Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,900 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 48 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Best wishes for the year ahead!

Cheers!

/a

Source: VentureBeat

Sad day for the industry earlier this week, but a day of remembrance and gratitude to a man who rarely gets talked about as the inventor of RFID; Hat-tip and kudos to behind-the-scenes inventors who have created entire industries and eco-systems that have in turn created countless opportunities for others!

Here’s the link to a great piece by Dean Takahashi from Venture Beat on Charlie’s story, and loss of a technology sensei:

Charlie Walton, inventor of RFID, passes away at 89

Rest in peace Charlie Walton.

Drop us a line to discuss your asset tracking needs be it with RFID, barcodes, or sensors – we look forward to being of assistance!

Cheers!

/a

Last week, we did a press-release around the release of SANDY (our internal codename for Spotlight Android) at the AABB (American Association of Blood Banks Conference) .

Based on initial feedback received, we believe that this development is a significant leap forward in enabling not just health-care of transfusion medicine RFID applications on the mobile phone, but a game-changer to the deployment of mobile RFID apps overall.  Hence, a brief FAQ to to throw additional light on what this announcement actually means and you can also sign up for a Demo at our website  (http://www.s3edge.com/registration.php) if this piqued your curiosity,

So, w/o any further ado, here is the SANDY faq (also available @ http://www.s3edge.com/products_spotlight_android.php)

What is Spotlight for Android?

Spotlight for Android is a set of apps and services deployed on Android based phones and tablets, that connect to Spotlight Server thus enabling cross-platform mission-critical asset tracking applications.

When is it available?

A Beta of Spotlight for Android is available on the Google Nexus S today. Future plans for Nexus Prime on Android Ice-Cream Sandwich are underway.

What applications can I use on Spotlight for Android today?

Spotlight for Android will support the same set of horizontal Auto-ID applications supported on Spotlight Mobile – these include Commission, De-commission, Trace, Audit RFID tags.

Spotlight for Android will also fully support the set of Transfusion Medicine RFID apps as part of the S3Edge Healthcare Industry Solution, These include Create, Pack, Load, Ship, Audi, Trace, Delete, Return, Import, Checkin.

Can Spotlight for Android be used for other RFID-based asset tracking applications across verticals?

Absolutely – the architecture of the Spotlight Mobile platform lends itself to customization across various vertical asset tracking scenarios and requirements. Both the applications themselves and the UI look and feel can be customized and deployed in a declarative manner based on your business-specific process flows and error handling needs.

What Auto-ID technologies will Spotlight for Android work with?

Current Android platform support is centered on “NFC” (Near-field communication) technology that includes HF (High-Frequency) RFID capabilities. Barcodes and QR codes are supported as data-input to Spotlight for Android mobile apps as well.

Will other types of RFID / Auto-ID devices continue to be supported on Spotlight? And will they work in concert with or Plug and Play with the new device?

Spotlight from the ground up has been designed to support and manage a wide range of RFID and Auto-ID technologies across various form-factors (handheld, fixed, pad, tunnel readers, etc.). In following the rich tradition of heterogeneous Auto-ID device support in the base Spotlight product from S3Edge, The Nexus S from Google will be the 36^th such device to be supported – and this list will only continue to grow in the future. All of these devices (from HF, to UHF, Barcode, Active, UWB, and sensor devices) will all continue to work in concert with and can Plug n Play with each other as data sources for applications deployed (and managed) on the S3Edge Spotlight server and mobile platforms.

Can apps built on Spotlight for Android be used on Android-based tablets as well?

Yes – the deployment model of the underlying Spotlight platform allows for apps to be deployed on phones or tablets, seamlessly.

Will SANDY be cloud-enabled from the get-go and what are the various modes that applications built on SANDY can run in?

The Spotlight architecture supports a cloud-based deployment architecture that simplifies data collection at local sites and allows for and significantly simpler data-exchange and integration pattern with subscribing line-of business applications as well as applications on tablets.

Apps built on SANDY can be used in Paddle mode to read and post tags to subscribing apps, or can be used to execute stand-alone business processes on the phone (such as Pack, Ship, Audit etc.) that can then be be sent to various back-end applications or synced offline as needed.

The following pictorial depicts this deployment architecture:

And finally, Why is this such a BIG deal for adoption of RFID-based mobile apps?

There are lots of reasons why this development is a game-changer for customers looking to deploy RFID-based applications in addition to the fact that a Smartphone is now a ubiquitous device that’s carried on person by a working professional. Some of the more significant reasons for why the Spotlight for Android platform is a revolutionary RFID reader can be described as follows:

1. Is more than twice as fast as the current readers
2. Has better battery life than any reader on the market
3. Is half as light as any reader on the market
4. Has ubiquitous network connectivity and location detection
5. Has a display screen that can also be used as an input device
6. Costs less than half of any commercially shipping reader
7. Has been tested by of millions of users already
8. Is a mainstream consumer device supported by major corporations

And of course, the fact that we are going to see mass proliferation of NFC-enabled devices in the near future (40M phones projected by end of 2012) will help this along as well  

In summary, we believe this is a significant advancement in enabling RFID and Auto-ID based apps across various verticals and invite you to join us sign up for a demo at  http://www.s3edge.com/registration.php to learn more and understand how this might help with your asset tracking needs.

