Custom Tag Development Services

CoreRFID enables special purpose RFID applications.

Today’s range of RFID tags is so wide that most applications can be solved using readily available catalogue
products but, for applications where something special is needed, expertly developed custom tags may needed.
CoreRFID has the experience, resources and track record in developing custom RFID tags that allows our
customers to meet their requirements, exactly.

The need for custom tag development

Although most common uses of RFID tags can be supported by one of the many standard tags, some applications may
require something special. In the past CoreRFID has been asked to provide tags for demanding industrial environments
with high magnetic and electrical fields, for attachment to small birds where the weight of the tag is critical, and for tags
in rubberized waterproof housings able to withstand the shocks of a runner’s shoes. In each case CoreRFID has worked
with the customer to design, specify, source, test and supply the solution. CoreRFID typically provides custom
developments in two main areas; housing and attachment and chip and antenna. In addition CoreRFID has developed
custom compressed data formats allowing the limited data capacity of tags to be used to best effect, providing the
customer with the necessary encoding and decoding algorithms needed to make use of the format within software
applications developed by themselves or by CoreRFID.
1. Specialised Tag Housing & Attachment
RFID tags are made up of a chip and its antenna. These are held in
some form of housing. While the chip is of course important, the
housing is vital too. The housing has the main purpose of protecting
the chip against its environment but it also often provides the means
by which the tag can be attached.
Specific environments that might require custom tag housings include
those where the tag is to be immersed in water or corrosive
chemicals, high temperature environments, environments requiring
impact resistance, and areas of high magnetic fields or high emf.
Custom tag housings also need to take account of the reception
qualities of the medium, ensuring that the tag housing does not
interfere with the transmission / reception capabilities of the chip.
As well as the physical nature of the housing custom tags can be
engraved or overprinted with identifying information or customer Custom tags may be needed for specialised
logos, allowing the tag to carry visual information as well as electronic applications – a development for Reactec Ltd
data.
Tags can be attached in a number of ways, most commonly by adhesives or by physical attachment (screw or rivet).

014
Custom tag development delivers the ideal tag, specific to the customer’s needs,
meeting cost and functionality requirements.

The selection of adhesives depends on the surface that the tag will attach to, the requirement for durability of attachment,
whether the tag needs to be removed and re-attached. Screw or rivet fixing may also place requirements on tag design so
that the tag is not damaged during the attachment process. For some tags (for example those used for research on small
animals or birds) a strap style fixing may be appropriate. CoreRFID is happy to advise on alternative fixing approaches for
different requirements.
CoreRFID also offers custom tag printing and or engraving. Work carried
out for CoreRFID customers in the past includes logo printing, tag printing
with individual serial numbers and logo embossing on a customized
housing.
2. Chip & Antenna
As well as the three common frequency bands (LF, HF & UHF) used for
passive tags, RFID systems can also be developed using active tags based
on chips which have their own on-board battery. The selection of a
particular chip / antenna combination for a particular business application
requires an understanding of material physics, electromagnetic
performance and the requirements of the application. As an experienced
implementer of RFID based solutions over a wide range of technologies
and business areas, CoreRFID is ideally placed to work with customers on
the selection of the best components for their applications. CoreRFID has
worked on projects to determine the optimum antenna configuration for Tags embedded in a fob that works as a
tags where the chip is intended to be used in environments of high locker key; a custom development.
magnetic fields and high electrical noise, delivering the data in an
optimum way for read reliability.
3. Custom Tag Coding
RFID tags have relatively small data capacities (Most RFID applications simply use the tag to carry an identifying number
which then allows data about the tagged object to be retrieved from a database. In this circumstance the data capacity of
the tag is unlikely to be a problem. However, in some RFID systems there may be a requirement to encode more data onto
the tag. In this case the capacity of the tag may be a limiting factor.
By using data coding and compressing techniques it can become possible to use the tag’s data capacity in a way that
allows it to store more than might at first be thought possible.
CoreRFID’s capabilities in software development allow it to design tag coding systems and to create encoding and
decoding routines. These allow the customer’s software to supply data in its usual format, the CoreRFID encoding routine
takes care of reformatting and encoding the data before writing to the tag. Equally the decoding routine collects data from
a tag, unpacks it and places it into field areas ready for the recipient application to deal with.

About CoreRFID
Contact us today:
CoreRFID Ltd, Dallam Court, Dallam Lane, Warrington, U.K. WA2 7LT
T: +44 (0) 845 071 0985 F: +44 (0) 845 071 0989 W: www.corerfid.com E: info@corerfid.com

014