Happy birthday RDC!

Real-life conditions
Industry-wide benefits
Rapid progress
Related links

January 2007: Our RFID Reference Design Center (RDC) in Gratkorn, Austria has just celebrated its first birthday. It may only be a year old, but it’s already a grown-up when it comes to improving RFID system solutions and components

NXP set up the RDC with one goal: to improve the performance and reliability of RFID systems delivered to end-customers. One way the RDC does this is by creating complete RFID reference designs for specific applications. That’s more than just using the right components; you also need to optimize the solution to ensure it works well in any realistic conditions. This is particularly important for supply-chain management (SCM) applications with their high performance requirements, multiple frequency bands, long reading distances and complex operating environments.

As well as creating system reference designs, the RDC evaluates and tests the capabilities of technology partners, helping them to optimize their products. It’s also a focal point for system and application knowledge, looking beyond the IC to improve performance of antennas, inlays and other components.

“The RDC acts as a resource for all our partners and other companies we work with in the RFID value chain: from IC, label and reader manufacturers to system integrators and end-customers,” explains Bernhard Gruber, Manager of the RDC. “By providing support throughout system development, we aim to improve the performance of RFID systems for applications that require leading-edge performance and accelerate adoption across the industry.”

Real-life conditions

NXP has always actively supported the various stages of RFID system development. However, system integrators often only really found out how components performed in actual applications when they launched in-field trials with customers. That slows down system development and can damage customer confidence in a particular solution and RFID in general.

By contrast, the RDC can optimize systems and components for system integrators in a realistic working environment and before they reach the customer. Housed in a large building with lots of space and all the necessary infrastructure including labs, testing equipment and pallet moving equipment, it’s perfect for recreating the conditions faced by real-life SCM applications.

Industry-wide benefits

The RDC’s activities have clear benefits for everyone involved in RFID – from our partners in the industry to end-users who deploy the technology in their supply chains and the people who use it in their daily working life. Perhaps the easiest way to see exactly what the RDC offers is to look at a few of the projects it has carried out in the year since it opened.

Impact door reference design

“This was one of our first reference designs. The client, a leading American retailer, asked us to create a complete RFID system solution that could be fitted into the impact doors in their warehouses,” says Bernhard.

“We started by building a replica door and warehouse environment. We used that set-up to evaluate the in-application performance of all the components required for the solution. Not just the ICs we could supply, but also reader modules, antennas and software. Then we optimized the parameters of the components with the support of our partners to create the best possible overall system for that application.” By taking a wider perspective, the RDC delivered a complete, optimized solution that was smaller, performed better and cost less.

Golden tag antenna design

The RDC’s ability to look beyond the IC was again highlighted when it created a new label antenna design. Known as ‘Golden tag’, the new antenna measures 3.8 x 1.8 inches (97 x 46 mm), making it fully compliant with the EPCGlobal form-factor specifications. It performs well at all frequencies in the UHF band (860 – 960 MHz) used for SCM applications, providing a versatile, low-cost solution for use anywhere in the world.

Tag and label testing services

Besides reference designs, the RDC has also developed a number of new evaluation services. For example, the tag and label testing unit allows high volumes of tags and labels to be tested in a realistic environment. This shows NXP’s partners how their product would perform in the field. Using the results, tag and label manufacturers can improve the overall performance of their products, or even optimize them for specific applications.

“Our testing capabilities are proving very popular with tag and label manufacturers,” Bernhard adds. “We’ve already tested over 60,000 units for companies like RSI, Hana and Raflatac to name a few.”

3D label characterization

The RDC has also developed a way to characterize the read rate of labels at any reading angle. It involves encasing the label in a sphere that is transparent to UHF radiation. Knowing how well labels can be read at different angles is invaluable when optimizing RFID solutions for SCM applications, as tagged goods are typically stacked in random orientations when they pass through the gate readers.

As a company, NXP is committed to driving the creation of standards that accelerate the acceptance of new technology. Specifying performance at different angles is not part of any current label standard, but it is vital for optimizing the performance and cost of real-life implementations. NXP has submitted this low-cost test method to EPCGlobal for consideration.

Rapid progress

With its unique blend of systems know-how and facilities, the RDC has grown rapidly – in terms of both the number of staff and number of partners it works with.

“We ask partners to work closely with us,”Bernhard concludes. “And in return they get the benefit of their product being associated with a successful solution plus feedback on their products’ performance and any potential improvements. The more we can help our partners improve their offering, the better it is for end-customers who are guaranteed complete systems tailored to their specific needs”