RFIDNews | Identec mining solution goes to polar extremes

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Identec Solutions has expanded its sales territory north to the arctic with its WatcherMine solution system, now being used in some of Sweden’s polar circle mines. The mine safety solution has been deployed in mines owned by Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB), a Swedish government-owned corporation. The mines produce iron-based products used in the steel industry, producing roughly 25 million tons of raw ore annually.

The WatcherMine system used by LKAB consists of active RFID tags worn by more than 1,000 miners, readers that gather the information provided by the tags, and monitoring software for data processing. The system components are designed to withstand the uniquely harsh demands of the arctic environment.

“We have very specific sets of requirements for our underground operations,” says Egon Sundling, operations manager at LKAB. “Providing our personnel and visitors with the safest work environment possible is an utmost priority to LKAB. Streamlining workflow processes for enhanced efficiency is another. The system also needed to be highly reliable in harsh environments.”

Identec’s mining solutions have been deployed in a variety of circumstances throughout Europe, including a major Norwegian coal mine and the Brenner Base Tunnel, a railroad tunnel through the Alps between Italy and Austria, which will be the second largest tunnel in the world when completed.

RSA sets 2012 strategy

RSA Security executives spelled out the company’s product strategy for 2012, announcing that it would focus on mobile, anti-threat and cloud security.

As reported in Network World, RSA wants to develop tools that can help businesses improve data protection on mobile devices by separating personal and corporate data and improving mobile device authentication. RSA’s strategy includes adding more factor options to multi-factor authentication and embedding SecurID technology in mobile phones.

Intel joins NFC Forum board of directors

The NFC Forum has announced that Intel Corporation has upgraded its membership from Principal to Sponsor, the highest level of membership in the organization.

As a Sponsor member, Intel will hold a seat on the NFC Forum Board of Directors, as well designate individuals to run for Forum leadership positions and appoint one voting representative to all NFC Forum Committees and Working Groups.

RFID curbs illegal transport of iron ore, India

The India government is entertaining the thought of using RFID tags on mining trucks to track vehicle movement carrying iron ore in an attempt to reduce the transport of illegal iron ore in the state of Goa, according to The Times of India.

Ascendent ID develops RFID-based material tracking system for mining industry

Ascendent ID unveiled its RFID-based material tracking system for the mining industry, designed to automate previously labor intensive and error prone transactions.

Trucks carrying ore and other mining materials are equipped with long-range, rewritable RFID tags. Information such as the date, time, product, loaders number and site location are all automatically written to the tag memory by a reader installed at the loading areas or on the loaders, as well at the truck scale or dump site.

Spartan Gold, RCG co-develop security applications for mining industry

Spartan Gold has entered into a memorandum of understanding with RCG Matrix to target the development of biometric-based security applications for the mining sector.

Spartan Gold will assist RCG in generating sales related to its technologies in the mining industry worldwide, and adopt, if appropriate, RCG’s biometrics, RFID and security-related technologies for relevant applications in the mining explorations conducted by Spartan Gold.

RFID monitors noise emissions at German high-speed race tracks

The Nürburgring Motorsport Complex in Nürburg, Germany recently installed an RFID-based solution to identify vehicles that exceed the permissible noise limits and enable immediate intervention.

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Identec mining solution goes to polar extremes