Mikoh develops RFID security box

Mikoh has recently developed a reusable "safety container" that can be used in both government and commercial applications. This container has an RFID security seal that, once damaged, is in the supply chain. The RFID reader can detect it.

Peter Atherton, Chief Technology Officer at Mikoh, said that they are discussing security box testing with some government departments. He did not disclose the names of these departments.

Although early tests of the safety box were prepared for government departments, it also has a wide range of uses in the commercial field. Government departments can use safe boxes to carry valuable electronic equipment and important documents. Retailers, pharmacies and other companies can use it to transport expensive items.

Atherton said that one of the problems encountered in commercial applications of RFID tags on single items is that if there are 100 or more tags in the box, the reader cannot 100% when passing the reader at a high speed. Read all tags. When this happens, people have to take this box off the conveyor belt for inspection, or go by it and pray that the unread item is still in the box. Locations such as where labels are placed and how items are packed in the box can affect the read rate of a single product label.

Manufacturers and distributors think of many ways to ensure 100% read rate. For example, when the box is read, the box is rotated, or multiple readers are installed at the reading point. "The problem is that doing so adds to the cost, and it makes things more complex and reduces the efficiency of the supply chain." Atherton pointed out.

To solve this problem, Mikohg developed a safety box. The security box integrates the company's existing product "smart and secure RFID tags" into the seals. As long as the seal of the security box can be read to indicate that the seal has not been damaged, even if the label of the item inside the box cannot be read, the user can be assured that the contents of the box are not lost 100%.

Mikoh offers two types of safety boxes. One is that even if the box is opened or the seal is broken, the RFID tag can transfer data to the reader in the supply chain; the other is that once the box is destroyed, the RFID tag stops working.

In the first box, a passive RFID chip and antenna are built in and connected to the sensor. Once someone tries to open the seal or break the seal, a device inside the tag can ensure that the RFID chip and antenna can continue to work after the sensor is destroyed. One bit in the tag's data represents the status record. Once the status of this bit has changed from "not tampered" to "tampered", it cannot be changed back. When the RFID reader reads a damaged RFID tag, the tag will transmit the damaged condition to the reader, indicating that the box has been damaged.

In the second box, the device is simpler and Atherton says it might be more suitable for commercial use: once someone tries to open or break the seal, the RFID tag's antenna will be destroyed and the communication between the antenna and the chip will be interrupted. In this case, the reader cannot read the label of the box.

According to Atherton, the label on the first box is 50% more expensive than the normal box, and the label on the second box is 10-20% more expensive than the normal label.

The "mounting box" is a 15*15*5.5 inch reusable plastic box. Of course, other size boxes can be used. The security box has two door-type lids on the top, which is achieved by attaching security seals with built-in smart, secure, passive RFID tags on top. The security box developed for the government department uses a 13.56Mhz or 915MHz RFID chip, and can use any frequency and air excuses standard labels according to user needs. Although passive tags are currently being used, Atherton said they are also testing semi-active tags for the safety case system.

After the traditional seal is used up, it will leave a residue in the box, which will cause difficulty in installing the new seal. Therefore, Mikoh designed the safety box. The seal of the box was glued to a disposable plastic insert inside the door. This plastic insert can be removed cleanly after the completion of the transport and facilitate the reuse of the box.

Atherton said that Mikoh's security box can be put into commercial use without special software.

Reprinted from: RFID Information Network Xiao Bao