Last month we reported on New South Wales, Australia-based memory chip manufacturer Hypertec Pty Ltd’s use of RFID radio frequency identification technology to safeguard its memory modules from theft (CI No 3,088). Now Westborough, Massachusetts-based memory board vendor Memory Plus Inc has put the technology to very similar use. The company has licensed RFID chips from Norco, California-based Avid Marketing Inc – no relation to digital video editing equipment vendor Avid Technology Corp – embedded them in a plastic resin case and fused them on to its memory boards. Removal of the case, as with Hypertec’s version, renders the boards unusable. The similarity between Hypertec’s and Memory plus’s product doesn’t end there: according to Avid, the chips’ codes are stored on a database with a link to the police response center. Police scanners can also read off the unique code of each chip to ascertain ownership of the stolen memory. The Memory Plus radio frequency-enabled memory boards are sold under the name Discovery Security Plus and the company has patents pending for use of the RFID chip on the memory board and for the plastic cover. The company has recently won a three-month rolling OEM contract to supply Japanese printer manufacturer Kyocera Corp’s Kyocera Electronics (UK) Ltd unit. Called Kyocera Security Plus, the boards are an optional security feature for the firm’s Ecosys range of printers. Unlike Hypertec, however, Memory plus is more than happy for its technology to be licensed by other manufacturers. If there is a demand for our technology then we’ll respond to that demand, said the company’s UK marketing manager David Flack. Memory Plus is currently in talks with another memory manufacturer, said Flack.
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