation of a  far-field for most average-sized tags, tagged items, and item stacks. Any further attempt to still reduce the distance rapidly ends up in the antennas not physically fitting anymore or just coupling into each other as they would sit in each other’s reactive near field.

The Cabinet Size

When you add on top the 50cm test distance the size reserved for the test object, clearance for the Fresnel zone, the volume required by the UHF range pyramid absorbers optimized for each wall, and the outer shielding, you still actually end up with a reasonably sized package. The C50 chamber totals to dimensions of 1,55m x 1,50m x 1,05m. This typically doesn’t sound important in any way, until one is planning the location for the cabinet and the transport route up to the very spot. These dimensions have not evolved by accident but rather designed from experience so that the cabinet would fit through as many door openings, narrow corridors, and elevators as possible. Also, the total weight remains in the 200kg range, making it movable by a few sturdy RFID test engineers without renting any additional equipment.  

A Sturdy RFID Engineer

Low Reflections

One of the hardest parameters to get right is the level of unechoicity. It wouldn’t be too hard in a totally empty space, but as the item under test requires a computer-controlled rotatable platform withstanding over 10kg of weight and still being totally stealthy, things get a lot trickier. The rotation mechanism and the support platform should not provide alternative radio paths from the antenna to the tag which could create a multipath situation and decrease the accuracy.

Turntable Design

To achieve the required stealth properties, anything bulky, parallel, and flat should be avoided. Also, electrically conductive materials must be avoided at all costs, except for the shortest of screws.  This means that conventional mechanical design is thrown right out of the window and other approaches are needed. Our chambers have fully ceramic bearing structures, Kevlar belts, fiberglass axles, Nylon bolts, and numerous foam structures. Most other structural parts are carefully designed from polyamide with most of the material hollowed out and any parallel and straight lines broken to reduce the RF footprint as much as possible.

Components in the chamber are designed to minimize any RF reflections.

See the full range of available Voyantic anechoic chambers here ›

Is your RFID lab up-to-date? Download R&D Solutions Catalogue

Learn more about the Voyantic Tagformance® Pro system, accessories, and test chambers!

By combining RAIN RFID and NFC testing into one compact test device, our all-new Tagformance Pro is a true all-in-one tool for anyone either developing or using RFID technology.

All blog posts
All blog posts

Analysis of the Cost of RFID Quality – And How (Not) to Lose a Customer

May 03, 2021

We hosted a webinar on managing quality in RAIN RFID and NFC manufacturing. During the session, industry experts shared their views on setting quality goals, on the relevant standards, and on best practices for quality testing through case examples and practical tips. While veterans in RFID quality testing recognize the need for it to achieve excellent and consistent quality, for many less experienced in the field, it can be puzzling to justify the investment for the required RFID test equipment.

With this in mind, it is worthwhile to explore whether the cost of good quality in the context of RFID is justifiable. In an earlier blog post, we discussed optimizing the cost of quality. In this post, we give an example analysis of RFID quality costs.

Analysis of the Cost of RFID Quality

Typically, the three main process steps in smart label manufacturing are chip attach, converting, and personalization. While the process details are specific to the manufacturer and machine, the analysis methods are universal:

  • Failure analysis: What is the impact of possible machine failures?
  • Process analysis: How do quality defects impact the process?
  • Cost analysis: What is the cost of quality defects?
Three main processes in smart label manufacturing

To remain in scope, our example analysis focuses on the cost impact of non-performing RFID tags in production. The case analysis is inspired by the case study presented by our customer Lab ID in our previous webinar session. In our modified case example, we are tasked with the delivery of 1 million labels to a customer. Let us assume that our manufacturing process has a yield of 98%. Out of the 1 million produced tags, 2% would be non-performing, meaning that these tags are bad quality or out of specification. Confronted with this reality, there are three possible actions to address non-performing tags which are described in the picture below.

