2001
  • MIT's Auto-ID Center gave ThingMagic its hardest problem to date: create the RFID reader of the future - a device that could talk to any RFID tag, on any radio frequency; that could integrate seamlessly with the Internet; that was capable of intelligence at the edge of the network; and that would be very cheap to make in large volumes. Many experts thought such a device was impossible.
  • ThingMagic delivered a working prototype, called Mercury 1, in November 2001. This RFID reader read the first EPC Class 1 Gen 1 tag, demonstrating interoperability in the EPC standard for the very first time.
  • ThingMagic pioneers the use of software-defined radio in RFID.
 

RFID Demand Increasing

"Month to month, we're seeing demand for RFID label applications that extend far beyond traditional retail and supply chain use. In addition to CPG suppliers, manufacturers and retailers, our RFID customers include businesses in the food industry, pharmaceuticals, healthcare and other markets, using RFID for inventory control, asset tracking, document tracking, and even patient tracking. When they see a demonstration of a 10-second RFID scan of a rack of products versus a 10-minute manual bar code scan of the same rack, they're eager to adopt RFID and customize an application for their specific use."

-- Stephen Hull, Sato America