ARCwire -- Intel Corp. introduced an RFID radio chip designed to dramatically enhance the capabilities and design of UHF RFID readers. The Intel UHF RFID Transceiver R1000 (or Intel R1000) integrates approximately 90% of the discrete components found in a typical RFID reader radio (including receive, transmit, baseband, modulation, and demodulation functionality) onto a single chip. The Intel R1000 delivers high performance with significantly lower power consumption, supporting a full range of reader form factors and applications, from short-range handheld readers to long-range dock door readers.
RFID readers tend to be large, complex, and expensive, with high power requirements and hundreds of discrete components. The Intel R1000 significantly changes this model by integrating most of the reader's components onto a single 8 mm by 8mm chip. This reduces design complexity and costs, which enables manufacturers to develop smaller, innovative readers and address new end-user RFID applications.
The Intel R1000 is packaged with several development tools that speed time-to-market for reader OEMs and ease reader deployment, provisioning, and remote management for end users. Firmware included with the Intel R1000 supports all modes and data rates of the EPCglobal Gen 2 and ISO 18000-6C standards, including built-in support for dense-reader mode and regional regulatory requirements, such as FCC and ETSI and listen before talk.
The Intel R1000 has already received broad industry support among RFID reader manufacturers. Many are developing readers with the Intel R1000, with products expected to be commercially available in North America, Europe, and Asia during the second quarter of 2007. Leading RFID reader providers ThingMagic and Alien have already announced products that feature the Intel R1000.