Different scenarios that can play out based on the action taken to address quality testing and deal with bad tags

The first one is the baseline scenario for the case. We assume that cost and sell price per tag are 0.08 and 0.1, respectively. This leaves us with a margin of 20% for this production lot. In this scenario, we do not take into account any potential cost impact of 2% non-performing tags.

Base scenario – 2% of tags are non-performing

In the next scenario, we ride our luck and deliver all tags without addressing the bad ones. Thankfully, the customer does not notice any defects this time. While the 2% of non-performing tags did not have any repercussions on our margins, the last two scenarios showcase how repeating the action might bite us back the next time. We also do not consider the implications of how the bad tags will inevitably affect our customer’s business.

We get lucky – customer does not notice delivered bad tags

We can also do something about the bad tags. In the third scenario, we decide to test our tags and mark the bad ones during production. This would incur costs in the form of initial tester investment (a capital expenditure that is omitted from the costs of this single production lot) and marker ink (a largely negligible running cost). Marking the tags does not introduce extra production processes or require an operator to supervise the machine. With the help of the tester, we are able to mark the non-performing tags out of the 1 million. This sees our margins decrease slightly (20% to 18%) as we do not charge the customer for the bad tags.

Alternatively, we can also decide to test and then remove bad tags during production. Aside from the initial equipment investment as with the previous scenario, this also requires additional steps in the production, e.g. by handling non-performing tags with a splicing table and changing them to a normal one. This process also requires an operator overseeing the production process which induces additional costs. For our analysis, we assume this removal of a bad tag is ten times the normal cost of producing a tag. This would add a somewhat significant cost to us but our margins remain positive at 2%. Worth considering in this scenario is customers’ willingness to pay more for rolls with 100% working tags. This could help offset the extra costs associated with tag removal.

Testing tags – in both scenarios we can achieve a positive margin

Next, we deliver all tags, 98% good and 2% bad. This time neglecting quality has consequences: the customer notices defects in our delivery, returns the lot, and demands we rework them to reach the promised quality. This requires us to find the non-performing tags from the lot and replace them with good-quality ones. For our analysis, we assume all that tag replacement hassle along with the changes to production planning costs us 25 times the normal cost of producing a tag. Not only have our margins turned negative, but we also need to deal with an annoyed customer whose plans have been disrupted.

Final two scenarios – not testing tags can have grave financial and reputational consequences

In the final “doomsday” scenario, after delivering the production lot, the customer detects the defects, simply returns the lot, and stops doing business with us. Revenue for this production lot has been lost, our customer relationship is severely damaged and our reputation as a tag manufacturer is also at risk. Not addressing quality issues and providing no quantifying proof of quality can have severe consequences. As shown, a single batch of tags mixed some with inferior quality can do much more harm than expected.

Loss of customer relationships is difficult to measure in costs

Being able to quantify quality puts tag producers in a superior position to win and establish trust with customers. Getting there requires effort but as shown in our example it is a worthwhile pursuit in the long run. We are happy to help with your needs in getting there. A good resource to start with is our webinar on managing quality in RAIN RFID and NFC manufacturing.

On-Demand Webinar

Quality Management Approaches in RAIN RFID and NFC Manufacturing

All blog posts
All blog posts

What Do Babies and RFID Have in Common?

Sep 26, 2017

Something worried me before my first daughter’s arrival, something I had been already warned: “Babies are born without a handbook”. I am used to working with procedures, methodologies or at least to have some standards to follow; and now I was going to face the most demanding challenge in my life without any kind of guidance.

But, I gradually noticed that it was not going to be that way, and that the parallelism between the technology I have been working with for more than 15 years, RFID ― those intelligent chips enabling the Internet of Things which we can find in more and more stores and warehouses every day ―, was clear from minute zero. Many companies, end users and system integrators think, like I did in early stage, that there are no rules nor guidelines for a project to become successful, but that trial and error is the only way to gain experience to face it with. Is that how I should bring my daughter up, by trial and error?

