Industry Experts Will Discuss Developments in Tracking and Tracing Technologies

Troy, N.Y. - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is hosting an International Conference on Chipless Identification Technologies on June 21-23 on campus in the Low Center for Industrial Innovation, room 4050. Industry experts will discuss alternative non-chip-based technologies for product tagging, tracking, and identification with an emphasis on advances in chipless radio frequency identification (RFID). The conference is sponsored in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Chipless RFID devices, also known as chipless tags, can be designed as thin threads or fibers allowing them to be incorporated on labels or laminates, according to Sunderesh Heragu, professor of decision sciences and engineering systems at Rensselaer and the conference organizer. Conventional RFID devices used for automated data collection and product identification contain a transistor circuit employing at least one microchip to store and transmit data and therefore, the price of materials and production of the chip can make chip-based RFID cost-prohibitive in many applications. Depending on production quantity, the price of chipless RFID tags are about one-tenth the cost of chip-based tags, according to Heragu.

"Chipless RFID devices are less costly than conventional chip-based RFID devices, but have some signal reading limitations," Heragu said. "We are convening a group of experts at this conference to explore methods - including alternative materials, processes, and technologies - that eliminate the chip without sacrificing performance quality."

"Chipless tags could be applied in more diverse environments than chip-based tags," said Omkaram Nalamasu, director of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Center for Integrated Electronics and conference panelist. "The potential versatility of chipless RFID broadens the range of applications that need to be explored, particularly where bar code labels have limitations, such as document management and manufacturing."

George Nagy, professor of electrical, computer, and systems engineering at Rensselaer, is one of the featured presenters. He will speak on chipless RFID for paper-based applications. Nagy joins a list of speakers that also includes industry and government experts from the United States, Germany, the United Kingsom, and Israel.

Contact: Mary Cimo
Phone: (518) 687-7174
E-mail: cimom@rpi.edu