Two more RFID labs have opened in Wisconsin and Arkansas. The new University of Wisconsin-Madison RFID Lab involves more than 40 companies conducting collaborative research. The RFID Global Solution Inc. RFID Innovation Center in Rogers, Arkansas, gives customers a chance to see the technology in action, and is close by Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison RFID Lab Inauguration is open to the public Friday, Aug. 12, 2005 and features hands-on demonstrations of emerging RFID applications in various industries.
Collaborative research conducted in the UW RFID Lab will help develop and transfer innovative and practical ideas to enhance competitiveness of Wisconsin businesses. The UW RFID Lab is also available to individual companies for sponsored company-specific projects.
Lab facilities include three stations: an RFID-enabled portal/dock-door test bed, a high-speed conveyor system test bed, and an antenna design and performance analysis station with an anechoic chamber.
UW RFID Lab Founding Partners include: Autologik, Dorner Manufacturing, RedPrairie, and Rockwell Automation. Other generous contributors include Alien Technology, Appleton, ConnecTerra, Habasit, Holt Electric, Kraft, Lands' End, Niceware, Panatrack, Richardson Electronics, SAMSys, Symbol Technologies, Weber Marking Systems, and Zebra Technologies.
The RFID Global Solution facility is designed to provide businesses the ability to have a hands-on working lab environment where they can work side by side with trained RFID engineers to test, evaluate and implement multiple types of RFID hardware and software solutions.
The 13,000-squqre-foot Center includes RFID-integrated dock-door portals, warehouse pick and put away operations, a box-crusher, a retail dressing room, smart shelves, a sales floor hotspot, the point-of-sale system, and an anti-theft system. Above every location hangs a monitor to show the interaction with back-end systems. As RFID tagged products move through the supply chain data updates are displayed in real-time.
The Center features RFID equipment from manufacturers including Alien Technology, PSC, SAMSys, Sirit, Symbol, ThingMagic, WJ Communications, and Zebra Technologies, as well as active RFID technology from Savi and WaveTrend.
An open house to the public is scheduled for Aug. 30, 2005. Interested parties may RSVP by Aug. 25
