ThingMagic Upgrade Boosts RFID Reader Performace
MercuryOS Upgrade “Yagi” Delivers Even More 100 Percent Read Rates; Increases Mercury4 and Mercury5 Speed, Accuracy and Range
January 8, 2007 – ThingMagic, Inc. (www.thingmagic.com), a leading developer of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, today introduced the upgraded Mercury® Operating System Version 2.4 “Yagi,” which dramatically boosts Mercury reader sensitivity, accuracy and overall performance. These improvements increase Mercury RFID tag read performance by up to 400 percent in environments swamped with multiple sources of interference including other RFID readers, fluorescent lighting, and wireless networks and telephones. As a result, ThingMagic Mercury4 and Mercury5 readers running Yagi can more accurately and quickly read more tags overall, including weak tags, hard to reach tags and poorly performing tags. Operating in Dense Reader Mode, MercuryOS 2.4 Yagi achieves read rates of up to 200 unique Generation 2 tags per second, even in dynamic situations where tagged objects are moving.
The hardware in Mercury5 achieves more 100 percent RFID tag read rates though better analog and digital interference rejection that ignores interference from any other RFID readers in range. Mercury5 is also equipped with a more sensitive receiver, even reading tags that have weak signals due to distance, obstruction or poor performance. In addition to more 100 percent reads through interference rejection, Mercury5 has all the multi-protocol and network capability of its predecessor Mercury4, with which it is fully backwards compatible. This compatibility, and the Software Defined Radio architecture of both readers, ensures customers can remotely install the MercuryOS V2.4 Yagi upgrade to Mercury4 and Mercury 5 readers, and achieve significant performance increases, especially on the most common EPC Generation 2 tags. Mercury5 and Mercury4 read all EPC Generation 2 and Generation 1 tags, as well as ISO 18000-6B, ISO 18000-6C and UCODE 1.19 tags.
“These MercuryOS improvements are due in large part to a breakthrough tag reading algorithm developed by ThingMagic co-founder Dr. Yael Maguire,” said Kevin Ashton, vice president, Marketing, for ThingMagic. “As a result of the Maguire algorithm, and numerous other innovations, MercuryOS 2.4 Yagi has passed lab tests that far exceed the most challenging customer sites we’ve encountered. It has also delighted customers who have already used it in beta testing. We’ve truly raised the bar for RFID reader performance, and vastly exceeded customer expectations about what can be achieved.”
The initial release of Yagi is available for Mercury 4and Mercury5 readers operating under U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Regulations, and Mercury 4 readers operating under Korean Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) regulations. Meeting market demand for a high performance reader, MercuryOS V2.4 Yagi, and upgraded Mercury5 and Mercury 4 readers are available now from ThingMagic resellers including AbeTech, Acsis, BuyRFID, Conectag, Creek Systems, Fujitsu, IconNicholson, M/A-COM, Markem, NCR, Quest Solutions, Retek Solutions, RFID Global Solutions, Rush Tracking, Verisign, and Venture Research.
Mercury5 is fully compatible with Mercury4 interfaces and deployments, giving users a high degree of network functionality and exceptional cost of ownership and overall return on investment. The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) is $1,995 for the Mercury5, and $995 for the Mercury 4, with volume discounts available.
For more information, go to www.thingmagic.com.