Space station to get RFID

NASA's Johnson Space Centre intends to purchase radio-frequency identification (RFID) readers for a space flight inventory system on the International Space Station, reports RFID News.

NASA requires 41 RFID readers and other associated peripherals - for example extra batteries, handle battery, USB cable and a power controller.

The RFID readers are certified for an on-orbit lifetime of 10 years for utlilisation on the International Space Station.

Costa Rica will be using RFID to track ballots during the country's municipal elections next month, states Inside Costa Rica.

The goal is to boost the speed and accuracy of the ballot-collection process, explains Wilbert De La Hormoza, CEO of Grupo Diverscan, the systems integrator that designed and will deploy the RFID system.

In past elections, the bags were checked in manually as they were brought into the central warehouse. But this process is tedious, explains De La Hormoza, and can result in mistakes.

Novatel Wireless is set to acquire Enfora for about $64.5 million in a move to capture the machine-to-machine (M2M) market, says Information Week.

The M2M market, predicted to grow at an annual compound rate of more than 22% through 2014, according to ABI Research, involves locating RFID technology via remote sensors connected wirelessly.

"This acquisition expands our addressable market, broadens our range of complementary products, [and] diversifies our customer base," says Peter Leparulo, chairman and CEO of Novatel.