TI, Impinj agree to work together on RFID standard update

SEATTLE, Washington — Fabless semiconductor startup Impinj Inc., whose patented Self-Adaptive Silicon technology is being applied to radio frequency identification (RFID) products, has agreed to cooperate with Texas Instruments Inc. on the development of products that are compliant with a standard ratified by EPCglobal Inc., according to Impinj.

The particular RFID standard is the Class 1, Generation 2 (Gen 2) standard, which applies to the UHF band centered around 900-MHz, overcomes limitations of EPCglobal's Class 0 and Class 1 specifications. It is expected to offer robust operation in high-density reader environments, compliance with global spectrum regulations, superior tag throughput, field rewritability and enhanced security and privacy. "TI's substantial inlay design and assembly capability coupled with their tremendous RFID market presence makes them an ideal partner as Impinj develops our Gen 2 product line," said Dr.

"Interoperability of Gen 2 products from multiple vendors is crucial for rapid adoption of RFID. Through our cooperation, Impinj and TI will ensure a supply of interoperable Gen 2 products from two complementary sources," said William Colleran, president and chief executive officer of Impinj, in a statement.

"Impinj's UHF chip design capability will greatly augment TI's efforts to provide Gen 2 products quickly, so that customers can reap rewards from near-term RFID implementations," said Julie England, vice president of Texas Instruments and general manager of Texas Instruments RFid Systems, in the same statement.