Axcess becomes one of the first active-RFID hardware makers to adopt Sun Java RFID middleware for RFID readers since it was launched in late June, said Vijay Sarathy, director of Sun RFID product marketing and strategy.
Essentially, by pushing RFID data filtering and processing to the edge of the network, Sun’s middleware promises faster processing of RFID tag data and less network congestion on enterprise servers.
Fewer than 10 RFID hardware makers have adopted the middleware to date, including Intermec and SIS Technologies, Sarathy said. They predominantly are makers of gear for passive RFID tags, which, unlike active tags, have no battery.
Active RFID tags, such as those made by Texas, Dallas-based Axcess, transmit a wireless message typically 30 to 100 feet to palm-sized receivers. The receivers can be hooked up to an existing corporate network for asset tracking and protection, among other applications.
Active tags have greater read-write range and data content bandwidth than passive tags, and are suitable for container shipments. Passive tags far outlive active tags, since they are only powered up when an RFID reader is reading them, and are better suited for case and pallet applications.
Axcess plans to initially use Sun Java on its readers for healthcare applications, said Ben Donohue, Axcess VP of business development.
The main reason we’re involved with the Sun platform is to broaden our ability of talking to an installed base of servers around the world, Donohue said.
While the company would first write a Sun Java interface for its readers, Donohue said it’s possible that Axcess readers would be Sun Java embedded at some future point.
Sun’s Sarathy said Sun is targeting all types of reader manufacturers. We don’t really differentiate, from our perspective, on active or passive RFID technology, he said. We’re more interested in driving adoption of Java and Sun Java on readers, so there’s a uniform method of interface with all kinds of systems.
Sarathy likens the use of Java in the RFID reader market, which he describes as growing yet fragmented in terms of platforms, to that of the cell-phone industry. It’s still early days, he said.