Cheers!

/a

Transfusion medicine RFID apps running on Google Nexus S smartphone showcased at the American Association of Blood Banks Annual Conference

PORTLAND, Ore., Nov 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Spotlight for Android, a set of apps and services deployed on Android-based smartphones and tablets, was launched by S3Edge Inc. at the recently concluded American Association of Blood Banks Annual Conference 2011 in San Diego.

“The ubiquity of the Smartphone in today’s connected world, and their potential to directly impact day-day operations in a healthcare environment was a critical factor in enabling support for Android-based apps in our Spotlight suite of applications. Customers now have the freedom to run their RFID-based asset tracking applications on multiple devices across platforms due to the significant investments we continue to make in the base Spotlight product,” said Mark Anastas, President of S3Edge Inc.

“S3Edge continues to raise the bar in the area of software innovation to address customer needs. The support for Android-based devices for our transfusion medicine RFID applications will give healthcare professionals in our field an easy, well-understand interface to quickly adopt a new set of auto-ID applications aimed at cutting costs and eliminating errors in the blood supply chain,” said Clive Hohberger, PhD, RFID Systems Architect at the Blood Center of Wisconsin, and recipient of the ICCBBA One World Award at AABB 2011 for his significant contribution to the understanding and application of international information standards in transfusion and transplantation medicine. “This new-paradigm is going to be the game-changer in the adoption of RFID based applications in Healthcare,” he added.

A Beta of Spotlight for Android is available today. Mobile RFID Applications supported for Healthcare include Create, Pack, Load, Ship, Audit, Trace, Delete, Return, Import, and Check-in; these apps can be customized for material tracking applications in discrete manufacturing, warehouse operations, and tool-tracking.

To learn more please visit www.s3edge.com and sign up for a demo.

Piqued your curiosity?

Sign up at http://www.s3edge.com/registration.php to learn more and watch this space and the site for more breaking updates on this innovative and ground-breaking development from the guys who live and breathe mission-critical Auto-ID software.

Cheers!

/a

In SoCal, and interested in understand how RFID technology can transform your productivity and error detection in healthcare? Look no further – come join us at the AABB Annual Meeting & CTTXPO on Monday to see our mission-critical solution Transfusion Medicine RFID at work, courtesy our own Mark Anastas & Ram Venkatesh.

More details below:

AABB 2011, Monday Oct 24th 8:30 am, San Diego

Director/Moderator: Lynne Briggs, BS, MBA
Speakers: Mark Anastas, BS, MS; Rodeina Davis; Alfonso Gutierrez, BS, MS
Intended Audience: Physicians, Managers/Supervisors, CEOs/CFOs

Objectives:

• Develop a basic understanding of RFID technology and standards for RFID use in the blood supply chain.
• Review the importance of process with technology analysis and measuring improvement when implementing technology changes.
• Discuss real-life perspective on introducing RFID into a large blood center and hospital.

Event Description: This is a follow-up session to review and report on the journey of a consortium of several blood centers, hospitals, academic and technology partners to bring an RFID solution to the blood industry. This session will provide initial results of actual use of RFID in a blood center environment. The session also provides a basic foundation in RFID technology, an analysis of where and why RFID was deployed and used, as well as insights into the actual gains versus those anticipated in early phases of this ambitious study and solution development. During this session, ICCBBA will present its One World Award to Clive Hohberger, PhD, recognizing his significant contribution to the understanding and application of international information standards in transfusion and transplantation medicine.

Cheers!

/as

Fresh off the presses (quite literally!) the latest book on BizTalk Server 2010 has been released to market and available now at your favorite online bookstore. It has  been a year in the making, working with a veteran author crew (you can read Brian’s blog post here),  and hopefully we managed to hold our own in authoring the 2 RFID chapter in this book   (on BizTalk RFID Server and BizTalk RFID Mobile).

So give the book a whirl (you can get it at Amazon by clicking on the image above) and let me know what you think – whether you are interested in building RFID applications only (which Microsoft has enabled via a stand-alone device mgmt and event processing platform on server and mobile devices), or if you’ve always been curious about the entire BizTalk story, I promise that you wont be disappointed.

