Blue Spark Technologies partners with IDS Microchip

Blue Spark Technologies, a supplier of thin, flexible, eco-friendly printed batteries, has formed a partnership with Swiss RFID chip producer IDS Microchip to jointly promote new battery-assisted passive BAP RFID sensor products for use in a host of industries and applications.

One application developed by Blue Spark and IDS Microchip is a BAP RFID tag reference design enabling real-time time-and-temperature monitoring and data logging of consumables and other temperature-sensitive products as they move through the supply chain.

The BAP RFID sensor tags can be used on cases, pallets, containers and even individual packages of perishable foods such as meat, fish, frozen and dairy products. They can also be used with beverages such as fruit juices and wine, as well as temperature-sensitive chemicals and pharmaceuticals, such as vaccines and biologicals. And, because the embedded tags are EPC Gen2 compliant, the BAP RFID sensor products can allow real-time status monitoring and communication with the host system through the existing RFID infrastructure.

‘IDS's SL900A reduces the cost and technological complexity of these second generation tags, enabling many key and central applications where these factors have always been an impediment,’ said Kurosh Hayat Davoudi, marketing and sales director at IDS Microchip. ‘I am sure that these BAP RFID sensory tag samples will play an essential role in paving the way for an easier adoption of sensory tags.’

Matt Ream, Blue Spark’s VP of marketing and product development, said: ‘The merging of IDS Microchip's RFID-enabled integrated circuit with a sensor and a printed battery within a single tag can offer food, beverage, pharmaceutical and chemical  processors, and their logistics providers, a revolutionary breakthrough in cold chain monitoring. Design engineers can now integrate printed electronic elements into systems that make consumables and other products safer and better, while minimizing waste and costs for their producers.’

Reference designs for tag and sensor developers

As a first step in their partnership, Blue Spark and IDS have jointly funded the creation of a thin, flexible, RFID temperature data logger tag reference design that will be available to RFID and sensor designers for their own product development. The fully functional sensor tags will be available in both inlay and label form factors, and will be included in IDS’s SL900A developer’s kits.

IDS Microchip’s sensory RFID chips are in fact second generation tags that incorporate sensory functionality, in addition to providing a unique ID. The company’s SL900A tag adds a new dimension to RFID in that it is EPC Gen2 compliant. These single-chip sensory tags/data loggers incorporate an integrated temperature sensor, interface for various external sensors, data logging control logic and integrated real-time clock (RTC) to time stamp events.  

Attendees at the 2012 Sensor Expo in Rosemont, Illinois, on June 6-7, can learn more about thin printed batteries and RFID-enabled sensor products by visiting Blue Spark Technologies at booth 831.

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