The US government is pushing ahead with its asset management initiative based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology by awarding Intermec Technologies a contract to supply RFID printers to the US Department of Defence and Coast Guard.
The move confirms the US government`s support for the controversial EPCGlobal RFID standard, which detractors say necessitates unnecessary levels of complexity in RFID-based systems and is not well suited to radio frequency regulations outside the US.
Earlier this year, Intermec was awarded a contract to supply RFID tags, readers and technical engineering services as part of the US government`s automatic identification technology RFID initiative, aimed at improving global asset visibility.
Local Intermec distributor, ProScan Systems, says the US government contract is for the EasyCoder PM4i RFID printer which is designed for harsh environments and can execute user-defined programs without a PC.
"This enables the printer to operate hardware such as scanners and other printers as well as access information from a host network," explains Andrew Fosbrook, ProScan MD.
RFID complements current barcode-based inventory and asset tracking systems, Fosbrook says, allowing companies and organisations to automatically track inventory throughout an entire supply chain.
"RFID automatic data collection systems typically do not require line of sight or manual scanning as do most barcode-based systems and for this reason the US government has made implementation of RFID a top priority to improve inventory tracking and logistics management," says Fosbrook.
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