Intel makes major RFID advance

Intel Corp has unveiled an RFID radio chip that it claims will dramatically enhance the capabilities and design of UHF RFID readers. The Intel UHF RFID Transceiver R1000 integrates 90 percent of the discrete components found in a typical RFID reader radio (including receive, transmit, baseband, modulation and demodulation functionality) onto a single chip, to deliver high performance with low power consumption. The chip supports a full range of reader form factors and applications, from short-range handheld readers to long-range dock door readers.

While RFID technology has matured to the point where standards are now in place and tags are inexpensive, RFID readers still tend to be large, complex and expensive, with high power requirements and hundreds of discrete components. The Intel R1000 significantly changes this model by integrating most of the reader’s components onto a single 8x8 mm chip. This reduces design complexity and costs, which enables manufacturers to develop smaller, innovative readers and address new end-user RFID applications.

“Integrated radio silicon in readers is an important step in the evolution of UHF RFID,” explains Michael J. Reed, Intel RFID Operation general manager. “Companies will now have access to low-cost, low-power and more versatile readers, better equipping them to explore the boundless opportunities afforded by RFID.”

Industry Support

Firmware included with the Intel R1000 supports all modes and data rates of the EPCglobal Gen 2 and ISO 18000-6C standards, including built-in support for dense reader mode (DRM), and regional regulatory requirements such as FCC and ETSI, including built-in support for listen before talk (LBT). Normally a company would need to invest six to 12 months to develop this protocol firmware.

In addition, a low-level software solution and software design kit (SDK) from Intel based is compatible with the industry’s leading software providers’ higher-level applications and emerging standards. The SDK also allows customers to program readers using common programming techniques rather than having to understand and develop low-level microcontroller code.

Intel says that the R1000 has already received broad industry support among RFID reader suppliers, with the Intel R1000, with products expected to be commercially available in North America, Europe and Asia during the second quarter of 2007.