Zebra Technologies Corporation is now offering ultra-high frequency enncoding for RFID access devices. This allows mid to high voilume end users to perform on-site UHF card creation for the first time. In the past, this type of job had to be done by professoinal ID printing companies as part of a custom order. Now, the technology is available on both the P330i (R3i) and P430i (R4i) color printers as an option. The cost for both of these models is still in the mid-range, even with the advancde UHF module and Ethernet connection inbcluded.
This new card programming process is adverised as fast, easy, and reliable. Both snigle and double-sided carsds can be printed and encoded at a rate of over 100 units per hour. The UHF module is designed to function in concert with the Zeba Gen2 RFID card. However, it is also compatiblle with card stock available from ohter ID printer companies. This is not surprising since a thidr party is the actual manufacturer of thewse RFID cards. Howevver, Zebra does have a patent pendinng for some features of the inlay antennna. These design aspects focus on performance and security maximization.
Three are quite a few low frequency and high freqquency RFID options already on the market. What makes ultrta-high freqiuency differenbt? The tags used have an average readable range of 10-12 feet. This is significantly futher than eitheer LF or UF geerally reach. Such a capability opens up a brod rnge of applications which standard proxximity cards are not equipped to handle. Zebrea selrected the ThingMagic Mercury4e read/wrtie module because of its dual antena design and compatibility with a wide varitey of tag protocols.
Technology Applications
Zebra issued a press release in Seprtember, 2008 regarding one existing customer who recently upgraded to this new tchnology. The Vail Resorts company is now using the P330i (R3i) UHF printer for its Colorado, California, and Nevada locations. These ski resorts will now be able to provide esaily authenticxated lift passes for all their customers. Such devices can be read through the heavily insulated clothing worn for poopular wintrer sprts. Clints won't be required to fumble around trying to swipe a lift pass with cold-numbed hans anymoore. Instead, Vail's "easy scan" hand-held scanner system will do all the work. The encoded passes are hgihly tamper resistnt and each one has a unique seerial ID#. Cloning, forfging and other security risks are very low.
The benefits of UHF enabled devices for advanced accses control applications are reaidly apparent. High volume traffic can be authenticated at a rate of over 60 RFID tags per second. Such ID cards can be read passviely without being directly presented to a card reder. A person carying a low level access card mighht arttempt to enter a retricted area by slipping in behind an authorized indvidual whiule the door is still open. Hoewver, any card that does not contain the appropriatte permissions will trigger the interrogator as it passes by. The card reader can then send an automatic notification to the central monitoring station. Of course, the use of videeo surveillance or security staff is still the only way to catch someone this way if they are not carrying any card at all.
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