The company is the first to use near field communication to commercialize printed rewriteable memory.
Thinfilm has announced that it is now the first business to have commercialized printed rewritable memory through the use of NFC technology that it produces on a printable label.
The company has managed to create the first near field communication compatible printed smart label.
At the moment the NFC technology enabled smart label functions with Android devices that are compatible with near field communication. The reason that this is significant is that it gives companies the opportunity to use this tech while shrinking waste, heightening supply chain efficiency, and keeping consumers safe at the same time. These are all highly important goals for the application of this technology.
This development could also help to propel the use of NFC technology forward among businesses.
The CEO of Thinfilm, Davor Sutija, explained that “This successful demonstration represents a critical milestone in Thinfilm’s RF (radio frequency) roadmap and comes just four months after acquiring Kovio, Inc.’s PDPS (printed-dopant polysilicon) technology.”
Sutija also went on to add that “Our engineering team has made truly impressive progress in a relatively short amount of time and we’re very excited about the many commercial applications for this compelling product.” The company has managed to use printed electronics to be able to make it possible (and affordable) to bring connectivity to disposable products. Some examples of the types of goods where this could be usable is in food and pharmaceuticals. The cost of adding this feature would be quite low.
By adding the NFC Smart Label from Thinfilm to a product, it gives the ability to track fluctuations in temperature within the supply chain. This is a serious concern in pharmaceuticals and food in terms of the safety of these products and is one of the leading causes of waste in those industries.
The NFC technology also allows information to be seamlessly exchanged between an enabled Android smartphone or tablet, and the label itself. The Thinfilm is quite versatile and offers a broad range of different opportunities and uses, particularly in terms of temperature sensing, at the moment, but in the future it could also track time, mechanical shock, humidity, blood oxygen and glucose levels.
