The Smart Shelf and Smart Dispenser were developed by TAGSYS to provide users with an accurate reading of RFID-tagged items, enabling real-time insight into product inventory and security, said the company.
"Solving the pain point of inventory management is the Holy Grail of the real-time supply chain," said Elie Simon, CEO of TAGSYS.
The Smart Shelf simulates the 3D tunnel reader approach and is designed to read any tag on an item that is placed on the surface of a shelf.
Previous designs of RFID shelves have required tags to be perpendicular to the antenna, however the advantage of the new Smart Shelf is that it can provide accurate readings regardless of the orientation of the tag, said the firm.
The Smart Dispenser provides a volume-based approach to reading RFID tags on items in a dispenser such as a drawer or cabinet.
The items can be placed in any order or orientation in the dispenser and the new reader tracks the items in the dispenser when the drawer is opened and again when it is closed, so that the items that are removed are identified through the difference between reads.
While currently on offer to companies for evaluation, the Smart Shelf and Smart Dispenser technology and prototypes are expected to become commercially available in Q3 and Q4 of 2006.