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| Nordic ID Launches the PL3000 Handheld Computer With major investments planned for the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) in the retail, warehouse and distribution markets, Nordic ID has launched the PL3000 handheld computer for UHF data collection systems. This is believed to be the first device of its type that can be used on European frequency bands and provide truly mobile data collection. In coming years, RFID will revolutionise product coding in the retail business in the same way that traditional black and white bar codes did when they were introduced in the 1970s. With RFID, products are identified with special radio tags, which are read by handheld equipment and other devices. When the tags pass through a Radio Frequency (RF) field generated by a compatible reader, they transmit information stored by the tag to the reader, thereby identifying and giving details about the object to which they are attached. With RFID automation of logistics and customer service in retail can be taken into a new level of performance. Currently, the handheld supports ISO18000-6 B, UCODE and EPC 1.19 standards. ISO18000-6 A, EPC Class 1 Gen 1 and EPC Class1 Gen 2 versions will be introduced shortly. Nordic ID's PL3000 weighs only 500g and its level of power consumption and ergonomic design allows it to be used for long periods with a single hand. In the first phase of the introduction of RFID, pallets are tagged but this will extend to tagging of individual products. Many of the world's largest retail operations have already announced they will introduce UHF RFID technology throughout their logistics operations. The most common applications are recording information of delivered products in manufacturing, information collection of received and sent goods in logistics and gathering information about goods in retail environments, for example. The PL3000 is very rugged and intended for heavy use under demanding conditions. In the PL3000 Nordic ID has combined powerful data collection, processing and storing capacity with a variety of wireless communication technologies including WLAN and Bluetooth for local environments and GPRS or GSM for remote applications. In addition to the UHF RFID reader, the PL3000 can be equipped with barcode and 2D code readers. All the functionalities are integrated into a highly ergonomic and user friendly, mobile instrument. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Computing News :: home page |