Happy reading, and I will leave you with my acknowledgements from the inside cover of the book as well as an abstract from the back cover

Acknowledgments:

Though I was only responsible for the two chapters on RFID, this would not have been possible for a first-time author without a stellar support cast in the background, starting with Ram Venkatesh, my colleague at S3Edge and the primary inspiration behind nudging me down the “authoring” path. The RFID chapters would not have been possible without your selfless help and guidance. So, many thanks, my friend! A big thank-you to Clint Tennill from Xterprise, and Gijs for their time and effort to review and provide invaluable feedback. To Brian and the rest of the veteran authoring crew, thanks for the opportunity to be part of this; you guys totally rock! And finally to Mark, Andy, Neil, and the rest of the crew at Pearson, thanks for your tireless efforts in getting us to the finish line; you guys have been consummate professionals all through the process, and just great to work with.

From the Back Cover

Microsoft BizTalk Server 2010 Unleashed is the 100% new, 100% practical developer’s guide to Microsoft’s most powerful version of BizTalk Server. Written by an expert team of Microsoft insiders and BizTalk MVPs, it reflects unsurpassed experience with all phases of BizTalk enterprise solutions development, from planning through deployment and administration.

The authors begin by introducing BizTalk Server’s architecture and key integration concepts. Next, they offer in-depth coverage of BizTalk’s foundational features, including schemas, maps, orchestrations, and pipelines. You’ll learn how to effectively utilize both standard and custom adapters; monitor integration services; leverage cloud computing via Windows Azure; implement operational BI solutions; and make the most of business rules and BizTalk’s Business Rules Engine (BRE).

The authors offer best practices and “in the trenches” tips for everything from managing deployments through implementing state-of-the-art mobile RFID solutions. No other book offers this much useful, pragmatic, and tested knowledge for successful BizTalk development.

Brian Loesgen is a Principal Architect Evangelist on Microsoft’s Azure ISV team. A six-time Microsoft MVP, he has extensive experience in building advanced enterprise, ESB, and SOA solutions. He has coauthored eight books, including SOA with .NET and Windows Azure. Charles Young, a principal consultant at Solidsoft, and Jan Eliasen, an IT architect at Logica, have each been honored repeatedly as BizTalk MVPs, and are highly respected bloggers in the BizTalk community. Scott Colestock, chief architect for Trace Ventures, specializes in using BizTalk to implement integration and service orchestration solutions. He is a member of Microsoft’s Architectural Advisory Board and a BizTalk MVP. Anush Kumar, CTO of S3Edge, served as Microsoft’s RFID business leader and was heavily involved in designing and architecting its BizTalk RFID offerings. Jon Flanders is an independent consultant, instructor for Pluralsight, BizTalk MVP, and author of RESTful .NET.

• Apply BizTalk Server’s sophisticated, scalable message exchange model to support virtually any business requirement
• Get your schemas right the first time, so you can avoid major problems downstream
• Use BizTalk Mapper to create maps for transforming inbound and outbound XML messages and supporting business processes
• Use orchestration to automate even highly-complex processes
• Utilize adapters and WCF to integrate any application, service, or system
• Extend your application’s reach with Windows Azure AppFabric
• Capture key BizTalk infrastructure, services, and business metrics
• Build powerful rules-based solutions with Microsoft’s Business Rules Framework
• Establish an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) that uses BizTalk Server as core messaging infrastructure
• Efficiently manage, configure, and troubleshoot BizTalk through the Administration Console
• Create RFID applications ranging from simple label printing to end-to-end business processes

Cheers!

/a

We will be demoing our Industry Solution for Healthcare at the Unitech booth at the RFID in Healthcare Event coming Tuesday– look forward to seeing you there if you are in attendance.

Also, do not miss the talk by our customer (Blood Center of Wisconsin) discussing the Transfusion Medicine RFID solution we are deploying at Blood Centers and Hospitals.

2:45 PM

Vein-to-Vein Implementation of HF RFID in Blood Collection Through Transfusion

ISO 18000-3m1 13.56 MHz RFID tags have been accepted by the International Society for Blood Transfusion and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as data carriers to augment ISBT128 bar-code data on blood products. This is the first FDA-permitted implementation of RFID in all phases of blood banking. In this session, learn about RFID technology and equipment selection, as well as FDA-required RF safety testing, integration with the blood enterprise-computing system, RFID tag performance and tag survivability issues. The presenter will also discuss the benefits and deployment issues at the BloodCenter of Wisconsin and the University of Iowa Health Center.

Speakers:

Alfonso Gutierrez, UW RFID Lab Director and Director,UWEBC Research and Education
Clive P. Hohberger, Ph.D, RFID Systems Architect,BloodCenter of Wisconsin

Takeaways:

• How the use of RFID can result in significant ROI over the use of bar codes in blood-center operations, through labor savings and error reduction
• How RFID use integrates with existing ISBT128 global bar-code data structures
• Why tag design and survivability are a problem due to blood centrifugation and irradiation