ODIN Introduces Self-Inventorying SMART RFID Container
Source: Field Technologies Magazine
April 27, 2009 — ODIN, (www.odintechnologies.com), the leader in the physics of RFID solutions for healthcare, aerospace, financial services, and government agencies, introduces the ODIN self-inventorying SMART Container® — a first in automated technology for the tracking of critical assets. The SMART Container goes beyond basic security and location tracking for a given container. In fact, it provides detailed visibility of items inside the container via passive UHF RFID and can transmit item level data to any ERP system over various communication mediums, to include satellite, cellular, and active RFID. Innovated for specific and sensitive Department of Defense (DoD) applications, the ODIN self-inventorying SMART Container allows users to locate, track, and assess the status of materials critical to military operations or imperative to the commercial supply chain.
The ODIN self-inventorying SMART Container was initially conceived to close the gap in the supply chain where items were put into closed containers. It has been refined over the past several years to help fulfill the Office of Secretary of Defense (OSD) order to suppliers to provide low cost passive RFID (pRFID) tags on assets shipped to the government, and provide visibility from "the factory to the foxhole". The ODIN self-inventorying SMART Container automatically reads the tagged items from suppliers as they are loaded or unloaded from shipping containers of various sizes and configurations. The items can also be inventoried from anywhere in the world with the click of the mouse. The SMART Container depends on ODIN's patented Blackbird technology to provide unparalleled visibility, security, accuracy, and efficiency.
"The SMART Container is reinventing RFID. It is the first solution that not only closes the biggest gap in the supply chain, but is deployable and configurable in under a minute," said Patrick J. Sweeney II, founder of ODIN. "Always knowing not only the location, but the contents of military containers down to the unit level at any point in transit is a major breakthrough in supply chain management for Military and Defense, and other industries that are soon to follow. In military parlance, the SMART Container is a UAV for logisticians."
The ODIN Self-Inventorying SMART Container In The Field
A blend of technologies including active and passive RFID, WiFi, Satellite and GPS provides an "always-on" connection from a warehouse, from the deck of a ship in the middle of the ocean, or from the mountains of Afghanistan. Retrofitted and working in just minutes with existing supply chain networks, the ODIN self-inventorying SMART Container can easily be installed in the nearly one million existing DoD containers around the globe. To learn more about ODIN's SMART Container solution, please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLPN4fMkAi0 to see our product video.
Currently in use with the U.S. Navy, ODIN self-inventorying SMART Container technology has proven to solve critical in-field challenges regarding the tracking and location of critical assets that travel in a variety of containers. Previous active RFID (aRFID) systems attempts at total asset visibility (TAV) within standard shipping containers did not accurately represent the contents of the container.
The ODIN self-inventorying SMART Container is helping:
• Decrease unnecessary asset ordering (duplication) due to loss of tracked assets,
• Reduce time simply looking for assets and time wasted manually recording the movement and location of assets therefore impairing mission readiness,
• Increasing accuracy of command level visibility to the location of critical assets of all types, and all times.
About ODIN Technologies
ODIN Technologies is the leader in the physics of RFID infrastructure for pre-packaged solutions, deployment services, and scientific testing. RFID is all we do. Global corporations on five continents leverage ODIN technologies' expert engineers and patented RFID automation tools to achieve accuracy, speed, and visibility for their RFID deployments. In addition to consulting services, ODIN technologies is also the publisher of the RFID Benchmark Series™, the industry's first and most referenced head to head performance analysis of RFID equipment. ODIN's RFID edge optimization software EasyRFID™ has been successfully used at dozens of companies across more than 200 sites worldwide to ensure accurate and scalable RFID implementations. ODIN serves clients from offices in Virginia, USA, Tokyo, Japan and Budapest, Hungary. For more information, visit www.ODINtechnologies.com.
The ODIN self-inventorying SMART Container was initially conceived to close the gap in the supply chain where items were put into closed containers. It has been refined over the past several years to help fulfill the Office of Secretary of Defense (OSD) order to suppliers to provide low cost passive RFID (pRFID) tags on assets shipped to the government, and provide visibility from "the factory to the foxhole". The ODIN self-inventorying SMART Container automatically reads the tagged items from suppliers as they are loaded or unloaded from shipping containers of various sizes and configurations. The items can also be inventoried from anywhere in the world with the click of the mouse. The SMART Container depends on ODIN's patented Blackbird technology to provide unparalleled visibility, security, accuracy, and efficiency.
"The SMART Container is reinventing RFID. It is the first solution that not only closes the biggest gap in the supply chain, but is deployable and configurable in under a minute," said Patrick J. Sweeney II, founder of ODIN. "Always knowing not only the location, but the contents of military containers down to the unit level at any point in transit is a major breakthrough in supply chain management for Military and Defense, and other industries that are soon to follow. In military parlance, the SMART Container is a UAV for logisticians."
The ODIN Self-Inventorying SMART Container In The Field
A blend of technologies including active and passive RFID, WiFi, Satellite and GPS provides an "always-on" connection from a warehouse, from the deck of a ship in the middle of the ocean, or from the mountains of Afghanistan. Retrofitted and working in just minutes with existing supply chain networks, the ODIN self-inventorying SMART Container can easily be installed in the nearly one million existing DoD containers around the globe. To learn more about ODIN's SMART Container solution, please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLPN4fMkAi0 to see our product video.
Currently in use with the U.S. Navy, ODIN self-inventorying SMART Container technology has proven to solve critical in-field challenges regarding the tracking and location of critical assets that travel in a variety of containers. Previous active RFID (aRFID) systems attempts at total asset visibility (TAV) within standard shipping containers did not accurately represent the contents of the container.
The ODIN self-inventorying SMART Container is helping:
• Decrease unnecessary asset ordering (duplication) due to loss of tracked assets,
• Reduce time simply looking for assets and time wasted manually recording the movement and location of assets therefore impairing mission readiness,
• Increasing accuracy of command level visibility to the location of critical assets of all types, and all times.
About ODIN Technologies
ODIN Technologies is the leader in the physics of RFID infrastructure for pre-packaged solutions, deployment services, and scientific testing. RFID is all we do. Global corporations on five continents leverage ODIN technologies' expert engineers and patented RFID automation tools to achieve accuracy, speed, and visibility for their RFID deployments. In addition to consulting services, ODIN technologies is also the publisher of the RFID Benchmark Series™, the industry's first and most referenced head to head performance analysis of RFID equipment. ODIN's RFID edge optimization software EasyRFID™ has been successfully used at dozens of companies across more than 200 sites worldwide to ensure accurate and scalable RFID implementations. ODIN serves clients from offices in Virginia, USA, Tokyo, Japan and Budapest, Hungary. For more information, visit www.ODINtechnologies.com.