Look for Help – It Is Available!

As with RFID, when Carlota was born, tranquility came by being surrounded by experts in the field, and not just sympathizers who have faced that same situation. Firstly, I was provided with a handbook. Seriously! Guidelines about what to do in certain situations, such as tips to interpret the baby’s cries. Better than improvising with the newborn, right? Likewise, the handbook suggested the baby to sleep on her back, while just a few years ago it was suggested to sleep on her stomach.

Having professionals, who advise us following the latest recommendations and standards, gives us the peace of mind to do things well in RFID, too.

For example, some years ago it was always recommended to do pilot tests before deploying an RFID project, but then we realized that the results were conditioned by the selected reader and selected tags. Yes, it seems obvious, but before even starting those pilot tests, readers and tags had already been chosen within the wide spectrum of combinations existing in the market. Doesn’t it make sense to first know what we need before choosing them? For this reason, nowadays professional RFID companies use standards (have you heard about the TIPP methodology by GS1?) and laboratory equipment capable of determining which RFID readers and tags in the market will give better results in a real test.

To Do Comparison You Need a Reference

Carlota was weighed, her length was measured, the diameter of her head was measured… these were going to be the indicators that would tell us if her growth was adequate or not. It is not useful to keep trying things; we must measure, measure Carlota and RFID, and do it with the right tools. But not only that! What a surprise when the kilograms and centimetres at the hospital were not the same kilograms and centimetres at the drugstore, not even the same as those at the pediatrician. How should I decide if everything is okay or not when one tool tells me “yes” and another “no”?

And I remembered so many customers I have who do not worry about calibrating their RFID measuring equipment, and a tag that could work with any reader when tested with a given equipment, but the same tag that would only work with the most powerful and sensitive readers when tested with other equipment.

Define Your Requirements Before Selecting the Solution

I have always insisted on my clients that they should not choose the best tag, but the most appropriate tag for their application; with my daughter this situation happens from diapers to milk, but not only with her milk, also with the adults’ milk! What kind of milk do you have in your fridge? The one with more calcium, vitamins, etc. on the market; the cheapest one; or the one you consider good enough for you and your family? The same thing happens with RFID tags, where it makes no sense to pay more for the best tag on the market, because there is no such ideal tag, but the one that is the best one for your application, the best milk for you.

Regarding prices, what should we think of the cheapest ones? Again, if their quality and features are the most convenient for us, they are definitely the best choice. Please pay attention to both concepts: good quality and minimum required features.

And what about the quality? I do not mean good finishes or performance … but that once a model is chosen, every diaper, every tag, always perform the same way; their features do not vary among them and they have a certain margin of operation. It seems obvious, but the cheapest tags on the market are usually cheap because although they all work (i.e. a standard RFID reader can detect them), not all of them perform the same way; some tags can be detected at much longer distance than others, even though being the same model. I checked it when I bought some cheaper diapers than the usual ones, which seemed to absorb as much as the best ones, but it was not always like that, whether it was a discreet pee or a champion one.

“Always” is an interesting and challenging concept, but at least we need to be prepared before the chosen diaper stops performing as expected and what would be acceptable. What if a customer makes the wrong choice and purchases 5 million reusable tags regardless of their operating margin? They could perform well today, and at the slightest change in the initial conditions of use, stop doing so.

Select Suppliers That You Can Trust

Finally, once the feeding bottles, diapers, milk were chosen, and their brands, prices and features were evaluated, we had to decide where to buy such an amount of supplies. I have to admit that we started buying some stuff online and taking advantage of promotions at the hypermarket, but it all depends on how seriously we want to get involved in bringing our daughter up. Right now, there are many things we decided to buy in pharmacies and specialized stores, not only for the qualified professionals who helped us from the beginning, but also for the access they have given us to brand events, training, samples of new products…

In the end, we are learning day by day. Carlota relies on us, and we rely on professionals and industry standards, because there is a reference for every industry. If in children’s upbringing references are driven by the WHO, which are followed by pediatricians; in RFID industry the guidelines are given by ISO, GS1 and RAIN RFID Alliance, and there are more and more system integrators and end users who, by following them, have stopped suffering with the deployment and adoption, respectively, of the technology. Why should we suffer as the result of improvising with our newborn instead of enjoying her growth without worries?

