HID's Bodega Norton Winery case study wins award for most innovative use of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology by the Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility Services (AIM).
HID Global has just announced it has been awarded Most Innovative Use of RFID Technology in the AIM 2014 RFID Case Study competition for its solution that combines RFID tags with NFC-enabled smartphones at Bodega Norton Winery in Argentina. Use of the company's RFID technology was also integral to Snapsportz being name a runner up for the Most Innovative Use of RFID in the RFID Journal Awards.
Both awards were announced in conjunction with RFID Journal Live!, where HID Trusted Tag Services was also a finalist for Best in Show.
“HID Global is pleased to be recognized by two of the most prestigious and influential organizations in the industry for our cutting-edge expertise and innovative solutions, as exemplified by their use by Bodega Norton Winery and Snapsportz at Princeville Ranch Adventures,” said Marc Bielmann, vice president of Identification Technology with HID Global. “These honors validate our industry leadership and reinforce the value of working with our trusted partners to deliver customized solutions that meet the unique needs of our customers.”
Bodega Norton Winery
HID Global, in partnership with system integrator Fundacion Ada Byron (FAB), enhanced and streamlined the winery's logistics and processes with a new solution that replaced a cumbersome, outdated tracking system used for compensating employees. This system was based on the manual distribution and collection of thousands of aluminum and plastic chips that tracked the amount of grapes picked by harvesters.
With the new solution, each harvester is issued an armband equipped with a unique HID Global contactless card, grape collection bins are now tagged with HID Epoxy Disc tags and vineyard supervisors are outfitted with NFC-enabled smartphones. The system enables vineyard supervisors to simply place their smartphone next to the harvester's armband triggering an audible beep that assures both the harvester and supervisor that the collection bin has been counted and credited to the appropriate harvester.
Snapsportz Action Images
HID Global SlimFlex RFID tags are a central component of the Snapsportz system that enables the image capture of guests zip-lining at Princeville Ranch Adventures in the Hawaiian Islands. RFID technology allows simultaneous triggering of image capture as well as each image's assignment to an individual guest. This enables the Snapsportz software to automatically sort images and retrieve each guest's photos on demand. Interactive kiosks enable guests to order prints or digital copies, upload one or all images to a USB drive, or post images to their Facebook page.
SlimFlex tags have unique thermoplastic elastomer housings and tolerate repeated bending or torsion while maintaining excellent performance characteristics. Originally developed for industrial applications, the durable housing safeguards the tags' embedded electronics, providing resistance to chemical exposure such as the Princeville Ranch's repeated use of a bleach solution to sanitize the zip line helmets.