ADT Aims to Ease RFID Deployment, Management Woes

Middleware solution gathers, filters data from large-scale radio frequency identification systems to generate useful information

Boca Raton, FL  July 14, 2004  Electronic security specialist ADT Security Services has rolled out a new RFID middleware platform intended to facilitate and simplify the development, deployment and management of large-scale radio frequency identification (RFID) installations.

ADT, a part of Tyco Fire & Security, said that its SensorID Deployment Manager collects the vast amounts of data gathered from an RFID system and then deciphers and filters that information so only useful data is passed on to a company's enterprise system. Through a graphical user interface, data filters and development environment, Deployment Manager removes non-critical tag data and filters and converts raw data into relevant, useable information, according to the solution provider.

In doing so, the solution provides software infrastructure that resides between data collection devices and the back-end systems to manage continual information flow, decision support and real-time responses.

In addition, ADT said that Deployment Manager allows a customer to simulate the flow of RFID data through the company's enterprise system before installing hardware on site, which can help reduce deployment time and data integration efforts.

"Deployment Manager offers virtual readers within the software that let a company pre-determine how RFID information will affect its enterprise system, saving time and money," ADT said in a statement. "Once the RFID system is operational, Deployment Manager's ability to simulate data reduces downtime by quickly diagnosing a problem to determine if its source is hardware or software-related."

According to Randy Dunn, ADT's director of RFID sales and marketing, Deployment Manager has the potential to help retailers and manufacturers limit RFID costs and streamline the process of deploying RFID applications within their own facilities.

"Software is the key for taking RFID solutions beyond the compliance requirements set by Wal-Mart and other retailers," Dunn said. "Deployment Manager helps retailers take advantage of the increased product and inventory visibility RFID provides."

Deployment Manager is based on technology developed by GlobeRanger, an RFID "edgeware" company based in Richardson, Texas. ADT and GlobeRanger are part of the epcSTARS alliance, a team of RFID companies formed to provide RFID solutions for end-users.

For more information on trends relating to RFID, see the following SDCExec.com articles:

• Beware RFID Hype, Analysts Warn (February 13, 2004)


• Manufacturing and Banking Industries to Lead U.S. IT Spending in 2004 (February 12, 2004)


• RFID Integration Services Set for Rise (February 4, 2004)


• Retail Spending on RFID Seen Rising in "Fits and Spurts" (January 8, 2004)


• Retailers to See More RFID Benefits Than Manufacturers  Study (November 12, 2003)


• Global RFID Market to be $3 Billion by 2007 (October 1, 2003)


• RFID: Beyond Barcodes (September 3, 2003)


• Who's Buying RFID? (August 22, 2003)


• RFID Picks Up Momentum (July 9, 2003)


• Broader RFID Adoption Seen by 2005 (June 16, 2003)


• Benetton: No RFID Tags in Garments...Yet (April 9, 2003)


• Auto-ID Could Save Billions (February 6, 2003)

For more information on the use of RFID solutions in the supply chain, see "Needle in a Supply Chain Haystack," the Net Best Thing column in the January 2002 issue of iSource Business (now Supply & Demand Chain Executive) magazine.