ThingMagic Releases Astra RFID Reader for European Union PDF Print E-mail
December 08, 2008

Easy to Deploy, Integrated RFID Reader/Antenna Simplifies Asset Management

Cambridge, MA, December 8, 2008 – ThingMagic, Inc. (www.thingmagic.com), a leading developer of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, today announced that its Astra integrated RFID reader/antenna is available in the European Union. Astra is easy to install, unobtrusive, and available with Power over Ethernet (PoE) and WiFi options. Designed for office and commercial environments, Astra's deployment options allow for flexible, low cost, single cable installation.

"Ideal for enterprise asset tracking applications, including document management, inventory control, baggage tracking and equipment location, Astra meets all European Union RFID and environmental certification requirements, and is available for immediate deployment," said Yael Maguire, ThingMagic CTO and co-founder.

Driven by ThingMagic's Mercury5e UHF RFID embedded reader module, Astra has a read range of over nine meters for Generation 2 RFID tags and can read up to 190 tags per second. Fully supporting ThingMagic's enterprise-class MercuryOS software, Astra's network management and security features include DHCP for configuration and firmware management, and SSL/SSH–based security. Astra has ETSI and CE certification and meets all European Union RFID and environmental requirements.

Astra reader features include:

    High performance, EPCglobal Generation 2.0 (ISO 18000-6C) support with anti-collision, Dense Reader Mode (DRM) and advanced anti-jamming functionality

  • WiFi option, providing low cost integration with existing enterprise WiFi networks, and supporting enterprise WiFi security standards including TKIP, AES and EAP-TLS
  • An integrated 865-956 MHz, circularly-polarized antenna with 6 dBiL gain and 65° beamwidth
  • 16MB of flash and 32MB of RAM available for reader-hosted applications
  • An external antenna port for an additional antenna
  • An easy to use Development Kit, for customizing applications, settings, deployments and management
  • A small form factor (10.2"H x 10.2"W x 3"D)
 

Customer inquiries should be directed to ThingMagic Sales at, 1-866-833-4069; +1 617-499-4090 for callers from outside the US & Canada).

About Trimble
Trimble applies technology to make field and mobile workers in businesses and government significantly more productive. Solutions are focused on applications requiring position or location—including surveying, construction, agriculture, fleet and asset management, public safety and mapping. In addition to utilizing positioning technologies, such as GPS, lasers and optics, Trimble solutions may include software content specific to the needs of the user. Wireless technologies are utilized to deliver the solution to the user and to ensure a tight coupling of the field and the back office. Founded in 1978, Trimble is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. For more information, visit Trimble's Web site at: http://www.trimble.com/.

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Media Contact:

Lucie Mann
Lois Paul & Partners for ThingMagic
617-986-5863
lucie_mann@lpp.com


Industry Leading Support

"It's not often that one gets good support worldwide. I've been unable to find any other RFID module comparing to ThingMagic's, or getting any other company to support us."

-- Ben Burger, MaxID Group