Pretoria-based iPico Holdings has launched an electronic number plate (ENP) solution for the transport market.
It is based on its ultra-long range (UHF) radio frequency identification (RFID) technology that allows multiple vehicles to be read at speeds up to 250km/h from a range of 6m.
iPico`s passive UHF RFID device is the enabling technology for the electronic vehicle identification (EVI) initiative by government departments, private and non-governmental organisations. iPico says that if the government rolls out an EVI project, the new technology can be used as a high integrity vehicle identification system.
EVI applications include electronic licensing, tolling, traffic and speed control, ticketing and cross-border control.
Luther Erasmus, iPico CEO, says the maturity of the iP-X technology was demonstrated in a recent road test. Low-cost ENP tags were stuck inside test vehicles` windscreens and their identity codes transmitted to a roadside spotting station. Four cars with two tags each were used to simulate high-density traffic at speeds between 80 and 120km/h.
The tags are said to be tamper-proof. They use frequencies in the UHF band between 860MHz and 960MHz, operate between -40 and 85 degrees Celsius, have a lifespan of up to seven years, and cost around R3 if bought in volume.
"The RFID problem of reading vehicles at ultra-high speed with very low cost RFID devices has been overcome by our proven iP-X technology," claims Erasmus. "In tests, an ENP tag inside a C55 AMG Mercedes Benz was read with 100% accuracy at speeds in excess of 250km/h at a range of 6m."
Erasmus says the iP-X technology is also being used in customs, secure container and airline baggage tracking applications. "iPico`s UHF tags and readers are ideal for large volume applications where an average of 7 200 tags per minute can be read on a continuous basis."
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