Welcome, Carlota.
RFID, it’s your time.

All blog posts
All blog posts

RFID Journal Live in Phoenix – The New Exciting Stuff Was in IEEE RFID

Jun 02, 2017

中文版 Chinese version

This year’s RFID Journal Live! was arranged in Phoenix, AZ three weeks ago. I have been scanning through different reports about the show, and they all seem to amplify my own perception: the overall business was good, things are moving forward, but there was nothing particularly new and exciting this time. Sure, the inventory robots were still there, readers are integrating with antennas, and some new chips were announced, but that’s about it.

So, instead of writing about Journal Live!, this year I am focusing my show report on a co-located event that always delivers something new, the IEEE RFID conference. The conference was arranged for the 11th time, and I think I have only missed it once – though often I have had to divide my time between IEEE and the trade show.

The conference featured two excellent key-note presentations: Secure RFID for Trusting Devices and Data by René Martinez of Honeywell and Near-Zero Power Radio Frequency Receivers by Troy Olsson of DARPA. And then there were a total of 32 technical papers presented. Most papers were accepted in these categories:

  • Localization
  • Protocols and Security
  • Antennas and Propagation
  • Circuits, Devices and Readers

So, it seems that localization is on the rise, as the category has reached the top from outside the top-5 of 2016 event. I haven’t really seen asset localization properly break through in the industry, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it did in the near future.

Poster Session

During the last few years, IEEE RFID has arranged a poster session in the RFID Journal Live! exhibition area. So, if you do one thing to learn about what is going on in the research space, I recommend browsing through the poster area. In just half an hour you will get a nice overview of the latest research related to circuits, protocols, antennas, chipless sensors, etc. This year, there were a total of 25 posters from universities around the world, but also one from the industry: the French company Primo1D had a poster about their RFID yarn. A full list of poster titles can be found here.

This year, I was privileged to be a member of an expert panel that was assigned to choose the best poster. It took us two hours of looking through the posters, interviewing the presenters, and discussing, until we were able to decide the winner:

“A Dual-Band Wireless Power Transfer and Backscatter Communication Approach for Implantable Neuroprosthetic Devices” by Eleftherios Kampianakis and Apoorva Sharma (University of Washington, USA); Jose Arenas (University of Washington, Chile); Matthew Reynolds (University of Washington, USA).

The presented research combines UHF and HF RFID, as well as many disciplines of electronics and RF engineering into an implantable neuroprosthetic testbed. A more detailed description can be found here.

Best Paper Award

This year’s best paper award went to Pavel Nikitin of Honeywell for his paper titled ‘Self-Reconfigurable RFID Reader Antenna’. The paper presents a method for varying the beam of an antenna. The method is presented with a two-element Yagi antenna, where the parasitic element is loaded with a self-oscillating circuit. The ability to change the reader beam could be especially useful when inventorying static tag populations, e.g. when using an overhead reader to inventory a retail store.

But what pleased me most, was that some of the measurement data in Pavel’s paper was generated with the Voyantic Tagformance Pro system. Let me explain why.

This is me and my colleague Jesse back in 2006, sitting in front of the very first Tagformance prototype. We had just left our jobs at the university, and were frantically trying to build a system for testing the performance of UHF RFID tags. I spent hours of trying to understand papers written by Pavel Nikitin – then only a name to me. And we were able to pull it off: we got our system out to the market for RFID World 2007 which, by the way, was co-located with the very first IEEE RFID conference. Now, seeing our system used in one of Pavel’s papers 11 years later feels like the circle is closed.

All blog posts